Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Also Read: Mass Readings for 24 August 2025
First Reading: Isaiah 66: 18-21
They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord. (20-21)
The Lord God brought to fulfillment the last prophecy of Isaiah, in Jesus Christ! Christ commissioned his apostles and sent them into the whole world. (Mt.28:11) Thus, paving the way for the spread of the Good News! We know today so many of our brothers and sisters have been anointed priests and religious. We bring our offerings to the holy mountain of the Holy Eucharist today and sing of the Lord’s mercy on us. In parishes across the world, especially where there are multicultural and multinational congregations, we see this phenomenon evident!
We praise and thank God for his great power and mercy on us all. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 117: 1, 2
Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! (1)
Alleluia, Amen!
Second Reading: Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? (7)
Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. (12-13)
We are called from among the different nations to gather into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church! Therefore, we are children of the one God, our Father in heaven! Let us fortify our hearts and remember that whenever we face a challenge, we must turn our hearts to God first. Then, we will be able to discern whether the situation is a place for our learning and testing or not. Even as we lift our hands in prayer and bend our knees in adoration, we will be strengthened. When we are the busiest there is a greater need to carve out time to pray. It is when we think we can’t or don’t know how to pray, then we can rely on the Lord’s prayer and other prayers composed by the saints; not forgetting the daily rosary!
We are also reminded by St. James in his letter, that faith needs to be followed up by action. If it is the Lord trying to discipline us, let us seek to learn the lesson. Let us exercise and nurture the joint that is weak. Once our feet are strengthened, we will be able to straighten our path, because that path will be unique to us! It is the Lord who goes with us as we carve out our path. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Alleluia: John 14: 6
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 13: 22-30
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” (24)
Jesus prescribes the remedy to be saved to his followers. But in applying it to practical life, we may not usually prefer taking the narrow door or difficult path. As we struggle with humility, or kindness, or being obedient to the Lord, or other similar virtues. Then what must we do? -Discipline ourselves and pray. We ask the Lord to let us become insightful in self-reflecting to realize our folly, or sin!
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
