21ST SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” (Mk 6:23)

FIRST READING -  1 Thess 4:9-11

"For you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another."

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians

⁹ On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. ¹⁰ Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more, ¹¹ and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you,

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 25:14-30

"Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master’s joy."

✠From the Gospel according to Matthew

¹⁴ “It will be as when a man who was going on a journey^[a] called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents;^[b] to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately ¹⁶ the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. ¹⁷ Likewise, the one who received two made another two. ^18 [c]But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five.^[d] He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ ²² [Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ ²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; ²⁵ so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ ²⁶ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!^[e] So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷ Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? ²⁸ Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. ^29 [f]For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ^30 [g]And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

21ST SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God in today’s Gospel, God speaks to everyone about the graces that He bestows upon each person. And He requires that each person must bear fruit for Him from those graces through the parable of ‘the talents’.

This parable of ‘the talents’ is very practical in life, helping people to easily understand the message that God wants to convey to mankind. Indeed, God bestows upon each person different talents, based on the differences in each one’s abilities when they are born into this world.

God is the Creator of mankind and of the world. Each person is a beautiful creature in the eyes of God, and He loves all people without distinction between good and bad. Therefore, according to each person’s abilities, God bestows different talents: to one, five talents; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent. These are the graces that God bestows upon each person, and from these graces, each one is to produce gain in talents for God.

He does not require that the works of man must be successful, but only that each person fulfills the duty entrusted to them by God, which is to cooperate with Him in building a good world, and a society that is pleasing in His sight.

God is the Creator of mankind and of the world. Each person is a beautiful creature in the eyes of God, and He loves all people without distinction between good and bad. Therefore, according to each person’s abilities, God bestows different talents: to one, five talents; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent. These are the graces that God bestows upon each person, and from these graces, each one is to produce gain in talents for God.

He does not require that the works of man must be successful, but only that each person fulfills the duty entrusted to them by God, which is to cooperate with Him in building a good world, and a society that is pleasing in His sight.

What are the talents that man produces as profit in the eyes of God? They are not the material possessions of this world, but rather the ability to offer love to others, to bring souls back to God.

The Word of God today also gives a warning to all people: those who have been entrusted with talents by God but do not produce profit; those who do not bring souls back to God and only selfishly store up their talents for themselves will have those talents taken away by God and will receive the punishment of being cast into the place of darkness and suffering. But those who obey and revere God, who fulfill the duties entrusted by Him, who produce profit from their talents by saving souls for God, will be granted the reward of the Kingdom of Heaven in the life to come and will enjoy peace and happiness even in this life.

Those who dare to labor, to sacrifice, and go everywhere to produce profit for God, which is to seek out souls for Him, will always be protected and sheltered by Him in His grace.

The Word of God today calls everyone to go and produce profit for God from the talents, that is, the grace, which God has given; that means saving many souls for God, just like the image of the two faithful servants in today’s Gospel.

Thanks be to God. Amen