First Reading

Book of Wisdom (Wis 6: 12-16)

The wisdom is readily found by those who seek her.

Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;
because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them in the ways,
and meets them with all solicitude.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.

Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

Second Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 4: 13-18)

God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.

— The word of the Lord.

Second Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 4: 13-14)

God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 25: 1-13)

Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!

Jesus told his disciples this parable:

“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,

‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,

‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’

But the wise ones replied,

‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’

While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,

‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’

But he said in reply,

‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 16: 3-9, 16, 22-27)

Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Brothers and sisters:
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,
who risked their necks for my life,
to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
greet also the Church at their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus,
who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia,
my relatives and my fellow prisoners;
they are prominent among the Apostles
and they were in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,
and my beloved Stachys.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ greet you.

I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole Church, greets you.
Erastus, the city treasurer,
and our brother Quartus greet you.

Now to him who can strengthen you,
according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 145: 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 16: 9-15)

If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,

“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 15: 14-21)

A minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable.

I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another’s foundation,
but as it is written:

Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 98: 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 16: 1-8)

The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.

Jesus said to his disciples,

“A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,

‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’

The steward said to himself,

‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’

He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said,

‘How much do you owe my master?’

He replied,

‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’

He said to him,

‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’

Then to another he said,

‘And you, how much do you owe?’

He replied,

‘One hundred measures of wheat.’

He said to him,

‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.