In the Jewish culture of the first century, a man negotiated with his prospective bride’s
parents regarding the marriage contract. After reaching an agreement, the bridegroom
returned with his wife to his home.
In today’s Gospel, Matthew 25: 1-13, the negotiations have been protracted. Ten friends
of the bride have been waiting to welcome the newlyweds, but given the late hour, they
begin to doze. At midnight someone alerts them, “The bridegroom is here. Go out and
welcome him.”
The more experienced bridesmaids suspected that the negotiations might be prolonged
and they brought flasks of additional oil in case the oil in their lamps burned out.
The less experienced bridesmaids hadn’t foreseen a delay. Since their oil was running
out, they asked the wiser bridesmaids for some of their oil. These bridesmaids realized
that they could easily exhaust their own supply. They urged their friends to find an open
shop and buy some oil.
The bridegroom and his new bride arrive before they come back. The groom is offended
by their thoughtless behavior and refuses to open the door for them.
What is this story about? This parable appears in the context of Jesus’ promise that
after His return to the Father, He will return again but no one knows when it will be.
Jesus acknowledged that even He, who is “the Son,” didn’t know (Mt 24:36).
The point of the parable is that Jesus is the bridegroom who comes when we least
expect, as the Gospel concludes: “Watch for you do not know either the day or the hour”
(Mt 25:13).
St. Thomas Aquinas says “The bridegroom is the Son Himself, and the bride is human
nature…” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew).
How do we prepare for Jesus’ coming? Thomas reflects: “… to go out to meet the
bridegroom and the bride is nothing else than to serve Christ” (Thomas Aquinas,
Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew).
What is the oil that is expected? Jesus says, “Let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16).
Thomas comments: “Light wants to be served with light; but light cannot be nourished
without oil.”
Thomas instructs us that we should greet the Lord with works of mercy or justice:
“Either the works of mercy or of justice may be understood by oil, and the meaning is
the same because those rising do not have these works in abundance… the light of

faith could not have value without the works of mercy” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary
on the Gospel of St. Matthew).
We may be alerted that Christ is coming to us personally through preaching or through
God’s movement within us: “If it refers to the present life, when a shout is made by a
preacher or by an internal inspiration then men rise from their negligence, and then
begin to rise to correct their deeds” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of St.
Matthew).
The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 4: 13-18) also
concerns Jesus’ second coming. Paul assures the Thessalonians that he doesn’t want
them to grieve when someone dies, as “like those who have no hope” (1 Thes 4:13).
Does he mean that we should not grieve when someone we love has died? No.
St. Thomas Aquinas reflects: “It seems, though, that the Apostle views sorrow for the
dead benignly. Nevertheless, he cautions them not to grieve overmuch, as others.
Someone who grieves for the dead does possess compassion. A person grieves first
because of the dissolution of the frail body; for we ought to take care of the body for the
sake of the soul” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the First Letter of Paul to the
Thessalonians).
Thomas recognizes that we grieve “because of the separation and departure which is
so painful to friends … and because death reminds us of our own death.”
Thomas acknowledges “So moderate sorrow is permitted…. [but not] as others do who
have no hope, that is, because these people believe that these negative aspects of
death are eternal; but we do not believe so: ‘Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from
it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his
glorious body’ (Phil. 3:20)” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the First Letter of Paul to
the Thessalonians).
According to Thomas, we believe that Christ’s Resurrection is the cause and pattern of
what will eventually happen to us: “Paul says, for since we believe, …. (1 Cor. 15), for
Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection… Christ’s resurrection is not only
the cause but also the pattern of our resurrection” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on
the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians).
Thomas teaches that our resurrection is related to Jesus’ Incarnation, just as Jesus’
divinity raises our souls: “The Word made flesh revives our bodies, while the Word as
such revives our souls. Christ is the pattern of our resurrection in that Christ assumed
flesh, and also rose embodied in flesh” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the First
Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians).
Christ, raised in His human body united with His divinity, is the cause of our
resurrection:

