Thirty-third
Sunday in Ordinary Time
It-Tlieta
u Tletin Ħadd matul is-Sena
Missalin A
p 420
When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her
husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him
good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and
works with loving hands. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply
the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the
needy. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is
to be praised. Give her a reward for her labors, and let her works praise her
at the city gates. This is the Word of
The Lord.
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni - Għeluq tal-Ktieb
tal-Proverbji. 31, 10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Mara ta' ħila min isibha?Tiswa
ħafna aktar mill-ġawhar. Fuqha tistrieħ qalb żewġha, u
dan żgur ikunlu ta' ġid. Riżq tajjeb iġġiblu u mhux ħażin, il-jiem kollha ta' ħajjitha. Tfittex suf u ħjut
tal-qoton, u taħdmu bil-qalb b'idejha. Tmidd idejha għall-magħżel, jaqbdu
d-dussies idejha. Tiftaħ mal-fqir idejha, tmidd idejha lejen l-imsejken. Qarrieqa
l-ħlewwa tal-mara, fiergħa sbuħitha'; mara li tibża' mill-Mulej ta' min ifaħħarha.
Agħtuha mill-frott ta' xogħol idejha. Ħa jfaħħruha f'bibien il-belt l-għemejjel
tagħha. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
R/ (cf. 1a) Blessed are those who fear the
Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored. R/
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored. R/
Your wife shall
be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table. R/
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table. R/
Behold, thus is
the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you fromZion :
may you see the prosperity ofJerusalem
all the days of your life. R/
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from
may you see the prosperity of
all the days of your life. R/
Salm Responsorjali -
Salm 127 (128)
R/ Ħieni kull min jibża' mill-Mulej
Ħieni kull min jibża' mill-Mulej,
kull min jimxi
fit-triqat tiegħu!
Mix-xogħol ta' idejk inti tiekol;
ħieni int, u riżqek tajjeb! R/
Martek tkun bħal dielja għammiela
fl-irkejjen ta' darek;
uliedek bħal xitel taż-żebbuġ
madwar il-mejda tiegħek. R/
Ara, kif ikun imbierek il-bniedem
li jibża' mill-Mulej!
Ibierek il-Mulej minn Sijon!
Jalla tara l-ġid ta' Ġerusalemm
tul-ħajtek kollha!
Jalla tara wlied uliedek! R/
Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,you have no need for
anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the
day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying,
"Peace and security, "then sudden disaster comes upon them, like
labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers
and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a
thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We
are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the
rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. This
is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni - mill-Ewwel Ittra lit-Tessalonkin 5, 1-6
Dwar
il-ħin u ż-żmien, ħuti, ma għandix bżonn niktbilkom. Intom tafu sewwa li Jum
il-Mulej jiġi għal għarrieda bħal ħalliel bil-lejl. Meta kulħadd jibda jgħid:
"Sliem u mistrieħ," dak il-ħin stess, bħall-uġiegħ fuq mara li tkun
waslet għall-ħlas, tiġi fuqkom għal għarrieda l-qerda u ma jeħilsu b'xejn. Ħuti,
intom m'intomx fid-dlam biex Jum il-Mulej jeħodkom għal għarrieda bħal ħalliel.
Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u
wlied il-jum; aħna m'aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam. Għalhekk ma għandniex
norqdu bħall-oħrajn, iżda nishru u ngħixu bil-qjies. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
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.'" This is
the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju - skond
San Mattew 25,
14-30
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal
lid-dixxipli tiegħu din parabbola: "Wieħed
li kien se jsiefer, sejjaħ lill-qaddejja tiegħu u ħallielhom ġidu f'idejhom. Lil
wieħed taħ ħames talenti, lil ieħor
tnejn, u lil ieħor wieħed, kull wieħed skond il-ħila tiegħu. U siefer. Dak li kien ħa l-ħames talenti mar minnufih iħaddimhom u qala' ħamsa oħra. Hekk ukoll dak li ħa tnejn qala' tnejn oħra. Iżda dak li ħa wieħed mar li ħa wieħed mar ħaffer
fl-art u ħeba flus sidu. Wara ħafna, sid
dawk il-qaddejja raġa' lura u beda jagħmel il-kontijiet magħhom. Resaq quddiemu dak
li ħa ħames taleni u ġieblu ħames talenti oħra. "Sinjur, - qallu – ħames
talenit ħallejetli f'idejja; hawn, ara, qlajt ħamsa oħra." Qallu s-Sinjur:
"Sewwa, qaddej tajjeb u fidil; int
kont fidil fil-ftit, u jien se nafdak fuq ħafna; idħol fl-hena ta' sidek."
