My first instinct upon waking is to grab my phone and start scrolling. Sometimes I do it for 20 or 30 minutes, and it makes me feel distracted and agitated. I feel guilty, too, for wasting my first moments of the day. So recently, I committed those minutes to reading a book that would focus my mind on Jesus. I enjoy the fact that I am not scattering my attention as much. I feel more peaceful and focused on God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about attention. He contrasts wise and foolish virgins, and then sums up the teaching by saying, “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). The basic currency of the human heart is attention. The foolish bridesmaids are not immoral or malicious; they are unfocused, distracted, and unprepared. They assume that borrowed oil will suffice, that someone else’s readiness can make up for their own lack. But the attention which is love cannot be outsourced. A relationship with God requires personal attentiveness cultivated over time.
This Gospel leaves us with an honest question. What am I giving my attention to each day, and am I forming a heart that is awake, watchful, and ready to meet the Lord when He comes? How can I use key moments of my day to focus my attention where I need it to be?