Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection August 26, 2025
Tuesday – 21st Week in Ordinary Time
26th August 2025 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Readings of the Day
First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Psalm 139:1-3, 4-6 R. (1)
R/. O Lord, you search me and you know me.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. The word of God is living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26
At that time: Jesus said “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: True piety is not merely performing a bundle of religious activities. Without neglecting them, it should also lead a person to a life of integrity
1. Jesus continues to reproach the Pharisees and scribes for the same reason of hypocrisy. Today, he specifies and spotlights some other ingredients of hypocrisy. Primarily, it is the distortion of the scale of priorities.
2. They distort the order of priorities: they insist on the secondary rules like tithe, the tenth of everything, but neglect the essentials like justice, mercy, and faith. They donate a little but devour hugely. They disguise their misdeeds under the cover of blessing.
3. They mask their interior impurity by their exterior ablutions. They are satisfied with the external purification but are not bothered about the interior uncleanness with greed and self-indulgence. They should clean both the exterior and interior. The exterior purity should be a sign and a manifestation of the interior purity but not a substitution or cover-up for it.
4. In contrast, St Paul makes it clear to the Thessalonians how they never try to deceive others with a false doctrine. They never seek to please men or seek their glory. Instead, they were like gentle nursing mothers taking care of their children.
5. There are many modern Pharisees and scribes who make a total mess of the ladder of priorities in life. They reduce the primary to secondary and elevate the secondary or worthless as primary. They are too conscious and meticulous about silly matters, but totally neglect the essential values.
6. They appear to be generous givers by giving a little but swallow lakhs and crores. It is like the great moneyed people who cheat in all ways to acquire profit, but put huge amounts into the donation boxes. It is like thieves, murderers, or villains who pray regularly so that their wrongdoing is successful.
My Practice: In a world that gives excessive importance to the mere externals, neglecting the purity of intention and heart, we need to be integrated people.
