November 11, 2026 | Liturgical Year A
Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
- Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
- Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
- Thessalonians 5:1-6
- Matthew 25:14-30
Missionary Commentary
Migrating people have a talent, and they use it!
Living and working as a missionary priest at the U.S.-Mexico border gave me a steady exposure to the motivations that move people to flee their homelands, and to migrate to safer countries.
So many of these families have taken a brave and faith-filled decision to invest their talents—personal talents as well as their store of faith—in the risky venture to seek security and work elsewhere, thousands of miles or more away.
The families frequently told me and other volunteers at shelters about the powerful criminal gangs in their towns and cities, who extort regular payments for their safety, and even demand their children’s participation in criminal activities, once they enter adolescence or young adulthood.
Our own country contributes enormously to this violence. These gangs are enriched by the production, sale and transportation of “recreational” drugs to the U.S., and grow powerful with the vast amount of weapons bought in our country, as well. U.S. banks launder their money, U.S. gun shops and weapons manufacturers sell them their arms, and U.S. citizens buy their deadly product.
The arrival of migrant families seeking freedom from this life-threatening reality are a great gift to our national life and a special grace for our community of faith. In a sense, they invest their talents wisely, as in today’s parable, since their presence among us enriches the cultural diversity of our country, provides us with the edifying spiritual presence in our churches of powerful people of faith in God, and multiplies the fruits of their presence among us by giving us many opportunities to welcome the stranger, to live in solidarity with them, and advocate for new laws and policies over the aspects of life in our society that make corruption and violence possible in theirs.
Notes on the Readings
First Reading, Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Today’s reading is taken from the final chapter of the book of Proverbs, from the Poem on the Good Wife, with the final verse closing on the same note as the first verse of the entire book: the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
This psalm complements our first reading, consisting of what a person must know and value in order to live well. We find he same basic teaching in both: fear of the Lord will lead to blessings in life.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Believing that the Lord’s Day was near, Paul seeks to allay fears by reminding his audience that they are already living in a way that is vigilant, and not in fatalistically eating and drinking and being merry, “for tomorrow we die”.
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
This Parable of the Talents clearly concerns the coming of the Son of Man and how one should behave in anticipation of it—that is, in positive action instead of fearful or lazy inaction, for which we will eventually be held accountable.
Notes and Commentary by by Fr. Bob Mosher, a member of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban.