SATURDAY OF WEEK 4 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me. JN 10:27

HEBREWS 13:15-17,20-21

My Soul's Beloved,

Conversion is not a one-time event but a daily struggle, a moment-by-moment struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. But it is not a losing battle because the victory is won by the Blood of the Lamb. Every day from the moment I rise I must place myself under Your rule, Your Lordship, and Your power with humility and confidence. You have made it possible for me to live a life of holiness and goodness by the power of Your Holy Spirit who lives and moves in me. 

I can keep my soul in heaven while my feet are on earth simply by raising my heart, mind, spirit, and soul to You. By being aware of You, keeping my thoughts on You, and contemplating Your love and the power of Your love that saves. I can live, move, and have my being in You by offering every thought, word, and deed for Your glory. My entire life can be a hymn of praise to You if I so choose. It is up to me to live in heaven while still on earth. Grant me the grace to choose to do so as long as I live and You will provide all the help I need. 

Through Christ, let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, a verbal sacrifice that is offered every time we acknowledge his name. Keep doing good works and sharing your resources, for these are sacrifices that please God.

I pray that the God of peace, who brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood that sealed an eternal covenant, may make you ready to do his will in any kind of good action; and turn us all into whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.

PSALM 22(23)

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;

he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

MARK 6:30-34

My Soul's Beloved,

Because we are in the flesh we are subject to the limitations of the flesh. We get hungry, tired, restless, sleepy, irritable, and need to relax and rest and You understand and empathize when we do because You became like us and were subject to these human limitations too. 

It had been a long and exciting day. The spectacular miracle of the multiplication of the loaves affected all who witnessed it and everyone present knew that it was by the power of God that You had performed it. The people looked at You at Your disciples with wonder and awe and saw in this miracle a means of getting an unlimited supply of bread to satisfy their physical hunger. Yet who could blame them for they lived under the tyranny of the Roman occupation as well as the rich and powerful religious leaders. Lest all this excitement and adulation get too heady for the disciples You urged them to come away with You to a lonely place to rest a while in Your presence, in the presence of God. Getting into a boat You went away with Your disciples away from the constant clamor of the crowds demanding that You touch and heal them. 

You invite us periodically to get away from the world and rest in You awhile but even this resting O Lord can be disturbed by those who desire Your touch to heal, to feed, to strengthen, and make whole. You are always available to everyone in need and we must be as well.

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.