THURSDAY OF WEEK TWENTY-ONE IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming. MT 24:42, 44

1 THESSALONIANS 3:7-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If only the Church and all her faithful members loved as St. Paul and his fellow workers in Your vineyard loved every member of Your Body as they loved the member of the church in Thessalonica. If we did then how beautiful and vibrant the Church would be and all who saw her would exclaim as they once did over 2000 years ago - see how they love one another.

For this to become a reality we have to keep our eyes fixed on You, O Lord, for our help comes through You, from the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Your faithful servants must pray unceasingly with tears and sighs and groans too deep for words. Such must be our love for each other that despite our own trials and sorrows we rejoice that our brothers and sisters love God as He ought to be loved.

We make the prayer of St. Paul our own, Beloved, as we too pray for all those we encounter each day. May every living person come to know You, love You, and give their lives to You, so that not one single soul is lost, and when time shall cease we will all behold You face to face and praise You for all eternity.

May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.

PSALM 89(90):3-4,12-14,17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It does not matter how much time is granted to us. For some the years granted are more than others but time is relative when it comes to living in Truth and Love. The length of our days does not determine the fervor of our love and the authenticity of our faith in You. 

Fill us with Your Holy Spirit who is our Paraclete, our Helper, our Comforter, and may we give Him the freedom to assist us and provide the graces we need to always be pleasing to God.

Make us know the shortness of our life

that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.

In the morning, fill us with your love;

we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.

MATTHEW 24:42-51 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today the Gospel passage in the Liturgy warns us and alerts us to the fact that You will return at a time when we least expect it. Our lives will end - for some sooner than later. Many did not wake up this morning from their night's slumber. Many died due to sickness, or accidents, or died a violent and unexpected death. We live in a world where the tsunami of evil threatens to annihilate us all. Some godless people who presently possess great wealth and because of it have inordinate power to influence the affairs of the world and the people in it are using it for nefarious purposes. Given over to the powers of darkness they are hellbent on destroying the lives of many in order to establish the reign of the antichrist.

It is time for all Your people to, stay awake and to be vigilant. But let us not be afraid for You O Lord have conquered. You have won the victory. The reign of evil is shortlived and the Day of the Lord is at hand. May we be numbered among Your faithful and wise servants so when You arrive You will find us prepared to receive You, our Master, our Bridegroom, and our Lord and God. 

‘What sort of servant, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns.’

WEDNESDAY OF WEEK TWENTY-ONE IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him. 1 JN 2:5

1 THESSALONIANS 2:9-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Those whom You call to labor in Your vineyard must ensure that they are not a burden in any way to those souls whom they labor for wooing them with love to believe in the Good News that gives life.  St. Paul and his companions worked hard using the skills they possessed to provide for their temporal needs this took nothing away from their main task of teaching and preaching the Word of God. 

Let us make no excuses or shirk in our duty not only to work to bring the reign of Your Kingdom among us without neglecting the duties, demands, and commitments to our own vocation in life. The message preached by St. Paul and his companions was backed by their example and the authentic witness of their exemplary lives which drew many to accept the Good News of salvation. 

PSALM 138(139):7-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for Your intimate knowledge of me. With You I need not put on a mask, I need not pretend to be anyone other than myself. You love me just as I am and when I come before You, O Lord, warts and all, and trust You, You will slowly but surely make of me a new creation in Your image and likeness. 

May I never ever run from You no matter how gravely or how often I sin but may I always, always run to You and bury myself in Your tender, compassionate, and loving embrace. 

MATTHEW 23:27-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If there was one kind of person that You despised, abhorred, and who drew Your ire it was hypocrites. You spoke forcefully and plainly as You revealed their duplicity in their relationship with God and men. They bent over backward to make a good impression on the people by an ostentatious and public display of their good works in order to be seen, praised, and esteemed by those around them.

