“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church, was undoubtedly one of the great minds of the Middle Ages. Born around 1100, she was an abbess, writer, philosopher, mystic and composer. A remarkable number of her works have survived and show the breadth of her thought: liturgical music, letters, theological treatises, natural history and medicinal works, a morality play and, interestingly enough, the texts of sermons she wrote and gave. Indeed, she undertook four preaching trips around Germany where she addressed not only monastic communities but also spoke in public. She corresponded with popes, emperors, and leading theologians of her time. Interest in her and her work has grown in recent years, particularly in her writings on natural medicine and healing. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI showed his appreciation of her thought by naming her a Doctor of the Church, the fourth woman among the 36 people honored with this title.
The gospel for her feast is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Although clearly an allegory about the Second Coming, here it also refers to the wisdom for which Hildegard was so famous. The ten virgins represent the Christian community and the bridegroom is Jesus, for whose Second Coming they are waiting. Ten is also often used as a number to signify fullness in the Bible: ten commandments, ten plagues, etc., so the virgins are symbolic of the Church as a whole. But they also, of course, represent the behavior of individual Christians. The foolish virgins are fundamentally focused on themselves and think the bridegroom should come when they are ready, not when he is, while the wise ones are always prepared for his return. They, like Hildegard, try to live their lives according to his commands.
We may wonder about the harshness of the wise virgins, who refuse to give any of their oil to the foolish ones, and of the bridegroom. This is a story and we should not focus too much on the details for the golden rule is not being put into question here. The basic idea is that simply being a Christian is not enough for we must live the gospel. The foolish virgins symbolize unfaithful disciples while the wise ones represent faithful disciples. Note that the wise virgins also fall asleep. Even the greatest of saints are fallible and weak (consider how Peter denied Jesus) which should give us great hope in spite of our own failings.
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