Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 30, 2025
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.'”
“There’s an African proverb that says, ‘When you pray, move your feet.’ So I beg you, I ask you to please pray, but don’t stop with your words.” Matt DeBoer, principal of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN, implored us all to pray and to act after the devastating shooting that occurred during their school Mass earlier this week. As a native of the Twin Cities, I have deeply personal connections with the Annunciation community, including some of the closest people in the world to me who were present in the church and school that heartbreaking morning.
I believe Mr. DeBoer’s words resonate with Jesus’ message to us in the parable of the talents. When I think about the servant who buries the talent, I often catch myself thinking he did nothing, but that’s not the case. He dug a hole. He probably guarded it nervously. He may have creatively found excuses to keep people away from its burial spot. Had he just carelessly tossed the coin on a table, it could have been worse. He could have lost it and returned with nothing. In short, one could argue that the final servant did something analogous to prayer. It’s not nothing, and it’s actually a necessary step.
It was necessary, but it was not sufficient when, as humans created in the image and likeness of God, we’re empowered to “move our feet.” Whenever possible, and however possible, we need to stretch ourselves to be open to God’s ability to work through us. Whether it feels large or small, proactive or responsive, we’re called to prayer in action.
In the wake of this horrific sorrow and at all times, we need to pray and we need to act. Let’s not stop short of what we’ve been given by God to do in this world!
So let us pray through the intercession of the two lost children—Saints Fletcher and Harper—for peace to rain down, and let us also commit to doing more today than we did yesterday to be agents of that peace.
Prayer
We believe, O Lord, that you are consummate fairness. You know all the circumstances in our lives, our strengths and our weaknesses. We have been given the gift of life in our birth and the gift of your spiritual life in our baptism. Help us, we plead, to give back our self to you as you gave us of your very self in eternal life. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pammachius was a prominent citizen in the ancient Christian empire of Rome, and his life is woven together with the lives of all of the prominent saints of his age. His devoted love for his wife led him to holiness, even after her death.
He was classmates with the great Scripture scholar, St. Jerome; they studied rhetoric together and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Pammachius was a member of a noble family and grew up to become a Roman senator.
In 385, he married Paulina (who was also friends with St. Jerome; her mother is also a saint). Twelve years later, Paulina died in childbirth. Pammachius must have been heartbroken, as he received letters of sympathy and encouragement from many friends. “Your wife is now a witness and an intercessor for you with Jesus Christ,” wrote a friend, St. Paulinus. “Make her a partner in your charities. She is honored by your virtues. She is fed by the bread you have given to the poor.”
Pammachius took the advice and dedicated the rest of his life to works of charity. With another friend, St. Fabiola, he built a hospice in Rome to offer shelter to pilgrims, especially those who were sick and poor. He cared for the forgotten people of Rome—poor and disabled people gathered around him whenever he went into the streets. He saw his care for the poor as a way of following in his wife’s footsteps.
Pammachius corresponded with the great St. Augustine, and was fearlessly honest in his letters to St. Jerome, who was known to be bitter and vitriolic at times in his pursuit of the cause of truth. Pammachius wrote several times to urge Jerome to tone down his language. Jerome often refused, but their correspondence encouraged him into new ways of thinking.
St. Pammachius, the Roman senator, your devotion to your deceased wife led you to give your life to the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Pammachius is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed March 27, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
