ST. JEROME, PRIEST, DOCTOR - SATURDAY OF WEEK 25 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2 TIM 1:10

ZECHARIAH 2:5-9,14-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Church You founded, the Church that is Your mystical Body, is the Church that You protect with a wall of the Fire of the Spirit of God, the Love of God, the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God. You have given Your Bride Your Word that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. Those within her gates and those outside it have been doing their utmost to destroy her but Satan remains toothless and all the wiles of the world the devil, and the flesh will remain ineffectual. 

“( The New) Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. But I – it is the Lord who speaks – I will be a wall of fire for her all round her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her.” Thank You for Your Word O Lord concerning Your Church, Your Body of which You O Lord are the glorious Head. We believe in Your Word and we are confident that for as long as the Church from the rising of the sun to its setting offers to the Father the once-for-all Sacrifice in remembrance of the work of salvation that You wrought on Calvary for the salvation of the world, the power of God and the presence of God within her will be unassailable and invincible until You return in glory. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

Sing, rejoice,
daughter of Zion;
for I am coming
to dwell in the middle of you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day;
they will become his people.


JEREMIAH  31:10-12,13 ©

O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,

has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.

Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give them gladness for grief.

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

 LUKE 9:43-45 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

At the time of Your public ministry over 2000 years ago, You were always aware of Your mission. The shadow of the Cross lay across the manger in Bethlehem and its shadow stayed with You until it was laid upon Your shoulders and You were finally crucified after enduring the savagery of Your executioners in a barbaric scourging,  accompanied by the derision and mocking of those who crowded around to watch what they perceived to be the end of the Man who threatened to destroy forever the comfort of the status quo that until then they enjoyed and no one but You had dared question. 

Oftentimes, when the adulation of the crowd was at its zenith You made it a point to remind Your disciples of what was to come - the handing over of the Son of Man to the power of men who had given themselves over to the powers of darkness and evil. This was one such time when they were still enthralled by the euphoric crowd that You drew them gently to the purpose of Your mission, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.’ Whenever You spoke of what was to come it made them afraid and uncomfortable. They enjoyed Your Presence basking in Your reflected glory and they did not want to see these exciting, exhilarating days come to an end. And they were too afraid to ask. In time they would, but until the hour for which You were born arrived the meaning was hidden from them.

Beloved, we want to be happy always with no suffering, pain, heartache, or sickness, and we never want evil to touch our lives - but we cannot escape the cross.  Every Christian is invited to share Your Chalice of Suffering while we sojourn in this vale of tears and we must do so with patience, humility, and with the grace that You make available to us. Only then can we hope to share in Your glory eternally. 

FEAST OF STS. MICHAEL, RAPHAEL AND GABRIEL, ARCHANGELS - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts,
his servants who do his will. PS 102:21

DANIEL 7:9-10,13-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are from eternity to eternity did not need us, creatures, yet in His great goodness and providence He loved us into being simply because He who is, who was, and ever shall be desired in His great magnanimity to share in the delight by creating us in order to draw us into this infinite and glorious love.  We could have had it all if our first parents had not sinned and separated us from God forever.

But God did not let Adam's sin become the inglorious epitaph of the man and the woman whom He created for eternal life and joy with Him. So what did God, our Father do? He gave us a New Adam in His Son, One who would be obedient unto death even death on a cross in order to redeem His poor, wounded, frail, sinful creatures who would otherwise be forever condemned to separation from their Creator. So You, my Beloved, came into the world to redeem what Adam had destroyed through pride and willful disobedience.

Today as we read and contemplate Daniel's vision of God, the One of Great Age to whom the entire cosmos and all in it worships in awe and delight, we are also given a foretaste of what will happen when time will cease. The New Adam, the Son of Man and the Son of God who entered into the very depths of the human experience so no one can ever say that You do not understand our misery and our suffering no matter what it may be, is conferred with the Crown of sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.

His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed, by Your Father and our Father in heaven. We are saved by the Blood of the Lamb and this is why no one can come into the Father's house unless they come through You.

PSALM 137(138):1-5 ©

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.

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.

All earth’s kings shall thank you

when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:
‘How great is the glory of the Lord!’