You see us as we are. No one can hide their true selves from You and if we attempt to do so we only deceive ourselves. It is the meek and humble of heart whom You love.  Keep me always little and humble aware that without You I can do nothing. All I have, all I hope to be comes from You, my Lord and my God. Thank You for being so good and gracious to me and for never hesitating to make my sins and my faults known to me through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Thine.

THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST - TUESDAY OF WEEK 21 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MT 5:10

JEREMIAH 1:17-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We live in a world where more are more the truth is called a lie and lies the truth. We live in a world where the wise are ground under the heels of fools and their voices are silenced by indoctrinated mobs who find their identity meaning and purpose for their lives by mindlessly parroting evil ideas and terrorizing and penalizing those who fearlessly stand their ground refusing to kowtow to their demonic agendas.

Today, Your Word O Lord reminds us to have courage. To brace ourselves for the onslaught of evil that threatens to mow us down. But You assure us that those who stand firmly on Your Word, those who abide in Your Word will be invincible

Today, the Church invites us to reflect on the beheading of St. John the Baptist, Your precursor and friend of the Bridegroom who prepared the Way for Your coming. He proclaimed the truth boldly. He called out sin wherever he found it even if it meant publicly renouncing the sins of Herod. He fulfilled the mission that was entrusted to him faithfully and in the end, it cost him his life which he gave up gladly. We are easily bullied and knuckle under the bluster of the mob who threaten violence and mayhem if we stand up firmly against them.  Give us the grace and the courage, O Lord that we may prefer to lay down our lives and die for the Truth rather than live cowardly lives refusing to speak up when we ought because we love our lives too much to risk standing up for the true, the good, and the beautiful.

‘I, for my part, today will make you
into a fortified city,
a pillar of iron,
and a wall of bronze
to confront all this land:
the kings of Judah, its princes,
its priests and the country people.
They will fight against you
but shall not overcome you,
for I am with you to deliver you –
it is the Lord who speaks.’

TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You are Peter
and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. MT 16:18

ISAIAH 22:19-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All that You established in the New Covenant O Lord, our God, Son of David, Son of the Living God, Eternal Word of the Father is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant - all is consummated to perfection in the New. 

To the Church that You founded on Peter, the Rock, who together with the rest of the Apostles You have given Your authority to bind and to loose as well as the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In the fullness of the Holy Spirit, she possesses the fullness of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are made manifest in abundance in her. 

The Church is our Mother - she nurtures all her children through the Holy Father, the Pope, Your Vicar on earth, the Bishops, and her consecrated ministers the priests in each of the Sacraments that You instituted. 

The Pope is given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and together with the Bishops she shepherds Your flock, she leads them to green pastures to be fed and nourished on the Eucharist, and she leads them to lie beside the cool waters, the living streams of grace that lave and cleanses them and quenches their thirst.   

The Church is the House of Praise and from her altar where You O Lord are Altar, Priest, and Victim she offers to the Father the only and once-for- all holy, acceptable, and perfect Sacrifice that has redeemed the world. The Son glorifies the Father unceasingly from the rising of the sun to its setting in His mystical body, the Church. 

The Church is built on Rock whose Cornerstone is You O Lord - she stands firm against every attack of the Enemy. No plot against her will succeed for You have given us Your solemn word O Eternal Word of the Father that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her for You are with her until time shall cease.

PSALM 137(138):1-3,6,8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.

Thank You with all the fervor of my soul for hearing my prayers. Thank You for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph our spiritual father, and the saints and angels in heaven as well as all the holy souls in purgatory whose prayers on my behalf strengthen me and give me courage to carry my cross daily and follow You.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.

Thank You for Your faithfulness and love that is unceasing and immeasurable - I am able to put one foot before the other for I know that You have taken me firmly by the hand. You will not let me stumble or fall.

The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly

and the haughty he knows from afar.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.

Thank You, Lord, for Your tenderness toward me for You know that I am poor and needy. Confident of Your love for me I know You will lead me from this life to the next because I am the work of Your hands. 

