THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. LK 1:45

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-18

My Soul's Beloved,

God rejoices, and heaven and earth exults with God in joy over Mary, fairest of the fair daughters of God, most beloved Virgin Mother of the Son of God, and the Most glorious and chaste spouse of the Holy Spirit. The children of God and the children of Eve are blessed, for she is Your gift to us. You gave her to us with Your dying breath, saying to all who love You, all of us who are Your sisters and brothers, 'Behold, your Mother.' Thank You, Lord.

Mary is the Mother of God, for she is Theotokos - the God bearer, she is also Mother of the Church, You founded on Peter and the Apostles. You gave her to us, and like the beloved disciple, we are privileged to take her home with us. We love her, honor her, reverence her, venerate her, and we are privileged to be the handmaids to the handmaid of the Lord. If we listen to her promptings, we can be certain that she will take us by the hand and lead us to You, for she always says to us, 'Do whatever He tells you to do.'

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed your sentence;
he has driven your enemies away.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
you have no more evil to fear.
When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.

PSALM, ISAIAH: 12

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

LUKE 1:39-56

My Soul's Beloved,

Today, as the Church You founded on St. Peter contemplates the Visitation of our Blessed Mother to her cousin Elizabeth, we are reminded once again that we are to model our lives on Your Mother and ours, for she is the disciple par excellence. No one can compare with her. Lower only to the Triune God, she is far above all creatures, both human and angelic.

Her cousin was much older yet she hastened to visit her in her time of need. She has a maternal heart, a heart filled with tenderness and compassion for the sick, the weak, the lonely, the suffering, and the distressed. The greater the need, the greater the claim we have on her motherly love.

Had Mary not gone to visit her cousin, then John the Baptist, in his mother's womb, would not have encountered the Holy Spirit through his mother, Elizabeth. It was at the sound of Mary's greeting that she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the baby in her womb, being filled with the Spirit as well, leaped for joy. 

It is the will of God that we receive You through Mary. This is how You came into the world, and all who wish to come to You must, with the humility of little children, come through her. You would not have given her to us with Your dying breath were it not imperative for Your beloved disciples to take her home with us.

Lord Jesus, each of us in some small way has experienced Mary's glorious Magnificat in our lives, and this is why when we praise God in her hymn of praise, we express our gratitude to God for choosing us to belong to Your Church. Through no merit of our own, Lord, You have called us to experience the fullness of grace, beauty, goodness, and truth in the Catholic Church. Thank You, Lord.

And Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

FRIDAY BEFORE ASCENSION SUNDAY - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Christ has risen, he who created all things,
and has granted his mercy to men.

ACTS 18:9-18

My Soul's Beloved,

There will always be opposition to those who live their faith in You boldly, who evangelise without fear, are not intimidated by threats, and are prepared to endure all things except be silent. For the Good News of salvation burns within them and does not allow them to rest until the message is proclaimed and many come to believe and are saved.

Nothing in this life is more important than to live the Gospel, to carry out our duties as members of the Church according to our vocation, and to grow in holiness and perfection. The Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts in the Sacraments, and all those who desire to become saints and are prepared to undergo any hardships that it will bring, will always be consoled, strengthened, and given all the graces necessary to persevere. It is only lukewarm Christians who are anathema to You. These You will spew out of your mouth. But to those like me, the weak, the fearful, the sinner, who desires, however, to love You as You ought to be loved, You will take by the hand and lead gently, providing all that is needful to help us. You desire that all be saved, too great a price was paid for our redemption for even one soul to be lost. 

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.
But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’

PSALM 46(47):2-7

God is king of all the earth.

All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
given to Jacob out of love.

God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God is king of all the earth.

JOHN 16:20-23

My Soul's Beloved,

To be a faithful disciple in every season, and most especially when the road is narrow and difficult, is not easy. The weak will fall by the wayside, when trampled upon, their fervor and zeal melt like dew in the morning sun. You do not promise us happiness in this life. In this life, the only thing guaranteed to those who pick up their cross daily and follow You, is suffering. No one wants to suffer, Lord, and this is why the world is filled with those who choose the temporary happiness that the world, the flesh, and the devil offer over deep and abiding joy in the soul that comes from doing Your will always, no matter the cost. 

