Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise ones replied, “No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.” While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.
Afterwards, the other virgins came and said, “Lord, Lord, open the door for us!” But he said in reply “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
-Matthew 25:1-13
Not long ago, I realized how disconnected of a life I was living. I have simply passed through each day, and every situation brought with it—going through the motions and never really taking the time to reverence what was in front of me. I’ve been merely existing. This realization left me unsettled, though I wasn’t sure how to remedy it. How would I even begin to start truly living again?
A couple days after this little revelation, the older brother of one of my best friends passed away unexpectedly at the ripe old age of 24, just a year older than I am now. When he got up that morning and went about his routine, there’s no way that he could have known that his breaths, steps, and interactions with others would soon be his last.
When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.
-Deitrich Bonhoeffer
But in a way, he did know. He was not unfamiliar with the Latin phrase “memento mori,” which means “remember your death.” He was in the middle of his second year serving as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary, bringing the Gospel to college students. He frequented the sacraments and spent time with our Lord in daily prayer. Bailey once tweeted the following thread:
Imagine what the Church would be if St. Andrew didn’t tell Peter about/bring him to Christ. Now imagine what the Church could be if you followed in Andrew’s footsteps.
Here is my occasional missionary tweet: Through our baptism, we are called to make disciples of all nations. You can’t turn off your baptism. Share Jesus with someone this week. It’s your job as a Christian to lead others to Christ!
Bailey lived out the joy of the Gospel with great abandon, and strove to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. Bailey lived as one would if they knew they could die any moment—to the full. I remember always seeing him post about some new, crazy adventure he was off on—he had a great zeal for life! For the past year and a half, he lived on a salary that was only guaranteed by God’s providence through the generosity of others in monetary donations. But I don’t want to gloss over the fact that he was able to do all of these things because he knew and loved Jesus Christ.
At one point during Bailey’s funeral, the priest said something to the effect of us being able to trust in God’s mercy on Bailey’s soul because he knew Him. I was so struck by this, and the question was immediately thrown back at me: Do I know Him? And it’s echoed in my heart ever since. If I were to die unexpectedly, have I been making the efforts to truly know Jesus Christ, or would He look at me and say, like the bridegroom said to the foolish virgins I do not know you?
I’ve realized I need to be more intentional. I need to be more intentional in prayer and at Mass, recognizing the presence of the Lord and asking Him to continually reveal Himself to me. I need to be more intentional in my relationships and my work, allowing the Lord to open my eyes and see what He desires for me to see in those people and places. On a very basic level, I need to spend more time with Him.
Death can certainly provide a dramatic wake-up call, but I believe that’s one of the greatest graces that could come from a death like Bailey’s—an inspiration of conversions, small or big. Maybe now more than ever, this should be a consolation to us: this world is not our home. We are simply pilgrims on a journey towards the home we were created for. But are we taking advantage of the time we have been given to live life to the full and to fall more in love with Jesus Christ everyday?
What about you? Do you know Him? If you were to die tomorrow, would you be welcomed into the wedding feast, or would He say to you I do not know you? It’s not enough to simply be a “good person”—whatever that term relatively means. To know the person of Jesus Christ is to dive into Scripture, frequent the sacraments (Mass at the very least once per week), and spend time with Him fully present in the Holy Eucharist.
Spend time with the One who loves you most as if your life depends on it, because, dear friends, it certainly does.
***
Back in October, a boy named Carlo Acutis was beatified, needing to meet one last requirement to be named a saint. He played video games and developed a website to display Eucharistic Miracles from all over the world. Carlo was only 15 when he died of cancer in 2006. We all have the capacity to become great, modern saints! Below is something Bailey shared not long after Bl. Carlo’s beatification. It should be noted that the post included several pictures of young people who died not long ago but are on their way to sainthood.
Antonia Acutis, the mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis, once had a dream.
Saint Francis of Assisi appeared and said, “Your son will die soon, but he will occupy a very high place in heaven and after being canonized a generation of Saints will come.”
This is the generation of young Saints coming for the Catholic Church.
And you, do you dare to be part of this list?
That last question should rattle us to our cores. I get goosebumps every time I read it. Let us strive then, dear friends, that we may one day be ranked among the greats because we, too, know the Bridegroom.