In the presence of the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

JOHN 1:47-51 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is most comforting to know that You know me, You see me, Your gaze is constantly on me. You know when I stand up and sit down. Before You, nothing is secret for You know all. Nathanael was surprised when You said to him, ‘Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.’ He was so wonderstruck that he exclaimed, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ You responded, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ 

It is true Lord, that there are more wondrous things that point out to us that You are not only the Son of God and the King of Israel but also the Ruler of the heavens and the universe. As St. Paul tells us, 'God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.' And elsewhere he says, "Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name   that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Lord, Jesus, we long for the day of Your coming in glory. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

THURSDAY OF WEEK 25 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

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 14:16

HAGGAI 1:1-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today we are reminded that we cannot expect anything to go well with us, there can be no blessings, if we do not get our priorities right. The Word of God is clear - we are commanded to love God with our whole heart, all our strength and might, with our whole being, with every breath we breathe and this love that we have for You must be the catalyst that drives us to do all things for the glory of God.

Unless You O Lord, our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are given the glory, honor, worship, and praise that is due to our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier we can be certain that nothing we achieve in this temporal world will prosper.

Grant us the wisdom O Lord to never cease giving You praise with every breath we breathe until that glorious day when we will come to You and remain with You in the Kingdom of God forever. 

PSALM 149:1-6,9 ©

Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

LUKE 9:7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

What good does it do anyone to hear about You, to see lives transformed by You, to hear testimonies of the marvels that You have worked in the lives of those who joyfully testify to Your love and Your power to heal and to forgive. To transform and to set free from every sin and bondage. From every illness both physical and spiritual. 

Herod the tetrarch is a perfect example of those who like their ears tickled but are not interested in accepting the truth and allowing it to transform their lives. The whole country was abuzz with the great signs and miracles that You performed. Everywhere You went people marveled at Your teaching and preaching for they had never heard anyone speak as You did. You taught and You spoke with authority and lives were transformed. But those like Herod are titillated momentarily and once the feeling has passed they lapse into indifference.

Although Herod liked listening to John the Baptist in prison perhaps because he stirred his almost-dead conscience, he had no qualms about beheading him to save face. Now, hearing about You and all the marvelous deeds You performed wherever You went, his interest went only so far as to wonder who You were and to a desire to see You. He took no concrete steps to go any further than the mild interest he felt in seeing You.

Beloved Jesus, so many of us like Herod hear of You and are stirred momentarily but we have no interest in committing our lives to You and accepting You as our Lord and Master.

Have mercy on us O Lord, and on the whole world. By the power of the Love of the Father for His wayward children grant that all sinners open their hearts and minds to the truth and the life of the Gospel. 

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST, ONE WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 25 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15

EZRA 9:5-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We echo the prayer of Ezra, yes Lord, we have sinned and our sins are as scarlet but You have not punished us as we deserve but in Your great and tender compassion You have taken pity on us and shown mercy. We deserved to be crushed and annihilated because of our offenses but You O Lord have revealed how good and gentle You are slow to anger and full of abounding love. Thank You, Lord.

I believe Lord, with all the fervor of my soul, that You will not abandon the sinner to their sins to their ultimate destruction, but You will pursue the sinner relentlessly and carry them back home on Your shoulders. I entrust every member of my family to You, Lord, confident that just as You moved the heart of King Cyrus and made a way miraculously for the exiles to return home to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, so too You will make a way for all those I love and pray for each day to return to Your house O Lord, the place where You dwell in fullness. You will receive them once again, fill them with Your Holy Spirit, and they will flourish and bear abundant good fruit for Your glory and for the glory of Your Kingdom. Thank You, Lord.

‘For we are slaves; but God has not forgotten us in our slavery; he has shown us kindness in the eyes of the kings of Persia, obtaining permission for us to rebuild the Temple of our God and restore its ruins, and he has found us safety and shelter in Judah and in Jerusalem.’

TOBIT 13:2,4,6-8 ©

God punishes, he also has mercy,

he leads men to the depths of the grave,
he restores men from the great destruction.
No man can escape his hand.

