November 8, 2025
Saturday of the Thirty-first
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 490
Reading
I
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.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (1b) 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.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
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.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
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.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110825.cfm
Commentary on Romans
16:3-9,16,22-27
We come today to the end of the abridged reading of this
great letter of Paul to the Romans. Even four weeks of readings hardly do
justice to it, and many important passages have had to be omitted. But
some of them will appear in other parts of the Church’s liturgy.
In today’s final reading, Paul sends his greetings to a
large number of people. Even though he has not yet been to Rome, he knows
many of the Christians there as he had met many of them in his travels around
Asia Minor and Greece. The first people on his list are Prisca (Priscilla) and
Aquila, whom he calls “my fellow workers in Christ Jesus”. They were not
only partners with him in proclaiming the gospel, but also worked in the same
trade of tentmaking. He first met them in Corinth as Acts tell us:
…Paul left Athens and went to Corinth [in the
south of Greece]. There he found a Jew named Aquila from Pontus, who
had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because [Emperor] Claudius
had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and, because he was
of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they
were tentmakers. (Acts 18:1-3)
He expresses his thanks and that of all the gentile churches
for their having saved his life. This was possibly during the riot of the
silversmiths in Ephesus (see Acts 19:23-41). They had rioted because
they felt Paul’s preaching would threaten their business of making silver
images of Artemis, the goddess of the great temple in Ephesus. Paul wanted to
confront them, but some of the disciples (including Prisca and Aquila?)
persuaded him to stay away from certain trouble.
And he sends his greetings to the whole ‘church’ at the
house of Prisca and Aquila. At that early period, ‘churches’, or
Christian communities in a particular place, would meet in the house of a
community member. Church buildings would only come later when numbers got
so big that family homes were no longer big enough.
There are also greetings to other members of the Roman
church:
- Epaenetus,
who is described as “the first convert in Asia for Christ”, i.e. the first
convert from the Roman province of Asia (now a part of modern Turkey).
- Mary,
“who has worked very hard for you”. There are six different women
called Mary in the New Testament, but apart from this reference, it is not
known who this one is.
- Andronicus
and Junias, described as:
…my fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they
are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
They are “apostles” in the wide sense of active evangelisers
and not in the strict sense used of the Twelve chosen by Jesus. They also
became Christians before Paul did, and had also been in prison with him at some
stage. We know that Paul was imprisoned several times.
As well, also mentioned are:
- Ampliatus,
“my beloved in the Lord”.
- Urbanus,
“our coworker in Christ”.
- Stachys,
“my beloved”.
In the verses immediately following, but not included in our
reading, there are more names mentioned. Paul tells all to greet each other
with a “holy kiss”. Justin Martyr (AD 150) tells us that the ‘holy kiss’
was a regular part of the worship service in his day. It is mentioned
also at the end of the First and Second Letters to the Corinthians, in 1
Thessalonians and 1 Peter. It still exists in some Christians churches,
including the ‘Sign of Peace’ before Communion in the Catholic liturgy. Some
people do actually kiss or embrace.
Finally, he tells the Romans that all the churches of Christ
send their greetings. This greeting, not found elsewhere in Paul’s letters,
indicates a special respect for the church in Rome. This is followed by some
final greetings from those who are with Paul. One of these is from
Tertius, who says he is the one committing the letter to writing as Paul’s
secretary. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. There is a
greeting from Gaius, who is Paul’s host in Corinth and who also ‘hosts’ the
whole of the local church, which meets in his house. He is usually
identified with Titius Justus, a God-fearer, in whose house Paul stayed while
in Corinth. His full name would be Gaius Titius Justus.
The last two greetings are from Erastus, the city treasurer,
and Quartus. At Corinth, archaeologists have discovered a reused block of
stone in a paved square, with the Latin insciption: “Erastus, commissioner of
public works, bore the expense of this pavement”. This may refer to the
Erastus mentioned here. He may also be the same person referred to in
Acts as a companion of Timothy and in the Second Letter to Timothy. Because the
name was common, his identity is not certain.
Paul closes the letter with a doxology of praise to the
Father and the Son, although it appears earlier in the letter in some
manuscripts or is omitted altogether. It is a solemn presentation of the
main points of the Letter. It is a prayer to God who can make the Romans strong
in accordance with the gospel Paul preaches and following the proclamation of
Jesus Christ and in harmony with that ‘mystery’ which had been kept secret for
so long, but which now, as the prophets foretold, is revealed. This
‘mystery’ is God’s plan to bring salvation to the whole world through the
Incarnation of his Son and his suffering, death and resurrection. He
wants them to be firmly grounded in the teaching he gave and firm in the living
out of their faith. And the gospel that Paul preaches is not something
different, but it is based on the direct revelation he received.
