Sunday, November 8, 2026 — Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The ten virgins
Matthew 25:1-13
Readings of the day: First Reading: Wisdom 6:12-16; Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 63; Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 24:42, 44; Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13.
The Gospel
Jesus tells of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Five bring extra oil for their lamps; five do not. When the bridegroom comes at midnight, the door is shut to those who were not ready. “Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Reflection
All ten virgins carry lamps; only five carry oil. “All have lamps, but all have not oil,” says St. Gregory. The oil, St. John Chrysostom teaches, is charity, alms, and every aid given to the needy; St. Augustine adds that the lamps are our works. The foolish are not turned away for lacking faith — they believed, they waited, they went out to meet the bridegroom. They are turned away because they did not prepare while there was still time. Readiness cannot be borrowed at midnight. Today is the time to fill the lamp: one act of mercy, one prayer, one good work at a time. “Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13).
From the Fathers
“The oil denotes charity, alms, and every aid rendered to the needy.”
— St. John Chrysostom, Homily 78 on Matthew, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:1–13
“The lamps which they carry in their hands are their works.”
— St. Augustine, Eighty-Three Questions, q. 59, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:1–13
Saint of the day
Blessed John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308), Scottish Franciscan priest and theologian, beatified by St. John Paul II in 1993. His defense of the Immaculate Conception of Mary helped prepare the definition of the dogma by Blessed Pius IX in 1854.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 154). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:1–13, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).