Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection September 17, 2026
Thursday – 24th Week in Ordinary Time
17th September 2026 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 4
Here are the Catholic Mass readings and a daily Gospel reflection for Thursday, September 17, 2026. Paul hands on the Gospel he received, and a woman known as a sinner weeps at the feet of Jesus.
Catholic Mass Readings
Readings of the Day
First Reading:1 Corinthians 15:1-11
I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Psalm 118:1-2, 15c-17, 28 (R. 1a)
R/. Give praise to the Lord, for he is good
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Luke 7:36-50
At that time: One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain money-lender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning towards the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Thursday – 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Gospel Reflection
Main Point: A woman weeps so hard at the feet of Jesus that her tears wash them. The respectable men are appalled. But her extravagant love is not what earns forgiveness. It is what forgiveness looks like once it has been received.
1. Picture the dinner. A respectable Pharisee named Simon has invited Jesus to eat. The room is proper, the guests are important, and then a woman known in the town as a sinner comes in uninvited and ruins the decorum entirely.
2. She stands behind Jesus at His feet, weeping, and her tears fall on them. She wipes them with her hair, kisses His feet, pours out expensive ointment. It is too much. It is embarrassing. Simon is disgusted, and sure that a real prophet would never let such a woman touch Him.
3. Jesus reads his thoughts and tells a small story. Two men owed money, one a great deal and one a little. Both were forgiven. Which will love the lender more? Simon answers correctly, the one forgiven more. And Jesus turns the whole room toward the weeping woman.
4. Here is the point we must get in the right order. Jesus does not say she is forgiven because she loved so much as a price she paid. He says her great love is the sign that she has already been forgiven much. The love is the evidence of mercy received, not the payment for it.
5. Simon, cool and correct, has shown Jesus little love, because he thinks he needs little mercy. That is the real danger in the room, and it is ours whenever we feel respectable. The person sure they are basically fine will love God politely, at a distance. The one who knows they have been forgiven a mountain cannot stop weeping at His feet.
6. So the question this Gospel puts to us is uncomfortable. Is our love for Christ extravagant, or merely correct? If it is thin, it may be because we have never let ourselves feel how much we have been forgiven. We keep our sins tidy and our worship tidy to match.
7. Paul, in the first reading, remembers his own mountain. He calls himself the least of the apostles, because he persecuted the Church, and says he is what he is only by the grace of God. The man forgiven so much became the one who worked hardest of all. Grace received, poured back out as love. That is the whole pattern.
My Practice: Ask Christ to show you honestly how much He has forgiven in you, not to shame you, but so your love can grow warm again. Then do one extravagant, undignified thing for Him today, a long prayer, a generous gift, a tear, and stop worrying how it looks.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, the woman wept at Your feet because she knew how much she had been forgiven, and her love embarrassed the respectable men who thought they needed little. Save us from being Simon, polite and cool and sure we are fine. Show us the mountain You have forgiven in us, so that our love for You catches fire again. We do not want a tidy, distant worship. We want to love You the way the forgiven love. Like Paul, let us know we are what we are only by Your grace, and pour that grace back out in love that does not count the cost. Amen.
Question to Reflect Today
- Is your love for Christ extravagant or merely correct, and what might change if you let yourself feel how much He has forgiven in you?
Thank You 🙏🙏🙏
Tags: Daily Mass Reflection, Ordinary Time, Gospel of Luke, Catholic Mass Readings, September 2026
