Catholic TV Mass Online September 20, 2026: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Presider: Archbishop Jeffrey Grob
Choir: Heart of the Nation
Text from the Gospel & Homily
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, o Lord.
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'you too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' so they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock the landowner found other standing around and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' when it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So, when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous? ' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a haunting question and it's the thrust or crux of the entire somewhat lengthy gospel. It's haunting and it should haunt us. Because it's one of the things we must grapple with in our relationship with God. Are you envious because I am generous? It's the heart of this gospel. How do you react when you hear the parable of the prodigal son for instance. Not today's gospel. We hear it regularly enough. Don't we get a little irked? Aren't we on the side of the faithful son that was doing what he was supposed to do instead of the other one that took his inheritance and squandered it and then came graveling back? Or what about the gospel you just heard. On some level doesn't the generosity of the landowner make you feel conflicted down in your heart? It pushes back against our own understanding of what is right and what is wrong in our small brains. In each of these exchanges we encounter God's generosity God's love. God's forgiveness which are so extravagant that let's be honest, they offend our sense of carefully timed and measured justice. If only God would think like we do, it would be so much easier! Why doesn't he just cooperate?! And all will be well in the world. Be that as it may, limitless love and unconditional forgiveness are the ways of God. No matter what our own limited sense of justice or fairness might dictate. The prophet Isaiah in the first reading tries to drive that point home. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. We should give thanks for that. Better to allow God to be the judge and the rest of us just to keep our own houses in order.
Entrance: Gather Us In
Text: Marty Haugen, b.1950 Tune: GATHER US IN, Irregular; Marty Haugen, b.1950 © 1982, GIA Publications, Inc.
Psalm 145: The Lord Is Near
Text: Psalm 145:2–3, 8–9, 17–18, © 1970, 1997, 1998, CCD. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Alternate refrain © 1969, 1981, 1997, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music © 2004, Tom Booth. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Preparation: Come Follow Me
© 1999, Gael Berberick and Barney Walker. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Communion: The Supper of the Lord
Text: Verses 1–4 based on John 4, 6. Text and music © 1994, 2012, Laurence Rosania. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Mass Setting: Mass of Saint Ann
Text © 2010, ICEL Ed Bolduc Music © 2011, WLP
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this liturgy obtained from ONE LICENSE, License No. A-718591.