Deacon Mike Meyer / Saturday, November 7, 2026 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Wise Guys and Gals Homily for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A From a tender, young age, I remember my parents calling me “wise guy.” For the longest time, I had no idea what it meant, but I knew it wasn’t a compliment. By middle school, I knew that a wise guy was basically an annoying smart-aleck known for cheeky, sarcastic remarks, but I was still holding out for a better definition. By high school, I learned what every New Jerseyan knows: a wise guy’s also a low-level Mafia operative. While I’m sure my parents didn’t think I was mobbed up, I liked that meaning much more, until the 1986 release of the film by the same name, where Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo play two bumbling low-level wise guys in the Newark Mafia. Fortunately, Scripture offers us a profoundly different and much more appealing view of what a wise guy really is, and our readings call every one of us to become Wise Guys and Gals right now, before it’s too late. Before we tackle how to become the type of Wise Guy and Gal God intends us to be, we need to understand what Wisdom is. Webster’s Dictionary describes Wisdom as a 60-year-old, 5-foot-11-inch, clean-shaven male, with a light complexion, hazel eyes, marine blue glasses, and a small scar under his lower lip. The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a more ethereal definition, describing Wisdom as a spiritual gift that enables us to know God’s purpose and plan. Wisdom is a gift from God revealed to us in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift that helps us conform our lives to God’s purpose and plan for us. It leads us to God in this world, helps us choose God’s ways over worldly ways, and guides our feet into God’s heavenly Kingdom at the end of time. As Jesus says in our Gospel, the end could come at any moment; we “know neither the day nor the hour.” That’s why we need Wisdom right now; that’s why we need to be Wise Guys and Gals before it’s too late. Now that we’re sufficiently rattled, let’s look at three characteristics of the wise that help us find God in this life and lead us to him in the next. First, Wise Guys and Gals seek. As our first reading from the Book of Wisdom explains, “Wisdom is readily found by those who seek her.” Indeed, “she hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire” to find her. Seeking Wisdom isn’t just looking for God, though. It’s a life-long quest that’s “far more passionate than mere curiosity or interest. It [doesn’t bear] the attitude of a scholar but of a lover, or of a person who is dying of thirst.”[1] Wise Guys and Gals seek a genuine relationship with God through Jesus Christ. When they do, in our Psalmist’s words, their souls thirst, their bodies pine. “A longing for God [takes over] over [their] entire person.”[2] Second, Wise Guys and Gals hope. Many people think of hope as a vague optimism we cling to, sometimes foolishly, to get us through tough times. But hope in God is different. It’s the “virtue by which we desire and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it.” (CCC 1817) Christian hope isn’t just optimistic; it’s expectant. It’s a conviction of eager anticipation that the things we hope for will come to fruition, the way expectant parents joyfully await the birth of their child. How can we be so confident that our hope of everlasting life with God will become reality? Because God always delivers, as Saint Paul tells us in our second reading. The one who promised to conquer death, and did just that, promises that we’ll conquer death, too, if we remain in him. “That hope [isn’t] a human wish; [it’s] an infallible divine guarantee.”[3] Third, Wise Guys and Gals prepare. As I mentioned earlier, seeking Wisdom is relationship building. Well, relationships require work, sacrifice, and anticipating the needs and actions of others. It requires preparation. The wise virgins in today’s Gospel prepared; the foolish ones didn’t. The wise virgins entered the wedding feast with the bridegroom; the foolish were shut out. Our salvation depends on whether we recognize Christ and he recognizes us when he returns. Wisdom prompts us to prepare for Christ’s return and prioritize our relationship with him above all else.[4] The end of time will come just once. We only get one chance. Wise Guys and Gals will be prepared, ready to greet the Lord when he comes in glory. I certainly can admit, and I’m sure you’ll agree, that my parents were justified in calling me “wise guy” as a child, and not because of any Mafia connections. I promise, though, that I continue to work on suppressing that less-than-desirable quality because I truly believe that the time for change is always right now. You know, we’re just three weeks away from Advent, the liturgical season when we prepare ourselves for Christ’s First Coming at Christmas and his Second Coming at the end of time. It’s a season for seeking, hoping, and preparing. It’s a season for change. But why wait for Advent? As Jesus tells us, the end could come at any time. Whether old, young, or somewhere in between, now’s the time to examine our faith and consciences. Now’s the time to seek, to hope, and to prepare. Now’s the time to be Wise Guys and Gals, before it’s too late. Readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25: 1-13 [1] Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings (Cycle A) (Park Ridge, IL: Word on Fire, 2022), 839. [2] Dianne Bergant, “The Book of Psalms,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, ed. Daniel Durken (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2015), 963. [3] Kreeft, 841. [4] Eric Wagner, “Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time,” in María Enid Barga et al., Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word 2026 (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2025), 279. The Salvation of our Souls Print 95 Please login or register to post comments.