SATURDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

JOB 42:1-3,5-6,12-17

My Soul's Beloved,

I echo Job's words and I repent in sackcloth and ashes for I have thought and said things that are foolish. I have lacked wisdom in my judgments and in my folly I questioned, I grumbled and I was discontented. I was drawn inward into myself and my troubles and desired that the way be broad and smooth without trials, troubles, or suffering. But this is the way to hell and perdition. You have shown us the way to eternal life and it is the only Your Way to the Father. The way is not a road but it is Your life O Lord. You have revealed that You are the Way, You are the Truth and You are the Life. Without You O Lord our lives are meaningless, worthless, and fit only to be cast into the everlasting flames.

This is not what You desire for the members of Your Body, Your bride, Your Church - You lay down Your life for us, we are saved by the power of Your Name and You desire that not one of us who belong to You perish. Forgive me Lord and grant me this grace, that from this day and until You call me home to Yourself, that I discern Your will in all things. Grant me also the grace to do all that You ask without question, setting aside my selfish and sinful desires to do all that You ask with an obedient, humble, and joyful spirit.

Make me a new creation over and over again Lord and help me every step of the way for I can do nothing on my own. Thank You, Lord.

This was the answer Job gave to the Lord:
I know that you are all-powerful:
what you conceive, you can perform.
I am the man who obscured your designs
with my empty-headed words.
I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand,
on marvels beyond me and my knowledge.
I knew you then only by hearsay;
but now, having seen you with my own eyes,
I retract all I have said,
and in dust and ashes I repent.

PSALM 118(119):66,71,75,91,125,130

Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.

Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.

Lord, I know that your decrees are right,

that you afflicted me justly.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.

I am your servant, give me knowledge;

then I shall know your will.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.

Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.

LUKE 10:17-24

My  Soul's Beloved,

As members of Your Body, we received the same authority You gave the seventy-two who You commissioned, equipped, and empowered to preach and teach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  As children of God, we have received the power and the authority to cast out demons, cure every illness spiritual and physical, and overthrow the prince of darkness by the power of Your Name.  We are baptized into Your Body and are grafted on to You, empowered with the Holy Spirit we are invincible. We Christians appear toothless and powerless because we have not claimed the power that is bestowed on us. We failed to act boldly with courage and faith in the power of Your Name which is above every other name. We know, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".  We are too timid, we lack the faith of the Apostles and the great saints to proclaim Your Name boldly only when we forget ourselves and are focused only on You will we perform the miracles that the Seventy-two performed and rejoice as they did when we use Your Name with faith and conviction.

The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI ON FRIDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

JOB 38:1,12-21,40:3-5

My Soul's Beloved,

You O Lord are far greater than anything that our mortal minds can ever imagine or comprehend. This however we do know, that we are creatures whom God deigned to create and He loves us so much that even after we broke His command He did not annihilate us as we deserved but passionately desired to save us. Who are we Lord but foolish sheep who constantly veer from the path of life, truth, goodness, and grace. We deserved death but God who is love did not desire the death of his poor creatures but desired instead to give us life in its abundance. The Father has so loved us that He sent You into the world not to condemn us but to become the means by which we are saved. 

Yet we constantly question Your ways, Your goodness, Your wisdom, and we get upset and angry when we do not understand or comprehend that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than our ways and Your thoughts than our thoughts. When we are perplexed Lord and we suffer because we are struggling to make sense of life and the suffering that is our lot in this life, it is good to recall Your response to Job's cry of the heart: 

Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning
or sent the dawn to its post,
telling it to grasp the earth by its edges
and shake the wicked out of it,
when it changes the earth to sealing clay
and dyes it as a man dyes clothes;
stealing the light from wicked men
and breaking the arm raised to strike?
Have you journeyed all the way to the sources of the sea,
or walked where the Abyss is deepest?
Have you been shown the gates of Death
or met the janitors of Shadowland?
Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth?
Tell me all about it if you have!
Which is the way to the home of the light,
and where does darkness live?
You could then show them the way to their proper places,
or put them on the path to where they live!
If you know all this, you must have been born with them,
you must be very old by now!

Like Job let us be still and remember in all the storms, trials, and difficulties we are bound to face in our journey from this life to the next and say with him:

My words have been frivolous: what can I reply?
I had better lay my finger on my lips.
I have spoken once... I will not speak again;
more than once... I will add nothing.

PSALM 138(139):1-3,7-10,13-14

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.

O where can I go from your spirit,

or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.

For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

LUKE 10:13-16

My Soul's Beloved,

When Christians reject You, Lord, it is usually pride, a hard heart, and a stubborn clinging to our weaknesses we are unwilling to give up. Often we desire things that are not unlawful but indulging in them while not sinful in themselves is detrimental to spiritual growth. There are also a great number of nominal Christians who allow the culture to dictate their way of life. It is far easier to flow along with the current leads rather than against it.