According to the Jerusalem Bible:
“The idea of a ‘mystery’ of wisdom, long hidden in God and
now revealed, is borrowed by Paul from the Jewish apocalypse, but he enriches
the content of the term by applying it to the climax of the history of salvation;
the saving cross of Christ; the call of the pagans; to this salvation preached
by Paul and finally the restoration of all things in Christ as their one head.”
This ‘mystery’ of the gospel message, still known only to a
relative few, is now to be proclaimed to the whole world:
…made known to all the gentiles, according to the command
of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith…
Lastly, the doxology proper:
…to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be
the glory forever! Amen.
God is the origin of all wisdom and so for ever is to be
given glory through Jesus Christ.
What comes out of these greetings in both directions is the
strong sense of fellowship and solidarity which existed among the early
Christians. It is something we need very much to cultivate in our very
individualistic societies and, in some cases, very individualistic church
gatherings.
This is needed too if we are to strengthen each other in our
Christian faith. A solitary Christian is a contradiction in terms.
It is not surprising that so many Catholics, left to their own devices, fall
away and develop very distorted ideas of what their faith is about. One
way of correcting that is to go through the whole of this Letter carefully with
the guidance of a good commentary.
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Commentary on Luke
16:9-15
Yesterday we saw Jesus give the example of a corrupt, but
astute manager who took effective steps to guarantee his future employment.
Today he goes on to warn us about our own use of material things.
We are to use “dishonest wealth” in such a way that we “make
friends” for ourselves (our most important friend being God!). When this
approach fails us (as it ultimately will), we hope that a “welcome…into the
eternal homes” will be ours. We are reminded of how the crafty steward in the
parable ensured his future.
In the mind of Luke, the friends we should be making are the
poor and needy, who will be on our side before God’s judgement seat because we
had “invested” our wealth in them. As we read in Matthew:
…I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of
these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Earlier we saw a good example of a man who had made so much
money out of his harvest that he sat back to enjoy the rest of his life—which
ended that very night. That is not the way to ‘make friends’ with one’s
material goods. In one sense, there is nothing wrong with having a lot of
money. Rather, it is how we use those riches that is the question:
Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in
much…
In other words, if we can be trusted with the material goods
that come into our lives, and use them to build the Kingdom of God, to create a
more just and equitable society, then we can be trusted with something much
greater, to live forever face to face with our God.
If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest
wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
And again:
…if you have not been faithful with what belongs to
another, who will give you what is your own?
And that reminds us that the material goods that come into
our lives (no matter how they may have been acquired) do not belong
absolutely to us. Everything on this earth belongs to all. We are only the
stewards of what has come into our possession, and we will be judged on how we
make use of it. On our use will depend to a large extent our receiving the one
thing that will really become our own, the unending happiness that God wishes
us to have in company with him.
That leads obviously to the next warning, that we cannot at
the same time give ourselves totally to God and become slaves
of money and the material. We saw that in the case of the rich man who wanted
to follow Jesus. He was the slave of his possessions and so could not surrender
his life to Jesus. Many of us think we can, and we try to compromise but, to
give ourselves to God completely, we must become free of the lure of money and
the acquisition of material things. It does not mean we do not have money or
material things, but what we do have is ultimately used for God’s love and
service and the love and service of our brothers and sisters.
On hearing all this, the Pharisees, whom Luke calls “lovers
of money”, mocked Jesus for what they felt was unrealistic idealism.
There are many today who would echo their views, but those
who have taken Jesus’ words to heart know that what he says is true. We have
seen this in the lives of some people in our own time. And sadly, we have also
seen the opposite. Some, with all their money, and fame and luxurious living,
are missing something precious—the freedom to give and share their whole self
with those who are destitute:
…for what is prized by humans is an abomination in the
sight of God.
The opposite is also true. On which side do I find myself?
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1317g/
Saturday,
November 8, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy, only with
your help can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess and trust your
promise of eternal life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus said to His
disciples: "And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win
you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you
into eternal dwellings.
Anyone who is trustworthy in little
things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is
dishonest in great.
If then you are not trustworthy with
money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?
And if you are not trustworthy with
what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?”
"No servant can be the
slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be
attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of
God and of money."
