The Parable of the Talents

Gospel Reflection for Wednesday, November 19th, 2025

“A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
‘We do not want this man to be our king.’
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,
he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,
to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said,
‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’
He replied, ‘Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.’
Then the second came and reported,
‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’
And to this servant too he said,
‘You, take charge of five cities.’
Then the other servant came and said,
‘Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.’
He said to him,
‘With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’
And to those standing by he said,
‘Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.’
But they said to him,
‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’
He replied, ‘I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.” Luke 19:12-26

Today, we continue our way through the Gospel according to St. Luke with the Parable of the Ten Talents or Coins. This parable is a catechesis on the spiritual life, in particular, the virtue of Charity and the need to perform good works with an increased fervency in Charity to merit and an ever-growing outpouring of the virtue of Charity.

I want to begin with the necessary truth that all are called to increase in Charity on their way to union with God. God desires the salvation of all, and so there is a general and universal call to all to increase in the virtue that unites us to God. While this call is general and universal, not all respond to that call, and so not all grow in Charity on the way to eternal life. Some are lost. This is a fact attested to by Scripture. In today’s Gospel, we see Our Lord use the analogy of earning additional money with what was already given.

In the Gospel, we hear of three servants who are given three amounts of coin: ten, five, and one. These amounts correspond to an infusion of the virtue of Charity that all justified souls receive at Baptism. To the one who is given ten, since they acted in Charity, ten more were gained. The same happened with the one given five. For these souls, they merited an increase in the virtue since they acted according to the level of charity that they had received. The more intense and fervent our act of Charity is, the more immediately we receive that increase in charity.¹ This is confirmed by St. Thomas:

“Every (even imperfect) act of charity merits an increase in charity; however, this increase does not always come at once, but only when we strive generously for it.”²

This is because the increase in Charity is due to the disposition of the one receiving it. Thus, the servants who receive ten and five talents, respectively, act in accord with their level of charity and receive an increase in their Charity. On the other hand, the servant who receives one talent, though it is a small amount, could have acted in a far more fervent way and increased even his small amount, and then, upon the return of the Master, he would have been celebrated and given the reward that was merited. He did not do this, however. Instead, he buried it and kept it stored. This is a lapse in the spiritual life as the spiritual writers speak of. The reality is, we cannot stay stagnant in the spiritual life. If we are not moving up in the spiritual life, we are falling backward. The servant with one talent attempted to stay stagnant and did not increase in charity; therefore, it was taken from him. This corresponds to the loss of Charity and eternal life.

Garrigou comments on this:

“As good theologians teach, God is more glorified by a single act of charity of ten talents than by ten acts of charity of one talent each. Likewise, a single very perfect just soul pleases God more than many others who remain in mediocrity or tepidity. Quality is superior to quantity.”³

For this reason, our Charity must grow until our death so that at our judgment, we can produce to Our Master an increase in the virtue over and above what we were given at our Baptism. It is Charity which unites us to God, and so it is Charity that must grow in us until the end. Let us fervently ask God to give us the grace to multiply our talents so that we may receive the supernatural reward promised with them.

For more from Dr. McGovern, visit his Substack at A Thomist, Dedicated to the Theological tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas. Exploring Thomas’ Spiritual Theology and topics in Christology and Mariology.

1. Cf. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, 135.

2. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae IIa IIae, q. 24, a. 6 and Ia IIae, q. 114, a. 8.

3. Garrigou-Lagrange, Three Ages of the Interior Life, 137.