WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 7 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ECCLESIASTICUS 4:12-22

My Soul's Beloved,

Wisdom is not a gift or a companion given to those incapable of recognizing her worth for she is a treasure given to those who are prepared to make any sacrifice that is demanded of one who longs to possess her. 

Divine Wisdom is an attribute of God and a gift given to us by the Holy Spirit. God's wisdom directs our lives and when we listen to Him and give Him permission to do with us all that He wills, we will not stray from the path that leads to His Kingdom. Perfect peace is the fruit that abides in our hearts despite the hard and arduous road we must travel to reach it. 

Wisdom is a gift given to those who like Mother Mary must say to God, 'I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according to Your will.' Only then will the Holy Spirit come upon us, the power of the Most High overshadow us and the Word of God will be conceived in us. Like Mary who contemplated the Word of God who became incarnate in her womb, we too must read the Word, contemplate the Word, meditate on the Word assimilate the Word, and allow the Word to imbue our whole being only then can Wisdom become our inseparable companion and lead us safely on our pilgrim journey from earth to heaven.

Wisdom brings up her own sons,
and cares for those who seek her.
Whoever loves her loves life,
those who wait on her early will be filled with happiness.
Whoever holds her close will inherit honour,
and wherever he walks the Lord will bless him.
Those who serve her minister to the Holy One,
and the Lord loves those who love her.
Whoever obeys her judges aright,
and whoever pays attention to her dwells secure.
If he trusts himself to her he will inherit her,
and his descendants will remain in possession of her;
for though she takes him at first through winding ways,
bringing fear and faintness on him,
plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him,
and testing him with her ordeals,
in the end she will lead him back to the straight road
and reveal her secrets to him.
If he wanders away she will abandon him,
and hand him over to his fate.

PSALM 118(119):165,168,171-172,174-175

The lovers of your law have great peace, O Lord.

The lovers of your law have great peace;
they never stumble.
I obey your precepts and your will;
all that I do is before you.

Let my lips proclaim your praise

because you teach me your statutes.
Let my tongue sing your promise
for your commands are just.

Lord, I long for your saving help

and your law is my delight.
Give life to my soul that I may praise you.
Let your decrees give me help.

The lovers of your law have great peace, O Lord.

MARK 9:38-40

My Soul's Beloved,

Like John, we too can jealously guard the gifts and treasures given to us and take offense at those outside our group or community whom we consider to be unworthy of doing the works that we believe are entrusted exclusively to us. You guard Your disciples against this unhealthy attitude causes division and distrust and is the work of the devil. We must rejoice when we see others doing good. To envy those who share the Word of God, the goodness of God, and those who do the works of God even if they do not yet possess the fullness of truth are on the path to finding it and ought to be encouraged.

Lord Jesus, may the goodness of my fellow Christians, their passion for the Word of God, and their sincerity in evangelizing encourage me to follow their example, and may I celebrate and focus on the shared truths of our belief rather than be critical and harsh of the things that separate us. Kindness, gentleness, understanding, goodness, and charity will always bear greater fruit than a disparaging spirit. 

John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’

TUESDAY OF WEEK 7 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord,
through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. GAL 6:14

ECCLESIASTICUS 2:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

A life in the Spirit of God, in the Spirit of Divine Love, is filled with seeming contradictions as is clearly mentioned in the Scripture passage of the first reading of the Liturgy of the day.

If you truly desire to serve the Lord then prepare for difficulties. Disaster will come. However, we must continue to cling even more closely to You no matter how harshly we are tested. Life in the Spirit comes with no guarantees except the guarantee that if we accept all trials, all suffering, in a spirit of obedience, and humility, if we are patient under the yoke and never lose faith, if we never swerve from the narrow way leading to life despite all temptation to do so, if we keep our gaze fixed on You and the Cross, and walk firmly on the straight and difficult path if we do not permit criticism and persecution to dampen our hope and weaken our courage and resolve to remain faithful, cleave to You, and keep our eyes fixed firmly on the goal then we are guaranteed to have a share in Your victory.

