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Jesus describes five virgins as “wise” in today’s parable.

The wise virgins bring plenty of oil for their lamps when they go out to greet the bridegroom. The lamp oil represents the gift of faith. Both oil and faith are precious things. They were critical to life in the first century. They both help us see things as they truly are and help us to avoid crashing into things that will hurt us.

However, the comparison only goes so far. One big difference is that faith is not a commodity. Faith cannot be divided up into quantifiable portions and sold or given away. Faith is a gift of God, a grace that flows from the Holy Spirit and a personal offer that must be accepted, cherished and nourished. All of us are offered the gift of faith from our loving Father to enter a personal relationship with him that is unique, salvific and life-giving and which lasts into eternity. This individual relationship is possible because each of us is a unique person capable of being united with God through faith and love.

It is true that we are called by God to be generous with our lives and to assist him with the spread of the faith and the building of his kingdom on this earth. Still, we can’t take our faith, divide it into five portions and give it to five friends. Rather, as we grow in faith, it changes our lives and others see that. It empowers us to treat others with surprising charity, and they become curious about why we live the way we do. Faith in Christ provides unexplained strength in the most challenging situations. It enables us to find joy in our trials. It bestows a capacity to care for others that is remarkably selfless. These graces help to spread our faith in Christ.

There exist a wide range of temptations that keep us from responding positively to God’s offer of faith. We wrestle with the great sin of pride and work very hard to convince ourselves that we do not need God — that we are self-made and self-saved. We place our hope in the hunt for a bigger salary, the promises of science and medicine, the allure of positions of power and the temporal pleasures of larger homes, faster cars and longer vacations. Quite simply, we are too easily convinced that these things will make us happy, and it is just not true.

The psalm for Mass today expresses true wisdom: “O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory, for your kindness is a greater good than life; my lips shall glorify you.” St. Augustine said the same thing so succinctly: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Blessed Chiara Badano, a young woman from Italy who died of cancer (osteogenic sarcoma) in 1990, has been a powerful force in helping to spread our faith in Christ. Her faith was so real and so deep that she courageously accepted and embraced her deadly cancer with remarkable grace and peace. She saw all her pain and misery as a way to be united more closely to Christ, her savior and God. So, for instance, she refused to take her pain medications as a means of trying to better comprehend Jesus’ suffering during his Passion. Her deep faith gave her the capacity to be hope-filled at a young age and shockingly focused on others even while dying from a terrible, painful disease.

Blessed Badano is one of the wise virgins who filled her lamp with an abundance of oil, the oil of faith.

So, where do we go from here? Fill your lamp with oil. Remain focused on developing the discipline of a strong daily prayer life; go to Mass every Sunday with family or friends; go to Mass during the week and to confession regularly; read the lives of the saints; spend regular time with other Christians and seekers encouraging one another to live our faith in Christ authentically and boldly; and, discover the joy of serving your neighbor in need.

The oil of faith is a most precious gift from God.