DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
MT 4:4B
ACTS 5:34-42
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, cautioned the members of the Sanhedrin to let the Apostles go for if they were doing the work of God then they would find themselves fighting against God Himself, if not, their followers like those of Theudas and Judas the Galilean would perish with their death.
Gamaliel persuaded the Sanhedrin to let the Apostles go, they did so but not before ordering them flogged and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus.
Through the centuries all who believe in Your Name have continued to preach and teach the Good News in the Name that is above every other and countless men, women, and children have suffered for the sake of the Name. This is why the Apostles and all who are persecuted for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel, rejoice for having being counted worthy to suffer all kinds of punishment and even death for the sake of Your Name.
PSALM 27:1, 4, 13-14
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Truly, You are my light and my salvation and I need fear nothing. If You be for us who can be against us? All who make their refuge in You are safe from the wiles of the Enemy. No evil can touch us when we hide in You.
Beloved, our churches are closed but we dwell in the shadow of Your wings in our homes as we come together to pray and to worship You. Never have we been closer to You than during these days of uncertainty. You have not abandoned us. The Church has not abandoned us because we are the Church.
We continue to contemplate Your Face as we participate spiritually in the Holy Mass. We receive Your Body and Blood spiritually each day and we are confident that You grant us all the graces of this Sacrament as if we were truly present.
These are extraordinary times of grace and blessing. This time will pass but the memories of having experienced the bountiful love of God will stay with us. Holy Mother Church has shown us in so many ways that You continue to remain very, very close to Your people, the sheep of Your flock.
Thank You.
JOHN 6:1-15
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
John preferred to call the marvelous miracles You performed signs. Because that's what they are - signs that You are God. In today's Gospel reading we are told that You went up the mountain, sat down with Your disciples, looked out, and saw the vast crowd that had gathered.
You saw that they were hungry. Their spiritual hunger was satisfied and now You wanted to satisfy their physical hunger as well. You asked Philip if they could arrange to buy enough bread to feed the crowd. John says, that You said this to test Philip. You expected Philip to respond differently from the way he did. By now the disciples should have recognized that You are God and Philip's response should have been, "Lord, You are God, You have the power to feed them."
It was Andrew who noticed that a boy had five barley loaves and two fish but remarked, "What good are these for so many?" Again we see a lack of faith for they had not fully grasped that You are God.
John tells us that there was a lot of grass there and You told the disciples to have the people recline in the grass. This experience is unlike the Exodus when they were expected to eat in haste. Here there is an atmosphere of relaxation and of eating with friends.
You then took the five loaves (representing Your five wounds) and the two fish (symbolic of Your divinity and humanity) gave thanks to Your Father and instructed the disciples to feed the crowd of five thousand who were seated there.
We are told that everyone ate their fill of the bread and fish. You then told the disciples to gather the fragments so that nothing is wasted. They collected twelve baskets with the bread that was leftover. You had provided far more than the crowd could eat.
You are the Bread of Life and You have commanded that we eat Your Body and Drink Your Blood in order to receive eternal life. We can receive the Holy Eucharist only through the hands of the twelve Apostles and their successors.
We pray to You O Lord, the Kings of Kings, and Lord of Lords to provide us with good Bishops and priests in every age and that all who hear Your call to the priesthood say a resounding and generous yes.
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
MT 4:4B
ACTS 5:34-42
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, cautioned the members of the Sanhedrin to let the Apostles go for if they were doing the work of God then they would find themselves fighting against God Himself, if not, their followers like those of Theudas and Judas the Galilean would perish with their death.
Gamaliel persuaded the Sanhedrin to let the Apostles go, they did so but not before ordering them flogged and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus.
Through the centuries all who believe in Your Name have continued to preach and teach the Good News in the Name that is above every other and countless men, women, and children have suffered for the sake of the Name. This is why the Apostles and all who are persecuted for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel, rejoice for having being counted worthy to suffer all kinds of punishment and even death for the sake of Your Name.
PSALM 27:1, 4, 13-14
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Truly, You are my light and my salvation and I need fear nothing. If You be for us who can be against us? All who make their refuge in You are safe from the wiles of the Enemy. No evil can touch us when we hide in You.
Beloved, our churches are closed but we dwell in the shadow of Your wings in our homes as we come together to pray and to worship You. Never have we been closer to You than during these days of uncertainty. You have not abandoned us. The Church has not abandoned us because we are the Church.
We continue to contemplate Your Face as we participate spiritually in the Holy Mass. We receive Your Body and Blood spiritually each day and we are confident that You grant us all the graces of this Sacrament as if we were truly present.
These are extraordinary times of grace and blessing. This time will pass but the memories of having experienced the bountiful love of God will stay with us. Holy Mother Church has shown us in so many ways that You continue to remain very, very close to Your people, the sheep of Your flock.
Thank You.
JOHN 6:1-15
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
John preferred to call the marvelous miracles You performed signs. Because that's what they are - signs that You are God. In today's Gospel reading we are told that You went up the mountain, sat down with Your disciples, looked out, and saw the vast crowd that had gathered.
You saw that they were hungry. Their spiritual hunger was satisfied and now You wanted to satisfy their physical hunger as well. You asked Philip if they could arrange to buy enough bread to feed the crowd. John says, that You said this to test Philip. You expected Philip to respond differently from the way he did. By now the disciples should have recognized that You are God and Philip's response should have been, "Lord, You are God, You have the power to feed them."
It was Andrew who noticed that a boy had five barley loaves and two fish but remarked, "What good are these for so many?" Again we see a lack of faith for they had not fully grasped that You are God.
John tells us that there was a lot of grass there and You told the disciples to have the people recline in the grass. This experience is unlike the Exodus when they were expected to eat in haste. Here there is an atmosphere of relaxation and of eating with friends.
You then took the five loaves (representing Your five wounds) and the two fish (symbolic of Your divinity and humanity) gave thanks to Your Father and instructed the disciples to feed the crowd of five thousand who were seated there.
We are told that everyone ate their fill of the bread and fish. You then told the disciples to gather the fragments so that nothing is wasted. They collected twelve baskets with the bread that was leftover. You had provided far more than the crowd could eat.
You are the Bread of Life and You have commanded that we eat Your Body and Drink Your Blood in order to receive eternal life. We can receive the Holy Eucharist only through the hands of the twelve Apostles and their successors.
We pray to You O Lord, the Kings of Kings, and Lord of Lords to provide us with good Bishops and priests in every age and that all who hear Your call to the priesthood say a resounding and generous yes.
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