It is he who scattered us among the nations.
Among them must we show forth our greatness
and exalt him in the presence of all living;
for he is our Lord and our God,
our Father and our God forever.

Now think what he has done for you,

give thanks to him with all your voice.
Give praise to the Lord for his justice
and exalt the king of all ages.

In this land of exile I will thank him,

and show forth his greatness and might
to the race of sinful men.

Blessed be God, who lives forever.
Sinners, come back to him,
do what is right before him.
Who knows but he will receive you with pity?

Blessed be God, who lives forever.

LUKE 9:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Too few of us dare to take You at Your word, 'Take nothing for the journey.' We are so used to holding tightly onto our comfortable crutches certain we could not survive without them and yet the great Saints who adorn our Church are proof positive that if anyone who possesses genuine faith even if it is the size of a mustard seed, can move heaven and earth.

Today's Gospel passage shows us clearly that when we respond to Your call as the Twelve did, You will not only empower us to do the work that You assign to us but You will also instruct us every step of the way on how we are to carry out the task entrusted to us. 

Working to establish the Kingdom of God requires zeal and commitment and is not for the fainthearted. However, if we respond as the Twelve did we can trust You to provide all we need. Leaning on the strength of the Holy Spirit and not on our own understanding, we will be awestruck at what You can do with those who are humble and willing to trust You. The work is not ours but Yours and You will ensure its success. 

TUESDAY OF WEEK 25 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy are those
who hear the word of God
and keep it. LK 11:28

EZRA 6:7-8,12,14-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

No one can thwart God's plans. What God desires God will bring about. There is no power greater than the power of the Almighty and this is why all who belong to God are at peace for they rest in the bosom of the Most High.

Darius is a perfect example of this - the people of God were in exile when he reigned as the most powerful king in all the world and yet when God spoke to him and revealed to him what he desired him to do, he did so promptly and in the exact manner that God asked him to.

God desired the temple to be rebuilt and so all the Jews in exile in Babylon were instructed to go back to Jerusalem in Judah and there to build the Temple of God where true worship could be offered. And so it came to pass that the temple was rebuilt and sacrifices were offered. The temple is a foreshadowing of the Church that You came to establish on earth with You as its head and all who belonged to You as members of Your Body. 

There is only one pleasing and acceptable Sacrifice that the Father desires the only one that has the power to open the gates of heaven and to flood the earth with immense graces. Every celebration of the Holy Mass is a re-presentation to the Father of the one, holy, perfect, and only acceptable Sacrifice You offered on Calvary in atonement for the sins of the world. From the rising of the sun to its setting, in every nation across the globe, this one, holy, unrepeatable Sacrifice in union with the poor unworthy sacrifice of our own lives rises up to the highest heavens as a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. This is why God has not annihilated our sin-swamped world in disgust and righteous anger - the reason is the Holy Mass. Its power is what keeps the Church, its members, and the world in the grace of God.

The New Jerusalem is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, the New Temple is this Church, and the only acceptable sacrifice for the remission of sins is the bloody Sacrifice of the Lamb of God who was crucified and slain on Calvary and the unbloody Sacrifice offered daily in the Church that You founded is what sustains and keeps the world from being lost forever in the evil and demonic times in which we live. Until You come again in glory, Beloved, the fragrance of this pleasing and acceptable one, holy, and perfect Sacrifice will obtain mercy for the world.

PSALM 121(122):1-5 ©

I rejoiced when I heard them say:

‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city

strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is,

there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

LUKE 8:19-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Let us consider for a moment from where You got Your Body and Your Humanity - it was from Your Virgin Mother, Mary. It is this Body that You offered up on Calvary for the salvation of the world. Your Blood You received from her body when You suckled as an Infant at her breast. She provided the food that sustained You. It was in her womb that You were conceived by the power of the Third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit and the overshadowing of the Father. People clamored to touch just the hem of Your garment and they were healed. What then does it say about the body of her in whose womb You reposed for nine long months? 

