Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
A Hole In The Ground?
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Little people, like most of the Corinthians, should be aware that they are great before God. God chooses what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. Their boast, their wisdom, is God.
Gospel. In today’s parable of the talents, Jesus speaks of what we do for the kingdom of God with the gifts we have received from him. For the kingdom, that means to animate the Church and the world with a faith, a hope, a love that transforms us, the Church and the world. For this purpose, we invest ourselves, take risks, are involved. If we seek deceptive security in our little practices, in immobility, we bury a hole in the ground, we bury ourselves, we opt for death, we are devalued. Do we use our God-given talents as a capital not merely to be proud of, but to bear interest for God’s plans with us and the world?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you entrust to us your life and love
as a tremendous capital of potentials
to bear interest in the service
of your plans and your kingdom.
Do not allow us to dig a hole in the ground
to bury ourselves with our talents.
Make us go out to take the risk
of investing ourselves in people
and in the growth of your kingdom of love and justice,
by the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Brothers and sisters, look and see whom God has called. Few among you are considered cultured or wealthy, and few come from noble families.
Yet God has chosen what the world considers foolish to shame the wise; he has chosen what the world considers weak to shame the strong.
God chose the lowly and despised in the world, using those who are considered nothing to bring to nothing those who are considered something,
so that no one can boast before God.
But by God’s grace, you are in Christ Jesus, who has become our wisdom from God and who makes us just, holy, and free. Scripture says: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Herod was the one who had John arrested, had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her;
and John had told him, ‘It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.’
So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not,
because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him.
Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday when he hosted a dinner for all the top government officials, military leaders, and the leaders of Galilee.
On that occasion, Herodias’s daughter entered and danced, charming Herod and his guests. The king told the girl:
“Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”
And he even said with many oaths:
“I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.”
She then went out and asked her mother:
“What should I request?”
The mother replied:
“The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king and made her request, saying:
“I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist here and now, on a platter.”
The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths.
So he sent one of the bodyguards with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded John in prison;
then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.
When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That all people may share in the earth’s resources in justice, friendship and peace, we pray:
– That inspiring homes and good educators may equip our young people to place their potentials in the service of the Church and of our people, we pray:
– That women may take with honour their rightful place in the Church and in the world; that their talents of cordiality, tact and sensitivity may warm this harsh world with gentleness, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these gifts of bread and wine
we place ourselves and all you have made us,
that you may return them to us
as the body and blood of your Son.
Accept us with Jesus and make us
with him give ourselves to one another
in the poverty and riches of our existence.
May we thus give shape to your kingdom
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
through the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ
you have made us capable
of sowing the seeds of your life and love.
Grant that when you ask for an account
of what we have done with our lives,
we may hear from your own lips
that we have been good and faithful servants
who did much with the little we had
and that we may enter your joy forever.
Blessing
Every one of us has received from God one’s own particular gifts. That you may be good servants of what God has entrusted to you, whether much or little, may almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Mark 6: 17-29
Martyrdom of John the Baptist
The voice they could not silence.
The Gospel recounts a drama of stark contrasts: the bleak fortress of Machaerus, the glitter of Herod’s banquet, and the dark dungeon where John the Baptist awaited his fate.
Herod is a portrait of human contradiction. He feared John, yet was fascinated by him. He enjoyed hearing the truth, yet lacked the courage to follow it. This is a condition of the human heart—we can be drawn to holiness while clinging to sin. Like Herod, we may admire virtue in others but hesitate to let it change us.
Herod’s downfall came through three traps: impulse, self-indulgence, and fear of human opinion. In a moment of drunken boasting, he made a reckless promise to Salome. Then, unwilling to lose face before his guests, he chose murder over mercy. How often do we sacrifice integrity because we dread the laughter, criticism, or rejection of others?
Herodias, consumed by resentment, reveals another danger: the hardened heart that refuses correction. John’s rebuke was not spite but truth spoken for her salvation. Yet she sought not repentance, but revenge. Barclay reminds us that while we may silence the voice of conscience, we cannot silence God Himself.
John the Baptist stands as a model of steadfast courage. Though chained in darkness, he refused to betray the truth. He reminds us that fidelity to God often demands a cost—but that cost is never greater than the reward of eternal life.
On this feast, the Church calls us to examine our own hearts: Do we let the Gospel unsettle us, or do we evade it? Do we live for the approval of others, or for the approval of God? When faced with the choice, may we stand with John, choosing truth over comfort, and Christ over compromise.