You walked the Way of Suffering before us. You know the Way, and if we follow in Your footsteps, we will share in Your triumph and victory. Thank You for understanding that we are weak and shaping our personal cross so we will not be crushed under its weight. Thank You for the Holy Spirit who will provide all that is necessary to help us choose to walk in the Way of Truth, no matter the cost, and He who is our Helper, our Paraclete, and our Guide will inflame our hearts with the fire of Your life if we choose to let Him.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’

THURSDAY BEFORE ASCENSION SUNDAY - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I go, but I will come back to you,
and your hearts will be full of joy. JN 14:18

ACTS 18:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

I know that as an Apostle, St. Paul was given the charism to teach, to preach, and to evangelise powerfully, so hearts were converted and many were baptized. My witness is more humble but just as needful and important. I am baptized and by virtue of my baptism I have been entrusted with the mission to make You known and loved by the witness of my life in my family, among my friends, in my neighborhood, in my community, and to all I encounter. If by my life I give scandal, if I am not reflecting Your light and my life is not as salt that has the flavor of goodness, beauty, and truth, then I have failed to live the Good News and will be judged accordingly.

Paul's life was exemplary. The Holy Spirit empowered him to speak boldly, with courage, with conviction, and many came to believe, both Jews and Gentiles. Aquila and his wife Priscilla were believers and welcomed Paul to live and work with them. He did not take advantage of their kindness, generosity, and hospitality, even though they would have gladly provided for him, but he worked to provide for his needs. We can become lazy and sponge off the good nature of people, not Paul; such an accusation could never be made against him. 

Believers were generous in welcoming Paul and his companions, making their lives a little easier so they could preach and teach the Gospel without worrying about where they would lodge. People opened their homes to him and provided for his needs. Are we generous in supporting those who are in full-time ministry? Our Church, priests, religious, and lay people who devote their lives to making You known and loved? Our giving is miserly if we give at all. You remind us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Enlarge our capacity for giving to those who labor in Your vineyard, and we too will be blessed. 

After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, ‘Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I can go to the pagans with a clear conscience.’ Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. A great many Corinthians who had heard him became believers and were baptised.

PSALM 97(98):1-4

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

JOHN 16:16-20

WEDNESDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you forever. JN 14:16

ACTS 17:15,22-18:1

My Soul's Beloved,

People will either scoff at the Truth or embrace it. If we deny the Truth, it is because of the sin that has taken root in us. There are certain sins we are unwilling to give up, our secret sins and those that are not so secret. The sins that provide temporary relief and comfort but entrench us ever deeper in sadness, fear, anxiety, discouragement, and even despair. The more we indulge our weaknesses and our addictions, the more rooted we become in them and the more difficult and painful it becomes to rid ourselves of them.

The people who gathered to hear Paul preach were of two kinds - one whose hearts were already hardened and were prepared to laugh off what they did not understand, and others who were prepared to listen and to try and understand. As long as we are open to the Truth that is the same yesterday, today, and eternally, we will encounter You, but if we prefer the lies with which we feed ourselves and convince ourselves are true, we will die in our sins. 

Those who worship the world, the flesh, and the devil are consumed with enjoying this present life; they have no regard for the life to come, and they do so to their eternal destruction.

“We are all his children.”
‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.
‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’
At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

PSALM 148:1-2,11-14

Your glory fills all heaven and earth.

Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host.

All earth’s kings and peoples,
earth’s princes and rulers,
young men and maidens,
old men together with children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth.

He exalts the strength of his people.
He is the praise of all his saints,
of the sons of Israel,
of the people to whom he comes close.

Your glory fills all heaven and earth.

JOHN 16:12-15

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the Truth. In You the fullness of Truth dwells. All that You are is Truth and Light and Goodness and Beauty. You are all that anyone ever needs. You are all that the world needs. With You we possess all things; but without You we are nothing.

