examination of the heart 442 difficulties, and to give continuous thanks to the Lord, because He chose and made her His own Mother and our advocate. But desire this, as a most important thing: that you may avail yourself to the full of her power and most effective aid in that difficult, dangerous, and last struggle, in which you are going to depart from this life. FOR THE FEAST OF ST. CATHERINE, VIRGIN AND MARTYR Before Holy Communion 1. “Five of them were foolish” (Mt 25:2). Consider that one who seeks vainglory fromhis works is foolish. For while we strive after the glitter of our own glory, we neglect the oil of divine love, for the sake of which we should do everything. Vainglory’s fumes greatly darken the beauty of holy deeds. If you say that you serve God, then you should seek God’s glory in everything, not your own. If you seek your own, you insult God and harm your salvation. Let the foolish virgins be an example to you, as St. Gregory says: “while on account of their virginity they seek glory from the outside, they forgot to have oil in their vessels;”212 and with their oil failing, they did not merit to enter the marriage feast with the bridegroom. Learn, therefore, that it is better to blush with shame on account of imperfections, than to be lifted up with vain boasting on account of virtues. The feeling of shame coming from the knowledge of sins is salutary; the glory rising from the boasting of virtues is detrimental. 2. “and five were wise” (Mt 25:2). Consider, that the first group of virgins earned the name and the fate of the foolish ones, because they wanted to be praised for their virtues; on the contrary, those in the second group were 212 Cf. Gregorius Magnus, XL Homiliarum in Evangelia: Liber I — Homilia XII (Matth. XXV, 1-13), in: PL, vol. 76, Ateliers catholiques du Petit-Montrouge, Paris 1857, p. 1118 (n. 1476).
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