No, Mary is NOT GOD - but this Virgin who was most highly favored by God is first and foremost before all humanity. She is given the highest place above all the angels and saints in heaven. When we join our voices to that of the angelic hosts of heaven and the saints to sing her praises we are praising God for this most sublime of creatures. Her hymn of Praise to God in the Magnificat in rising crescendo fulfills all the promises that God ever made to His people in the Old Testament. Her song embodies the songs of praise of the barren women in Sacred Scripture to whom an angel revealed that they would conceive and bear a child of promise for their particular time. 

Your Mom was fashioned by the Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created her with incomparable beauty and filled her with infinite grace and every virtue so as she rightly pointed out in her Magnificat that all generations would call her blessed. How then can anyone who reads this particular passage in the gospel conclude that You disrespected her? 

How shallow, superficial, and of the earth is their perception of this Lady who You in Your graciousness gave to us as our own Mother - stripped of everything You glanced at this peerless creature and aware of how much we would need a Mother like Yours You lovingly entrusted us to her and desired that we take her into our hearts and into our homes.

Thank You, Lord, for giving me Your Mama Mary to be my own Mother. 

Thank You Mary my mother for every grace and blessing I have received through Your intercession on my behalf with Your Son. I desire, sweetest and best of all mothers that not a prayer, not an intercession or supplication be received by Your Son Jesus from me without passing through Your Immaculate Heart and expressed by your chaste lips to Your Son. I know that if I offer all my prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Your Immaculate Heart my Mother, God will refuse me nothing for You will present them to Him in a manner that is most pleasing and acceptable and always in accord with the will of God. I love you sweetest and best of all mothers, pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Amen.

The mother and the brothers of Jesus came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd. He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.’ But he said in answer, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’

MONDAY OF WEEK 25 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2-23

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. MT 5:16

EZRA 1:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You call all God's children to be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are called to quiet our senses and to listen then we will surely be roused by the Spirit of God to hear as King Cyrus heard and we will do as the Lord commands. 

It is grace alone that moves us to have good thoughts, to speak good words, and to move out of our narrow lives and do the deeds that God asks us to do. On our own, we can do nothing. Jeremiah's prophecy could only become a reality when King Cyrus listened to the voice of God and obeyed. It was not just the king, but all the people of Persia obeyed his decree and provided the people of God with all that they would require to go to Jerusalem and build the Temple of the Lord.

Every Christian is also called to make their body and soul a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit - a place where God dwells. A place adorned with the virtues that are God's gifts to us. All that we have received from You, Lord, is for service. The more we use the treasures that You heap on us the more fruitful will our lives be. Grant us the gift of docility, Beloved, so we may always be attuned to the promptings and movement of the Holy Spirit in us.

PSALM 125(126) ©

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels

the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.

What marvels the Lord worked for us.

LUKE 8:16-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

A lamp can only be lit if it has oil. If we are in the dark and our lamp is empty we will remain in the dark even if we place it on a lamp-stand. Unless the Holy Spirit fills us with the oil of grace we will have nothing either for ourselves or to share with others.

Today, my Lord and my God, I ask You to please send us Your Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Only He can provide us with the grace necessary to be fruitful members of Your Body. You, O Lord, are the Light of the world, and unless our souls catch Your fire we and the world will remain in darkness and in sin.

Send forth Your Spirit O Lord, and renew the face of the earth lest we all perish. Enkindle in us the fire of Your love and may that fire set ablaze the whole Church and destroy all that is evil, all the dross, all that is unworthy of children of God. Grant us a new Pentecost and a new era of love and joy where You O Prince of Peace reign in the hearts of all and You establish Your rule in the world. Have mercy on us O Lord, have mercy.

Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest on Saturday of week 24 in Ordinary Time - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance. LK 8:15

1 TIMOTHY 6:13-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have shown us the Way to the Father and if we model our lives on Your life then with the help of the Holy Spirit whom You have given us we can navigate through this valley of tears and receive the inheritance You have won for us.

You are Truth and we need to live in the Truth that You have revealed. We need to stand up to Truth, witness to it and if necessary die rather than choose that which is temporary and fading instead of the eternal and unchanging.

