“No one knows neither the day nor the hour.”

Today, as we celebrate Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, the Gospel gives us a powerful invitation: “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” The five wise virgins were ready when the bridegroom arrived, while the foolish ones discovered too late that they were unprepared.
Saint Augustine’s life reminds us that conversion cannot be postponed forever. For many years he searched for truth in human wisdom, pleasure, and worldly ambitions. Yet, through God’s grace, his heart was eventually awakened to Christ. His famous prayer, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” expresses the deepest truth of his journey: nothing in this world can fully satisfy the human heart except God.
The first reading reminds us that the wisdom of God is different from the wisdom of the world. Christ crucified may appear foolish to human beings, but He is the power and wisdom of God. Augustine discovered this wisdom when he finally surrendered his life to Christ.
The oil in the lamps of the wise virgins can remind us of a life nourished by faith, prayer, charity, and perseverance. We cannot borrow someone else’s relationship with God at the last moment. Each of us must personally keep the lamp of faith burning.
We do not know the day or the hour when the Lord will call us to Himself. Therefore, today is the time to pray, to forgive, to love, to serve, and to return to God. Like Saint Augustine, let us never be afraid to begin again. The Lord is always ready to receive the heart that sincerely seeks Him.
May Saint Augustine intercede for us, that our hearts may remain awake, our lamps burning, and our lives firmly rooted in Christ.

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