TUESDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him. JN 14:23

JAMES 1:12-18

My Soul's Beloved, 

Trials abound in my life and in the lives of those dearest to me. Today, I am reminded that in the testing, our character is revealed. Most of our troubles are a direct result of the sinful choices we make, and they affect not just the sinner but the entire family. We fail to consider our actions. We are ignorant of Scripture that warns us over and over of the consequences of disobedience to Your Word, and when tribulations and suffering are our lot because of the bad choices we have made, we become disconsolate, worried, anxious, and we chafe at the weight of the cross that we have brought upon ourselves.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, You know that we are sheep and we need You, our Good Shepherd, to seek us, lead us, heal us, and assist us to receive all that You desire to give us. Thank You, Lord.

Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.
Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.

PSALM 93(94):12-15,18-19

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord,
whom you train by means of your law;
to him you give peace in evil days
while the pit is being dug for the wicked.

The Lord will not abandon his people
nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just
and all true hearts shall uphold it.

When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’;
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.
When cares increase in my heart
your consolation calms my soul.

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.

MARK 8:14-21

My Soul's Beloved, 

Truly, Lord, I have no perception. My mind is closed. I have conveniently shut my mind to the countless blessings You have showered on my family and me. I am obtuse. Today You say to me, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ Why is your heart heavy? Why are you letting your black mood and your sour disposition color your relationship with those you love? This is displeasing to Me. 

Lord Jesus, I am truly sorry for forgetting that You are good, kind, faithful, loving, compassionate, and full of mercy. Grant me the grace to focus on Your blessings rather than on the trials and crosses laid on my loved ones and me. It is only through suffering endured with grace that we can receive a share in Your glory.

The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

MONDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me. JN 14:6

JAMES 1:1-11

My Soul's Beloved, 

I asked You to speak to me, to speak to my heart, to speak to me in the midst of the heaviness in my soul and You did. You answered me. You, O Lord, are faithful and You are good, and You always hear the cry of the needy.

Thank You for Your word today from St. James, who reminds us that suffering is necessary for every Christian who desires to walk in the Way of Life and Truth. Beloved, it was Your ignominious passion and death that wrought our salvation. We are invited to make Your Cross our boast, for in and through the Cross alone are we saved. All too often, Lord, when we find the weight of the cross too heavy to bear, especially when it is our loved ones who suffer, and we suffer because they are suffering, then it becomes doubly hard because we want them to find relief, and it does not seem to come. Disappointment follows on the heels of disappointment, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It is precisely at this time that we are reminded that trials are given to us to test our faith and to help us grow in patience.

Thank You for answering me through Your Word. It is not easy, Lord, but knowing that uniting my trials with Your suffering will produce in me the virtues necessary to walk in faith, hope, and love as I sojourn from this life to the life to come, where sorrow and tears will end, and I will behold the beatific vision in perfect joy eternally.

From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything.
It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.

PSALM 118(119):67-68,71-72,75-76

Let your love come to me and I shall live.

Before I was afflicted I strayed
but now I keep your word.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.

It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.

Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.

Let your love come to me and I shall live.

MARK 8:11-13

My Soul's Beloved,

The only sign a Christian needs is the Sign of the Cross, from which flows the redemption of the whole world. To this day, the hearts of the Pharisees of this present world are hardened against the Truth just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. They refuse to believe that the Messiah has come. The Savior has redeemed the world, and we are to live in righteousness and truth. The opposition of those who refuse to believe is because they are so in love with their sins that they deliberately close themselves off to divine revelation. 

The Sign is given to us, and all who wish to be saved embrace it. In the Cross alone are we redeemed, sanctified, and made perfect so we too may share in Your Crown of glory. Those who refuse, You give up with a sigh for You, O Lord, have created us free, and with this beautiful gift of freedom, we make the choice to be eternally damned or saved.

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.