You O Lord dwell in inaccessible Light that no one while still in the flesh can penetrate. But in due time, Beloved, if we live in the grace of the Holy Spirit and despite the numerous times we fall in a day we rise up and begin anew, You will take us by the hand and You will lead us slowly but surely through all the travails we have to face in this short life on earth to the place that the Father has prepared for us. There O Lord we will share in Your glory that You won for us at so great a price. Thank You, Lord.

PSALM 99(100) ©

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.

He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Go within his gates, giving thanks.

Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,

eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

LUKE 8:4-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the chief Sower and the good seed of Your word is being sown constantly in our lives. Whether we are receptive or not seeds are constantly being sown and depending on our receptivity they will take root in us and bear good fruit. 

But we are not always willing to allow the Seed to have its way with us. Grant us the grace we need so we can be receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Help us Lord lest we perish.

Thank You.

FRIDAY OF WEEK 24 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

1 TIMOTHY 6:2-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There is one Way to the Father's house and it is only through You that we can get there. Every baptized Christian is bound to keep Your doctrine in its entirety and the Church has the sacred duty of passing it on to future generations undiluted. We do not hand a watered-down faith in doing so we get the kind of weak, tame, timorous faith that so many in the Church even among her shepherds profess and teach.

The lives of the Apostles, the disciples, saints, and every martyr who gladly faced persecution, imprisonment, torture, and even death did so because they knew in whom they had placed their faith and their hope. God's free gift of faith in You and in the revelation of the truth of who God is and God's purpose for His children which is the Sacred Deposit of our Faith, is worth dying for. 

The world corrupts and this is why You urge Your disciples to live in the world but not be of it. The world is given over to Satan and he comes to steal, to murder, and to destroy what has already been redeemed by You. Free will is God's greatest gift to us for God allows us to choose whether or not we will walk on the side of Truth and Light or walk with the angels of darkness. "He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent."

Beloved Jesus, it is so easy to fall prey to the dark influences that constantly pressure us to choose the easy road and many give in and are lost. In Your great compassion and love O Lord, hear our prayers not only for ourselves but for everyone we pray for earnestly each day that we might embrace the Good News in its entirety and hold fast to the Truth no matter the consequences. For the sake of Your sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the world. 

But, as a man dedicated to God, you must avoid all that. You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses.

PSALM 48(49):6-10,17-20 ©

Why should I fear in evil days

the malice of the foes who surround me,
men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches?

For no man can buy his own ransom,

or pay a price to God for his life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.

Then do not fear when a man grows rich,

when the glory of his house increases.
He takes nothing with him when he dies,
his glory does not follow him below.

Though he flattered himself while he lived:

‘Men will praise me for all my success,’
yet he will go to join his fathers,
who will never see the light any more.

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

LUKE 8:1-3 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Synoptic Gospels mention the names of the Twelve Apostles chosen by You to play a primary role in the Church You founded, St. Luke however, makes it a point to mention and include the names of the women who accompanied You along with the Twelve as You went about teaching and proclaiming the Good New of the Kingdom of God. 

The Church has always recognized the women's role of complementarity in the Church. Her gifts and charisms are an invaluable contribution to the life, growth, and strength of the Church, and while they most certainly do have the same role as men especially those called to minister to the Body of Christ as His priests, they are just as necessary to the life of the Church. 

Beloved You called women to follow You as Your disciples fully aware of 'the feminine genius' for it was You with the Father and the Holy Spirit who created her. May neither women nor the world discount the very necessary gifts she brings and the vital role that women play in the Church and in the world. 

TUESDAY OF WEEK 24 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people. LK 7:16

1 TIMOTHY 3:1-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul speaks in detail about the character of one who is a presiding elder as well as a deacon in the Church. If only our shepherds who are given charge to care for Your flock took seriously the requirements that he lists our Church would be flourishing. Sadly, we live in unhappy times where the faith of a large number of the faithful is weak, and the shepherds constantly give scandal to the little ones. 

Many are wounded gravely by the abuse meted out to them morally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally and have left the embrace of Holy Mother Church. Beloved, we know that in the final analysis, it is You who are our Good Shepherd, and even though the shepherds You have appointed over Your flock fail, You will never fail us. You will keep Your promises to us and the gates of hell shall never prevail against Your Bride, the Church.