ROMANS 11:33-36 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul asserts that no one can know Your mind O Lord, for the riches and depths of God's mind are unfathomable to the human intellect. But this we know, that we are created in God's image and likeness, each of us is willed by God into existence and we are so loved by Him that He gave You to us, His only Son, so whoever believes in You may not perish in our sins but have eternal life. 

Beloved, there is so much that happens in our lives that we cannot understand as we journey through this valley of tears. The horrific events that occur in every corner of the globe are many known, so many more unknown. Evil is plotted intermittently in secret and carried out with subterfuge in deadly secret. They believe that they are hidden and unseen - but You know them O Lord by name and they will pay the price for their infernal nefarious deeds.

Why do You permit all the evil, sickness, the attacks against the innocent even little babes? We do not know Beloved and we will never know in this life. As. St Paul tells us, 'How rich are depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods!'

My Lord, no mortal being no matter how wise and learned can ever know 'the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything? All that exists comes from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.'

This we know and we know full well - that You are God, that You are Love, and that You can be trusted for You have the power and You use that power always and unfailingly to draw great good from the greatest and most deplorable acts of evil that the wicked are capable of.  All suffering has the power to strengthen, purify, to form us in the image and likeness of God and prepare us for the eternal beatific vision.

MATTHEW 16:13-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In a world that sometimes feels like it has gone stark raving mad and this madness is apparent even among some in the hierarchy and schism seems imminent, Your little ones know that the Church is the bulwark and pillar of truth. To Peter and to his successors is given Your authority and guided by the Holy Spirit who abides in Holy Mother Church in fullness and in truth, the faithful can rest in her with complete confidence like a weaned child in its mother's arms. The Holy Spirit guarantees that she will never teach error and this is why we are bound to obey our Holy Father and the Bishops. This is possible if we are humble and obedient. 

God would not entrust His little ones to Peter and his successors without first ensuring, guaranteeing, and assuring us that God Himself revealed to Peter the proclamation that he made concerning You: Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,the Son of the living God.’ And You replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ 

We believe in You, we believe in Your Word We believe that the Church is Your bride You are her Bridegroom and all who are born in her and grafted to her will be carried safely in the barque of St. Peter to the eternal shores.

SATURDAY OF WEEK TWENTY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You have only one Father,
and he is in heaven;
you have only one Teacher,
the Christ. MT 23: 9, 10

RUTH 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The book of Ruth is so comforting to those who mistakenly believe that they are alone. God sees us all. God loves us all. He has a beautiful plan for our lives and He takes us by the hand safely home. Yes, Lord, we must pick up our cross daily, as You taught us to, and to follow You. Suffering is necessary - You took on Yourself the suffering of the whole human race and redeemed us and we are given a little taste of that suffering to purify and strengthen us. To teach us that we need to lean on You always and to trust You to provide for all our needs just as God looked out for Ruth and Naomi and sent Boaz into her life to protect her, love her, and provide for her and her mother-in-law. 

Your eye is on us always Beloved, You are aware of all that we do. You hear our prayers and You always answer generously giving us all we need in this life to prepare us for the fullness of life that we will enjoy in God's presence eternally. 

MATTHEW 23:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today You remind us that we must always submit to the authority of the Church, believe in the doctrines of our faith that she teaches and upholds, and we must strive to live holy lives. Even if our shepherds live less than exemplary lives, even if they do not model You, the Eternal High Priest, even though they give cause for scandal, we must always remember that they are anointed and consecrated to serve Your people. They make You present to us in the Sacraments. Without priests, the Church would no longer exist. Instead of criticizing them let us pray for them. 

Let us strive always to see ourselves as we are and to be humble and grateful for all that You have done for us. Thank You for laying down Your life for us and grant us the grace to lay down our own lives in service to each other in the Church and in the world. 'The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.'

