Opening
There are few things more sobering than being asked to give an account.
It may be an account of money, of work completed, of promises made, or of responsibilities neglected. We can be remarkably ingenious when a deadline approaches. Matters that seemed unimportant yesterday suddenly demand our undivided attention.
In today’s Gospel, Our Lord tells a rather surprising story about a dishonest steward. The man is no example of virtue, yet Christ draws our attention to his foresight. He knows his present circumstances will not last, and he acts accordingly.
Perhaps the question for this Friday morning is not whether we have planned carefully for the years ahead, but whether we have remembered what lies beyond them.
Opening Verse
Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Invitatory
Antiphon: Come, let us adore the Lord, the maker of all things, whose mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 94 (95) — A Call to Worship
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:
As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart.
And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore the Lord, the maker of all things, whose mercy endureth for ever.
Psalmody
Psalm 50 (51) — The Miserere
Antiphon: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
Canticle — Jeremiah 14:17–21
Antiphon: We acknowledge our sins, O Lord; remember thy covenant and have mercy upon us.
Let my eyes shed down tears night and day, and let them not cease, because the virgin daughter of my people is afflicted with a great affliction, with a very grievous evil.
If I go forth into the fields, behold the slain with the sword: and if I enter into the city, behold them that are consumed with famine: the prophet also and the priest are gone into a land which they knew not.
Hast thou utterly cast away Juda? or hath thy soul abhorred Sion? why then hast thou struck us, so that there is no healing for us? We have looked for peace, and there is no good: and for the time of healing, and behold trouble.
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquities of our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
Give us not to be a reproach, for thy name’s sake, and disgrace not in us the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: We acknowledge our sins, O Lord; remember thy covenant and have mercy upon us.
Psalm 99 (100) — A Psalm of Thanksgiving
Antiphon: Come before the Lord with gladness, for he is our God.
Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness.
Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves.
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him.
Praise ye his name: for the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to generation and generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Come before the Lord with gladness, for he is our God.
Short Reading
2 Corinthians 12:9–10
Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ. For when I am weak, then am I powerful.
Short Responsory
Lord, have mercy upon us at the breaking of the day.
Lord, have mercy upon us at the breaking of the day.
Teach us to walk in thy truth and to trust in thy strength.
Lord, have mercy upon us at the breaking of the day.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Lord, have mercy upon us at the breaking of the day.
Gospel of the Day
Luke 16:1–8 — The Unjust Steward
And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods.
And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer.
And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed.
I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
Therefore calling together every one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord?
But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
Then he said to another: And how much dost thou owe? Who said: An hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill, and write eighty.
And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
Gospel assignment verified for November 6, 2026.
Catholic Gallery+1
Benedictus — The Canticle of Zachary
Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, who hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.
Luke 1:68–79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, who hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.
Intercessions
Let us turn to Christ our Lord, who has entrusted us with the gifts of this life and called us to seek the riches of his kingdom.
Response: Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For the Holy Father, our bishops, priests, and all who serve the Church: that they may exercise their responsibilities with wisdom, humility, and charity, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For those who govern nations and communities: that they may remember their duty toward the poor, the vulnerable, and those whose voices are seldom heard, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For those beginning their work this morning, those searching for employment, and those carrying the burdens of business and family responsibilities: that their labor may be honest and fruitful, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For parents, children, husbands, wives, and all who share the ordinary duties of home: that we may be generous with our time, patient in our difficulties, and grateful for one another, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For the sick, the lonely, the discouraged, and those facing uncertain futures: that they may discover the strength of Christ in their weakness, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For the faithful departed, especially those for whom no one remembers to pray: that God in his mercy may welcome them into eternal peace, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
For ourselves: that we may not become so occupied with temporary concerns that we neglect the things of eternity, we pray.
Lord, teach us to be faithful stewards of thy gifts.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Almighty and merciful God, from whom every good gift proceeds, grant us the wisdom to use faithfully the things entrusted to our care.
Forgive our wastefulness, strengthen our weakness, and turn our hearts from passing riches toward the treasures of thy kingdom.
May our work this day be honest, our dealings charitable, and our thoughts mindful of that eternal home which thy Son has prepared for those who love thee.
Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
The Paradox of the Day
The dishonest steward was wise enough to prepare for a future he could not keep, while the children of light sometimes neglect a future they can never lose.
Chesterton for the Morning
“Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before.”
— G. K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles (1909), “On Lying in Bed.”
Wikiquote
A Chestertonian Meditation
The Wisdom of Preparing for Eternity
There is something wonderfully revealing about a man sitting at his kitchen table with a stack of bills.
He has a pencil, a calculator, perhaps a cup of coffee, and the uncomfortable suspicion that the figures are not going to arrange themselves in his favor.
He begins with the electricity bill. Then the mortgage. Then the insurance. There are taxes, groceries, repairs, and some mysterious expenditure that nobody in the household can quite remember making.
He adds, subtracts, rearranges, and begins again.
And if he is an ordinary man, he will eventually discover that arithmetic is an exact science but household finance is a branch of speculative fiction.