The one, sure and certain way of knowing that it is the weak who are strong, the poor who are rich, and those who lose all gain everything, we need only to look at the lives of the great heroes of our faith in the Old and New Testaments, and the lives of the holy men, women and even children who shine like stars in the hall of saints to show us that the way of contradiction in the Christian life is true.

My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for an ordeal.

Whatever happens to you, accept it,
and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient,
since gold is tested in the fire,
and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation.
Trust him and he will uphold you,
follow a straight path and hope in him.

Look at the generations of old and see:
who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?
Or who ever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken?
Or who ever called out to him, and was ignored?
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful,
he forgives sins, and saves in days of distress.

PSALM 36(37):3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40

Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.

He protects the lives of the upright,

their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.

Then turn away from evil and do good

and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,

their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.

Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act.

MARK 9:30-37

My Soul's Beloved,

In the world, the most powerful are the ones who more often than not are corrupt to the core and seize what does not belong to them with impunity sweeping aside, crushing, and destroying anyone who gets in their way. Corrupt leaders, corrupt governments, and corrupt corporations bend the rules, make their own rules to serve their chicanery, and even ignore the rules and no one dares to say nay to them. The more they are given license to misuse their ill-gotten wealth and power the more their vicious cruelty against the little ones is manifested.

The Gospel of the day walks us through a day in Your life with Your disciples. You are preparing them for what is to come. It is uncomfortable, they would rather bathe in Your reflected glory as You performed great miracles of healing, taught powerfully and with authority, and share in the adulation the crowds had for You. But listening to the suffering, sorrow, persecution, torture, and death that was soon to come, not so much. We are so like them. We too run away from the Cross, from suffering and pain, from sickness and sorrow, from loss and separation, and death. We want to be happy always, to live carefree lives free from sickness, sadness, pain, and death but if we are to be Your disciples then the only Way is the Way of Cross, the Way of Sorrow, this is the only way to the Kingdom of God.  

A veil lies between the spirit of truth and the desires of the flesh and we are prone to get caught up in the discourse of worldly affairs which are alien to authentic discipleship.  We are concerned about getting ahead, being promoted, winning, being first, accumulating, and possessing, and all these are contrary to desiring only one thing and one thing alone - the Hidden Treasure in the Field, the Pearl of Great Price. 

Let us take to heart and heed the advice You gave Your disciples:

They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

MONDAY OF WEEK 7 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2TIM 1:10

ECCLESIASTICUS 1:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

How good it is to know You, to love You, to be drawn by the Holy Spirit into a deeper union with You, to abide in You, to be instructed by You, and to allow You to possess me so completely that I can say with the great Apostle Paul, It is no longer I who live, Christ lives in me. 

You O Lord are good, kind, merciful, tender, and full of compassion and love. I deserve nothing and yet, O Lord, You have drawn Me slowly, tenderly, gently to Yourself. Even though I struggled against these sweet bonds of Your love because I am stubborn sinful, and so easily distracted by the noise, the tumult, the passing delights of the world, that I often pulled against You ut You did not give up, Beloved You pursued Me me relentlessly you allowed me to feel the cold the bleak the sadness, the terror of a life apart from You O Lord, my God, thank you that despite myself and my foolishness you never gave up on me. Thank You for Your Word, for Your Church, for Your anointed and consecrated priests and religious, for good friends, and for those men and women who freely share the wisdom that You have given them, and they, in turn, share these divine truths with all who seek to know You, love You and enter into a deeper relationship with You Thank You for Your Mother ad for St. Joseph together with all the holy angels and saints who constantly intercede for me and never fail to bring my prayers and petitions before Your Throne of Mercy. Thank You for answering all the prayers that I make to them and for their faithfulness in obtaining through these dear friends of yours all that I ask for  Thank You for Wisdom that is freely available to all who seek her for You delight in filling all who ask with all we need in this life so we will enter finally into Your rest forever.

All wisdom is from the Lord,
and it is his own for ever.

Before all other things wisdom was created,
shrewd understanding is everlasting.