PSALM 100(101):1-3,5,6 ©

My song is of mercy and justice;
I sing to you, O Lord.
I will walk in the way of perfection.
O when, Lord, will you come?

I will walk with blameless heart

within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
whatever is base.

The man who slanders his neighbour in secret

I will bring to silence.
The man of proud looks and haughty heart
I will never endure.

I look to the faithful in the land

that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of perfection
shall be my friend.

I will walk with blameless heart.

LUKE 7:11-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today, my Beloved, I am particularly struck by how deeply You were moved when You looked at the grieving widow who had lost her only son and she was on her way to bury him. Parents are shattered when they have to bury a child or one of their children. It is a loss and a grief that will endure for as long as they live. Did You think of Your own Mother as You looked a the grieving widow accompanying the funeral procession of her only son? You spoke to her saying, 'Do not cry' What did she feel when she heard those words? She must have felt comforted when she saw Your great compassion for her. You then went up to the bier, and put Your hand on it, the men carrying it stopped, then, addressing the dead man You said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and You gave him to his mother. She would been ecstatic with joy. One moment her whole world had collapsed and the the next You had restored to her all that she thought she had lost.

Beloved Jesus, You know that I too have lost an infant child, and the grief and loss continue to endure. But there is another greater grief that is just as great if not greater - it is when our children have lost their way. To every parent who has ever shed tears of grief over children whose salvation is at stake and pray to You night and day, we are confident that in time, at some stage in their journey from this life to the next, You will touch them, You will say to them, 'I tell you to get up' and they will. Having been restored once more as members of Your Body, we will all rejoice in eternity as we behold You, our Lord, and our God in the beatific vision eternally. 

TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord. JN 13:34

ECCLESIASTICUS 27:33-28:9 ©

MySoul's Beloved,

You became one like us in all things save sin - You came among us as the poorest of the poor and You endured every hardship and privation voluntarily. You became the least among us so You could raise us up to Yourself and share with us all Your riches making us heirs to the Kingdom that You won for us from the Cross. You took upon Yourself all the world's ills, all the horrific sins that we commit against each other, enduring a punishment that was ours - we deserved eternal death but out of compassion for us, You took it upon Yourself and in exchange gave us eternal life in You. 

This is why we are bound to forgive the sins that our brothers and sisters commit against us. It is in the measure that we forgive that we will be forgiven. You O Lord are very clear on this. The writer reminds us that if we are unwilling to show pity to our neighbour who is weak and frail just as we are, then mercy will be withheld from us too.

Grant us this grace O Lord, that keeping our mind always on the things that are eternal we may live our present life according to Your will and Your commandments.

Remember the last things, and stop hating,
remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments.
Remember the commandments, and do not bear your neighbour ill-will;
remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offence.

PSALM 102(103):1-4,9-12 ©

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,

who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

His wrath will come to an end;

he will not be angry forever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth

so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.

The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.

ROMANS 14:7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are grafted to You, O Lord, we are One in You and in being One with You we are also one with each other this is why the sin or the virtue of each one of us affects the the whole of Your Body. You entered into our death and You crushed the head of evil by destroying death winning for us the gift of eternal life in and through You.

You truly are the Lord of both the dead and the living and we are truly grateful to the Father for giving us such a glorious Redeemer like Yourself, You who are innocence incarnate did not hesitate to become like us in all things save sin in order that You, through the grace of the Holy Spirit become like You. 

MATTHEW 18:21-35 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today we are reminded about God's generosity and compassion in dealing with us. Reflecting on our past lives we can see clearly how gravely we have sinned over and over again and You forgave us all our offences when we approached You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Not only do You forgive us, Lord, but You grant us rich graces to assist us in avoiding serious sin in the future. This is why we dare not keep checks and balances when it comes to our dealings with others. The same loving kindness that You have shown us we are commanded to extend to each other. If we fail to do so our experience will be like that of the servant who was forgiven the whole of the extremely large debt he owed his master but instead of showing the same charity to his fellow servant who owed him a pittance, he demanded that he repay the debt in full immediately. Begging for time to repay what he owed, just as the servant had begged the king to show him mercy, he refused to do so and had him thrown in prison until he could pay.

