Introit
Collect
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God,
the constant gladness of being devoted to you,
for it is full and lasting happiness
to serve with constancy
the author of all that is good.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
A capable wife, who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 20 She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 28 Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2,3,4-5
R/. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Second Reading 1 Thess 5:1-6
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
Alleluia Jn 15:4a,5b
Gospel Mt 25:14-15,19-21
Jesus said to his disciples, “About the day and hour of the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 19 “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”
Catena Nova
The man who is the landowner is actually the Creator and Lord of all…. Now, one must conceive of the property of God, as those in each Country and City, who believe in Him…. He hands over [His property] to those who are under Him, to each giving a spiritual gift, so that he might have character and aptitude. We think that this distribution of the talents, is not supplied to the household servants in equal measure because, each is quite different from the other, in their understanding.… Surely those who are bound by fear and laziness will evolve into the worst evils…. The Spirit has departed from such as these and the gift of the divine gifts. But to those who are industrious, an even more lavish gift will be presented. (St. Cyril of Alexandria)
Five, two, one talent: let us take these to be the different graces granted to each, whether the five senses for the first; understanding of faith and works for the second; the reasons for distinguishing us from other creatures, for the third…. That is to say, besides the physical and material senses he had received, he added knowledge of heavenly things. … The Master welcomed the first two servants… with the same words of praise. “Come,” He said, “share in your master’s joy and receive what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart” (1 Cor 2:9). What greater reward could be bestowed on a faithful servant? (St. Jerome)
No one who has received life from the Lord can say that they do not have a single talent—everyone has something, and not just one thing; everyone, therefore, has something with which to trade and make a profit. Do not look around and calculate what others have received, but take a good look at yourself and determine more precisely what lies in you and what you can gain for that which you have, and then act according to this plan without laziness. (St. Theophan the Recluse).
If we fail to live in the Light,
we shall, to our condemnation
and that of others,
be veiling over and obscuring,
by our infidelity,
the Light men so desperately need.
As we know from Scripture,
the man who received the talent
should have made it produce a heavenly profit
but instead, he preferred to hide it away
rather than put it to work
and was punished as he deserved.
Consequently, that brilliant Lamp
which was lit for the sake of our salvation
should always shine in us.
For we have the lamp
of the heavenly commandments
and spiritual grace,
to which David referred:
Your law is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path. (St. Chromatius of Aquileia)
I have not been faithful,
nor have I traded with the talent
Thou entrusted to me,
the priceless treasure of the Christian faith …
O Truth, Thou hast justice and equity
as Thine inseparable judges…
Woe to me if, when I come before Thee,
I lack an advocate to plead my cause.
O Love, come forward on my behalf,
answer for me, sue for my pardon.
If Thou pleads my cause,
I know I still have hope of life! (St. Gertrude the Great)
They also serve who only stand and wait” (John Milton).
Do what comes to hand. Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. After all, God is with us. It shows too much conceit to trust to ourselves, to be discouraged at what we ourselves can accomplish. It is lacking in faith in God to be discouraged. After all, we are going to proceed with his help. We offer him what we are going to do. If he wishes it to prosper, it will. We must depend solely on him. Work as though everything depended on ourselves, and pray as though everything depended on God, as Saint Ignatius says…. But I do know how small I am and how little I can do and I beg you, Lord, to help me, for I cannot help myself…. But we are sowing the seed and it is up to him to bring the increase. It is all in his hands, and we must keep ourselves in peace, first of all. That is where peace begins. He is our peace (Dorothy Day).
Homily
What to do with all those billions? Well our wealthiest spent almost half a billion on the midterms for what was the incumbent party. (I don't think the investor in the gospel parable would be impressed). A better approach would have been the individual donor rather than the super PAC — lo and behold it was there that the victorious party was way ahead of the losing one. And that's the funny thing about money, isn't it? It doesn't always get us what we think it will. And sometimes less flashy types turn out better off than glitzy ones. Citizens united indeed!
[Thiel] believes the Armageddon will be ushered in by an antichrist-type figure who cultivates a fear of existential threats such as climate change, AI and nuclear war to amass inordinate power. The idea is this figure will convince people to do everything they can to avoid something like a third world war, including accepting a one-world order charged with protecting everyone from the apocalypse that implements a complete restriction of technological progress. In his mind, this is already happening. Thiel said that international financial bodies, which make it more difficult for people to shelter their wealth in tax havens, are one sign the antichrist may be amassing power and hastening Armageddon, saying: “It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money.” (The Guardian, October 10, 2025)
As with the servant who buried his talent in the ground and failed to hear the words all who've made good use of the talents entrusted to them hope to hear when the Lord returns as a thief at night (II): Come, share your Master's joy (G). Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.
Intercessions
For the Church: that we may be aware of the gifts of faith, time, and opportunity that God has entrusted to us, be good stewards of these gifts, and diligently utilize them in the service of God and our neighbor.
For all who are facing an end, to a relationship, to employment, to good health, or to independent living: that God may give them hope and lead them through the pain and confusion of the adjustments that are required.
For all who are seeking employment: that God will lead them to opportunities to use their gifts and talents in life-giving and productive ways.
For all who are facing responsibilities that seem overwhelming: that God will give them courage, help them to see the small steps they need to take, and deepen their trust in God who is always with them.
For all who are suffering, immigrants, those recovering from natural disasters, and those who are grieving: that God will bring light and strength to their spirits.
For healing: that our nation may turn from adversarial conflicts and allow God to show us ways to work together to promote the common good.
For healing within local communities: that God heal the wounds caused by all forms of prejudice and discrimination so that we may all work together to confront poverty, disease, and injustice.
For the growth of peace, especially in Ukraine, Sudan and Israel-Palestine: that the Spirit will give insight to all warring parties awakening them to the value of human life and the long-term impact of violence.
For all who have died, particularly those killed by violence and natural disasters: that God will welcome them into the light and joy of God’s presence forever.
O God, from whose own abundance all gifts and skills are lavishly bestowed, encourage us to use our talents as generously as you have allotted them, so that, being faithful to your purpose, we may become sharers in your glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Offertory Antiphon
Offertory Hymn
The goodness of our God bestows
On each, though great or small,
A gift entrusted to our care
To foster, one and all;
And each will one day give report
To God, from whom we came,
On how we have, for good or ill,
Made use or waste of same.
Like a worthy wife whose working makes
A home where families live,
Or enterprising folk who coax
Small sums their fruits to give,
We too, with talents come from God
Should in their use be bold.
Not hiding them as of no use,
But valued more than gold.
The day of Christ’s return will come
As thieves come in the night,
When least expected; therefore watch
And work with all your might!
Awake and sober let us be,
The children of the day,
That when Christ comes, we all may go
To meet him in his way!
Communion Antiphon
Closing Hymn (Kathleen Thomerson)
I want to walk as a child of the Light.
I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world;
The star of my life is Jesus.
In him there is no darkness at all;
The night and the day are both alike;
The lamb is the Light of the city of God;
Shine in my heart Lord Jesus.
I want to see the Brightness of God;
I want to look at Jesus.
Clear Son of righteousness shine on my path,
And show me the way to the Father.
I’m looking for the coming of Christ,
I want to be with Jesus;
When we have run, with patience, the race,
We shall know the joy of Jesus.