One only is wise, terrible indeed,
seated on his throne, the Lord.
He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her,
and poured her out on all his works
to be with all mankind as his gift,
and he conveyed her to those who love him.

PSALM 92(93):1-2,5

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;
the Lord has robed himself with might,
he has girded himself with power.

The world you made firm, not to be moved;

your throne has stood firm from of old.
From all eternity, O Lord, you are.

Truly your decrees are to be trusted.
Holiness is fitting to your house,
O Lord, until the end of time.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

MARK 9:14-29

My Soul's Beloved,

You have kept nothing hidden but have revealed all that is needful for us to thrive, live holy and joyous lives, and be pleasing to God always. All we need is faith in God. You assure us that faith as small as a mustard is powerful and can accomplish great miracles, but often we lack even a little genuine faith. We focus on our own inadequacies, and our inability to trust that with You all things are possible. Our faith is often a puny little thing that is so easily extinguished when faced with seemingly insurmountable hurdles.

You are returning from Mt. Tabor after Your transfiguration to which only Peter, James, and John were witnesses. You rejoined the rest of Your disciples who were waiting for You a crowd had gathered around them and when the people saw You they came running to You. You asked what all the commotion was about and a man from the crowd said:

‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’

Because of their lack of faith, the disciples were unable to free the boy who was demon-possessed. When the boy was brought to You, You asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ He replied, ‘From childhood, and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ 

The poor father pleaded that You have pity on them and if You could, to please help them. He was not quite certain if You could so before You could heal the boy You needed him to have a bolder faith, assuring him that everything is possible for anyone who has faith. The poor father replied, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ On his confession of faith You rebuked the unclean spirit, ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’

Thank You, Lord, for reminding us that with faith all things are possible and that we also have to become prayer warriors if we are to be effective disciples in the world.

7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

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

1 SAMUEL 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23

My Soul's Beloved,

How different David is from the rulers of the world my Lord. He is aware of God's law and he refuses to raise his hand against the anointed of God, Saul. While he would have been justified in slaying him since he was pursuing David to kill him yet, he was keenly aware that it was God who chose Saul and anointed him to rule his people. 

My Lord and my God, Pope Francis is gravely ill and You will soon call him home to Yourself. He is Your anointed. He is consecrated by You to lead Your Church which is founded on Peter and he is Peter's successor. It is heartbreaking O Lord to see how many have the temerity to speak all kinds of calumny against him. They see as those with blurred vision and express the most vile judgments against him and yet O Lord we know that Your hand is upon him. He has reflected Your mercy, Your humility, Your tenderness, Your wisdom, Your kindness and goodness, and Your love for the poorest, weakest, and most miserable among us. We know O Lord, that he is Your good and faithful servant, and as we pray for him with loving hearts filled with sorrow that he will leave us we know O Lord that he will enter into Your rest and take his place in the company of Your glorious saints.

It is a terrible thing the enemies of the Chruch do O Lord when they besmirch their lips with lies against those whom You have chosen and appointed. Have mercy on their souls and may the light of truth dispel the darkness in their hearts.

David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed!’ 

‘The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’

PSALM 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13

The Lord is compassion and love.

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.

The Lord is compassion and love,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.

As far as the east is from the west

so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

The Lord is compassion and love.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45-49

My Soul's Beloved,

How good it is to know of our glorious destiny in eternity. Yes, we are creatures made of the dust of the earth and our bodies made from dust will return to the dust but our souls will live forever.  

We are children of the first Adam and his legacy to us is original sin and we are weakened by it. Even though the waters of baptism have cleansed us concupiscence remains. We are tempted as long as we have breath in our bodies and as we wage an unending battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Were it not for the grace of the Sacraments O Lord, we would perish. Thank You, Lord, for the Church, thank You for Peter, thank You for his successors, and thank You for leaving with us a visible sign in him of Your invisible and abiding Presence with Your people in this Church You founded on the Rock of Peter. Above all O Lord, as the new and heavenly Adam we thank You that when this life on earth ends we will become like You in glory. 

