In the first reading, Paul urges the Thessalonians to make more progress in holiness, the kind of life that they are already living. They are, therefore, encouraged to start from what they already have and not from nothing. God has already laid the foundation. We must protect the foundation which God has laid in each of us, the talents he has given us, the faith we got from childhood etc. No one who seeks to start afresh from his own foundation can succeed. On whose foundation are you building? The gospel story of the five foolish virgins is a record of those who let their God-given talents (foundation) slip through their fingers: their oil had dried up!

PRAYER: Lord, apart from you all is nothing. Let me not carelessly lose the foundation set by you. Amen