His fellow servants knowing that the king had forgiven the extremely large debt he owed reported to him how this man refused to forgive the paltry sum that was owed to him. When the king heard it he was outraged and rightly so and he had to suffer rigorously in prison until he paid the entire debt. 

We are sinners and we sin all the time - this is why when anyone sins against us and asks for forgiveness we ought to do so promptly and from the heart and You in turn will forgive us as well. It is in the measure that we forgive that we will be forgiven.

Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs, SATURDAY OF WEEK WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME (2023)

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

1 TIMOTHY 1:15-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul is right - it does not matter if our sins have been as scarlet You have the power to wash our souls and make them whiter than wool. These are Your words O Lord and I believe Your Word, O Eternal Word of the Father.

My own life is a testament to how You never abandoned me even when I turned my back on You so often in my youth. You never let go of me but pursued me relentlessly. You did whatever was necessary to bring me back to my senses and to show me that You alone are all we need to be joyful in this life. Thank You for all You have done O Lord in saving me and for continuing to save me every single day.

I will stop being worried and anxious for the salvation of those I love for I believe that just as You brought me from darkness to Your own marvelous light so too will You will bring my loved ones into that same light. I will pray and hope, but I will not worry because I can trust in Your inexhaustible patience with sinners. Jesus, I trust You.

PSALM 112(113):1-7 ©

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and forevermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.

Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor

May the name of the Lord be blessed forevermore!

LUKE 6:43-49 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I am Your disciple and not just I but my family members as well. We are grafted to You Beloved. Yes, we have not always been faithful, we have sinned and continue to sin grievously because we are weakened by the sin of our first parents. However, we have hope in the salvation that You won for us. Baptism has grafted us to Your Body and as members of Your Body, we are rooted in the Holy Spirit. While it is true that we fail to produce good fruit in every season, Beloved, we know that our Heavenly Father, the Vinedresser, is constantly pruning us, and with the help of the Holy Spirit and the immense graces You won for us, each of us will be saved.

Hear my prayers Beloved, as I plead with You day after day to open the hearts, minds, and ears of those I love so they may hear Your voice and repent. May they return to the Sacraments and avail of the immense graces that are freely available to them. Be merciful O Lord, for the sake of Your sorrowful passion, have mercy on my family and on the whole world.

Grant O Lord that according to Your word, we who have been grafted to Your Body and have laid the foundations on rock will prevail even when the flood waters of the river rise up to bear it down. We will be unshaken because we are built on the firm foundation of the Church You established and You will lead us safely through this valley of tears to the eternal Kingdom. We will share in Your inheritance and we will enjoy the beatific vision forever. 

OUR LADY OF SORROWS - FRIDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy is the Virgin Mary,
who, without dying,
won the palm of martyrdom
beneath the cross of the Lord.

HEBREWS 5:7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Too often we wail aloud and lament with tears and groanings when we are invited to sip from Your Chalice of Suffering. We baulk at the weight of the cross that is given to us. We grumble, and whine, we ask to be spared suffering, we beg constantly to be relieved from the weight of the particular cross that will purify us, strengthen us, and prepare us for eternal life. Peace, true peace is possible in this life only if we abandon ourselves completely to Your will and unite our fiat to Mary's when she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And to Your fiat in Your agony in the Garden of Gethsemane “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

Beloved, Jesus we can only strive to be holy and perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, as You have asked us to, if we submit patiently to any suffering and trial that God wills for us in humility and obedience.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart make my heart like unto Yours. Amen.

During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

PSALM 30(31):2-6,15-16,20 ©

In you, O Lord, I take refuge.

Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
hear me and speedily rescue me.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

Release me from the snares they have hidden

for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;

I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’

How great is the goodness, Lord,

that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you
in the sight of men.

Save me, O Lord, in your love.

JOHN19:25-27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As we contemplate the scene at the foot of the Cross with You immolated on it for the salvation of the world, we understand that unless we accept Your generous gift of Mary Your Mother, the Theotokos, as our Mother and we take her home with us we cannot truly or fully embrace the fullness of the work of salvation and redemption. This plan of salvation was revealed when the old Eve, beguiled by the Devil, desired to be like God, rejected His love, and instead tempted her husband, Adam leading him to sin and death as well.  

