Father Thomas Boyer of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Naples recently discussed the parable of the Ten Virgins and the lesson of not becoming complacent in waiting on the coming of the bridegroom.

"It is not a matter of staying awake, because they were all asleep," Boyer said in the church's Nov. 1 bulletin. "The foolishness seen in this parable is about their preparation."

While half of the virgins in the parable came prepared with extra oil, the other half did not prepare at all for the coming of the bridegroom.

"Either they thought that someone else was going to take care of them, or they fooled themselves into thinking that this groom would be so easy as to leave the doors open all night long," Boyer said. 

He noted that the potential to be foolish and unprepared— to take for granted the things we should be looking after— is in each of us.

"We’re not getting into the kingdom by our mother’s prayers," Fr. Boyer said. "Thinking that the door will always be open is not wise. Thinking that Divine Mercy will ignore what we say and do in this life is not wise."