We All Have Talents...

We all have talents... how do we use them?



Nov. 13 - XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time


Our first question today must be: what is a wife - worthy or otherwise - doing in this Sunday's liturgy which is otherwise about rendering an account of stewardship? Actually she has a relevant place because of her talent in careful and industrious administration and that is the general theme of the Readings and Gospel.


The Entrance Antiphon brings back sweet memories for the dwindling number who remember the delightful Gregorian Chant music for this particular wording - I myself among them. Of course the message is also beautiful.


The Opening Prayer has the same theme: God will help us be faithful and to be faithful to Him is all we ask - virtue is its own reward.


We have already referred to the First Reading with its unusual heroine who, however, fits in well with the rest of the liturgy: she is a wonderful administrator, admirable under all respects. And, we have to recall, such a good lady can be found even in our own time - were our moms not like that?


The Responsorial Psalm, as usual, repeats and enlarges on the theme of the First Reading - "wife" is found again although here in a different context. St. Paul, in the Second Reading is still dealing with the imminent coming of the Lord and how his Thessalonian converts should be ready for it. St. Paul got it wrong, of course, but only in terms of WHEN. In terms of HOW - how to prepare for it - he was right on. The coming of the Lord is always unexpected, death is always sudden even for someone who has been ill for a long time. But the mere fear of death is not a good motive for a good life. We have to live it well for the love of God and in appreciation of the many talents He has given us and of the truly and totally undeserved reward He has promised us. My emphasis added


The Gospel shows two admirable servants who did just that: They used the gifts their master had given them and were able to point proudly to a fine return on their investment. Nevertheless we must have some sympathy also for the third servant - at least he buries the money in the ground and (as we have seen in previous IT'S SUNDAY! features), the ground was actually the "bank" of those times - perhaps more reliable than many banks today. So he did not lose materially but in a sense he did because his main thought was the feared harshness of the master rather than the excitement of serving him. People can be like that today: God is too severe, the Church is too strict, to lead a good life is to difficult . . . and so many who could otherwise be admirable Catholics have given up and left the Church for some other Christian group or left all religion completely. Let us pray for them - any of us might have been in their situation if the Lord had not come to our assistance.



~ November 2011 Concord