Take Up. Break up. Wake up (2026-11-08, Sunday 32nd)

[__v.7]    2020-11-08_ 32^nd Sunday // Wisdom 6:12-6:16    // Psalm 63 // 1 Thessalonians 4:13-4:18 // Matthew 25:1-25:13

November 8, 2026 — Our Lady of Lourdes Church

Introduction — The Faith Handed On

In November, we celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in 1914.

Our first parishioners came from St. John's in Orange, together with their pastor, Monsignor Nicholas Marnell, and Father Joseph Connor, for whom Connor Hall downstairs is named.

We give thanks for them and pray for their eternal rest.

The faith they handed on to us is now our responsibility to live and pass on to others.

And today's Gospel reminds us that living our faith requires preparation, perseverance, and ongoing conversion.

I'd like to reflect on that through three expressions: Take Up, Break Up, and Wake Up.

1. TAKE UP — Accepting the Challenge

Jesus tells us that if we want to follow him, we must take up our cross each day.

Taking up our cross means more than simply doing something difficult. It means accepting the challenge of following Christ and building a relationship with him.

I learned something about accepting challenges many years ago when I was a freshman in college.

I had to take a course in Calculus I. Mathematics was not my strongest subject, and I knew it would be difficult.

After the first examination, I discovered just how difficult.

I got a 56.

That's not exactly the grade you want to show your parents.

I realized that if I continued that way, I was going to fail.

But a friend encouraged me to do something I hadn't considered: go to the professor for extra help.

And I'm glad I listened.

I began visiting the professor during his office hours, not just once, but repeatedly. I asked questions, learned from my mistakes, and gradually improved.

I learned the importance of perseverance. But I also learned something about myself.

And that brings me to the second expression.

2. BREAK UP — Changing Our Old Ways

In taking up that calculus course, I also had to break up with an old habit.

It was my tendency to give up too easily when something became difficult, or to refuse to ask for help.

Sometimes I tell myself, "I've got this," when the truth is, I don't got this!

And I don't always get it right today, either.

That old tendency hasn't completely disappeared. I'm still learning to ask for help rather than give up.

That's why conversion is not something we accomplish once and for all.

Conversion is a lifelong journey.

Following Jesus means breaking up with whatever prevents us from loving God and our neighbor: selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and the temptation to put ourselves first.

Jesus gives us a way to live through his commandments.

For example, honor your father and your mother.

That commandment doesn't expire when we become adults, or even when our parents have died.

One way we honor our parents is by trying to preserve loving relationships with our brothers and sisters.

Sometimes those relationships become strained or distant. We may not always be able to restore the closeness we once had. But we can still pray for one another and try to act with charity.

We also practice the commandments when we choose honesty even though lying would be easier, or when we do the right thing even though nobody notices—or somebody else gets the credit.

These are practical ways we break up with our old habits and learn to love as Jesus teaches.

And I want to say something especially to the parents and young people preparing for Confirmation.

Parents, thank you.

Thank you for bringing your children to church, for making time for religious education, and for helping them grow in faith.

We want many good things for our children: success in school, good health, opportunities, and happiness.

But above all, we want them to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ that will sustain them throughout their lives.

And to our young people, remember:

Confirmation is not graduation from the Catholic Church.

Confirmation strengthens us through the Holy Spirit to continue a relationship with Christ that began at baptism.

The sacraments are not simply accomplishments we check off a list.

They help us continue growing in faith.

And that is true whether we're fourteen, forty, or ninety-four.

We're all still learning. We're all still called to conversion.

3. WAKE UP — Preparing to Meet Christ

And that brings us to today's Gospel.

Jesus tells us about ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom.

Five are wise, and five are foolish.

But here's something interesting.

All ten fall asleep.

It's not that the five wise bridesmaids stayed awake while the others slept.

All ten became drowsy and fell asleep.

The difference was that five had prepared by bringing extra oil for their lamps.

When the bridegroom arrived, they were ready.

The difference was preparation.

And that brings me back to my calculus class.

I remember being nervous about the final examination. I had improved during the semester, but I still had to take that final.

Fortunately, I had spent many weeks going to the professor, asking questions, practicing problems, and learning from my mistakes.

I didn't get every answer right. But the professor could see that I understood the method because I had shown my work.

I passed the course.

And I still remember that experience as a success.

But here's what I've come to realize: that was one course, many years ago.

I cannot simply live on that success.

The real question is whether I'm willing to apply that lesson today.

Am I still willing to ask for help when I need it?

Am I still willing to learn from my mistakes?

Am I still willing to change?

Because if I simply congratulate myself on something I accomplished many years ago, while refusing to grow today, I haven't really learned the lesson.

And the same is true of our faith.

We cannot simply rely on the fact that we received the sacraments years ago, or that we practiced our faith faithfully at some earlier point in our lives.

Like the wise bridesmaids, we are called to prepare now.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ must remain alive.

And when we fail, we can return to him through prayer, repentance, and the sacraments, trusting in his mercy and grace.

Our salvation is not a mathematical examination in which we earn enough points to pass. It is God's gift, and he invites us to respond to that gift throughout our lives.

So the lesson of that calculus course is not simply that I succeeded once.

It's that I must continue putting what I learned into practice.

And the lesson of the ten bridesmaids is not simply that five were prepared long ago.

It's that we must continue preparing to meet Christ today.

So TAKE UP the challenge of following Jesus Christ.

BREAK UP with the habits that keep us from loving God and our neighbor.

And WAKE UP to the reality that Christ is coming into our lives, and that one day we will meet him face to face.

For Jesus tells us:

"Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Amen.