The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of Truth, Life, Love, Goodness, and Beauty. The Father sent You to make Him and His love tangible to us. You sent the Holy Spirit so He could make His home in us and lead us into the whole Truth. He brings to mind all that You taught the Apostles in the Living Memory and Tradition of the Church. Through the Magisterium, the Truth lives and speaks through the Successor Peter without error, and thus the Eternal Truth lives on, and the gates of hell are powerless against the Truth.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for abiding in us through Your Holy Spirit. Help us, O Lord God of Truth, Love, and Life, to do nothing to sadden Him but give Him complete dominion of our lives so He can direct us, guide us, and help us grow in Your image and likeness for the greater glory of God.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’

TUESDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth. JN 16:7, 13

ACTS 16:22-34

My Soul's Beloved,

More often than not, all it takes is for one person to stand up with courage and boldly and with conviction speak of the gift of faith that we as Christians have received. We lack courage. We worry about the consequences. We allow our fears of whether or not anyone will listen, let alone believe in the Good News. We allow ourselves to be consumed by doubt, fear, and negativity because we are not on fire with the zeal of the Holy Spirit, and because our own faith is wishy-washy. If I believed like the Apostles, St. Paul, and the early disciples did, if I loved You as I ought, if preaching the Good News was food and drink to me more important than life itself, then, my Lord and my God, I would care nothing about what could possible happen to my body for my soul and my spirit would be joyful. Nothing would matter more to me than to share the Word of God so the world could know You, believe in You, rejoice in Your love, and follow You.

St. Paul and his companions rejoiced because they were considered worthy to suffer and to be imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel. They sang hymns of praise while their hands and feet were chained. Their bodies were on earth, but their souls were consumed with the things of heaven. And while they rejoiced, even though they were flogged and their bodies were in pain, You performed a miracle, sending an earthquake that shook the prison gates, and they flew open while the chains of the prisoners fell away.

The poor jailer knew what his fate would be if all the prisoners had escaped and was about to kill himself, but they didn't. Paul assured him they were all still there. Relief washed over him, and he was so taken up by their faith that he took them home, washed and treated their wounds, fed them, and he and his entire household were baptized and were saved. They rejoiced and celebrated together the goodness of God and in You, His Son, who came into the world not to condemn but to seek and save the lost. Thank You, Lord.

When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.’ The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They told him, ‘Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.’ Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

PSALM 137(138):1-3,7-8

You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.

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.

You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.

You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.

JOHN 16:5-11

My Soul's Beloved,

Without the Holy Spirit, our vision is restricted, we think selfishly, we are self-absorbed, we are unable to grasp eternal truths, and we rejoice at the goodness of God. So it was with the disciples when You spoke to them about going to the Father. They were filled with a sense of sadness and loss. They wanted to hold on to Your Presence among them so they could speak to You, listen to You, touch You, and experience Your physical presence. But You came to give us so much more. You came to give us a taste of heaven while we were still here on earth. 

You could only send the Holy Spirit once You returned to Your Father. Your work of redemption and salvation was accomplished. The work of the Holy Spirit could begin only after You sent Him to the disciples, to the Church, to us. He, the Sanctifier and Perfecter of our faith, helps us to plumb and delve deep into the mysteries of our glorious faith and to live it in season and out of season, regardless of the cost.

Thank You, Father, our Creator, for creating us for such a glorious destiny, eternal life with God. Thank You, Beloved Jesus, for redeeming and saving us. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for making our body Your Temple, Your Sanctuary, and for helping us to grow in holiness and perfection little by little every day. 

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Still, I must tell you the truth:
it is for your own good that I am going
because unless I go,
the Advocate will not come to you;
but if I do go,
I will send him to you.
And when he comes,
he will show the world how wrong it was,
about sin,
and about who was in the right,
and about judgement:
about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me;
about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more;
about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.’

ST. PHILIP NERI, PRIEST - ON MONDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE, 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Spirit of truth will be my witness;
and you too will be my witnesses. JN 15: 26, 27

ACTS 16:11-15

My Soul's Beloved,

The heart of a woman is more sensitive, more attuned to the Voice of God, and often more readily open to listen and receive grace. St. Paul and his companions are at the disposal of the Holy Spirit, and wherever He leads, they go. They travel from place to place, city to city, preaching and teaching the Good News. They went where the people were and preached to whoever was present. Today we read how he preached to the women who had come to hear them, and there was one particularly devout woman, Lydia, who opened her heart to You, received You, and was baptized, and not just her but her entire household.

