Sunday, November 15, 2026 — Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the talents
Matthew 25:14-30
The Gospel
Jesus tells of a man going on a journey who entrusts his goods to his servants: five talents to one, two to another, and one to a third, each according to his ability. The first two trade and double what they received; the third buries his talent in the ground. When the master returns and settles accounts, he welcomes the faithful servants into his joy and takes even the little the useless servant has.
Readings of the day: First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Alleluia: John 15:4a, 5b; Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30.
Reflection
The master gives to each according to ability: five, two, one. No one is asked to answer for another’s gift, only for his own. St. Jerome sees in the five, two, and one talents the diversity of gifts entrusted to us; St. Gregory warns that to hide one’s talent in the earth is to devote the ability we have received to worldly business. The third servant is not condemned for receiving little. He is condemned for doing nothing with what he received, and for blaming the master for his own fear. St. John Chrysostom reads the parable as a warning to those who keep everything they have for themselves and help no one. The reckoning will come after a long time, and the question will be simple: what did you do with what was given to you? Today is the time to trade with it: one gift used, one neighbour helped, one work done for the Lord.
From the Fathers
“This parable is delivered against those who will not assist their neighbours either with money, or words, or in any other way, but hide all that they have.”
— St. John Chrysostom, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:14–30
“To hide one’s talent in the earth is to devote the ability we have received to worldly business.”
— St. Gregory the Great, Homily 9 on the Gospels, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:14–30
Saint of the day
Saint Albert the Great (c. 1200–1280), Dominican friar and bishop of Regensburg, teacher of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Doctor of the Church. His optional memorial today is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 157). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Matthew 25:14–30, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).