33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 15.11.2026

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30                  

Whenever we want to give someone a present, we would usually have it wrapped, or at least we will put it in a bag. 

The wrapper, or the bag, adds a sense of mystery or surprise to the receiver. 

Also, the receiver would not know what the present is, and so there is also a sense of curiosity. 

And the season for wrapping presents and giving presents is coming up. 

In a month or so from today will be Christmas Day, when presents will be exchanged. 

In choosing a present for a person, it requires us to know the person well enough to get a meaningful present. 

And then after getting the present, we will also want to wrap up the present so as to have a sense of mystery and surprise. 

And then we hope that the receiver will like and appreciate the present. 

But what if we happen to find out that the receiver did not even open the present at all and left it aside? 

We will feel disappointed, or even hurt, that the receiver does not think much about our gift, and maybe even does not think much about us at all. 

In the Gospel, Jesus told a parable about a master who entrusted his three servants with an amount according to their ability. 

So, one servant received five talents, the other received two talents, and the last received one talent. 

In the Gospel context, a talent is worth about 20 years of a labourer's wages. 

So even one talent is a considerable amount of money. 

After a long time, the master of those three servants came back and went through the accounts of them. 

The one who received five talents came up with five more. 

Similarly, the one who received two talents came up with two more. 

But the servant who received one talent returned it to the master. 

His reason was that he heard that the master was a hard man, reaping where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered. 

But the master called that servant wicked and lazy and punished him. 

As we ponder about the parable, we wonder about that wicked and lazy servant. 

In a way, he received a present from his master, but he didn't even open it and went to bury it in the ground. 

So, the master called that servant wicked and lazy because that servant did not bother about the love and the trust that the master had for him. 

The master trusted that servant to do something good with the talent, but that servant just didn't bother. 

That servant was punished not because he didn't make another talent out of what he received. 

He was punished because he didn't bother about the present his master gave him. 

In other words, he didn't even open the present and went to hide it. 

Next Sunday, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, and it is also our parish feast day. 

This coming Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is the triduum, the three days of prayer in preparation for the feast day. 

Christ is our Lord and King because He loves us and He saved us. 

He wants us to make known His love and His gift of salvation to others. 

Let us do that by bringing others along to the triduum and the feast day. 

We give them the invitation in the form of our parish prayer card and the petition form. 

We may just give it to one person, or two persons, or five persons or more. 

Tell them that Jesus is inviting them to the triduum and also to the feast day to offer up their prayers and petitions, and that Jesus wants to bless them with His love. 

It is like giving them a present of the love of Jesus. 

Yes, it is as simple as that to make Jesus known and loved, and we already have the means for it. 

It may be that simple, but when we are faithful in the little and simple and humble things, then we will see what great things the Lord wants to give us. 

Let us be that good and faithful servant of God who will bring His love to others. 

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 14-11-2026

3 John 5-8 / Luke 18:1-8    

In the world, efficiency is held in high regard.

The measure for efficiency is usually about the speed or how fast jobs or projects can be done.

And those who can get things done quickly are praised for their efficiency, as well as their productivity.

In the gospel parable of the unjust judge, we know why that unjust judge didn’t act quickly on the widow’s case.

It was simply because he had neither fear of God or respect for man.

But that parable also makes us think deeper.

We know that God is truth and justice, and He will hear the cries of the oppressed and those who had injustice done unto them.

Jesus said this, “Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily.”

But we also see much injustice and oppression and God does not seem to answer our prayer for justice and His intervention.

Let us remember that God sees, and God knows, and He will act.

But it will be in God’s time and in God’s way.

Let us have faith in God and we will see justice done that will bring about peace and reconciliation.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 13-11-2026

2 John 4-9 / Luke 17:26-37    

Routines are helpful in that they give us some stability in life.

When we have a routine for our daily lives, we get a sense of normalcy.

So, we wake up at a particular time, have our morning routines, go to work, meet our schedules, come back in the evening and then rest for the night.

As much as routines are helpful, we may also become monotonous with life and become like machines running on a program.

In the gospel, Jesus cited two figures from the Old Testament, and the situations they were in.

During the time of Noah, people were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Similarly during the time of Lot, people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all.

Jesus cited these two examples to give a warning on living life with just routines and monotony, and forgetting about the presence of God in their lives.

Jesus tells us to always be prepared for the time when God reveals Himself so that we will know what God is showing and telling us.

To be prepared is, as the first reading tells us, to live our lives in the truth of God’s Commandments.

To live in the truth of God’s Commandments is to live a love as Jesus has shown us.

