Photo was taken at Tooreenbawn, Millstreet, Co.Cork (Irl)

To the honeybee the ivy is nature’s last flower of the year to provide significant honey and pollen. On any given fine and sunny day they will bring as much of it back as possible to their hive to strengthen their stores for the winter.

Thought on Sunday – November – 06/11/2011

The following reflection is by Triona Doherty called ‘Awaiting The Bridegroom’.

Have you ever run out of fuel? Many of us will be familiar with the panic of seeing the red fuel light appear on the dashboard when we are miles from a petrol station, or had to deal with a flat tyre or a dead car battery. Thankfully these days we have mobile phones and roadside rescue to bail us out. But even with all the warning signals available to us, we can still run out once in a while.
In this wedding story, the bridesmaids who run out of oil for their lamps are condemned as ‘foolish’. Among the wedding customs in Jesus’ time was a torch-lit procession at night time from the bride’s home to the groom’s. Bridesmaids were required to be in a constant state of preparedness, since the groom could appear at any time.

In this parable, the fact that the bridesmaids fall asleep is not the issue; all 10 bridesmaids grow drowsy and fall asleep. The issue is that some of them – the five foolish ones – were not sensible or watchful enough to ensure they had sufficient oil, and because of this they miss out on the wedding feast. There was no one to bail them out; the other bridesmaids had to carry on, for fear that sharing their oil would mean no one would have enough to continue. They must have got quite a shock when they eventually arrived at the bridegroom’s house, only to be denied and turned away.


This parable must have served as a dramatic warning to the early Christian community, who were hoping for Jesus’ speedy return. It let them know that they could be in for a long wait – ‘you do not know either the day or the hour’ and that they must be prepared. As well as having the light of faith, they must possess the fuel, the motivation and the actions – to keep it lit.