Saturday, August 22, 2026
Saturday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 23:1-12
Listen to the whole reading — MP3
First reading
Ezekiel 43:1-7
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east. Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth was illuminated with his glory. It was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. The Lord’s glory came into the house by the way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the Lord’s glory filled the house. I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me. He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;
Responsorial psalm
Psalms 85:8-9,10-11,12-13
I will hear what God, the Lord, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven. Yes, the Lord will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase. Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.
Gospel
Matthew 23:1-12
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Lectio
Ezekiel watches the glory of God return to the temple, filling the house from which it had once departed. It is a homecoming of enormous tenderness — God saying, "this is the place of my throne, the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the children of Israel forever." But notice what must change for that dwelling to endure: no more defiling the holy name, no more the empty display of kings who trusted in their own monuments even in death. The glory does not come to be admired from a distance. It comes to live in a house made clean enough to hold it.
Jesus, in the Gospel, names the exact spiritual disease Ezekiel's vision heals. The scribes and Pharisees have made a temple of themselves — broad phylacteries, long fringes, the best seats, the sweet sound of "Rabbi" in the marketplace. They have arranged their whole lives to be seen, and in doing so they have crowded out the One who longs to dwell within them. The glory of God cannot fill a house already full of the self. This is why humility is not merely a virtue among others; it is the emptying that makes room. "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted" is not a reward scheme. It is a description of how the divine glory finds its way in.
And between these two readings the Psalm whispers the promise gently: truth springs out of the earth, righteousness looks down from heaven, and they kiss. Heaven's glory does not overpower the humble ground — it meets it, tenderly, where the low and honest earth reaches up.
Where in your life today are you performing your faith to be seen by someone in particular — and who is that person whose approval you are quietly working for?
What is the one heavy burden you have laid on someone close to you that you yourself are unwilling to help them carry?
Ora reads this aloud, every morning, free. Ora