“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The division of the ten into two groups of five — foolish and wise — is established immediately, before any action. The foolish and wise recall the two builders of Matthew 7:24–27 (the wise builder and the foolish builder). The wisdom and foolishness are present from the beginning; they are not acquired during the waiting.
Church Fathers on Matthew 25:2
Hom. lxxviii, In the foregoing parable the Lord set forth the punishment of the man who beat, and was drunk, and wasted his Lord’s goods; in this He declares his punishment who profits not, and does not prepare for himself abundantly the things of which he has need; for the foolish virgins had oil, but not enough.
'Then,' because all this discourse is concerning the great day of the Lord, concerning which He had been speaking before.
By 'the kingdom of heaven' is meant the present Church, as in that, 'The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend.' [Matt 13:41]
Read all 58 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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