By living in God’s truth and love, we will see and know what God is telling us even as we go on with the routines of our life.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 12-11-2026

Philemon 7-20 / Luke 17:20-25  

The phrase "man is made to be on the move" means that human beings have a natural, built-in inclination or biological drive to stay active, travel, explore, or continuously progress rather than remain static or sedentary.

Staying completely still or inactive for too long often goes against our physical well-being.

People often feel restless, mentally drained, or stagnant when they are stuck in one place or routine for too long.

On the other hand, we also can get too busy and all stressed up.

But we may prefer to be busy and stressed because we may not be comfortable with silence and stillness.

In the gospel, when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, He gave them this answer, “The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.”

In order to be able to be aware and see the signs of the Kingdom of God, we need to be still and to be silent.

To be silent is also to listen, to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to see what God is showing us and do what He want of us.

In the first reading, St. Paul urges Philemon to see Onesimus not as a useless slave but a dear brother in the Lord.

That can be possible when noises in the mind and heart are cleared by silence and stillness.

Let us also take time away from the noisiness and busyness to be in prayer.

In the stillness and silence of prayer, may we also see the Kingdom of God in us and around us.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 11-11-2026

Titus 3:1-7 / Luke 17:11-19   

Most of us are generally healthy, though we have to bear with some aches and pains.

We know that health is wealth, and so we try to keep ourselves healthy by watching what we eat, keeping fit with exercise and doing what is good for us.

But still, that is no guarantee as illnesses and diseases may afflict us, and may come as a surprise.

For the ten lepers in today’s gospel, they were afflicted with leprosy, which was a dreaded disease.

They came before Jesus and begged Him for a cure.

All ten were cured, but only one came back to thank Jesus.

Nine of them received restoration of their bodies, but one of them experienced salvation.

Nine of them happily hurried back to their lives, but only of them gave thanks because he knew he didn’t merit or deserve the cure.

The first reading reminds us that when the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because He was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except His own compassion that He saved us in Jesus Christ.

We may try to keep healthy but when illness or disease afflicts us, let us turn to Jesus our Saviour.

We can’t demand for a cure, but we must trust in His mercy and compassion.

So that even in our pain and suffering, we will give thanks and receive His saving love.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 10-11-2026

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14 / Luke 17:7-10    

The word “entitled” seems to be more frequently used nowadays.

The general reference is to those who think that they are entitled to some privileges, or some rights, or something more than the rest.

They may have this thinking because of their status, or their achievements, or their reputation, or whatever.

If a person has a legal or official right to something, the word can be applied to that person respectfully.

But when a person behaves with an undeserved sense of superiority or privilege, then it is embarrassing, to say the least.

The first reading pointed out that the older men and women of the Christian community should behave in a dignified manner and be models of faith.

In that way, they teach the younger men and women the right behaviour and discipline as Christians.

Above all, it should be understood that it was by God’s grace that salvation was made possible for everyone who believes.

As the parable in the gospel tell us, the servant cannot expect to be rewarded just because he did his duty.

There can be nothing we could do to deserve any merit, because all is God’s grace.

With sincere thanksgiving, let us give glory to God in all we do.

Let us not think of ourselves as being entitled or deserving, and let us also not do anything that we cannot offer to God.

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Monday, 09-11-2026

Eze 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 or 1 Cor 3:9-11, 16-17 / John 2:13-22 

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome because it is the head and mother church of all churches in the world.

The fact is that the Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Pope’s cathedral because St. John Lateran's Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope.

The first basilica on the site was built in the 4th century when the Roman emperor Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family.

That structure and its successors suffered fire, earthquake and the ravages of war, but the Lateran remained the Church where popes were consecrated until the popes returned from Avignon in the 14th century, after which they resided in St. Peter's.

The dedication of this Church is a feast for all Roman Catholics because St. John Lateran is the parish church of all Catholics since it is the pope's cathedral.

This church is the spiritual home of the people who belong to the Roman Catholic Church.

In celebrating the dedication of the Pope’s cathedral, we show our unity with the Pope and our love and respect for him, as well as our obedience and faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

It also shows that we are united with each other in the  Universal Church. St. Paul described this unity in the Church in the 2nd reading as God's Temple with the Spirit of God living in us and uniting us.

Henceforth it is our duty and mission to keep ourselves free of sin and defilement so as not to turn God's house into a market or, worst still, into a thieves' den.

More importantly, we must be united in heart and mind, and worship in Spirit and truth, so that the Church would be like what is described as the Temple in the 1st reading - with living waters flowing out to bring about healing and reconciliation, and bearing fruits of life and love.