Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings
First Reading – 1 Thes 4:9-11
Brothers and sisters: On the subject of fraternal charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 98:1, 7-8, 9 (R.9)
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
His holy arm. R.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy. R.
Before the LORD, for He comes,
for He comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity. R.
Gospel – Mt 25:14-30
Jesus told His disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were 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. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant 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 ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”
Featured Saints
In Canada: Optional memorial of Blessed André Grasset, priest and martyr (†1792). Montreal-born in 1758 to French parents, his family returned to France when he was a child, and there he completed his studies and was ordained a priest in Sens in 1783. He became a martyr of the French Revolution, brutally killed during the massacre of September 2, 1792, along with 92 other clerics, having repeatedly refused to save his life by signing the state-imposed Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
Blessed Jean-Marie du Lau d’Allemans,François-Joseph de la Rochefoucauld and Pierre-Louis de la Rochefoucauld, bishops, and 93 other clerics and religious, martyrs (†1792). For refusing to take the impious oath imposed on the Clergy by the French Revolution, they were savagely killed while held captive in the Carmelite Convent in Paris.
Blessed Alexander Charles Lenfant, priest and martyr (†1792). Jesuit preacher and great devotee of the Sacred Heart, appointed preacher of King Louis XVI; killed during the French Revolution for refusing to take the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
St. Antoninus of Apamea, martyr (†fourth century). Put to death by stoning in Syria.
St. Justus, bishop (†d. 381). He Renounced the Episcopal See of Lyon after the Council of Aquileia to take up the humble life of a monk in a hermitage in Egypt.
St. Syagrius, bishop (†600). ). In the Diocese of Autun, France, he fought simony, demanded strict adherence to ecclesiastical discipline and promoted theological studies.
St. Agricola, bishop (†700). After sixteen years of monastic life, he was made Bishop of Avignon. He showed great zeal in preaching and dedication in the support of the poor and sick.
Blessed Ingrid of Sweden (†1282). From a noble Swedish family. After becoming a widow, she gave up all her goods for the service of God. After making a journey to the Holy Land, she took the Dominican Habit. She founded the first convent of her Order in Skänninge (Sweden).
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