The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

LUKE 6:27-38

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Luke gives us Your blueprint to follow as light and salt in the world in the Sermon on the Plain. If every Catholic lived by these precepts Your Kingdom would come among us and we would receive a foretaste of heaven while still on earth.

There have been saintly men, women, and even children since the foundation of the Church who have lived their entire lives following these instructions. These holy Christians are shining examples of what is possible when we take You at Your word and live in the Gospel in all its beauty and majesty, its simplicity and goodness, in its purity and perfection striving to be holy and perfect as our heavenly Father is holy and perfect.

Yet how far we are from the ideal. How few take Your instructions to heart and live the Gospel with courage in our public lives despite the cost. We have one set of principles in a church setting and quite another in our secular lives. We are cynics who convince ourselves that it is impossible to live the Beatitudes in every area of our lives.  Your words are clear and uncompromising:

‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Our criterion must be divine there is no other benchmark against which we must measure our actions. We are invited to be Christlike in thought, word, deed, and action only then can we attract the world to the Kingdom of God.

‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

TUESDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

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

GENESIS 6:5-8,7:1-5,10

My Soul's Beloved,

Where sin abounds grace abounds the more St. Paul assures us. This is why O Lord we must never despair, never lose hope. The greater the sin the more readily the sinner has access to Your Heart which abounds in mercy and compassion. A humble contrite heart O Lord, You will not spurn. The faith of family and friends has the power to move You and will obtain forgiveness of sins and healing of those for whom they pray and plead and bring before You confident that You will touch, heal, and restore the whole person.

Wickedness in every age abounds and this age is no different. It beggars the mind to witness the levels of decadence, debauchery, and evil humans have sunk to. Who would fault God if He were to just sweep us off the face of the earth as He was tempted to do in the day of Noah? Yet, O Lord, angry as You were, grieved as You were, You had compassion on their human frailty. This is why O Lord, You destroyed the whole earth in the flood but saved the man who had found favor with You and his family.

Noah and his family were saved because they obeyed Your command despite being ridiculed. So it is for those who live upright and holy lives even though the world hates, mocks, and persecutes them.

Thank You, Lord, for establishing the Ark of the Church, thank You for Peter and the Apostles who like Noah and his family are appointed to take into the Church all who are baptized by the waters of baptism. Thank You for Your assurance that the Ark will navigate all the perils of life in safety and all who are in her will not perish but receive eternal life. 

PSALM 28(29):1-4,9-10

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

O give the Lord, you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.

The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.

The God of glory thunders.
In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king for ever.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

MARK 8:14-21

My Soul's Beloved,

God's frustration with us is palpable. The opening verses in the first reading tell us clearly how much God regrets creating man:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. The Lord regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. ‘I will rid the earth’s face of man, my own creation,’ the Lord said ‘and of animals also, reptiles too, and the birds of heaven; for I regret having made them.’ 

The disciples, preoccupied with the fact that they had forgotten to carry bread,  actually thought their concern was Yours as well. Despite witnessing so many marvelous miraculous signs and wonders culminating in the final one of the multiplication of loaves and fish, they are still carnal in their thinking and fail to comprehend what You are talking about when You warn them against the duplicity and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Herod. 

 ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ 

Revealing Your frustration You asked them to recollect all that had happened during the recent miracle they witnessed: 

‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ 

You scolded them gently: ‘Are you still without perception?’

I am no better, Lord, I too get preoccupied with carnal matters and sometimes these take precedence over my spiritual well-being. All my experience of You teaches me that I can trust You implicitly and yet I allow myself to become worried and anxious about irrelevant things despite knowing You are with me always, I can rest in You in peace for You care for me.

MONDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

GENESIS 4:1-15,25

My Soul's Beloved,

It's not so much the gift as the disposition with which we offer it that gives it meaning and value. Cain's heart was earthbound unlike his brother Abel's who was generous in spirit this is why he found favor in God's sight. Too often we are disappointed, disgruntled, and frustrated when, despite praying and fasting, our prayers are unanswered. Today we are reminded that it is not the number of prayers we pray, the novenas we make, and the pilgrimages we undertake that move God's heart but a life rooted in the Gospel. When we allow Your Word and Your Spirit to direct our hearts, minds, and will, the floodgates of heaven will open and fill us.

