Mateus 25:9

Not so. — The words, as the italics show, are not in the Greek. They are, perhaps, necessary to complete the sense in English; but there is a tone of regretful tenderness in the way in which, in the original, the wise virgins give the reason that makes compliance with the request impossible, without directly uttering a refusal.

Go ye rather to them that sell. — This feature in the parable is too remarkable to be passed over lightly, especially as the “exchangers” in the parable that follows are clearly more or less analogous. We have to ask, then, who they are that, in the interpretation of the parable, according to the data already ascertained, answer to “them that sell.” And the answer is, that they are the pastors and teachers of the Church — the stewards of the mysteries of God. Through them, whether as preachers of the divine Word of Wisdom, or as administering the sacraments which are signs and means of grace, men may, by God’s appointment, obtain the gift and grace they need. The “buying” and “selling” belong, of course, in their literal sense, to the parable only. No gift of God can be purchased with money (Atos 8:20). But the words are not, therefore, any more than in Mateus 13:44 (where see Notes), destitute of meaning. Men may “buy” the truth which they are not to sell (Provérbios 23:23). They are invited to buy the “wine and milk,” which symbolise God’s spiritual gifts, “without money and without price” (Isaías 55:1). The price that God requires is the consecration of their heart (Provérbios 23:26).