FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Isaiah 55:6-9
My thoughts are not your thoughts.
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 144:2-3.8-9. 17-18. Rv 18
Response: The Lord is close to all who call him.
1. I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.
2. The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
3. The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians 1:20-24.27
Life to me is Christ.
Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death.
Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me
something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing
work which is having good results- I do not know what I should
choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with
Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive
in this body is a more urgent need for your sake.
Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the
gospel of Christ.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation Lk 19: 38
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!
Or Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 20:1-16
Why be envious because I am generous?
Jesus said to his disciples: The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an
agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them
to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others
standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my
vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage”. So they went. At about
the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and
did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and
found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have
you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us”
they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too”.
In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the
workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and
ending with the first”. So those who were hired at about the eleventh
hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first
came, they expected to get more, but they too received one
denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The
men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you
have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy
day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My
friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one
denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer
as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own?
Why be envious because I am generous?”
Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
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