All too often, Lord, people ignore the laws of God and His Church taking both lightly and for granted. They refuse to accept that breaking God's law of love has serious consequences, eternal consequences if they do not repent and turn away from the way of unrighteousness. They know You Lord, yet they refuse to act on that knowledge because they do not wish to change their ways. So it was with the people in Your time who rejected You even though they saw the signs that pointed clearly that You came from God.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And still, it will not go as hard with Tyre and Sidon at the Judgement as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell.
‘Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’

My Beloved, hear the prayers of Your faithful remnant in the Church, in monasteries, in convents, in parishes, in the great cities, in the small ones, in towns, and in the country, in villages and in the desert, and wherever Your little ones are crying out to the Father to have mercy on us and the world for the sake of Your sorrowful passion. Be merciful O Lord and hurry and save us lest sinners perish in their sins and are cast into the eternal fire that never goes out and where the worms do not die.

THURSDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:5

JOB 19:21-27

My Soul's Beloved,

Too often people, even those who love us dearly, do not fully understand or know how to help when we go through trials. They can be physical, mental, or spiritual and all well-meaning people can offer are platitudes. They make all the right humming noises and say things they think they are supposed to say or think we want to hear, or that they believe will help. Yet, more often than not, they just weary our soul and their words are tedious. Instead of fumbling with words and trying to say the right things we wish they would just stay by our side in quiet sympathy.

Job wished his friends would just shut up and empathize with him in his great suffering. He had lost everything except his faith in God and that in itself was awe-inspiring. As he talked to his friends trying to make sense of it all, all they needed to do was just listen to him instead of trying to come up with all kinds of erroneous explanations as to why God had allowed him to go through the most bitter trials that a man can endure.

He pleads with his friends to just sympathize with him and not condemn and rebuke him for sins they imagined he committed to offend God.

Job said:
Pity me, pity me, you, my friends,
for the hand of God has struck me.
Why do you hound me down like God,
will you never have enough of my flesh?
Ah, would that these words of mine were written down,
inscribed on some monument
with iron chisel and engraving tool,
cut into the rock forever.

Amid his terrible agony of mind, body, and soul, Job knew that God loved him. He believed that he had a right relationship with God. He didn't understand why but refused to believe that God was punishing him rather than just testing and purifying him. Job passed all the tests that Satan visited on him and Satan lost - Job remained steadfast in his faith and in his love for God.

Lord, grant us the faith of Job to continue to hold fast to You no matter how great the storm that batters us on every side. Faith will see us through all the battles we must fight for as long as we live and we trust You to bring us to our eternal home safely

This I know: that my Avenger lives,
and he, the Last, will take his stand on earth.
After my awaking, he will set me close to him,
and from my flesh I shall look on God.
He whom I shall see will take my part:
these eyes will gaze on him and find him not aloof.

PSALM 26(27):7-9,13-14

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

  have mercy and answer.

Of you my heart has spoken:

  ‘Seek his face.’

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;

  hide not your face.

Dismiss not your servant in anger;

  you have been my help.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

  in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

  Hope in the Lord!

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

LUKE 10:1-12

My Soul's Beloved,

God chooses, God calls, God appoints, God equips, and God sends. We as disciples, like the 72 that You sent, must be ready and willing, as soon as we hear Your voice, to get us and go out into the world carrying Your light with us to fulfill the mission that You entrust to us.

Every disciple plays a part in establishing the Kingdom of God and drawing it near. To the extent that I labor to bring in the harvest, I am doing my part, no matter how small and insignificant the work entrusted to me, I am building Your Kingdom. And when I complete my life on earth I will stand before You to give an account of my work, my faithfulness in doing it, and You will show me whether or not it has borne any fruit for the glory of God and for Your Kingdom.

I have no resources of my own to carry out my mission I must ask for and rely on You to provide all that I need. Armed with faith, hope, and love in Your Word and equipped with its power, and with the help of Your Holy Spirit, and all the saints and angels I will shine Your light in the world and You will be glorified in my life according to Your will. Help me, Lord, I place all my hope in You. 

He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you, on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.’

FEAST OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS ON WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

EXODUS 23:20-23

My Soul's Beloved,

Each of us is given a guardian angel when we are conceived in our mother's womb specially created for us and charged with watching over and guarding us all our days. He prays for us, carries our prayers to the Throne of Mercy and Grace, and brings Your blessing down to us. He warns us when danger is approaching whether real, spiritual, or supernatural dangers. We would save ourselves a great deal of trouble and sorrow if we were attuned to our Guardian Angel. He weeps when we sin and separate ourselves from You. He rejoices when we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to him and strive to be holy and perfect. He steadies us when we stumble and picks us up when we fall.

