Stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.
This saying sums up the message of the whole parable. Jesus calls for constant watchfulness, not from fear, but from love. “Stay awake” means to live ready, keeping the light of faith always burning, because no one knows when the Bridegroom, Christ, will come. The day and the hour are hidden so that every generation may live with responsible faith, without delaying its expectation and without tying it to a specific day of the Lord’s coming. This is a call to spiritual wakefulness, so that a person does not let the light of his lamp go out because of a careless life or worldly occupations. The Lord’s coming may be not only at the end of the world, but also at the end of each person’s life, when the soul stands before God. Therefore, Jesus’ word is an invitation to live in such a way that every day is a day of readiness, full of light, hope, and love.