The Pharisees, who loved
money, heard all this and jeered at him. He said to them, "You are the
very ones who pass yourselves off as upright in people's sight, but God knows
your hearts. For what is highly esteemed in human eyes is loathsome in the
sight of God.”
Reflection
The Gospel today presents
some words of Jesus concerning goods. They are words and loose phrases, and we
do not know in which context they were said. Luke puts them here to form a
small unity around the correct use of the goods of this life and to help us to
better understand the sense of the parable of the dishonest steward (Lk 16:
1-8).
•
Luke 16: 9: Use well the unjust money. "Use
money, tainted as it is, to win friends, and then make sure that when it fails
you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.” Luke seeks to show it is
better to use money to win “friends” here, by using it towards the poor and
God’s Kingdom, so that you will be welcomed into the Kingdom later. He
generally viewed money as a corrupting influence both for the person and for
the community as the communities grew beyond just the poor. In the Old
Testament, the ancient word to indicate the poor (ani) means impoverished. It
comes from the verb ana, to oppress, to lower. This affirmation recalls the
parable of the dishonest steward whose riches were unjust. Here we have the
context of the communities at the time of Luke in the years of the 80’s after
Christ. At the beginning, the Christian communities arose among the poor (cf. 1
Co 1: 26; Ga 2: 10). Little by little persons who were richer joined the communities.
The entrance of the rich caused some problems which appear in the advice given
in the Letter of James (Jm 2: 1-6; 5: 1-6), in the Letter of Paul to the
Corinthians (1Cor 11: 20-21) and in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 6: 24). These
problems became worse toward the end of the first century, as it is said in the
Apocalypse in its letter to the community of Laodicea (Rev 3: 17-18). The
phrases of Jesus kept by Luke are a help to clarify and solve this problem.
•
Luke 16: 10-12: To be faithful in small as well
as in great things. “Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy
in great, and anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.
If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust
you with genuine riches? And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours,
who will give you what is your very own?” This phrase clarifies the parable of
the dishonest steward. He was not faithful. That is why he was taken away from
the administration. This word of Jesus also suggests how to give life and to
put into practice the advice regarding making friends with unjust money. The
advice moves from eschatological times to the present. One can “make friends”
with unjust money by putting it to good use to help the poor. In this case,
“unjust money” is not money gotten improperly, but riches that create an unjust
“attachment” to it and corrupts. “Genuine riches” in this passage are grace and
gifts from God. So this suggests that charity to the poor precedes being trusted
with greater “genuine” riches. Sharing and giving to the poor is the beginning,
and the opening up of self to be able to receive even greater gifts.
•
Luke 16: 13: You cannot serve God and money.
Jesus is very clear in His affirmation. No servant can be the slave of two
masters. He will either hate the first and love the second or be attached to
the first and despise the second. You cannot be a slave to both God and money.”
Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees loved their wealth and positions, and Luke’s
point is that money corrupts. Each one of us should make a choice, and ask
himself/herself: “Whom do I put in the first place in my life, God or money?”
In the place of the word money each one can put other words: automobile,
employment, prestige, goods, house, image, etc. This choice will depend on
understanding Divine Providence (Mt 6: 25-34). It is a matter of priority in
life and trust. To build up these riches for their own sake, or as a form of
protection, is to trust in them more than God’s providence. It can also lead to
excesses, beyond what is sufficient. These are choices that show, by how one
lives, where love and trust in God are placed.
•
Luke 16: 14-15: Criticism of the Pharisees who
like money. “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and jeered at him.
He said to them, “You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as upright in
people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed in human
eyes is loathsome in the sight of God.” On another occasion Jesus mentions the
love of some Pharisees toward money: “You devour the property of widows, rob
their houses and in appearance you make long prayers” (Mt 23: 14: Lk 20: 47; Mk
12: 40). They allowed themselves to be dragged by the wisdom of the world, of
which Paul says: “Consider, brothers, how you were called; not many of you are
wise by human standards, not many influential, not many from noble families.
But God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise. He
chose those who by human standards are weak to shame the strong, those who by
common standards are common and contemptible, indeed those who count for
nothing - to reduce to nothing all those who do count for something” (1 Cor 1:
26-28). Some Pharisees liked money, just like today some priests like money.
The advice of Jesus and of Paul is valid for them.
Personal Questions
•
You and money: what choice do you make?
•
Faithful in small things. How do you speak of
the Gospel and how do you live the Gospel?
Concluding Prayer
How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh, who delights in His
commandments! His descendants shall be powerful on earth, the race of the
honest shall receive blessings. (Ps 112: 1-2)
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