Scanning the NewAdent Catholic encyclopedia on 'parables', the parable of the 10 virgins seems as Father Nay preached and also about taking care to be prepared for an unexpected final judgement. Others may (and do indeed) attempt to diminish the oil supply/perseverance and joy in the vigil-keeping for the coming of the Lord. May we all be humble and dwell consistently in the grace of God, stay on fire with the Holy Spirit, and firmly grafted onto the Body of Christ. Thanks be to God the Father for Jesus and the Holy Spirit and Our Lady and all the Holy Angels and Saints interceding on our behalf. Peace.

+Peace! Was just pondering the issue of the immortal soul and how many live as if they don't have a soul or don't spend time preparing their souls. The body can be such a great distraction. I haven't much philosphical knowledge, but knew the Greeks and Hebrew scholars grappled with it. Googled 'the immortal soul'. The Greek refers to it as 'the vital breath' yet we understand it as incorporeal - not based in physical reality but transcends time and space. Blessed be God.

+Praise God, praise God, praise God for His brilliance. Reducing the universe to nothing without the Father and therefore there being no truth struck me like a smackdown of a Jewish Nobel Winner in Physics who claimed in a tedtalk in 2007 there is truth and beauty in physics and God is not necessary to explain the accidents or holes in the fundamental theories....hope he accepts the grace to repent and his great knowledge isn't a millstone for eternity. Thanks be to God for your preaching Fr. Nay!

I'm reminded of St. Joan: "If I am not in the grace of God, I pray the Lord to put me there. If I am in the grace of God, I pray the Lord to keep me there." Always good to preach on the 4 last things. Any Christian who knows how to beg for mercy and show it to others surely has a good shot at making it to purgatory. One Xaverian said be sure to repent of all mortal sins but don't worry if you've got thousands of years in purgatory! I thank God that Our Lady, the Holy Angels, and the saints are interceding. At least the sufferings endured for the glory of God are efficacious in eternity and God provides all graces necessary. Life seems to pass much more quickly when it's spent redeeming the time by praising God.

Peace! Good news when peaceful pro-life protesters are being subject to persecution. Sounds to me that the judge is not pro-life, hence the costly verdict despite the evidence for those keeping a regular peaceful protest. Possibly grounds for a counter-suit for harassment and violation of civil rights to peacefully protest an grievous injustice (unborn death penalty). Stalking has a broad definition - commonly used to refer to unwanted, obsessive attention by individuals (and sometimes groups of people) to others. In our country, we're required to stay at a goodly distance to lessen any feeling of being threatened by those entering clinics and they're at liberty to approach for information or not.

+Thanks be to God for your preaching, Fr. Nay. So true. When trying to keep God at the center, the world will try to pull you off-center. Secular science would have you doubt having a soul or a Creator so it's an ongoing and fierce battle with those who think faith and science are mutually exclusive. Pascal's wager doesn't seem to convince even the dying as you mentioned. Really shook me to hear another preacher say if we get hardened to our sins and turn from God, we become like the demons who were created good in the beginning. Also appreciate the encouragement that God doesn't want slaves. Love is to be the primary motivation for seeking union with God. Peace.

+Thanking God again for your sharing the recollections with us. Helps to know to cherish that desolation feeling. Sounds like monastic wisdom. Quite a challenge to be both clever yet more simple. I have to remember God's wisdom surpasses all human wisdom - especially as the sheer volume of knowledge can be distracting from obedience. The simpler the better. Thank God for scholars who can distill the wisdom of God for us. May God reward you.

+Praise God! For me this was the perfect homily, like getting baptized again. May God reward you. I have confessed weekly for about 9yrs as that was advised as the best way to draw closer to Jesus and it's true...it's one humbling failure after another and you realize how much you need the grace to do what God asks as it generally seems impossible and the virtues are all difficult when tested by those who target you with hatred for simply being at peace with God or associated with an imperfect Church or sincerely practicing the faith. Lord have mercy. We're all works in progress but joyfully in the Holy Spirit's hands. Peace!

Blessed be God. Thank you again, Father. Seems hard to grasp the glory of the Lord. I tend to think nothing on earth compares. All I can think of is it will be the uncreated Light and a lightness of being because we can join fully into the eternal Love that is possible without any fear of sin. Memorable phrases "become powerful victims of God's mercy, grace and blessings" and God's mercy fills the chasm between us and Him. I think of how hard it is to relate to people because of differences in knowledge yet the Lord who knows all things will reconcile all who are being saved. Our awesome God bridges all gaps :-).

Thanks be to God for your preaching Fr. Nay. Again, I've never heard this Scripture preached this way and it makes beautiful spiritual sense. I rejoice any time I get to share Jesus with others but I'm still afraid to bring Him up when I sense I'm among folks who get uncomfortable just seeing my San Damiano cross or a smiling face...Mystifies me. I figure the Spirit may be smiting them and maybe they're angry with God, etc. I know we're supposed to consider anger a part of human nature but I'm at a loss so rely on the Spirit to do the needed healing to make way for receptivity to Jesus by someone else if I don't get the opportunity.