Beloved, we can take heart from her experience. We who are baptized and grafted into Your Body will also hear our prayers for our family, and in time, all the members of our household will give their lives to You.  Lydia generously opened her home to St. Paul and his companions and insisted that they stay with her, her family refusing to take no for an answer. Loving Jesus, give us generous hearts. We may not be able to leave our homes to evangelise, but we can support those who do with our prayers, as well as monetary help. In this way, we too become missionaries and will be blessed. Open our hearts and our hands to give what we can, O Lord, and most especially to pray for those who do Your work in difficult and dangerous places.

Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.

PSALM 149:1-6,9

The Lord takes delight in his people.

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.

JOHN 15:26-16:4

My Soul's Beloved,

God's plan of salvation unfolds slowly but surely from the dawn of creation to the present day, and until You return in glory. At first, God revealed Himself to individuals Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the patriarchs, and prophets until the time had come when God would reveal Himself in the Flesh to the world. The Father sent You, His only Son, because He loves us and wanted to reveal His love in a way that was tangible and real. You came so we could see You, touch You, consume You. You made the Father known to us and once Your mission of revealing the kind of love that God has for us, the kind of love that lays down His life for His friends, so we can never doubt the greatness of it, the fullness of it, the power of it, the goodness of it, You returned to Him and in turn, from the Father, You send us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit, we would never be able to plumb the heights, the depths, the breadth, and the width of the Love of God for us.  The Apostles were incapable of remembering, understanding, and conveying faithfully all that they had heard You say, teach, preach, and do. We are limited and finite; we need divine help to remember, recall, understand, and convey without error the mysteries of God. They could not have been such powerful witnesses had they not first been able to recall perfectly and understand eternal, divine truths.

Every Catholic, by virtue of our baptism,is privileged to be born into the Church You founded, where the fullness of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth abides; we too are called to witness boldly to the Good News not so much with words but by our lives. We are called to be the lamp on the lampstand, the salt of the earth; we are to illumine Your Light in a world that is dark, sad, lonely, and in pain. You warn us, O Lord, that if we witness boldly to You, the enemies of Truth that killed You will most assuredly do the same to us. History is soaked in the blood of martyrs, and some nations to this day continue to soak the earth with the blood of Christians, but it is from this blood that new Christians will spring up and flourish. In the end, O Lord, there will be but one flock and one Shepherd under the visible head, Peter. 

We pray for this day. We ask You to hasten this day. Give us boldness and courage to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel so You can return again quickly and establish Your Lordship over all. Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Maranatha!

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.
‘I have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken.
They will expel you from the synagogues,
and indeed the hour is coming
when anyone who kills you
will think he is doing a holy duty for God.
They will do these things
because they have never known
either the Father or myself.
But I have told you all this,
so that when the time for it comes
you may remember that I told you.’

6TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.’ JN 14:23

ACTS 15:1-2,22-29

My Soul's Beloved,

You keep Your promise to the Church You founded and established on Peter, after he, inspired by the Holy Spirit, made his confession of faith, and You declared that Peter was the rock upon which You would build Your Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We see this in action in the opening verses of today's first reading, this 6th Sunday after Easter. 

A dispute arose that threatened division about a particular Jewish tradition that some thought was necessary for salvation, while Paul and Barnabas vociferously argued was not. Instead of holding obstinately on to their opinion, they go to Peter, the Apostles, and elders to decide the matter. After lengthy discussions, a decision was made. Peter stood up and testified what God had revealed to him in a vision, and accordingly, it was agreed by all that circumcision was not a requirement for non-Jews to become Christian; Baptism was the only requirement.  A letter declaring, 'Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell,’ was given to them, and Paul and Barnabas, along with a delegation chosen by the Apostles, accompanied them back to Antioch, and this letter was read to the Christians there.

You handed to Peter and his successors the authority to bind and loose, and so it will be until You return. As St. Augustine said, 'Rome has spoken, the matter is settled.' Thank You, Lord, for Your wisdom in establishing the hierarchy in the Church to whom all Christians must submit as they would submit to You. This keeps Your Body united to her Head. Division is the work of Satan. His work is visible to anyone with a semblance of integrity to see. 