Yet there is something admirable about his determination. He is taking responsibility. He is attempting to provide for the future. He understands that tomorrow will arrive whether he has prepared for it or not.
This is what makes today’s Gospel so peculiar.
Our Lord introduces us to a dishonest steward, a man who has been wasting his master’s property and is about to lose his position.
The steward is not a hero. He is not even particularly repentant. When he discovers that his comfortable arrangement is ending, his first concern is not justice but survival.
He asks himself what he shall do.
He cannot dig. He is ashamed to beg. He therefore devises a scheme by which his master’s debtors will be indebted to him personally.
And then comes the astonishing part.
The master commends him.
Not, of course, for his dishonesty. Christ is not recommending fraud as a Christian virtue. The point is the man’s foresight. He recognizes that his present situation is temporary and acts decisively in view of what comes next.
The children of this world, Our Lord observes, are often more prudent in their own affairs than the children of light.
It is a rather embarrassing compliment to the wicked.
And it ought to make the virtuous uncomfortable.
For consider how much intelligence, energy, imagination, and determination we devote to things that cannot last.
We make plans for retirement, maintain insurance policies, calculate interest, negotiate contracts, and worry about the value of our property.
We prepare for vacations months in advance. We compare automobiles, investigate investments, and spend considerable time deciding which appliance will serve us best.
None of these things is wrong. Prudence in ordinary affairs is a genuine virtue.
But it is curious that we should be so thorough about a future that may last twenty years and so casual about one that will last forever.
We may spend an entire afternoon planning how to preserve our possessions and scarcely five minutes considering how to preserve our souls.
The dishonest steward understood at least one great truth: his stewardship was coming to an end.
So is ours.
The house in which we live, the business we operate, the money we earn, the influence we exercise, and even the strength of our bodies are entrusted to us for a time.
We are not absolute owners. We are stewards.
This does not make the world less valuable. It makes the world more wonderful.
For if everything belongs ultimately to God, then everything has the character of a gift.
The morning light is a gift. The work waiting on the desk is a gift. The person across the breakfast table is a gift. Even the ordinary responsibilities that seem to consume our days are opportunities entrusted to us.
We are given time, not merely to spend it, but to make something of it.
And here Chesterton’s little joke about misers and burglars becomes unexpectedly serious.
The miser rises early because he loves his money. The burglar begins even earlier because he loves somebody else’s.
Both are energetic. Both are resourceful. Both are willing to inconvenience themselves for something they consider important.
It is possible to admire their determination while questioning their object.
Indeed, much of the comedy of human existence consists in watching intelligent people devote extraordinary effort to comparatively foolish ends.
A man may cross an ocean to attend a business meeting and find it too much trouble to cross the street to visit a lonely neighbor.
He may spend years accumulating money for his children and very little time actually being with them.
He may be scrupulous about his professional reputation and careless about his private character.
The problem is not that he has too much intelligence.
It is that he has not always asked what his intelligence is for.
Christianity does not demand that we become less practical. It demands that we become practical about the right things.
If eternal life is real, then preparing for it is not an eccentric religious hobby. It is the most reasonable enterprise imaginable.
And the preparation is remarkably ordinary.
We prepare for eternity by telling the truth when a lie would be convenient. By doing honest work when nobody is watching. By forgiving an offense we would rather preserve. By giving something away when we could easily keep it.
We prepare by praying, by receiving the sacraments, by acknowledging our sins, and by beginning again after failure.
We prepare by loving the people God has placed immediately before us.
It is tempting to imagine that holiness must consist in some tremendous achievement. We picture saints performing heroic deeds in distant lands while we are left to answer correspondence, wash dishes, repair machinery, or pay bills.
But perhaps the great adventure is not hidden beyond these things.
Perhaps it is hidden within them.
The dishonest steward used his master’s goods to secure a welcome in earthly houses.
The Christian is called to use the gifts of this world in such a way that he may be welcomed into his Father’s house.
And unlike the steward, he need not accomplish this by deception.
He may do it by generosity.
There is a final irony in the parable.
The steward is afraid of losing his place. His entire scheme is an attempt to make certain that somebody will receive him when his position disappears.
But the Christian already knows who waits to receive him.
The Father has not concealed his address.
The Son has shown us the way.
The Holy Ghost gives us the strength to walk it.
We need not bargain our way into eternity as though heaven were a business arrangement and God a reluctant creditor.
We are invited to become faithful children.
And yet we must answer that invitation while there is time.
The morning before us may seem very ordinary. There will be work, interruptions, small frustrations, perhaps some unexpected pleasure. There will be people who need us and duties we would rather postpone.
But somewhere within this ordinary Friday lies the opportunity to make a small investment in eternity.
Not with money alone, nor with cleverness, nor with the anxious calculations of a frightened steward.
With love.
And when the final account is called for, it may turn out that the most important entries were never written in the ledger at all.
They were written in the hearts of those we loved.
Closing
Lord, teach us to number our days, to use thy gifts wisely, and to seek first the kingdom that shall never pass away.
May the work of this Friday become an offering, and may every ordinary duty draw us nearer to our eternal home.
Chesterton Radio — Morning Prayer