Sunday – 33rd Week in Ordinary Time – A

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to this 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, in which we reflect in today's homily on the gifts God has entrusted to us, gifts such as faithfulness, responsibility, and the courage to bear fruit, because it's not always easy to live for God and have it manifested in our lives.

And so, my brothers and sisters, in the first reading from the book of Proverbs, we hear these words, “Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting. The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). And so we see in Proverbs that the virtuous woman is praised, whose faithfulness, industriousness, and generosity bless her family and the poor. Her true beauty comes from reverence for God. Think about it, my brothers and sisters, how quickly this life passes and how our bodies evolve, and naturally we begin to age, and we can age gracefully and beautifully, but at the same time we realize that we do not possess that vitality, that attractiveness that we perhaps once had when we were younger. Why? Because it is fleeting, it is very momentary. Right, so being wise means that we realize that true beauty is not found in this, in the exterior appearance of the body, but rather in what the heart is like, the heart that is hidden, concealed within the body.

True greatness, according to Proverbs, is measured not by outward appearances or worldly recognition, but by a life of faithful love expressed through concrete actions. The worthy woman is not praised simply for what she possesses but for what she does with her gifts. Her diligence, generosity, and care for the poor reveal a heart rooted in the fear of the Lord. Holiness is often found in the ordinary responsibilities of everyday life faithfully embraced.

In the second reading from Saint Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul warns that the day of the Lord will arrive unexpectedly. “Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). He is basically encouraging Christians to remain spiritually awake, sober, and faithful as children of the light, because Christian vigilance does not mean anxiously predicting when Christ will return, as so many do, especially on the internet, but living each day in a manner worthy of his coming. Paul reminds us that we are children of the light. We must therefore resist spiritual complacency, recognizing that every day is an opportunity to grow in holiness and fulfill the responsibilities God has entrusted to us.

And then we come to the Gospel, where Jesus paints for us a scenario. A master entrusts different amounts of money to three servants. Two invest what they receive and are rewarded, while the third buries his talent out of fear and is condemned for his inaction. Jesus says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You are faithful in small matters. I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy” (Matthew 25:21) to the good servants. God does not judge us by comparing our gifts with those of others, but by our faithfulness in using what he has entrusted to us, just like the servants who receive different amounts, yet the first two receive exactly the same praise. The third servant's failure is not that he possessed less, but that fear prevented him from doing anything with what he had received. The greatest tragedy is not having limited abilities, but allowing our gifts to remain buried through fear, indifference, or complacency.