PSALM 66(67):2-3,5-6,8

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.

Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

REVELATION 21:10-14,22-23

JOHN  14:23-29

SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand. COL 3:1

ACTS 16:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

All that the Church has received through the Apostolic Tradition, we are bound to obey. Pride and a carnal spirit prevent those outside the Catholic Church to each listen to their own spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. St. Peter, St. Paul, all the Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit and are always sensitive and attentive to His promptings and guidance, and it is the Holy Spirit who reveals when and where they are to preach and Gospel. It is not a matter of one's personal preference. We can only be effective missionaries if we are docile to the promptings of the Spirit of God, who is given to us at Baptism.

St. Paul circumcised Timothy, who was an upright young man, well thought of and with a good reputation among the believers, only because Jews in the region would reject him, and in rejecting him would reject the Gospel. His mission would be ineffective, since they knew that he was uncircumcised, although his mother was a Jew and his father Greek. It was the prudent thing to do, so we need not get all hot and bothered under the collar and accuse St. Paul of going back on something he had fought so hard to achieve, that circumcision was unnecessary for Gentile Christians.

Those outside the Catholic Church accuse her freely of all kinds of nonsense out of abject ignorance of why she teaches what she does and why her members must obey. We must submit to the Teaching Authority of the Church, for when we do so, we submit to You. The work of Satan is division, and is the fruit of arrogance and disobedience, because of unwillingness to submit to the Truth in its entirety.

From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised.

As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.
So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.
They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. 

PSALM 99(100):1-3,5

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

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.

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

JOHN 15:18-21

My Soul's Beloved,

Christians who refuse to compromise with the culture are punished by the world. The blood of Christians continues to soak the earth, and more in some countries than others. The enemies of Truth persecute, imprison, torture, and even murder those who stand uncompromisingly for You. The flimsiest excuses are trumped up in order to destroy them and their families. Many of them have nothing, yet they refuse to back down and are prepared to die rather than deny their faith.

No one can be Your friend and a friend of the world. The present culture is diabolic, perverse, and demonic. It stifles and kills all that is true, good, holy, and noble. Those who refuse to call lies the truth and truth lies are hated, persecuted, ridiculed, and ostracised, but they refuse to back down. Currently, evil is having its hour, but the Truth is eternal and victorious. Truth always wins in the end. 

Your words to us today and to all the fearless Christians in the world are comforting. We are not born for this world, Beloved, for eternal life with You. Let us never forget that time is short, but we need never be afraid of what the world can do to us because we are created for eternity with You.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me before you.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
because my choice withdrew you from the world,
therefore the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too;
if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.
But it will be on my account that they will do all this,
because they do not know the one who sent me.’

FRIDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father JN 15:15

ACTS 15:22-31

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for handing over Your authority to Peter. His primacy in the Church hierarchy is indisputable, and every baptized Catholic is bound to obey all that he, with the Bishops, teach on matters regarding faith and morals. This burden does not lie on each individual but rests with the Church, and we, her members, must be like children relying on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who guides Peter and speaks through him. 

All too often, when we give free rein to our stubbornly held personal opinions, doing so harshly and with condemnation, we divide Your Church, causing her members real harm by insisting we know better than the one appointed by You to lead her. Peter is given the authority to bind and to loose, and anyone who spreads lies and disinformation wounds the Body of Christ because they sow error and confusion in the minds of those who are not so well catechised, causing unnecessary scandal where none exists. 

Beloved, let us, in all humility, no matter what our personal pet opinions may be, surrender our desires and our ideas on how things ought to be and instead rely on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, embracing wholeheartedly all that the Head of the Church in Rome teaches us and instructs us.  This is Your will, and prideful disobedience will separate us from Your Body to our eternal damnation.  

The apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:
‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

PSALM 56(57):8-12

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples.

My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples.

JOHN 15:12-17

My Soul's Beloved,

We all want to be Your disciples, but we are not ready to pay the cost of authentic discipleship. Too many of us run from the Cross, but the cross is an invitation to take a sip from Your Cup, which You drank deeply and completely during Your Passion. It gives us a taste of what our salvation cost God. It is a privilege as well as a necessity, for without the cross there is no crown. We cannot share Your Crown of glory if we are not first prepared to suffer and carry the cross fashioned for us personally by God. 