ST. BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel. JN 1:49

APOCALYPSE 21:9-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I am a member of Your Body, the Church which You founded on the Twelve Apostles. The Church is Your Bride and You, O Lord, her Bridegroom. How wonderful it is to know that although I am poor, insignificant and little because I am grafted into this Church which is Your Body, I am Your bride. 

You have given me Your Holy Spirit to help me to grow in virtue, in holiness so when my life on earth has ended You will come to take me by the hand and lead me to the place that You O Lord, my God, have prepared for me. 

Keep me O Lord as the apple of Your eye. Guard me from the wiles of the Enemy. Keep me safe, my Beloved for Yourself and for eternity. There, along with the Apostles and all the saints, my brothers and sisters who have gone before me, I will behold You face to face and sing Your praises forever. 

PSALM 144(145):10-13a,17-18 ©

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

They make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

JOHN 1:45-51 ©

My Soul's  Beloved,

Like the apostle Nathanael also known as Bartholomew, we can either choose to accept as true commonly held prejudices or we can be open to the possibility that God can be found anywhere even in the least likely place that we expect Him to be because He is everywhere.

Nathanael was open to Philip's invitation to 'come and see' and he was richly rewarded.  Even as he approached You, Beloved, You revealed to him that from all eternity You knew him when You declared, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’  To which he responded, ‘How do you know me?’ and You replied, ‘Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.’ 

Your recognition and knowledge of Nathanael was enough to prompt him to declare, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ You said, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that. I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’

Keep me faithful O Lord to the end and not just me Lord, but all those I love and bring the whole world to the knowledge that You are indeed the Son of God, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lord. Through You alone O Lord we are saved.

WEDNESDAY OF WEEK TWENTY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. HEB 4:12

JUDGES 9:6-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's reading reminds us that it is far better to be useful in service than to lord it over others. It is the crass fool unwise in the ways of the Lord and the Word of God who fritters away the precious and limited time granted to us.

The olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine are symbols of men and women of substance who image You, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and Your life and light radiate in and through them. We are called to be salt and light in an increasingly darkening world and it is getting ever more dangerous to do so for the world hates those who are called by Your Name, those who keep Your commandments, and who insist that all Christians worthy of the Name must do so as well.

Crass fools are leading the world today. Bufoons are in power. Feral wolves clothed in sheep's clothing are misleading the ignorant through blind alleys into the bottomless pit. We pray O Lord that You will intervene quickly and put an end to the demonic activity that threatens to obliterate the world. Have mercy O Lord, have mercy on Your people and in Your mercy and loving kindness save us once more. 

MATTHEW 20:1-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The workers who grumbled at receiving the same wage as those who came at the eleventh hour even though they had toiled hard in the heat all day. They assumed that those who joined them in the vineyard at various interval in the day would receive a smaller wage or that their wage would be more substantial. These workers behave just like the older son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Their toil was joyless. Their focus was on the reward and not on the work that was entrusted to them. 

Too many busy Christians have a joyless faith, they have a sense of entitlement mistakenly believing that it is their right to demand and expect more than others, and they have a sense of superiority as they look down on those whom they perceive as not doing as much as they do and hence should not be given an equal status with them.

The father in the parable of the Prodigal Son is an icon of our Heavenly Father. He points out to his older son that everything that he possesses belongs to him since he is his heir but it is also right and fitting that he receives and restores to his younger son all that he had in his folly so wantonly turned his back on, because he returned home with a humble and contrite heart. 

Lord, You have no patience with those who are small-minded, have a narrow vision of God's salvific love for the whole world, and have a stingy and ungenerous view of those they consider inferior to them. A proud and haughty spirit You spurn.

Thank You, Lord, that You love both the sinner and the saint with the same love. You have no favorites. While our response to Your love may differ, Beloved, Your love for each of us is eternal, unfathomable, and immeasurable.

You will always, always look sternly and speak gravely to those who believe they can dictate to God. what He ought or ought not to do. 

Thank You, Beloved, for coming to seek and save the lost. For leaving the ninety-nine in order to search for the one who wandered from the fold. Thank You and praise You now and forever.

