St Matthew ends his parable today with the admonition: "Keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour". We know that keeping watch does not mean a passive waiting for Jesus to come again. All the teaching of Scripture tells us that keeping watch means leading a life that is pleasing to God so that when death comes it will find us ready and longing for eternal happiness with God.

We may take some thoughts from today's responsorial psalm to help us reflect on the kind of life which is pleasing to God. The first two verses of the psalm speak of exultation, praise, uprightness, thanksgiving. The Eucharist provides us with the greatest form of thanksgiving, as we gather to celebrate in joyful praise the mystery of our redemption. We begin our Eucharist by an acknowledgement of our sinfulness, and so open our hearts to God's pardon and peace. Made upright by God's grace, we are enabled to offer fitting praise. We are sent out from the Eucharist to lead lives that are a fitting praise of God. We are sent out to bear witness to Jesus, to love each other and so to serve the Lord.