To carry our cross daily, Lord, is to come out of ourselves and to look for You present in every one we encounter every day. We must stop navel gazing and instead train our vision on those nearest and dearest to us who need us, rely on us, and require to to lean on our strength. Unless I am ready to empty myself daily, hourly, moment by moment for the sake of the one nearest to me, who needs me. I will not be formed in Your image and likeness. 

Help me, Lord! Pour Your Holy Spirit on me. Without Him, I can do nothing.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants any more,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
and then the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
What I command you is to love one another.’

THRUSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 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

ACTS 15:7-21

My Soul's Beloved,

Making things easier for those who come to the faith or to attract others to come to the Church does not mean watering down the faith, nor does it mean that we soft-pedal her doctrines handed down to her by the Apostles who first received them from You.

Yes, some things can change over time, but these have no bearing on the divine truths that remain the same yesterday, today, and eternally. We thank You for the authority of Peter and his successors. We thank You for Your guarantee to the Church that she will never teach error. We thank You for the fullness of the Holy Spirit that lives in the Church. We thank You for the unbroken line of successors to Peter and the Apostles. We thank You for the lives of the Saints that grace our hall of saints in the Church, who are witnesses to us that it is possible to live lives of extraordinary virtue through grace. Thank You above all for Your assurance that You will be with her always and that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her.

Grant us this grace, Beloved, that we who are baptised into the Church and are members of Your Body are authentic witnesses so that the world is drawn to the Beauty, Goodness, and Truth that find their home in the Church and in her life and doctrine.

After the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders.

When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me. Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:
After that I shall return
and rebuild the fallen House of David;
I shall rebuild it from its ruins
and restore it.
Then the rest of mankind,
all the pagans who are consecrated to my name,
will look for the Lord,
says the Lord who made this known so long ago.
‘I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath.’

PSALM 95(96):1-3,10

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

JOHN 15:9-11

My Soul's Beloved,

Here is the answer to all that is necessary for us to live fruitful lives, a life of the abundance of the joy of the Lord, a life of purpose, a life well-lived because it seeks nothing more and nothing less than to keep the Commandments of God. To do the will of Your Father was food and drink to You, and ought to be for us too, who call ourselves Your sisters and brothers.

Yet, Lord, we struggle tremendously to let go of our passions, concupiscence, because we are also children of Adam. We are children born with original sin, children who struggle not to be of the world, although we are in it. It is a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment struggle, and we fail constantly. 

But Lord, if we throw ourselves on Your mercy, if we rely on You and not on ourselves, if we allow the Holy Spirit to live in us and direct us, then little by little, day by day, we will grow in Your image and likeness. Lord Jesus, we all desire to love You as You ought to be loved, and our greatest joy and fulfillment come from being receptive to the Holy Spirit, who will provide all the graces we need to live holy lives, but sadly, Lord, we often fall. Help me to love You as You ought to be loved. Help me to understand more fully how gracious You are and how much You love me, who am undeserving of Your love, and I will respond to Your love and life in me. 

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.’

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER - 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

ACTS 14:21-27

My Soul's Beloved,

The Apostles and Paul lived and breathed the Gospels. Their souls burned with the zeal of the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News of salvation, for they understood that souls would be lost eternally if they did not believe in You and were baptized. There is no way to enter the Kingdom of God except through You. This is the Father's will. The Father has glorified You, and in this You are glorified that we know You, love You, and lay down our lives for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel.

How can we evangelise just as effectively in our lives, Lord? It would seem impossible, as we are unable to preach and teach the Gospels as the Apostles did. Their apostolic mission is different from ours, yet we can be just as fruitful. The field is great, the harvest is ready, but few are willing to die moment to moment to ourselves and become another Christ to our family, neighbor, and community. Love conquers all, but to love we must be prepared to lay down our lives by sacrificing our will, our personal desires, our very selves for the sake of our loved one. This is not easy, Beloved. It is a daily battle with our will, our flesh, the world, and the devil, and without the help of the Holy Spirit, we will surely fail. But thanks be to God, You have poured the Holy Spirit into our hearts through Baptism and the Sacraments, and if we allow ourselves to be used by You, surrendering our lives to You, little by little, we will save souls and You will be glorified.

