September 20
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time falls within the period of Ordinary Time in the Church’s liturgical year, a season focused on the ongoing life and teachings of Christ and the growth of the Christian community. Unlike the solemn feasts dedicated to specific events in Christ’s life or the celebration of particular saints, Sundays in Ordinary Time draw the faithful deeper into reflection on the mystery of Christ present in the daily life of the Church. On this Sunday, the readings often emphasize themes such as the generosity of God’s love, the call to humility and service, and the challenge of living according to the values of the Gospel.
This time in the Church year invites Christians not only to remember the great events of salvation, but also to apply Christ’s message to the ordinary circumstances of life. The liturgical colour is green, symbolizing hope, growth, and the ongoing journey of faith. The prayers and readings for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday encourage the faithful to trust in God’s wisdom and to practice justice and charity toward others. The Church observes these Sundays to nurture spiritual perseverance, helping all believers remain attentive to the Lord’s presence and action in everyday life.
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Questions about 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Novus Ordo Missae)
The liturgical day
Mass readings
First readingIs 55, 6-9
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts!
Let him return to the Lord
who will have mercy on him,
to our God
who is rich in forgiveness.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,
– says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
– The word of the Lord.
PsalmPs 144 (145), 2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Every day I will bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in love;
the Lord’s goodness is for all,
his tenderness for all his works.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
faithful in all he does.
He is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call on him in truth.
Second readingPh 1, 20c-24.27a
Brothers and sisters,
whether I live or whether I die,
Christ will be glorified in my body.
Indeed, for me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain.
But if, by living in this world,
I can carry out fruitful work,
I do not know what to choose.
I am torn between the two:
I desire to depart
to be with Christ,
for that is far better;
but for your sake, to remain in this world
is even more necessary.
As for you,
have a conduct worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
– The word of the Lord.
GospelMt 20, 1-16
At that time,
Jesus told this parable to his disciples:
“The kingdom of heaven is like
a landowner who went out early in the morning
to hire laborers for his vineyard.
He agreed with them on the usual daily wage:
a denarius, that is, a silver coin,
and sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
And to them, he said:
‘You also go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went.
He went out again about noon, and about three in the afternoon,
and he did the same.
At about five o’clock, he went out again,
found others standing there and said to them:
‘Why have you been standing here
all day doing nothing?’
They answered him:
‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them:
‘You too, go into my vineyard.’
When evening came,
the owner of the vineyard said to his manager:
‘Call the workers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last ones hired
and then going on to the first.’
When those who were hired at five o’clock came,
they each received a denarius.
Then those who were hired first came,
they thought they would receive more,
but they too each received a denarius.
On receiving it,
they grumbled against the landowner:
‘These last worked only one hour,
and you have treated them the same as us,
who have borne the burden of the day and the heat!’
But the owner replied to one of them:
‘My friend, I am not being unfair to you.
Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
Take what belongs to you, and go.
I choose to give to this last one as I give to you:
do I not have the right to do what I want with what is mine?
Or are you envious because I am generous?’
So the last will be first,
and the first will be last.”
– Let us acclaim the word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org