The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ 

Instead of heeding God's word and repenting humbly, he allowed his envy to fester in his soul. Filled with murderous rage against his brother who had done him no harm, he killed him in cold blood. He thought he acted in secret but You O Lord are all-knowing, all-seeing, nothing is hidden from Your sight. We stand naked before You and will be called to account not only for every unrepented sin - grave and small, but also for every useless word we've spoken.

It would do us well to keep a close guard over our hearts, minds, and our tongues lest it is too late and we find ourselves hauled before the righteous Judge and find ourselves in the place where the fire does not go out and the worms do not die. 

Yet O Lord, You are merciful. When Cain cried out to You that his grief was too much to bear as he was condemned to live the life of a fugitive and a wanderer and a target for anyone to kill him, You put a mark on him and assured him that if anyone dared to kill him his death would be avenged with a sevenfold vengeance. Although we are born in original sin, O Lord, the baptismal seal on our soul makes us children of the family of God and will preserve us from the hand of the Enemy. Thank You for Your mighty protection, for the Blood of the Lamb, and the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Then Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today you drive me from this ground. I must hide from you, and be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth. Why, whoever comes across me will kill me!’ ‘Very well, then,’ the Lord replied ‘if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for him.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, to prevent whoever might come across him from striking him down.

PSALM 49(50):1,8,16-17,20-21

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.’

‘But how can you recite my commandments

and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds?

‘You who sit and malign your brother

and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?’

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

MARK 8:11-13

My Soul's Beloved,

Some of us are insatiably greedy. We demand proof of Your love. We grumble when life is hard, the cross grows heavy, our prayers remain unanswered, and we complain and harden our hearts to the innumerable ways in which the constancy of Your love is palpable for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to respond. 

Signs abound - they come in a myriad ways. Through the day and every day of our lives, experience Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your tender, merciful, and compassionate love. We, however, are cold, tepid, lukewarm, changeable, and stubborn, our love is anything but, and as long as we receive blessings and good gifts from You we are happy but even that is shortlived. We forget so quickly just like the Israelites in the desert who after having their needs met in the manna and the quails were still panting for the fleshpots of Egypt.

Lord Jesus, pity us, fill us with Your Holy Spirit, take away our hearts of stone, and give us hearts of flesh so we may always be grateful for Your infinite goodness in saving us, redeeming us, and reserving a place for us with You in the Kingdom of God.

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

6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven. LK 6:23AB

JEREMIAH 17:5-8

My Soul's Beloved,

A large number of people in many nations all over the world have chosen to plant themselves in the dry, arid, wastelands of sin. The fruit of a life away from the Spirit who is the found of goodness, beauty, and truth is concupiscence, violence, decay, and death. Yet, O Lord, there is always a faithful remnant who offer to God the fruit of the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving - the Holy Eucharist that rises up to heaven without ceasing night and day and together with the angels and saint, as well as the Holy Souls in Purgatory, stays the hand of the wrath of God and divine retribution for the offenses of those who either willfully or through ignorance have chosen to live in the barren wasteland of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

However, there is a faithful remnant who are called by Your Name, they have built their house on the Rock of Peter, their souls are washed clean in the waters of baptism, they partake of the Sacraments, and their food and drink are assured. These are a blessing to the whole world whether or not the world knows it. Their faithfulness and fruitfulness come from being branches of the True Vine. For as long as time lasts O Lord there will always be those who tirelessly lift up their hands and their hearts in prayer and in union with the one, holy, perfect, and only acceptable Sacrifice on Calvary make reparation for their own sins and the sins of the world.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’

PSALM 1:1-4,6

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.

He is like a tree that is planted

beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.

Not so are the wicked, not so!