Paul and Barnabas went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.

PSALM 144(145):8-13a

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

REVELATION 21:1-5

My Soul's Beloved,

We are presently living in the final age, the age of the Holy Spirit, and until most recently, it seemed that the world was slowly and steadily being wrapped in an all-consuming, deepening, and terrifying darkness. The unbelievable and stupefying depths of depravity to which humanity was sinking were causing those who cling to You and to the Church to lose heart. Evil, having entered almost every aspect of our culture, politics, society, and Christian institutions, causing them to collapse as they gave up even the semblance of Truth and embraced evil, calling it good, and good evil, the faithful remnant had begun to lose heart. 

But finally, O Lord, a wave of hope is sweeping the nations. Joy surges in our hearts. We have a new successor to Peter. The Key of the Kingdom is in safe hands, and faith and fervor are rekindled. The new Jerusalem is dispelling the darkness. The Bridegroom has not forgotten His Bride. We are here, we are ready, we are Yours to command. We wait in eager expectation to go where Peter leads and to prepare the way for Your Second Coming in glory. Come quickly, Lord. Maranatha!

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’
Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’

JOHN 13:31-33,34-35

My Soul's Beloved,

Judas has left. The Church and the world awaken to a new dawn. The Church is vivified. Peter is here. The door is open to all and ready to welcome the world's poor, hungry, weak, sinful, sick, forgotten, and those whom the powerful minions of Satan had sought to destroy.

No longer will Truth be obfuscated or denied. The Church raises her voice once again and speaks with integrity, fervor, vigor, and authority and by the power of the Holy Spirit nations will fall prostrate in worship, knees will bend, heart will be inflamed and tongues will confess to the glory of God our Father, that Jesus is Lord and He saves. Grant all with ears to hear to listen, to do so in humility, and obey without hesitation. Let us love as You have commanded us to, and we will enter a new era of peace, not the peace that the world gives but Your peace, everlasting peace. 

When Judas had gone Jesus said:
‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,
and in him God has been glorified.
If God has been glorified in him,
God will in turn glorify him in himself,
and will glorify him very soon.
‘My little children,
I shall not be with you much longer.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another;
just as I have loved you,
you also must love one another.
By this love you have for one another,
everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

SATURDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the Lord. JN 81:32

ACTS 13:44-52

My Soul's Beloved,

Reading the reaction of the Jews, who, prompted by jealousy, even used blasphemies while contradicting the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, is no different from the ugly comments made by non-Catholics on social media. They call themselves Christians, yet their language and their heretical responses to Catholic beliefs and practices are horrendous. They have a huge blind spot and such a large chip on their shoulder that it makes them incapable of comprehending divine and eternal mysteries. In their absolute and comprehensive ignorance of the truth of Catholic doctrine, they commit the most heart-rending blasphemies against revealed Truths. What they simply are unable to get past is that the Church came before the Bible. The Church gave the world the Word of God. She decided its Canon. Without the Church, the world would not have the Bible. And above all, God has established the Church and by the power of the Holy Spirit and the primacy of Peter has entrusted to her the fullness of Truth, both in the recorded Word and oral Tradition, and both are absolutely imperative to penetrate to the extent that mortals can, the divine mysteries of God.

But Christians who are unafraid to seek the Truth and embrace it no matter where it leads them, like the pagans in today's first reading, are given the wondrous grace to accept with humility and great joy, the fact that it is in the Catholic Church alone, under the headship of the successor to Peter, that the fullness of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth are found.

Hubris will lead many haughty, ignorant, narrow-minded, blasphemous, and bigoted non-Catholics into the very pit of hell.

The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.

PSALM 97(98):1-4

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

JOHN 14:7-14

My Soul's Beloved,

I can almost picture Your sad face as You speak to Philip, who asked to see Your Father as You reply, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do not know me?' It is so with us, too, my Lord. We say we know You, but truly Lord how well do we really do if we are not willing to surrender our whole being to You and with Mama Mary say always and everywhere, 'I am the handmaid of the Lord, do with me what you will,' and really and truly mean it. 

