First Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 4: 9-11)

You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

Brothers and sisters:
On the subject of fraternal charity
you have no need for anyone to write you,
for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia.
Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more,
and to aspire to live a tranquil life,
to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 98: 1, 7-8, 9

The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.

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

Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.

Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 25: 14-30)

Since you were faithful in small matters, come share your master’s joy.

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.’”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 4: 1-8)

This is the will of God, your holiness.

Brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God –
and as you are conducting yourselves –
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

This is the will of God, your holiness:
that you refrain from immorality,
that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself
in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion
as do the Gentiles who do not know God;
not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter,
for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you before and solemnly affirmed.
For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this,
disregards not a human being but God,
who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 97: 1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12

Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.

The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful ones;
from the hand of the wicked he delivers them.

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Be vigilant at all time and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.

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

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 3: 7-13)

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.

We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters,
in our every distress and affliction, through your faith.
For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you,
for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?
Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person
and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.
Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus
direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase
and abound in love for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 90: 3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17

Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 24: 42-51)

You must be prepared.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself,

‘My master is long delayed,’

and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.