Tuesday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time

First Letter to the Thessalonians

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our reception among you was not without effect.
Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle.
Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please human beings,but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed--God is witness--
nor did we seek praise from human beings, either from you or from others,
although we were able to impose our weight as apostles of Christ. Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.

Psalms

O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."

St. Zephyrinus(Pope and Martyr († 217))

SAINT ZEPHYRINUS Pope and Martyr( 217) St. Zephyrinus succeeded Pope Victor in the year 198. That year, Emperor Severus raised the fifth and bloodiest persecution against the Church, which continued until his death in 211. During the persecution, St. Zephyrinus was the support and comfort of Christians. He suffered by charity and compassion what every confessor underwent. The triumphs of the martyrs were indeed his joy, but his heart received many deep wounds from the fall of apostates and heretics. Neither did his afflictions cease when peace was restored. Eusebius tells us that Pope Zephyrinus exerted his zeal so strenuously against the blasphemies of the heretics that they treated him contemptuously. However, the words of Christ ring true: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (Mt. 5:11-12). St. Zephyrinus filled the pontifical chair for nineteen years before passing away in 217. He was buried in his own cemetery on August 26. He is styled a martyr for being persecuted and facing death. He awaits us now in our True Native Land, where he lives and reigns with Jesus Christ and Mother Mary forever.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2025 / Catholic Missal of august 2025