Lord Jesus, I thank God today on the Feast of the Guardian Angels for the incomparable gift of my Guardian Angel specially created and appointed to watch over me, to guard and protect me, and to help me in my journey from this place of exile to the place created for me by God in heaven. 

My dear Guardian Angel, forgive me for the times I neglected you, I did not call to you for help, for taking your help and your presence for granted for so many years, for forgetting this precious gift that God has given me. I am sorry. I promise with God's help to be ever mindful of your presence, and your help, and I will listen to you and be glad always of your guidance, protection, help, and strength to lean on when life becomes especially difficult. I praise and thank God for you. I love my dear Guardian Angel. Thank you for your loving faithfulness.

The Lord says this: ‘I myself will send an angel before you to guard you as you go and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Give him reverence and listen to all that he says. Offer him no defiance; he would not pardon such a fault, for my name is in him. If you listen carefully to his voice and do all that I say, I shall be enemy to your enemies, foe to your foes. My angel will go before you.’

PSALM 90(91):1-6,10-11

The Lord has commanded his angels to keep you in all your ways.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

It is he who will free you from the snare

of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night

nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

Upon you no evil shall fall,

no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.

The Lord has commanded his angels to keep you in all your ways.

MATTHEW 18:1-5,10

My Soul's Beloved,

The older I get the more I understand that the gates of heaven are thrown wide open for the little ones, the humble, the lowly, the poor in spirit, the anawim of God, the simple-hearted. The greatest saints have always understood that everything is a gift from God we are nothing without Your help and Your grace. Without You we are nothing and we can do nothing. It is You who give us our talents and our gifts, all that we possess is given to us and we will called to give an exact account of our stewardship.

The world has no use for humility and the world is presently under the rule of Satan. Lucifer, once God's brightest angel, filled with envy and pride, claimed equality with God forgetting that he was but a creature. All that he possessed were gifts from God.  The great battle in heaven with the good angels found Satan and his minions cast out of heaven and into the everlasting flames of hell. 

The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, VIRGIN & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, ON TUESDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 10:25

JOB 3:1-3,11-17,20-23

My Soul's Beloved,

When we are engulfed with grief, when trouble abounds on every side, when those we love the most are in agony and we have to stand by helplessly as they suffer we long for life to end just as Job did. Sometimes life on earth can become unbearable and too much for our human strength and spirit to endure. In times like these, we wish for death so the pain will stop. Yet O Lord, we know that everything will pass and once the storm has passed all we can see is the wreckage it leaves behind. But it is only after the storm that we can rebuild anew. Something better, stronger, and more resilient and beautiful can emerge from the ashes. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, I trust You. I believe in You. I love You. You will give me all the help and strength I need to endure the storms that regularly sweep over my life. I cling to You, I rest serenely at Your side with my hand securely in Yours. In the end, my loved ones and I will live because we are Yours in time and eternally. 

PSALM 87(88):2-8

Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.

Lord my God, I call for help by day;
I cry at night before you.
Let my prayer come into your presence.
O turn your ear to my cry.

For my soul is filled with evils;

my life is on the brink of the grave.
I am reckoned as one in the tomb:
I have reached the end of my strength.

Like one alone among the dead;

like the slain lying in their graves;
like those you remember no more,
cut off, as they are, from your hand.

You have laid me in the depths of the tomb,

in places that are dark, in the depths.
Your anger weighs down upon me:
I am drowned beneath your waves.

Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.

LUKE 9:51-56

My Soul's Beloved,

You knew what awaited You in Jerusalem. You were coming nearer to the end of Your journey on earth and to fulfilling the purpose for which the Father sent You. The prophets revealed clearly all that would happen to You. You were the Suffering Servant that Isaiah spoke of. He prophesied with remarkable accuracy all that the Son of Man would undergo. You knew how many strokes of the whip would lash Your Body, You knew You would be crowned with thorns, the blows that would rain down on Your face. They would pull out Your beard. They would spit on You, mock You, swear at You. Your blood would stream from Your Body. Your whole Body would be one open wound and while the physical pain would be excruciating the spiritual sorrow and horror that flooded Your soul was far greater for You knew that many would remain indifferent and cold to the one, holy, and perfect sacrifice that You offered to the Father in reparation for the sins of the whole world. 

A foretaste of that rejection was experienced when the people in the Samaritan village did not receive You and Your disciples. James and John were so indignant they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy that village just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. But You show us another way, a way that is sneered at by those who take by force from those who are weak and vulnerable. You teach us that we gain nothing by butting heads with the stubborn and hard-hearted rather it is to accept the rejection and go away quietly and humbly.