Today, once again, as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Church invites all her children, to receive Mary as our Mother from Your hands, according to the will of the Father who desires that we have not just Him for our Father but in order to have You for our Brother we need to open our hearts, our lives, to Your Mother and accept her our Mother too.  We are the family of God - and the love of the Holy Spirit binds us one to the other and draws us into the love of the Triune God with bonds that cannot be broken except by our willful rejection of God's love.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you;
because by your cross
you have redeemed the world.

NUMBERS 21:4-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Just as the people in the wilderness lost patience as they journeyed to the promised land, how often I too lose my patience. I am irritable, I complain and grumble and I am lacking in charity, and as a result, I sin. At the slightest obstacle, as soon as things are not going my way, when I feel the weight of the cross getting heavier, I chafe and I become out of sorts with those around me. I forget completely all Your past blessings which You showered abundantly on me and my family and I lose hope in Your promises.  

When I sin and delay in acknowledging my faults and failings and beg for Your pardon and forgiveness, when I fail to repent and delay going to Confession I lose 

my peace and serenity of soul. It is only when I come to my senses, wisdom finally dawns that I realize that apart from You I am nothing and can do nothing.

I thank the Church for instituting this feast of the Exaltation of Your Holy Cross - it serves as a reminder that each of us is granted the privilege to experience in a small measure what You endured for my salvation and for the salvation of the world. Moses interceded for the people and God heard him. Not only are You the One Mediator between God and us, but we are so blessed to also ask for the intercession of Your Mother and ours, the Mediatrix of all graces. It is Your good pleasure to channel all the treasures of riches and mercy through her to her children whom You entrusted to her as she stood at the foot of Your Cross.

Not only Mama Mary but we have all the angels and saints, the Holy Souls in purgatory, as well as all our brothers and sisters to whom we can turn to confidently and ask for their intercession on our behalf. 

God instructed Moses: ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

To us O Lord we are given the Cross - there is no other way for us to receive a share in Your Crown apart from it. Keep our gaze fixed on You, Beloved, and as we contemplate the price that was paid for our salvation, and the debt we owe You, a debt that we can never repay. We receive healing and we are made whole once more by the power of the Cross which was once considered an instrument of shame and You exalted the Cross on which You crucified and bled and died so no one would perish and die in their sin. Thank You, Lord.

PSALM 77(78):1-2,34-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Grant me the soul of a disciple so I may always say 'yes' to all that You desire of me.

Give heed, my people, to my teaching;

turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable
and reveal hidden lessons of the past.

When he slew them then they would seek him,

return and seek him in earnest.
They would remember that God was their rock,
God the Most High their redeemer.

But the words they spoke were mere flattery;

they lied to him with their lips.
For their hearts were not truly with him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.

Yet he who is full of compassion

forgave them their sin and spared them.
So often he held back his anger
when he might have stirred up his rage.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

JOHN 3:13-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our consolation is great indeed O Lord, as today we contemplate the words You spoke to Nicodemus and chosen for our reflection in the Gospel reading today as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on which You paid the price for the salvation of the world.

Only God could do the impossible, the unimaginable, and the unthinkable by using an instrument of torture, degradation, and shame and transform it into the greatest sign that would shake the world to its very foundation and destroy the stranglehold that the world, the flesh, the devil has over the people of God. Death has lost its sting because of the victory and triumph that You won for us through Your total self-abnegation on the Cross of shame and death. 

These words that You spoke to Nicodemus are not only the most quoted in Scripture but they are also the most consoling, they are also addressed to all people of goodwill everywhere and in every age:

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.’

Thank You, Heavenly Father for sending Your Son into the world to save and redeem us, thank You Holy Spirit the bond of love between Father and Son that made it possible for Jesus to say, "Not as I will but as You will." Above all Beloved, Jesus thank You for saying Yes. Take up the whole world into that eternal Yes that You said to the Father so we too may always do what is pleasing in His sight.