HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY DAY OF THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
SAINT OF THE DAY: Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr.
THEME OF THE HOMILY: The parable of the talents
By: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
2 Maccabees 7:1,20-31
Psalm 16:1,5-6,8,15
Luke 19:11-28
LITURGICAL COLOUR
RED
INTRODUCTION
Good morning dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A. And at the same time we commemorate the feast of saint Cecilia.
FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we heard the sufferings of the seven brothers, sons of the same mother, were recounted to us, the sufferings and persecution which they endured because of their adherence to the Law of God, the Jewish practices and customs that ran contrary to the desires and demands of the Greek King of the Seleucid Empire, at that time, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who imposed a wide-ranging ban on the local practices of the peoples throughout his vast Empire, demanding and enforcing his will that he wanted everyone to follow the ways and practices of the Greeks, abandoning their own faith, beliefs and practices, to become like the Greeks in all things.
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FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the parable of the silver talents. In this parable, we heard of how a man entrusted to his servants some sums of silver talents or pounds, for them to take care of while he went on his journey to a distant land to be crowned king there. Each of the first two servants mentioned invested their silver well, and made good gains from the silver, doubling what they had been entrusted with. Meanwhile, the third and last servant mentioned did not do anything to the silver, and returned it to his master intact as how it was entrusted to him. We heard how those who had done well in investing their silver were rewarded and entrusted with the care of many cities, while the one who had been lazy and did nothing, was punished and his silver taken away, ending up with nothing.
CONCLUSION
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this parable has a symbolic meaning in showing us that the Lord has entrusted each and every one of us with various talents, abilities, gifts and opportunities in life, and some of us did receive more than others. However, each one of us are also therefore expected to make good use of those gifts and opportunities, and we should not be idle or ignorant of what we can and should do in using the blessings that God had given to us. All of us have been reminded of this today, and the courage and faith of the seven brothers and their mother mentioned in our first reading today served as one good example of what it means for us to be truly faithful to God.
ABOUT THE SAINT OF THE DAY
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great woman and servant of God, whose faith and devotion to God, and the dedication to Him, to the point of suffering and enduring grievous tribulations for His sake, should be a great inspiration for all of us Christians to follow. St. Cecilia was well-known as the patron saint of musicians, but she is also a great martyr of the Faith, as she had to bear great sufferings for the sake of the Lord, in her obedience to Him and in her steadfastness in refusing to abandon her faith in Him.
St. Cecilia was one of those great martyrs of the Church, whose courage and dedication to God, and whose commitment to virtue and holiness, and the purity of her sacred virginity, inspired countless Christians throughout history, right up to this day.
Saint Cecilia Pray For Us.
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