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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nScripture readings<\/a> for Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n Wis 6:12-16\u00a0 Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8\u00a0 1 Thes 4:13-18 OR 1 Thes 4:13-14\u00a0 Matthew 25:1-13<\/p>\n Are you nervous yet?<\/p>\n Whether we want to admit it or not, the last line of this Gospel should leave us on edge. It might even keep you up at night.<\/p>\n Jesus says as much. \u201cStay awake,\u201d he warns, \u201cfor you know neither the day nor the hour.\u201d Judgement is coming. Christ himself will return. History will end. The world as we know it will come to a close. Will we be ready?<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t been thinking about mortality lately, or considering loss and the limits of life, you haven\u2019t been paying attention. This scripture comes to us just days after we\u2019ve remembered and prayed for those who have gone before us all the saints and souls (on Nov. 1 and 2). As the days grow shorter, we\u2019re being asked to stop the rush of daily life and think about it all. Ponder. Pray. Remember.<\/p>\n The Church is giving us a lot to think about these days. If we thought Halloween was full of ghosts, what can we say about this second Sunday of November?<\/p>\n Well, for one thing, we are a haunted people \u2014 and this time we\u2019re being haunted by ourselves.<\/p>\n We\u2019re being told to take nothing for granted. Be ready. Be vigilant. Keep your lamp lit. Don\u2019t get caught napping. In the darkening days of autumn, just before the end of the liturgical year, the Church is asking us to take stock \u2014 and take nothing for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not want you to be unaware,\u201d St. Paul writes, \u201cabout those who have fallen asleep.\u201d I can\u2019t help but wonder: Who are the ones who are really asleep? Is he talking about us, the ones Jesus urges to stay awake?<\/p>\n And the first reading from Wisdom reminds us to keep watch: \u201cWhoever for her sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from care.\u201d Just for now, for a little while, maybe we should be doing something else. Maybe we need to take time to reflect, remember and prepare.<\/p>\n Between this week and next, the Church offers us in the Sunday readings parables about vigilant bridesmaids and diligent servants \u2014 allegories designed to teach, provoke, challenge. The final feast of the liturgical year is drawing close, Christ the King \u2014 and we\u2019re called to think more deeply about the King we serve, and how we can be ready for his return and his judgement.<\/p>\n How are we doing with that? Are we even giving it any thought?<\/p>\n In these passages and others from Matthew\u2019s Gospel, Jesus was making some pointed connections for his disciples, and urging them to think differently about the days to come. What oil are we burning? What plans are we making?<\/p>\n Significantly, what comes after this passage is one of the most famous parables in Matthew\u2019s 25th chapter, the story of the final judgment and the separation of the sheep from the goats. After preaching about the importance of keeping our lamps lit and our eyes open, Jesus went on to speak about what that really entails: Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the imprisoned and sick.<\/p>\n This chapter from Matthew serves as a powerful summation of what the Christian life demands. It demands wakefulness \u2014 and, beyond that, it demands action. Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog \u201cThe Deacon\u2019s Bench.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
We have work to do. If you thought you were going to spend these weeks making a dent in your Christmas list, baking pies, getting ready for holiday parties, buying tickets on Travelocity and looking forward to Thanksgiving leftovers, think again.<\/p>\n
If we haven\u2019t been thinking about that, now is a good time to start.<\/p>\n