In Honorem Sanctæ Scholasticæ Virginis
III Classis; Tempora: Feria III infra Hebdomadam Sexagesimæ
Readings:
📖 2 Corinthians 10:17–18; 11:1–2
📖 Matthew 25:1–13
“He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
~ 2 Cor 10:17
On this Tuesday in the week of Sexagesima, the Church places before us, alongside the sacred memory of Saint Scholastica, the Virgin sister of the great Benedict, a most tender and vigilant warning about true wisdom and authentic glory. As the Lord, in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, presents the parable of the ten virgins, Saint Paul urges the Corinthians to recognize that no man’s commendation matters unless it comes from God. Both readings—together with the example of Saint Scholastica—summon us to live with prudent watchfulness, purity of heart, and a love that longs for Christ as for a Divine Bridegroom.
I. The Apostolic Jealousy: A Chaste Espousal
Saint Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 11 are intense with paternal affection and spiritual ardor:
“I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
Here the Apostle’s role as spiritual father and guardian of the Church becomes luminous. His “jealousy” is not fleshly but divina zelotypia—a godly jealousy, like that of a father who has promised his daughter to a noble bridegroom. As Saint John Chrysostom comments,
“He loved them with a spiritual love and feared lest any corruption should stain their virgin minds, that is, their pure faith” (Hom. in 2 Cor., Hom. XXIII).
Paul is not content merely to convert souls; he desires to present them pure and whole before Christ. This echoes the Church’s role toward every baptized soul: the Church is both Mother and Virgin, bringing forth sons and daughters in Baptism and guiding them to the nuptial chamber of the Lamb.
II. Virgins Wise and Foolish: A Tale of Two Watchings
In the Gospel (Matt. 25:1–13), Our Lord offers the parable of the ten virgins—five wise and five foolish. All are virgins, all await the Bridegroom, and all fall asleep. But the difference lies in what they carry: the wise bring oil for their lamps; the foolish do not.
Saint Augustine interprets the oil as charitas, the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit:
“The foolish virgins indeed had lamps, but no oil—good works done without charity. The wise had both lamps and oil—faith and love.” (Sermo 93, In Vig. Pentec.)
And Saint Gregory the Great writes:
“The lamp is the light of good works, and the oil is the merit of charity. Each bears a lamp, but only the wise preserve the oil of interior love” (Hom. in Evang. XII).
The foolish virgins lacked not outward conformity, but inward readiness. They appeared prepared, but their hearts were empty of love, vigilance, and the grace of perseverance. This is the real peril: a life of religious exteriority, without the inner flame of divine love.
III. Saint Scholastica: The Lamp of Love Burns Bright
How fitting, then, that this day is graced by the commemoration of Saint Scholastica, whose holy life illustrates the very lesson the Gospel teaches. Saint Gregory the Great, in Dialogues II, tells us of her final meeting with her brother Benedict. Desiring that he stay and continue their holy conversation on heavenly things, she prayed with tears—and God, in response, sent a storm to prevent Benedict’s departure.
To Benedict’s protest, Scholastica answered:
“I asked you and you would not hear; I asked my Lord, and He heard me.”
Saint Gregory concludes:
“She could do more because she loved more” (Dialogues, II.33).
Her love, like the oil in the wise virgin’s lamp, made her pleasing to the Bridegroom. Scholastica exemplifies the soul ready for the divine nuptials: burning with desire, grounded in prayer, and unwavering in holy charity.
IV. For the Bridegroom Comes at Midnight
Sexagesima is a time of deepening sobriety. The joy of the Epiphany fades into the shadow of Lent. These readings are a call to return—to awaken from spiritual slumber and prepare our souls. The night grows dark, and the Bridegroom delays—but delay is not denial. He will come. The question is whether the lamp of our soul burns bright when He does.
The Apostle tells us:
“He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
And in Christ alone is our true commendation.
🕯 Suggested Prayer & Meditation:
O Lord Jesus Christ, Divine Bridegroom of our souls, grant that we may be among the wise who carry the oil of charity in the lamps of our hearts. Through the intercession of Saint Scholastica, make us vigilant, pure, and aflame with the love that unites us to Thee. Delay not, O Lord, but come quickly, lest our lamps grow dim and our hearts faint. Amen.