We can nag our  children endlessly about homework, buy them every book and piece of equipment they might conceivably need and pack their school bags every night, but at the end of the day we can’t go to school and do the work for them. At exam time we can borrow essays and pick each other’s brains, but at the end of the day no one can sit the exam for us. A job interview looms and we run round seeking help and advice, but the final preparations have to be ours and ours alone. It seems there are certain things for which we alone must take responsibility.

In today’s gospel, five wise bridesmaids and five foolish bridesmaids take their lamps and await the arrival of the groom. The groom is delayed, and by the time he arrives, the foolish bridesmaids have run out of oil and are forced to ask the wise bridesmaids for a loan. “No,” reply the wise bridesmaids, “there will not be enough for you and for us.” It might seem as though the wise bridesmaids were being a little less than generous, but this isn’t a lesson in sharing. The lesson teaches us that there are some kinds of oil we just can’t borrow.

The foolish bridesmaids stand for all those who waste their lives forever accepting mediocrity. The foolish bridesmaids stand for all those who save their good   intentions up for ‘tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’. The foolish bridesmaids stand for those who imagine that good deeds are the responsibility of others. The foolish bridesmaids stand for all of us who think there is plenty of time left to fill up on our  spiritual reserves.

What would it cost to fill up our spiritual reserves right now? Perhaps not as much as we might think! No one is suggesting that we all rush off and become Trappist Monks, but at the same time, how much less mediocre our lives would become if we got into the very good habit of living each and every day as though it was your last.