Returning Gifts:
The Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026
November 15, 2026
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Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 128; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30
The parable of the talents tells us what God expects of us; Paul's letter to the Thessalonians tells us why we should not delay. Because life is precious, unpredictable, and limited, we are called to live intentionally. We cannot afford to bury the gifts God has given us, postpone the good we can do, or sleep through life’s opportunities. The talents represent everything that has been entrusted to us: intelligence, creativity, compassion, faith, relationships, opportunities, and the capacity to love. Notice that God never tells us how to use what we have received; They are entrusted to us with room to exercise creativity, initiative, and discernment. These are opportunities for us to participate in God’s plan for the world.
Paul reminds us that the uncertainty of tomorrow gives greater significance to what we choose to do today. I think of some reasons why I often postpone things I would like to do. I’ll wait a week or so when I have more available time. I can get half an hour of rest rather than exercising. I’m not as young as I once was. My prayer life will deepen when activities settle down. I’ll spend more time with loved ones once I finish this project that needs my attention. I’ll be more generous when I have more resources. I can go on and justify all my reasons, and I know life does not always give me the time or circumstances I expect. Something else always comes up.
Life and time have genuine limitations. We have to choose. We cannot do everything or respond to every need. God is not asking us to exhaust ourselves or to measure our worth by productivity. We discern what is most important and how I can make the greatest contribution to others with the circumstances and resources I have. We ask if there is fear, hesitation, or the pursuit of perfectionism that will prevent me from doing some good now. What causes me to procrastinate? This is not about trying to do it all or accomplishing the greatest number of activities. It is about making our lives fruitful. God’s life will flourish through the talents entrusted to us. Sometimes the best use of our time is to be human – to encourage someone who is down, to support someone who feels vulnerable, and sit and listen patiently. These moments are an exponential investment that produces a hundredfold.
We are not given life simply to preserve it; we are given life to make something meaningful of it. The challenge is to recognize that our lives have a purpose, and that we have something valuable to contribute now. When we use our gifts appropriately and generously, we are not simply repaying God for what God has given us. The gifts we receive become gifts we give. We are the gifts to be shared.
We live as though there will always be more time. We live as if we will never become diminished or die. We think there will be more time in the future to love better, to forgive a grievance, to reconcile an estranged relationship, to sit with someone who needs our presence. There will not be more time. This is what we have. We are to spend the time to become the people God wants us to be. Jesus tells us not to bury our talents. Paul tells us not to fall asleep. They are both urging the importance of the present moment.
What do we do then? I am asked to develop the gifts God has entrusted to me. You have to answer that in a way that gives you most integrity. Has someone’s life become richer because I was here? Has someone’s burden become lighter? Have I given hope to someone who needs to be strengthened? We want to be “woke.” We want to be aware of God’s presence and be willing to invest whatever gifts we have received. We want to see God at the end of our lives, with empty hands, to say, “I have invested everything you have given to me. I have nothing left. I have loved as fully as I could. I have done my best.”
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Revelation 1) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.
Tuesday: (Revelation 3) I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: “To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this: “‘The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this: “I know your works, that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Wednesday: (Revelation 4) I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, “Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.” At once I was caught up in spirit.
Thursday (Revelation 5) I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
Friday (Revelation 10) I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me. Then the voice spoke to me and said: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll.
Saturday (Revelation 11) I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me: Here are my two witnesses: These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths
and devours their enemies.
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 18) As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
Tuesday: (Luke 19) At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.
Wednesday (Luke 19) While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately.
Thursday (Luke 19) As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you.
Friday (Luke 19) Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
Saturday (Luke 20) Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Saints of the Week
November 15: Albert the Great, bishop and doctor (1200-1280), joined the Dominicans to teach theology in Germany and Paris. Thomas Aquinas was his student. With his reluctance, he was made bishop of Ratisbon. He resigned after four years so he could teach again. His intellectual pursuits included philosophy, natural science, theology, and Arabic language and culture. He applied Aristotle's philosophy to theology.
November 16: Roch Gonzalez, John del Castillo, and Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J. (1576-1628) were Jesuit priests born to Paraguayan nobility who were architects of the Paraguayan reductions, societies of immigrants based on religious faith. They taught the indigenous population how to plant farms and other basic life skills that would protect them from the insidious slave trades of Spain and Portugal. By the time the Jesuits were expelled, 57 such settlements were established. Roch was a staunch opponent of the slave trade. He, John, and Alphonsus were killed when the envy of a local witch doctor lost his authority at the expense of their growing medical expertise.
November 16: Margaret of Scotland (1046-1093) was raised in Hungary because the Danes invaded England. She returned after the Norman Conquest in 1066 and sought refuge in Scotland. She married the king and bore him eight children. She corrected many wayward abuses within the church and clarified church practices.
November 16: Gertrude the Great (1256-1302) was placed for childrearing into a Benedictine monastery at age 5 in Saxony. She lived with two mystics named Mechthild and as she developed her intellectual and spiritual gifts, she too became a mystic. Her spiritual instructions are collected into five volumes. She wrote prayers as a first advocate of the Sacred Heart.
November 17: Elizabeth of Hungary, (1207-1231) was the daughter of Andrew II, king of Hungary. She married Ludwig IV of Thuringia and as queen supported many charities. When her husband died in a crusade in 1227, she entered the Third Order of Franciscans.
November 18: The Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul celebrates churches in honor of the two great church founders. St. Peter's basilica was begun in 323 by Emperor Constantine - directly over Peter's tomb. A new basilica was begun in 1506 and it was completed in 1626. Many great artists and architects had a hand in building it. St. Paul Outside the Walls was built in the 4th century over Paul's tomb. It was destroyed by fire in 1823 and subsequently rebuilt.
November 18: Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852) joined the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and at age 49, traveled to Missouri to set up a missionary center and the first free school west of the Mississippi. She then founded six more missions. She worked to better the lives of the Native Americans.
November 21: The Presentation of Mary originated as a feast in 543 when the basilica of St. Mary's the New in Jerusalem was dedicated. The day commemorate the event when Mary's parent brought her to the Temple to dedicate her to God. The Roman church began to celebrate this feast in 1585.
This Week in Jesuit History
- November 15, 1628. The deaths of St Roch Gonzalez and Fr. Alphonsus Rodriguez. They were some of the architects of the Jesuit missions in Uruguay and Paraguay.
- November 16, 1989. In El Salvador, the murder of six Jesuits connected with the University of Central America together with two of their lay colleagues.
- November 17, 1579. Bl Rudolph Acquaviva and two other Jesuits set out from Goa for Surat and Fattiphur, the Court of Akbar, the Great Mogul.
- November 18, 1538. Pope Paul III caused the governor of Rome to publish the verdict proclaiming the complete innocence of Ignatius and his companions of all heresy.
- November 19, 1526. The Inquisition in Alcala, Spain examined Ignatius. They were concerned with the novelty of his way of life and his teaching.
- November 20, 1864. In St Peter's, Rome, the beatification of Peter Canisius by Pope Pius IX.
- November 21, 1759. At Livorno, the harbor officials refused to let the ship, S Bonaventura, with 120 exiled Portuguese Jesuits on board, cast anchor. Carvalho sent orders to the Governor of Rio de Janeiro to make a diligent search for the supposed wealth of the Jesuits.
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