Sunday 23 August, 2026 Sunday 21st Week in Ordinary Time - Cycle A Antiphons and readings on p. 1192 of Daily Missal and p. 380 of Sunday Missal

Send us Fan MailEntrance AntiphonTurn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in you, my God. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long.First Reading:Isaiah 22:19-23A reading from the Book of IsaiahThus says the Lord to Shebna, who is over this household: “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your belt on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honour to his father’s house.”The word of the Lord.Responsorial psalm: Psalm 138:1-2a, 2bcd-3, 6 and 8bcR/: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;you have heard the words of my mouth.In the presence of the angels I praise you.I bow down towards your holy temple.I give thanks to your namefor your merciful love and your faithfulness.You have exalted your name and your promise over all.On the day I called, you answered me;you increased the strength of my soul.The Lord is high, yet he looks on the lowly,and the haughty he knows from afar.O Lord, your merciful love is eternal;discard not the work of your hands.R/: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.Second reading: Romans 11:33-36A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the RomansO the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.The word of the Lord.Alleluia, alleluia.You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.Alleluia.Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew At that time: When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.The Gospel of the Lord.Communion AntiphonThe earth is replete with the fruits of your work, O Lord; you bring forth bread from the earth, and wine to cheer the heart.