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.