Daily Mass Readings – Sunday, 20 September 2026

6 Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.

R. (18a) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

2 Every day I will bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy.

9 The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

17 The Lord is just in all his ways: and holy in all his works.

18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: to all that call upon him in truth.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

20c Christ will be magnified in my body, wither it be by life, or by death.

21 For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain.

22 And if to live in the flesh, this is to me the fruit of labour, and what I shall choose I know not.

23 But I am straitened between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better.

24 But to abide still in the flesh, is needful for you.

27a Only let your conversation be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

14b Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

1 The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

2 And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle.

4 And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.

5 And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.

6 But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?

7 They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard.

8 And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.

9 When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny.

11 And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house,

12 Saying: These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.

13 But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?

14 Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee.

15 Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? is thy eye evil, because I am good?

16a So shall the last be first, and the first last.

God’s mercy does not follow the calculations by which we measure worth. The laborers who worked only one hour receive the same wage as those who endured the whole day, and their complaint exposes how easily gratitude becomes comparison. Yet the householder has wronged no one. His generosity is free, and his goodness is not diminished when it is given to another.

The invitation to enter the vineyard comes at every hour. Isaiah urges the sinner to forsake his way and return to the Lord, trusting that God is “bountiful to forgive.” The psalm assures us that he is near to all who call upon him in truth. Paul shows what this grace produces: a life centered on Christ, offered for the good of others, whether through life or death. We do not earn God’s nearness by keeping score. We receive it by turning toward him and allowing his mercy to reshape our thoughts. Then our work in the vineyard becomes service rather than a claim to superiority, and another person’s blessing can be received with thanksgiving instead of resentment.

Merciful Father, draw me near whenever you call, and give me a heart that responds without delay. Forgive the ways in which I compare my service with the service of others or measure your goodness by what I think I deserve. Open my heart to the words of your Son, so that I may recognize your generous mercy and rejoice when it reaches those who come late. Keep Christ at the center of my life, and make my work in your vineyard faithful, humble, and offered for the good of others. Help me trust your thoughts and ways. Amen.