When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’

OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN, TUESDAY OF WEEK TWENTY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women. LK 1:28

ISAIAH 9:1-7 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It pleased God that in the fullness of time, He would send You, His only beloved Son into the world through the Woman chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God. She was to undo the knot of disobedience of Eve the mother of the children of Adam. Their pride has caused the whole human race to be weakened by original sin. Doomed to an eternal death, the Father in His loving plan to save His children sent us a Savior, a Redeemer, the Son of the Living God. He laid on You the yoke of our flesh subjecting You to the human condition in every way including death but sinless.

You came into our darkness to bring us light. You entered into the shadow of death took upon Yourself our death and gave us Your life. You, who are God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten of God and God Himself entered the very depths of human existence, into the uttermost bounds of human degradation. Reaching into the jaws of death You snatched us from eternal damnation and made us children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

And all this was possible because the Woman, now clothed with the Sun of Justice, said, 'Yes, may it be done unto me according to Your will.' Heaven and earth met, justice and peace kissed and we are saved by the Son of God conceived and made incarnate in her virginal womb. Thank You, Lord.

From this time onwards and forever,
the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.

The jealous love of the Lord of Hosts has done this. Halleluia, Amen.

LUKE 1:26-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There are no virtues so endearing to God than humility and obedience and these our Blessed Mother possessed in fullness. She recognized that it was all God - she is who she is because of God's election. You chose her to be Your Mother. You took Your Body from her. Your Blood was given to You by the nourishment she provided at her breast. You made her virginal womb Your sanctuary and dwelling place for nine months. She was conceived free of original sin because she was chosen to be the Mother of God. You are her Savior too as she rightly and gladly proclaims in her hymn of praise and exaltation to God in the Magnificat. 'Christ’s death on the cross was an eternal event; as such, its graces could reach back in time, as well as forward. This means that the grace that Christ would win on Calvary could be applied to Mary in anticipation of Calvary. This was how she was saved from any stain of sin, both original and actual.' 

ST. POPE PIUS X - MONDAY OF WEEK TWENTY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MT 5:3

JUDGES 2:11-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Original sin has left an indelible scar on mankind and while this sin is washed away at our Baptism it has weakened us so we continue to be tempted by the world the flesh and the devil and are concupiscent to sin. Your Word O Lord reminds us that the righteous man falls seven times a day. This is true which means that the unrighteous fall constantly. 

The people of God in the Old Testament reflect our weak human nature perfectly. We are constantly falling into error, we suffer from our sinful choices, we repent and beg Your forgiveness. You forgive us over and over again and restore us in Your friendship and grace and for a while we are faithful but soon we forget all that You have done for us and we fall into sinful ways again. 

Thank You, Lord, for instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation and for forgiving us each time we approach You in this Sacrament with a repentant and contrite heart.

PSALM 105(106):34-37,39-40,43-44 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This psalm was written a very long time ago before You came into the world to redeem us and yet it is a perfect reflection of our present culture. The world is sinking deeper and deeper into the very pit of hell. The very same sins committed eons ago are committed to this day. 

Christians unworthy of the name are indifferent and tepid. They see Christianity as no different from other faiths. They are idolatrous for they worship the flesh, the world, and the devil and sacrifice their children on the demonic altar of abortion.  They defile their bodies and they kill their souls in unholy relationships and defile the sacred and divine concept of marriage and the union of one man and one woman in the holy bond of matrimony for life. Now we find our world spiralling out of control and we cry out to You for mercy. Hear us O Lord. Do not be deaf to our cry. Reach out to us and save us before we are doomed to eternal destruction.

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

MATTHEW 19:16-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today what You say to the man who desired to possess eternal life You say to each one of us. It is not enough to keep the commandments - they are the minimum requirement. We are invited to image You and thus strive to become like You in every way. How do we do this, Beloved - we lay down our life in loving service to our neighbor just as You lay down Your life to redeem us. 

