(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.[1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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| “The Parable of the Talents” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, C. 1652 |
Reading 1: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11
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Commentary on 1 Thes 4:9-11
St. Paul is apparently satisfied with the level of charity shown among the members of the faith community at Thessalonica. He does relate charity to an expression of love for one another and encourages all to work for the well being of the community, regardless of their station. There was a tendency among some to take advantage of Christian charity and live off the generosity of others. The Apostle calls them back and tells them they must “work with your own hands” (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).
CCC: Thes 4:11 2427
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 7-8, 9
R. (9) The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
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Commentary on Ps 98:1, 7-8, 9
Psalm 98 is a song of thanksgiving. This selection gives thanks for God’s creation and reminds the community that all things are subject to the Lord, and all the world rejoices under his rule. In the Christmas context, we see God’s victory accomplished through Jesus, who is the Christ, God’s right arm. As a consequence of that victory, all of God’s creation rejoices with us.
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Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
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Commentary on Mt 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents comes to us as part of Jesus’ dialogue about being prepared and vigilant. It combines two different but connected logions or morals/teaching points. The first is to use the gifts God has given for the benefit of God, who is represented by the “Master” in the parable. The second is vigilance. This parable, directed at the disciples, exhorts his servants to use the gifts God has given them to the fullest, for the benefit of others (as well as God). It is an exclamation point to Jesus' earlier statement: “those to whom much is given, even more will be expected” (see also Luke 12:48).
CCC: Mt 25:14-30 546, 1936; Mt 25:21 1029, 1720, 2683; Mt 25:23 1029, 1720
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Reflection:
The Lord’s message strikes to the heart of our attitudes toward serving others. Just when we think that we are doing so well, we are reminded that God will look at us in the end not against an arbitrary standard but against our own personalized yardstick.
What that means, of course, is that we do not have the luxury of evaluating our own response to God’s call. We don’t get to relax, thinking how well we are doing because look at Bob next door: he has hardly done any of the good works I am doing. No, when we stand before the judgment seat of the Lord he will take out all of the gifts he has given us and stack them up and measure us like the servants given talents, based on what we were given.
For those of us to whom the pursuit of spiritual growth is important, this has a special meaning and implication. It means that when we attain what we thought were our spiritual goals, we must re-examine our place on that path to Christ and see once more how much further we have to go. We must understand that there will never be a point in our lives that we can stand back and say; “Ah, I’ve finally made it. I am at last where God wants me to be.”
No, our faith journey is like climbing a mountain, we may not be able to see the summit from where we are, but the path is always before us. And when we look back and see where we’ve been, we cannot say to ourselves: “What wonderful progress I’ve made. See all those others still struggling to make it over that last obstacle.” No, just when we think of looking back we must measure again the distance we have to go to reach as closely as we can to the Lord.
When we think of looking back, we have a little tool to use, don’t we? We can just compare our lives to those of the Saints whose memorials we celebrate regularly and whose intercessions we crave constantly. Today as we are reminded once more of how much the Lord expects of his servants, we ask those saints who have gone before us to intercede with the Savior with whom they wait in constant exultation. We pray that the Lord will continue to support us with his Holy Spirit; that we might be found worthy of the gifts he has given us.
Pax
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5
[2] The picture today is “The Parable of the Talents” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, C. 1652
[3] S.S Commemoratio
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