Resaq ukoll dak li kien ħa żewġ talenti, u qallu:
"Sinjur, żewġ talenti ħallejtli f'idejja; hawn, ara, qlajt tnejn oħra." Qallu s-sinjur: "Sewwa,
qaddej tajjeb u fidil; int kont fidil fil-ftit, u jien se nafdak fuq ħafna; idħol fl-hena ta' sidek." Iżda
resaq ukoll dak li kien ħa talent wieħed u qal:
"Sinjur, lilek nafek bħala raġel aħrax, taħsad fejn ma cżrajtx
u tiġbor fejn ma xerridtx. Bżajt,
u mort ħbejt it-talent tiegħek fl-art;
hawn, ara, għandek dak li hu tiegħek."
Qabeż is-sinjur u qallu: "Qaddej ħażin u għażżien, kont taf li jien naħsad fejn ma żrajtx u niġbor
fejn ma xerridtx. Mela kien imissek mort
qegħedt flusi l-bank biex, meta niġi, kont immur niġborhom bl-imgħax.
Ħudulu mela t-talent u agħtuh lil dak li għandu l-għaxar talenti. Għax kull min għandu, jingħatalu u jkollu żżejjed ukoll; iżda min ma għandux, jittieħidlu saħansitra dak li għandu. U lil dan il-qaddej bla fejda itfgħuh 'il barra fid-dlam; hemmhekk ikun hemm il-biki u tgħażżież tas-snien." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Gospel Commentary by Fr
Raniero Cantalamessa
If
Anyone Will Not Work, Let Him Not Eat
This Sunday's Gospel is one of the famous discourses
on the end of the world, which are characteristic of the end of the liturgical
year.
It seems that in one of the first Christian communities, that of Thessalonica, there were believers who drew mistaken conclusions from these discourses of Christ. They thought that it was useless to weary themselves, to work or do anything since everything was about to come to an end. They thought it better to take each day as it came and not commit themselves to long-term projects and only to do the minimum to get by.
It seems that in one of the first Christian communities, that of Thessalonica, there were believers who drew mistaken conclusions from these discourses of Christ. They thought that it was useless to weary themselves, to work or do anything since everything was about to come to an end. They thought it better to take each day as it came and not commit themselves to long-term projects and only to do the minimum to get by.
This was a novelty for
the men of that time. The culture to which they belonged looked down upon
manual labor; it was regarded as degrading and as something to be left to
slaves and the uneducated. But the Bible has a different vision. From the very
first page it presents God as working for six days and resting on the seventh
day. And all of this happens in the Bible before sin is spoken of. Work,
therefore, is part of man's original nature and is not something that results
from guilt and punishment. Manual labor is just as dignified as intellectual
and spiritual labor. Jesus himself dedicates 17 years to the former --
supposing he began to work around 13 -- and only a few years to the latter.
A layman has written: "What sense and what value does our ordinary
work as laypeople have before God? It is true that we laypeople also do a lot
of charity work, engage in the apostolate, and volunteer work; but we must give
most of our time and energies to ordinary jobs. If this sort of work has no
value for heaven, we will have very little for eternity. No one we have asked
about this has been able to give us satisfactory answers. They say: "Offer it all to God!" but is this enough?
My reply: No, the value of our work is not only conferred on
it by the "good intention" we put into it or the morning offering we
make to God; it also has a value in itself, as a participation in God's
creative and redemptive work and as service to our brothers. We read in one of
the Vatican II documents, in "Gaudium et Spes," that it is by
"his labor [that] a man ordinarily supports himself and his family, is
joined to his fellow men and serves them, and can exercise genuine charity and
be a partner in the work of bringing divine creation to perfection. Indeed, we
hold that through labor offered to God man is associated with the redemptive
work of Jesus Christ" (No. 67).
The work that one does
is not as important as that for which he does it. This re-establishes a certain
parity, beneath distinctions -- which are sometimes unjust and scandalous -- in
position and pay. A person who has done the most humble jobs in life can be of
greater "value" than those people who hold positions of great prestige.
It was said that work
is a participation in the creative action of God and in the redemptive action
of Christ and that it is a source of personal and social growth, but we know
that it is also weariness, sweat and pain. It can ennoble but it can also empty
and wear down. The secret is to put one's heart into what one's hands do. It is
not so much the amount or type of work done that tires us out, as much as it is
the lack of enthusiasm and motivation. To the earthly motivations for work,
faith adds eternal motivations:
"Our works," the Book of Revelation says, "will follow us"
(14: 13).
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