”Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, / And blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching, / And again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. / Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, / Lest you be given up to death, and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. / But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O our God, / Through the Theotokos have mercy on us.” (Troparion-Hymn of “Bridegroom Matins” on Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

This hymn, chanted in our churches at the morning-service of the first three days of this Holy and Great Week of our Lord’s passion, refers to the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25: 1-13). In that well-known parable, there are five “wise“ virgins, signifying those of us who are well-prepared, with “oi...