For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12,16-20

My Soul's Beloved,

Catholics are the most blessed and the most highly privileged of all people of all faiths all over the world because, through grace alone, we are planted firmly on the Rock of Peter. Here the Holy Spirit dwells in fullness. Here we receive the Sacraments of Life and Healing. Here is found life in abundance. As members of the family of God, we have God who is our Abba, we have the Son of God You for our Brother, we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us as our Paraclete, our Helper, our Guide, our Teacher and who unites us with Father and Son. And as if all this were not enough we have the Mother of the Son of God for our Mother, St. Joseph, preeminent of all the saints for our powerful protector and defender as Father of the Church, and the entire company of saints as our brothers and sisters, as well as the intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, as well as the whole arms of angels to guard us.

We believe in the one, holy catholic and apostolic church, we believe in the resurrection of the dead, and we believe that God, having risen from the dead the die no more, we too will rise again. This is our faith and our hope that where the Bridegroom is we too shall be one day.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

LUKE 6:17,20-26

My Soul's Beloved,

You know where we are, You know where to find us, You will always come looking for us, no matter how high You go on the mountain, You will return to the level ground where we wait eagerly for You. All who desire You Lord will be found by You. No matter how low we may be, how dark the place where sin has consigned us, if we even only sigh in the silence of our heart for You, You will come to us.

No luke-warm Catholic, no Christian no matter what denomination they belong to, and no living person who has not heard Your Name and has at least some knowledge You can deceive themselves that they can be forgiven because they were ignorant. They would be liars. And having heard of You, having some knowledge of the Truth that saves, if they have not taken the trouble to know the astounding claims that the Catholic Church makes because of who she is, then they will be guilty of negligence and will be held accountable. Apart from this Lord, Your law is written on every human heart and when they seek the Truth they will find You in the Church You founded, and all that they knew in their heart to be true, will find affirmation and confirmation in the doctrines that are taught by the Church

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

SATURDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY ASS READINGS

Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MT 4:4

GENESIS 3:9-24

My Soul's Beloved,

You created us for fellowship with You, friendship with You, and intimacy with You sadly, to this day, we allow ourselves to be deceived, distracted, and drawn away from You by the tawdry and temporal pleasures of the world that appeal to our flesh and our senses. Because we do not place our confidence in Your Word, Your Church,  and Your teachings and doctrines we are easy prey for false teachers and preachers who, having been deceived by the great deceiver with lies and empty promises, in turn become deceivers themselves and those looking for an easy road fall into their trap. 

You O Lord do not abandon the sinner and the words You spoke to Adam when You sought him after he had sinned, "Where are you?" are words You speak ceaselessly to every sinner as you pursue us relentlessly, tirelessly, until You find us. No matter how far we run from You, Lord, no matter how steeped in sin we are, You will lovingly woo us back into the fold You will wash us, feed us strengthen us clean us, restore refresh, and renew us. We are a new creation in You when we acknowledge that we have sinned are contrite and repentant and resolve to sin no more with the help of the grace that You make abundantly available to us. Lord Jesus Christ sin is so attractive and desirable when we are tempted, our flesh clamors to give in to our sinful desires, but the minute we give in sin loses its sheen and we see it for what it is, dead fruit that leaves the taste of ashe.s. 

Thank You, Lord, for the Church, the Sacraments, and for Your perennial grace which is always available to the sinner no matter how often we sin and no matter how gravely. Your mercy and forgiveness are ours for the asking when we ask with a humble heart and a contrite spirit. Thank You, Lord.

Something must die if we are to live. God clothed the man and his wife with skins before putting them out of Eden- an animal had to die to cover their nakedness. A foreshadowing of Your Sacrifice O Lord, You died so we could be clothed again in festal garments and seated at the banquet of love in the Kingdom of God. 

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live. The Lord God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife, and they put them on. Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live for ever.’ So the Lord God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

PSALM 89(90):2-6,12-13

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end.

You turn men back to dust

and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.

You sweep men away like a dream,

like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades.

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.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

MARK 8:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

We are grateful O Lord that despite our sins, despite falling into grave error over and over again, You never tire of showing compassion for our human frailty. Your mercy is everlasting for those who love You, trust You, and return to You humbly begging for forgiveness. You will never spurn the contrite sinner no matter how often we fall.

