The Gospel Lesson for The Last Sunday in the Church Year:
Matthew 25:1-13
(Only he who prepares himself daily with watching and prayer will enter with Christ into the wedding feast above.)
[Jesus said to His disciples:] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish girls brought their lamps, but they took no extra oil. The wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. But the bridegroom delayed, and so they all dozed off to sleep.
“At
“But the foolish asked the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’
“The wise girls answered, ‘There will never be enough for us and for you. Better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
“While they were away buying it, the bridegroom came, and the girls who were ready went with him to the wedding, and the door was shut.
“Later the other girls also came and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’
“ ‘I tell you the truth,’ he answered them, ‘I don’t know you.’
“Keep awake, then, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”