18 November 2020

Wednesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel we hear Luke’s version of the parable of the talents that we heard in Sunday’s readings, which is the parable of the ten gold coins. In the first reading, however, we hear from the Book of Revelation, as we will throughout this week and next as we come to the close of the liturgical year. 

In Revelations 4, John is given a vision of God’s glory, which can be a great comfort and help to us in the midst of the cares and worries of each day. John’s description offers us brilliant colors, “flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder,” and a chorus of angelic beings praising the Lord without ceasing. It is an awe-inspiring sight, one that should instill in us a sense of God’s greatness and infinite majesty.

When we are weighed down by different trials, it is worth remembering that we too are called to join in the heavenly chorus, singing alongside the four living creatures, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” As Ignatius tells us in the First Principle and Foundation, we are “created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord” (SpEx 23). Although the daily task of living as followers of Christ may seem at times a drudgery and a trial, if we strive to live out our call faithfully, then we too are adding to this chorus of praise and service, even if we do not see the Lord’s glory as John does in his vision. And ultimately, we can take comfort in knowing that the reality which is hidden to us now will one day be revealed.