Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

The Lord here is speaking principally about the Second Coming, when he returns in glory and brings history to an end. But each of us experiences that reality personally. We may or may not live until that time, but each one of us will encounter him when our earthly life comes to its end.

In that sense, the parable still speaks to our day-to-day lives. We often say in the Church that it is never too late to convert. No matter how you have lived or what you have done wrong, you always have the opportunity to make the right choice, to be converted, and to receive God’s mercy. Yet Christ warns us that there is a bit of an asterisk beside that statement. No, it is never too late—until you meet him. It is never too late during your life, but your life does, in fact, come to an end. And then it is too late.

We live our lives making choices, and we have no guarantee how long that life will be. We hope to get the full length of a natural life, but none of us controls that. Life can end suddenly, and in the moment it ends, all your choices have been made. Once the bridegroom has arrived, once you encounter him, it is over. So this is both a warning and an encouragement: do not hold off.

Christianity has famous examples of that. Emperor Constantine himself—the man who began the Christianization of the Roman Empire—was not baptized until his final illness. Eusebius, Life of Constantine 4.61–64, describes Constantine falling ill, receiving baptism, and dying soon afterward. Recognizing his own moral failures he delayed baptism rather than risk sinning after. Henry Chadwick argues that his hesitation reflected fear of sin after baptism, not doubt about the faith. Henry Chadwick, “Conversion in Constantine the Great,” Studies in Church History 15 (1978): 1–13, esp. n. 49. But postponing conversion to the very end is a risky move.

There are churches even today that encourage a similar idea: wait until the end and then try to fix everything, because you do not want to mess up after baptism. But that is not what the Lord encourages. He wants us to be prepared, because we have no control over the length of our lives. The end may suddenly be here.

We can waste our whole lives not getting ready, not gaining wisdom, not growing in charity, and find ourselves unprepared when that moment comes.

Yes, God is always merciful. As long as we are alive and have the opportunity to repent, he will receive us. I have seen many people convert shortly before they died, and God truly does show them that mercy. But we do not control when that moment will come, so we cannot choose to delay.

We must stay awake, as the Lord says. We must be constantly preparing for that moment, recognizing that we do not really know when it is.

So we should look at ourselves and ask: Have I ignored parts of myself that I know are wrong? Where do I struggle? Where do I make bad choices? Where am I not living as I should? Am I simply delaying, hoping that God is going to let me get by with it or give me a little more time to work on it?

The time to work on it is now. Now is the moment to make that decision, to begin getting better.

We will not be perfect in this life. No one is. But we have to recognize where we are imperfect, where we fall short of that image, and seek God’s mercy in those places. We must recognize before him: I am failing here, and I need your help.

That alone is enough, but we must keep making that confession before him. We must keep choosing to try to be better, even though we will fail.