We will follow You only as closely as we are willing to divest ourselves of our attachment to temporal things.

You say to us today, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people. MT 4:23

ISAIAH 56:1,6-7 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We, O Lord, members of the Church You founded with You as its Cornerstone and on Peter, the Rock on whom You have built this Church, are the foreigners who have made members of Your mystical body. The people God had chosen for His own rejected Him by rejecting You. The glorious outcome of their rejection is that the invitation is now extended to everyone everywhere. We have come into the wedding hall as the guests of the Bridegroom and we partake of the wedding banquet and receive the life of the Son and we receive salvation and life in and through You.

The one, holy, perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God, without stain or blemish, once offered on Calvary is re-presented every day in every corner of the globe and offered to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit is what saves the world. Here, the faithful gather day after day, those who attend the celebration of daily Holy Mass, and those who come joyfully, in response to God's command on the Day of the Lord, receive from God immense graces that sustain us in our journey and strengthens us with heavenly manna until we enter into Your glory.

Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

ROMANS 11:13-15,29-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today, I wish to thank God, our Father, for His graciousness in turning His gaze to pagans and gentiles and extending the gift of salvation to us when the people He chose to be His own rejected You. As St. Paul says, their rejection meant the reconciliation of the whole world to You, and because God does not change His mind, His people, the hardened hearts of the people of Israel will eventually soften and many will come to recognize and believe that You are their long-awaited Messiah.

God's mercy embraces every living human being and anyone who hungers and thirsts for God will find You, believe in You, and will be saved. Thank You, Lord,  that despite the disobedience of the world in our current age, Your salvific work will eventually bear fruit and many will be saved. 

God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice. Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.

SATURDAY OF WEEK NINETEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READING

Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25 

JOSHUA 24:14-29 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

My Lord and my God You I will serve, You will I fear with a holy fear, with awe and reverence all the days of my life. Thank You for Your abiding Presence in my life. Thank You for walking with me. Thank You for never abandoning me. Even in the midst of my darkest distress, You O Lord were with me and because You were with me I always had hope.

Beloved, I believe that You have heard all my prayers and You will continue to hear me. Each time I call Your Name You answer because You stoop from the highest heaven over me and are aware of every sigh that escapes from my lips. I thank You in faith this day for I believe in Your time and in Your way, You will answer every prayer I pray daily for my spouse and for my family.  As for us O Lord, we promise to serve You faithfully all the days of our life. Keep us close to Your Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your Mother and ours.

‘See! This stone shall be a witness against us because it has heard all the words that the Lord has spoken to us: it shall be a witness against you in case you deny your God.’  Peter is the Rock on which You have built Your Church and You O Lord are its Cornerstone - to this Church O Lord keep me and my family always faithful and in and through her, You will grant us eternal life.

PSALM 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11 ©

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness forever.

MATTHEW19:13-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is to the simple, the childlike, the humble of heart, the meek in spirit that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs.

Grant me these virtues O Lord. My weaknesses are legion and as long as I am always aware of how helpless I am without You, how easily I stumble and fall if You take away Your Spirit from me. I desire to keep my hand in Yours always so You will lead me safely from this life to the life that is to come in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Keep the Church humble as well O Lord so she will always be attuned to the Holy Spirit and heed His prompting and she will be able to faithfully shepherd Your flock through this dark valley of tears to the place of rest that God has prepared for us from all eternity.

FRIDAY OF WEEK NINETEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking. 1TH 2:13

JOSHUA 24:1-13 ©

---- mine,

Whenever you are discouraged, sad, or feel overwhelmed by the weight of all the weights you down and oppress your soul, I want you to go over your life as far back as you can recall and ponder over all that you have experienced. The good, the bad, the joyful, the sad, and see the hand of God in each of them. This is what Joshua did, he gathered the people of God, descendants of Abraham and he reminded them of how God having chosen them to be a people uniquely His own was with them in all their trials and sufferings. It was God who delivered them mightily from the tyranny of the Egyptians and gave them possession of vast territories of bountiful land where they never toiled, He gave them towns that they did not build, and they ate from vineyards and olive-groves they never planted. 

