4TH SUNDAY IN LENT, LAETARE SUNDAY, 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12

1 SAMUEL 16:1,6-7,10-13

My Soul's Beloved,

Each one of us who is baptized and grafted to You is chosen by You as David was chosen, anointed by You, as David was anointed, and made prophet, priest, and king by You by virtue of this glorious Sacrament of Initiation. You see us, Your gaze is always on us, even when we believe we are the youngest, not important, and sent to labor where perhaps the more important in the eyes of the world are not sent, yet even then, You know all and You have wonderful plans for us. Plans we cannot even imagine, for they are too glorious for us to even think of.

Thank You, Lord, for the oil of Chrism that anointed and consecrated us to You and to a life dedicated to You and Your glory at our Baptism and Confirmation. We forget O Lord, the purpose for which we were created - to know You, to love You, to serve You, and to live a life of grace and experience joy even in this valley of tears, and unimaginable joy with You in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Continue to fill us with Your Holy Spirit all the days of our lives so we may be a blessing to all we meet from this day forth until we come to live with You in heaven.

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands there before him,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

PSALM22(23)

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

EPHESIANS 5:8-14

JOHN 9:1-41

SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 94:8

HOSEA 5:15-6:6

My Soul's Beloved, 

Nothing that You have done from the time You laid the foundations of the earth has been hidden from us, whom You, O Lord, created in love. All we need to do to know Your will is to look for it daily in Your Sacred Word. Your plans for us in the world, in Your Church, and in our lives. We need to be so familiar with it that nothing will frighten us, alarm us, or discourage us. Rather, we will be encouraged, hopeful, and enthused always to actively seek Your will in all things and do it gladly and promptly.

The reason the yoke grows heavier and heavier is because we are being chastised for deliberately seeking our will over Yours. We prefer to wallow in the mire of sin and feed on scraps rather than claim our inheritance as children of God. We look for fulfillment in the noise and distractions of the world instead of seeking You in silence and contemplating with grateful hearts what the love of God has wrought for us in creating, saving, and redeeming us.

When we are contrite, repentant, and humble, You wash away our sins and restore our friendship with You. You fill us with the grace of the Holy Spirit and with joy and peace. These gifts are freely given to us when we approach You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but we do not make use of this healing Sacrament as often as we can. You love us greatly, and You pursue us relentlessly. There is no place we can hide from You. You do not give up on us, and as long as we have breath in our bodies, You will seek us, woo us tenderly, and invite us to seek perfect joy and rest in You, and when we return to You, You will rejoice over us and restore to us all that we lost in rejecting You. Pity us, Lord, and do not permit our stupidity and foolishness to ever take us so far away from You that we are lost forever.

The Lord says this:

They will search for me in their misery.
‘Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us;
he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds;
after a day or two he will bring us back to life,
on the third day he will raise us
and we shall live in his presence.
Let us set ourselves to know the Lord;
that he will come is as certain as the dawn:
his judgement will rise like the light,
he will come to us as showers come,
like spring rains watering the earth.’
What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I to do with you, Judah?
This love of yours is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that quickly disappears.
This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets,
why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth,
since what I want is love, not sacrifice;
knowledge of God, not holocausts.

PSALM 50(51):3-4,18-21

What I want is love, not sacrifice.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favour to Zion:
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
burnt offerings wholly consumed.

What I want is love, not sacrifice.

LUKE 18:9-14

My Soul's Beloved, 

Pride and self-aggrandizement are the hallmarks of Satan and his followers. Too often, many of us believe that God will accept as worthy our lip service in following Your Commandments and offering token signs of love for You, whereas in truth our hearts are far away from You. Some among us belong to all the right associations, making quite sure that we are visible and at the forefront of all the activities organized by the parish. We attend every mission, novena, and any other religious and social activities that are held, and lose no opportunity to announce to anyone who will listen of our prominence and all of our good works. To those of us guilty of this, You will some day say, 'Depart from Me, I never knew you.'

Let us contemplate this parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector at prayer and carefully and honestly examine our own conscience. Let me look unflinchingly at where and when I act like the Pharisee, seeking to be known for my good works, my daily Holy Mass attendance, preening with self-satisfaction at the good that God in His infinite goodness allows me to do, but I turn it into self-applause.

Have mercy on me, O Lord. Grant me the grace to make a rigorous self-examination of all my faults, reveal these wounds to You, allow You to grant me wisdom to see myself as I am, and to be healed of these sins. Grant me grace to look unflinchingly at my faults, my failings, and my sins and confess them so I can receive Your forgiveness and restoration as a child of God once again.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’