Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal November-December 2023
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
1st week of the Psalter
FIRST READING
From the Book of Proverbs (Pr 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31)
Who can find a woman of worth? Her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband entrusts his heart to her, and he will not lack gain. She brings him happiness and not sorrow all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and works willingly with her hands. She reaches out her hands to the distaff, and her fingers hold the spindle. She opens her palms to the poor and stretches out her hands to the needy. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting, but the woman who fears God is worthy of praise. Give her the reward of her hands, and let her works praise her at the city gates. - The word of God.
Commentary on the first reading
The virtues of this perfect and ideal woman are praised: her practical, domestic, and professional virtues. “Let her works praise her,” it says of her, a true consolation to her husband and a pillar of family life. But her hands are not active only in matters of domestic life; they are open to the needy and extended toward the poor. On the one hand, they preserve (for the household); on the other, they give (to those in need). In short, the woman never thinks of herself but always of others. She, who truly loves, does not have the center of her existence within herself, but fulfills herself precisely in these relationships of love, with her family and with the needy who knock at the door. So it is with God as well, who is not an enormous Narcissus contemplating himself in self-satisfaction in the mirror, but a living fire that continually gives itself: the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father. In the Holy Spirit, God is the total gift of himself to the needy and sinful human being. Therefore, the woman in the Book of Proverbs stands before us as an example of the true Christian, who finds fulfillment in giving herself to others.
SECOND READING
From the first letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 5:1-6)
Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day should surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of the light and children of the day; we do not belong to the night or to darkness. So let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain alert and sober. - The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
In the Gospel, Jesus never promised that peace would be achieved among the peoples here on earth. Unfortunately, there will always be wars and violence, just as there will always be poor people. This is not a prophecy but a fact, because if sin still exists in the world, then its consequence also exists: division, rebellion against God, and life in darkness. We must pray for peace in the world, but even if one day this perfect balance were achieved, it would never be the definitive reality, since when people say, “Peace and security,” disaster will suddenly come. True peace is therefore the absence of sin, the life of grace, and the presence of God in the human heart. And this can be obtained easily because Jesus gave it through his Spirit: “I leave you peace, I give you my peace. I do not give it to you as the world gives it.” Let us not allow unfavorable external events to disturb us, but ask the Lord for the grace to live holy lives; then true peace will spread around us and flow into the hearts of our neighbors.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:14-15, 19-21)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “It will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, according to each one's ability; then he went away. Immediately the one who had received five talents went and put them to work, and gained five more. Likewise, the one who had received two gained two more. But the one who had received a single talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward and brought five more, saying: ‘Master, you gave me five talents; here are five more that I have gained.’ ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ his master said to him; ‘you have been faithful in small matters; I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said: ‘Master, you gave me two talents; here are two more that I have gained.’ ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ his master said to him; ‘you have been faithful in small matters; I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.’ Finally, the one who had received the single talent came forward and said: ‘Master, I know that you are a demanding man, harvesting where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter. Out of fear I went off and hid your talent in the ground: here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply: ‘You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given and they will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what they have will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’” - The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
It is rightly often said that God's love is freely given, that nothing is owed and everything is grace. But we must not overemphasize this and forget that, in reality, human merit also exists: our commitment and our effort to live according to God's laws in order to be and live as true Christians. It is the same in human life: to pass an exam, one must study; to win a competition, one must make an effort; to climb a mountain, continuous training is necessary. The same is true of Heaven: no one ends up there by chance or without wanting to, as though it were an inevitable pit into which one falls after death. Parents also reward their children's good efforts when they raise them. Heaven, then, is both earned and freely received at the same time. It may seem like a paradox, but it is not: people must make an effort because that is right. At the same time, they receive eternal life in Christ as an act of his supreme mercy, as we learn from the death of the good thief, who saw the gates of heaven opened to him through a final act of faith and repentance after a lifetime of wrongdoing. The “presumption of being saved without merit” is one of the six sins against the Holy Spirit.