To know You is to know the Father and be possessed by Your Holy Spirit, who continues to draw us every nearer to You and leads and guides us deeper and deeper into divine mysteries. 

There was never a single instant when the Father and the Spirit were not one with You. In the womb of Your Virgin Mother, Mary, for nine months while You grew in secret, the Father and the Holy Spirit were present in her, and just as You were always one with her even after You were born and grew to manhood, so too the Trinity was with her always. She is the disciple par excellence and is leagues ahead of the greatest saint that ever lived, and even all the heavenly hosts of angels. 

If we strive faithfully to model our lives on Mama Mary, she will help us to understand and live the mysteries of our glorious Catholic faith.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Churc,h and thank You for the numbers that You keep adding to her. Soon, Beloved, we will see the answer to Your prayer that all believers may be one just as You and the Father are one.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’

THURSDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood. REV 1:5

ACTS 13:13-25

My Soul's Beloved,

Every Catholic proclaiming the Gospel must be able to present the Good News of our salvation with clarity, weaving the threads of Old and New Testament until its culmination, Your glorious Resurrection from the dead. Without the power of the Resurrection, we build our house on sand. It is the rock-solid foundation on which the Church stands invincible against the wiles of the Enemy. 

An in-depth study of the power of Paul's evangelisation to Jews, Gentiles, and new believers teaches us how to present through Sacred Scripture, You as the one, true, Redeemer, Messiah, and Savior of the world. There is no other.  

Everything in Salvation History, beginning with the creation of the world and culminating in Your Second Coming in glory and majesty, follows a logical progression from a divine, supernatural, and natural human perspective. It is all supremely clear, but only if one seeks the truth honestly. Only then will their eyes see and their ears hear the marvels that God has done for us. 

Grant the Church, O Lord, in our times, under the leadership of the new successor of Peter, Pope Leo XIV, a New Pentecost. May the fire of the Holy Spirit sweep across nations, and may the fire of Your love be enkindled in all hearts and hasten Your coming again in glory. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

Paul stood up, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
‘Men of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! The God of our nation Israel chose our ancestors, and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt; then by divine power he led them out, and for about forty years took care of them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in Canaan, he put them in possession of their land for about four hundred and fifty years. After this he gave them judges, down to the prophet Samuel. Then they demanded a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. After forty years, he deposed him and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”’

PSALM 88(89):2-3,21,22,25,27

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

I have found David my servant
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him
and my arm shall make him strong.

My truth and my love shall be with him;
by my name his might shall be exalted.
He will say to me: ‘You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.’

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

JOHN 13:16-20

My Soul's Beloved,

Many of us who call ourselves Catholic and Christian are very selective about whose feet we wash. We create barriers based on our carnal inclinations, or we make social distinctions that put walls between us. We cringe when we look at certain people of a different background or faith, culture, or nation, while presenting a neutral look on our face or demeanour, but You, O Lord, are not deceived. You see all. You know all. And we who hold ourselves back instead of pouring ourselves out in self-donation as You did will be judged severely. 

You tell us clearly how to be happy in this life and eternally happy in the next. It is to be a servant to all. You washed the feet of the disciples. You, who are Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Messiah, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, went down on Your knees and washed the feet of all Your Apostles. One betrayed You. One denied You not once but three times, and all but one fled during the hours You needed their love, friendship, and solidarity the most. 

Here is a blueprint for every disciple:

We must be ready to get down on our knees and wash the feet of everyone we encounter in humble service because the servant is not greater than the master. The messenger is not greater than the One who sends him.

After he had washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus said to them:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the man who sent him.
‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly.’ 

Beloved, how it must have pierced Your loving Heart to look at Judas whom You loved. You knew he would sell You to Your enemies for a paltry sum of 30 pieces of silver, yet You washed his feet. How dark was his heart that, knowing his treachery, he still had the gall to permit You to do it.

I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table rebels against me.

Beloved, You gave Your disciples foreknowledge of all that would take place before it occurred, so later, after they had given in to cowardice and abandoning You in fear, they would recall that being God, You knew all things and yet You submitted in humility and loving obedience to the will of Your Father.  

‘I tell you this now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe that I am He.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’