Count your blessings ---- my own, each time sadness and anxious thoughts overwhelm you and rob you of My peace. Trust in Me, trust in My Word. Have faith. It is I who fight your battles for you and through all your struggles I AM with you. I uphold you with My victorious right hand. I never have nor will I ever leave you or abandon you - you are Mine.

PSALM 135(136):1-3,16-18,21-22,24 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for reminding me once again that You are good and Your great love is endless and immeasurable. 

It is right and fitting that always and everywhere thanksgiving, praise, worship, and adoration are offered to You, O glorious God, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

May my voice unite with the earth and the choirs of angels and all the saints in heaven singing songs of praise and worship until You bring me home to Yourself and I behold You face to face. You have saved us O Lord and now we are Yours in time and in eternity.

MATTHEW 19:3-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Marriage is sacred and it is God who calls us to this Sacrament. It is a lifelong vocation where both husband and wife learn how to love sacrificially. It is God who trusts us with children - we must welcome them and raise them in the fear of the Lord but witness to them by our lives how to live as God's holy people in a wicked and ungodly world. We pray for them unceasingly and teach them how to be pleasing to You always.

My Lord and My God, You know we are imperfect, You know we make mistakes, You know that we have not always made good choices, and we have often put the wisdom of the world before the wisdom of God in the raising of our children.  We thank You that You can still draw infinite good even from the poor choices we have made. Let us not allow regret for the things we failed to do to make us bitter and discouraged rather may we be humble enough to surrender all to You and trust You write straight on our crooked lines.

Chastity is a bad word in the current culture we live in and celibacy is seen as unnatural. Today You remind us that we are children of God, heirs to the Kingdom, and holy men and women are witnesses to the truth that it is possible to live chaste lives for the sake of the Gospel and for the Kingdom of God.

THURSDAY OF WEEK NINETEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees. PS 118:135

JOSHUA 3:7-11,13-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Grant me this grace today and always that I may carry Mary, the Ark of the Covenant, always with me for she is the tabernacle of the Eternal Word, the Bread of Life, the God of our salvation. With Mary, I cannot stray. She will ensure that even as my foot touches the water of tribulation the God of Life who took Flesh from her and made His home in her womb will halt the flow of troubles before they can overwhelm me and I will cross on dry land from this life to the Promised Land in the Kingdom of God.

MATTHEW 18:21-19:1 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I owe You a debt of love that I cannot repay. I am redeemed by Your Blood. You became the willing Victim for my sins, You bore the punishment of a criminal and that criminal was me. The barbaric death You endured was the penalty You paid for my sins, I have life because You took my place on the Cross. 

What is it You ask of me, in exchange my Beloved? You ask me to love as You have loved. To forgive as You have forgiven. I am to imitate You and to lay down my life for others just as You lay down Your life for me. I must do this gladly. Every day in countless ways I am invited to die to myself and so often I fail. You taught by example that it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Make me sensitive to all the opportunities that You present to me to serve as You served and find joy in giving. 

WENESDAY OF WEEK NINETEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. 2COR 5:19

DEUTERONOMY 34:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

God decrees the number of days we live on earth and in this time we are to accomplish the mission that He has entrusted to us. So it was with Moses after doing all that God commanded him to do in leading His people from slavery into freedom through the desert, he was told that he would not enter the promised land. God showed him the vastness of the rich land that He would give His people but Moses would not cross into it. It was time for God to take His good and faithful servant home to Himself.

We too, after our life's journey comes to a close must serenely surrender our mortal life to God and trust Him to lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven, our eternal home. When the end comes for me O Lord, grant that I will wait for You with exultant and expectant joy to take me by the hand and lead me home to Yourself. 