One thing we can be certain of O Lord, those who remain with You, abide in You, hunger and thirst for You will be fed, strengthened, sated, have their fill, and will never lack for anything needful for the journey. To all who seek You, all who follow You, no matter what route we have taken to get to You, will always find perfect rest in You. Every dream, every longing, every aspiration is met in You, in Your Word, and in Your Church. May we, O Lord, like the disciples be ever attentive to what You ask of us, be ready to distribute all that You ask us to as You multiply the little we have to offer so all who come to us will find the abundance that You provide. May we stay close to Your Church and the channels of abundant grace that stream from her to us and from us to a world that is hungry and thirsty for You and Your love. 

A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ 

Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.

FRIDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son. ACTS 16:14

GENESIS 3:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

Your law O Lord is written on every human heart. We know instinctively what is right, good, true, honorable, and pleasing to You. We know that it is always better to err on the side of goodness and truth and yet, O Lord, we allow ourselves to be tempted, we allow the Enemy to beguile us with lies because our flesh is weak and the works of the spirit of the world lures us, captivates our attention, and we take our eyes off the goal which is a life in the Spirit.

We know what You have said O Lord, Your Word is unchanging but we look for loopholes, we pretend that it does not matter too much if we just flirt with sin and not give in to it. We get close to temptation and we allow our desires to be aroused all the while fooling ourselves that we are in control and can restrain ourselves but more often than not the temptation to sin will result in us committing sin because we did not flee from it immediately.

The world is filled with serpents who vociferously teach and preach falsely that it is right and good to put the needs of the flesh over the needs of the spirit which is in truth lying to ourselves that vice is virtue and virtue vice. Our conscience will die when we choose to give the law of the flesh precedence over the Law of Love. Aware of our nakedness we flee from You. 

Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.
The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

PSALM 31(32):1-2,5-7

Happy the man whose offence is forgiven.

Happy the man whose offence is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.

But now I have acknowledged my sins;

my guilt I did not hide.
I said: ‘I will confess
my offence to the Lord.’
And you, Lord, have forgiven
the guilt of my sin.

So let every good man pray to you

in the time of need.
The floods of water may reach high
but him they shall not reach.

You are my hiding place, O Lord;

you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.

Happy the man whose offence is forgiven.

MARK 7:31-37

My Soul's Beloved,

Before our life-changing encounter with You, we were like the deaf man with a speech impediment as well. We know in our heart that something is wrong with our lives, we are aware that there is something better, our lives are empty and unfulfilled, we long for a life that brings joy, peace, and fulfillment but the impediments which is a life lacking in virtue keep us from truly living. Weakened by sin we are heartsick, physically, spiritually, and mentally ill and the more we indulge in sin the greater the malaise that pervades our being.

This deaf man, persuaded by those who knew him was brought to You by people who had faith and believed that You had the power to heal him. They asked You to lay Your hand on him so You took him away from the crowd, put Your fingers into the man's ears, touched his tongue with spittle, looked up to heaven and sighed and said, 'Ephphatha' and the man's ears were opened at Your command and his tongue loosened. 

Lord Jesus, so long as we distance ourselves from You we are unable to hear Your voice and Your Word, and our ears are shut which renders speech with clarity impossible. How can we express that which we do not know? We thank You for the prayers of the Church, of holy men and women, of family members who do not give us but pray faithfully for our salvation. In time, You who answer every prayer especially those that pray for the salvation of those we love and the world, You will hear and answer. You will touch and heal. Eyes and ears will be opened and tongues will be loosened and all will glorify You O Lord who is worthy of all praise.

May we who have experienced the wonder of Your mercy, Your healing touch, never cease to witness to Your goodness, mercy and love.

THURSDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls. JM 1:21

GENESIS 2:18-25

My Soul's Beloved,

God created us, man and woman, equal but not the same. Each fulfills a different role in the divine scheme. and this divine plan is fruitful when each faithfully carries out their assigned work. When we order our will to the divine plan we can see the fruits of the Holy Spirit abound in our lives but chaos ensues when we choose to follow the dictates of the culture, concupiscence, and the devil. This is evident in our world today. 