“Nor is Christ only the pattern; He is also the efficient cause of our resurrection, for the
things done by Christ’s humanity were done not only by the power of His human nature,
but also by virtue of His divinity united in Him. Just as His touch cured the leper as an
instrument of His divinity, so also Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection,
not merely because it was a body that arose, but a body united to the Word of life”
(Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians).
Thomas appeals to Paul’s word: “… for since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1
Thes 4:14).
Thomas calls attention to Paul’s insistence that this was the teaching of Jesus Himself:
“‘… for this we declare to you by the word of the Lord.’ We know that they shall rise and
shall come with Christ; therefore, we ought not to grieve so much: ‘… we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen
asleep.
Thomas points out that Jesus Himself will initiate the resurrection: “‘… for the Lord
himself will descend from heaven… He proves his first point by saying, the Lord
himself… the cause of the general resurrection is Christ’s resurrection… In order to
prove that Christ is the cause of the resurrection, he shows that all the dead shall rise in
the presence of Christ”
Thomas asserts that Jesus’ divinity and His humanity will bring about our resurrection:
“Three causes cooperate in the accomplishment of the general resurrection: the
principal cause is the divine power; the second cause is instrumental, that is, the power
of the humanity of Christ. But the restoration of the bodies and the soul’s reunion with
the body will be accomplished immediately through Christ.”
Thomas affirms that Paul emphasizes the role of Jesus’ humanity: “He sets forth the
glorious humanity of Christ when he says, the Lord himself. ‘Jesus… will come in the
same way as you saw him go into heaven’ (Ac. 1:11).”
Jesus’ first coming was in humility; His second coming will be with power: “In the first
coming, he came as obedient. ‘He became obedient unto death’ (Phil. 2:8). And that
happened because it was the coming of humility; but this one will be the coming of
glory. ‘Coming with power and great glory’ (Lk. 21:27)” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary
on the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians).
Both the living and the dead will hear Christ’s voice: “And the resurrection shall be
through Christ’s voice, corporeal or spiritual. ‘(They) shall hear the voice of the son of
God’ (Jn. 5:28); in other words, the dead shall rise and come to judgment, and they
shall obey the bodily voice… And so if it is a sound that you can hear, it is called a
trumpet; but if it is not a sound, then it is the divine power of Christ present and manifest
to the whole world”
The holy ones will be with Christ: “In the time of the resurrection the saints will be
conformed to Christ, not only with regard to the glory of the body (Phil. 3), but also with
respect to place, for Christ will be in a cloud. ‘A cloud took him out of their sight’ (Ac.

1:9), and ‘Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’ (Ac. 1:11).
And so the saints too will be taken up into the clouds”
“Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him” (Matt. 25:6).
The holy ones will remain with Christ: “When Paul says, and so we shall always be with
the Lord, he shows the beatitude of the saints, for they shall always be with the Lord
and derive constant enjoyment from Him. ‘I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also’ (Jn. 14:3). The saints desire this: ‘My desire is to
depart and be with Christ’ (Phil. 1:23).
Believers should comfort those who are bereaved: “Then when he says, therefore
comfort one another with these words, Paul concludes that they should comfort one
another about the dead. He feels that since the saints will rise without suffering any
loss, the Thessalonians should comfort one another about the dead. ‘Comfort, comfort
my people, says’ your God’ (Is. 40:1)” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the First
Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians).
Denis Vincent Wiseman, O.P.
An English translation from the Latin text for Thomas’ Commentary on Matthew is
Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, trans. Rev. Paul M. Kimball. Dolorosa
Press, 2012.
An English translation and the Latin text for the First Letter to the Thessalonians is can
be found in The Works of St. Thomas Aquinas, volume 40, translated by F.R. Larcher,
O.P., edited by J. Mortensen and E. Alarcón, available through the Aquinas Institute,
Lander Wyoming.