MATTHEW 18:15-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How glorious is the Church You have founded and established on Peter and the Apostles and their successors. Thank You for the confidence that we have in her because we believe Your Word for Your Word O Lord is Truth. Every Sacrament that You instituted are channels through which the Holy Spirit streams grace into our souls. Every Sacrament beginning with the Sacrament of Baptism which makes us children of God and heirs to the Kingdom is necessary and life-giving. 

Thank You for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for as sinners born of Eve we sin constantly and grave sin prevents us from receiving You in the Holy Eucharist which unites us to heaven while still on earth. Hear my prayers O gracious Lord for every member of my family and grant that each one of them encounters You in such a radical way that they will renounce their sins and return to the loving arms of the Father like the prodigal son. 

Thank You for giving the Church Your authority to dispense all the graces we need from her vast and boundless treasury through the Holy Spirit who lives in her and with You and the Father until the end of time. 

‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.

‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’

ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, PRIEST & MARTYR, MONDAY OF WEEK NINETEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 TH 2:14

DEUTERONOMY 10:12-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

A holy fear of You O Lord our God is the beginning of Wisdom. If only all those who call themselves by Your Name believed this then our world would not be hurtling to hell in a handbasket. The world has made for itself a tame God that it can manipulate and make in any image and likeness that it desires. This is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this is not the only Son of the Living God, this is not the Holy Spirit but an idol, and the worship of such a god is idolatry. 

You O Lord are holy. There is no god like You O God. You alone, we are commanded to love with our whole heart, soul, whole mind, and all our strength. We must obey all Your commands - they are not a list of suggestions from which we decide which we will keep and which we will discard. They are God's law and God's law is holy and immutable - we keep them or we die. 

Thank You, O Lord, for instituting the life-giving Sacraments.  Without them, we would have no access to the grace of the Holy Spirit and we would slowly wither and die on the vine and be cut off and cast into the eternal fires of hell.

What Moses said to Your people is applicable to us too, 'It is the Lord your God you must fear and serve; you must cling to him; in his name take your oaths. He it is you must praise, he is your God: for you he has done these great and terrible things you have seen with your own eyes; and though your fathers numbered only seventy when they went down to Egypt, the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars of heaven.' Grant us a new Pentecost, cast a fire upon the earth, and renew the face of the whole world with Your love.

PSALM 147:12-15,19-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We were created for praise. We praise God from the rising of the sun to its setting for we keep ever before us God's goodness and graciousness in creating us, in calling us by name, in redeeming us, and abiding with us. 

Your law is written on our hearts and Your Word sustains us. We are nourished not just by Your Word but by Your Flesh and Blood. One day our mortal bodies will die and decay but our souls, nourished by Your Word and Your Sacraments will rise up and be united to You for all eternity. 

He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.

He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.

Thank You for giving us Your peace in the midst of the turmoil and chaos in the world. We are Yours, keep us safe in Your love. 

MATTHEW 17:22-27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The thought of the death of a loved one always causes great sadness. We want to hold on to life and to the people we love. But because of original sin, everything in this world is subject to decay and death, nothing in the created world lasts. Mortal life ends. Created things eventually die and turns into dust. We were created from dust and we return to it.

For non-Christians, death is distressing because they do not have hope of eternal joy and union with God and with their dead loved ones. The disciples too were downcast when You spoke of Your death. ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.’ They were filled with great sadness. We want to cling to the people we love. But thanks be to God, Beloved, because You conquered death and crushed the head of the Serpent, we who believe and are baptized and grafted into Your Body have hope of eternal life. Dying Your destroyed our death and rising You restored our life - now O Lord we wait with eager anticipation for Your return in glory to claim the living and the dead. 

Death is real. We have to face it one day and while we wait we must live honorably as children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are to keep the laws of the land in which we live so long as they do not contradict God's laws and while we wait until our time on earth comes to a close we are called to be salt and light in the world. Keep us faithful to You O Lord to the end. Thank You for paying the price and making us citizens of heaven.