In God's ordering of the workings of both the heavens and the earth, there is a hierarchy that is necessary for its proper functioning reverse that hierarchy or ignore it and all hell breaks loose. A third of the angels were thrown out of heaven because Lucifer thought he was equal to God and refused to serve His Creator and he and his cohorts found themselves thrown in hell eternally. We too make Earth a hell when we refuse to follow the divine order. The prevalent culture found itself almost on the edge of a vortex that seemed to hurtle itself into the abyss of demons and madness but we thank You, Lord, that You have heard the prayers of Your people who cry out to You tirelessly for mercy. Commonsense seems to be returning and gives us a glimmer of hope that we will return to God's design for our lives.

So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.
Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other.

PSALM 127(128):1-5

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

MARK 7:24-30

My Soul's Beloved,

The Syrophoenician woman who fell at Your feet begging that You heal her daughter who had an unclean spirit represents us parents who do our best to raise our children right. We nurtured them, taught them the faith, took them with us to Church, ensured they were prepared before they received the Sacraments, we taught by example, and yet O Lord, it seems that it was not enough. When they went out into the world the spirit of the world entered into them and they allowed themselves to be led away from the path of righteousness. 

Now O Lord, here we are at Your feet begging that our children may receive the grace, the courage, the strength of will, and discipline necessary to return to You with a broken and humble heart and contrite spirit for these, You assure us, You will not spurn. We ask O Lord for as little as crumbs that fall from Your table for even a little grace has the power to break stubborn hearts and self-willed spirits and Your light will shine through and save and heal. Please hear and answer our prayers, listen to our cries that rise from broken hearts, take pity, and answer us as You answered the mother who pleaded for healing for her child.

May my mustard seed of faith move Your Sacred Heart to compassion and effect the miracle of grace that I plead for and bring salvation and healing to those I love and pray for without ceasing. 

A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth. JN 17:17

GENESIS 2:4-9,15-17

My Soul's Beloved,

We often forget that we are created from dust and we will return to dust except for our soul which is God-breathed and is eternal. You love us, Lord, we have only to look at a crucifix to know how infinitely and totally we are loved by God. We are called to offer God a reciprocal love, a love given to God by an act of will which is Your gift to us. We have the power to choose whether or not to love God and always choose what is right, fitting, and good, or to give in to concupiscence which is always at war in us to gain precedence over what we know full well we ought to choose. 

We were created for happiness, for life in its fullness, for meaning, and purpose by discerning Your will for our lives and doing it. Sadly, because we prefer to seek joy in all the wrong places we find ourselves sick, sad, miserably, anxious, depressed, empty, and alone. The more we try to fill the whole in our soul with things other than You, Lord, we condemn ourselves to misery, fear, and sorrow.

We have a choice daily either to enjoy the riches of Your bountiful love and all the graces that come with it or seek fulfillment in places where we are clearly warned will bring eternal separation from You if we die in our sins.  

The Lord God planted a garden in Eden which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. The Lord God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. The Lord God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. Then the Lord God gave the man this admonition, ‘You may eat indeed of all the trees in the garden. Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die.’

PSALM 103(104):1-2,27-30

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!

All of these look to you
to give them their food in due season.
You give it, they gather it up:
you open your hand, they have their fill.

You take back your spirit, they die,

returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

MARK 7:14-23

My Soul's Beloved,

Wisdom and Life come from listening to Your Word and obeying it. The chaos and confusion in the world come from people choosing to listen to voices other than the voice of God which is Truth. In many places, people with power and authority use the choice of food as a weapon. They exercise this power cruelly and their bigotry over those who desire to choose whatever food they like to such a great degree that they are prepared to imprison, punish, and even kill those who exercise that God-given right and freedom.    

These most vile, vindictive, and cruel enforcers of these man-made restrictions are the ones whose hearts are filled with the stench of decay and death. These narrow-minded bigots bear down so heavily on the minority they crush them for daring to exercise their rights. It is what is born in our minds and finds a home in our hearts that determines whether we are clean or unclean not our food and drink.

When he (Jesus) had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’