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.’

ST. MATTHIAS APOSTLE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord. JN 15:16

ACTS 1:15-17,20-26

My Soul's Beloved,

It is particularly comforting in these gracious and joyful days given to the Church as we celebrate a new successor of St. Peter, that we have the Petrine Office. We have a visible head to guide and navigate the Bark of St. Peter through the troubled waters of life, the current culture that promotes hedonism, and the very real evil at work in all areas of life, especially family life.

It is wondrous to see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in St. Peter, who understands Scripture well and knows how to interpret and apply it. You appointed 12 Apostles, and now there were 11. According to Scripture, another had to take the place that Judas had left vacant. Peter, the head of the Apostles, decides who is eligible and how it will be done. We are grateful for Peter's leadership as the visible head of the Church You founded. The Church is not a democracy; if it were, chaos would reign and the devil would have no trouble destroying it by sowing division and dissension. 

Thank You, Lord, for the Church You established, the Pope You have given us, the hierarchy, and the laity who work together to further the Kingdom of God on earth. Thank You, Lord, for Your assurance that You will remain with her until the end of time, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.

One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – 

Now in the Book of Psalms it says:

Let his camp be reduced to ruin,
Let there be no one to live in it.
And again:
Let someone else take his office.
‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’
Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.

PSALM 112(113):1-8

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.

Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

JOHN 15:9-17

TUESDAY OF THE 4TH 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 11:19-26

My Soul's Beloved,

Our reaction in the face of persecution should not be to cower in fear, but like the disciples, when we flee persecution and travel to other places, we must carry the Gospel with us. We must preach and teach, and spread the Good News that saves. Wherever the believers fled, they proclaimed the message of salvation. At first, they restricted their preaching to Jews, but soon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, according to Your will, the message was being preached to Greeks as well. We ought never to restrict or restrain the Holy Spirit but permit Him to blow where He will. God desires that all His children be saved and come to the knowledge of Truth.

Barnabas was sent by the Apostles to Antioch when they heard that the Good News was being preached to Gentiles as well, and when he found a flourishing Christian community, he knew he needed zealous workers to labor in Your vineyard. He sought Paul, and together they began to establish the Church in Antioch that was to put down deep roots and spread from there to the whole world. 

My Lord, help me to be attentive to the Holy Spirit, be docile to His promptings, and do all He wishes me to in humility and obedience. Let me not look at my negligible capabilities but rely wholly on the power of God.

Some of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they started preaching to the Greeks, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesus to them as well. The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.
The church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord.
Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’

PSALM 86(87)

O praise the Lord, all you nations!

On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!

‘Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called “Mother”
for all shall be her children.’

It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
‘These are her children,’
and while they dance they will sing:
‘In you all find their home.’

O praise the Lord, all you nations!

JOHN 10:22-30

My Soul's Beloved,

How it must break the Father's heart and grieve the Holy Spirit, when those who ought to know better question You, saying, ‘How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ And You respond in sorrow and disbelief to the incredulous demands, ‘I have told you, but you do not believe.’

So many baptized Catholics are cold and indifferent to the faith of our fathers. How long can we blame poor catechesis, or not growing up grounded in the faith? How do these poor souls fill the yawning vacuum within them except with the trivial and fleeting pleasures of the world? 

Once again, O Lord, there is new hope sweeping the Church. We pray that in the reign of the newly elected Pontiff, Leo XIV, hearts and minds will be rekindled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Grant, O Lord, that the Church enters a new age of Catholicism where millions of people everywhere will be set on fire with the love of Christ and be baptized. Most especially, O Lord, that the grace of baptism in the hearts of lukewarm, indifferent, lazy Catholics is reignited, and may they become zealous disciples ready to lay down their lives for You and the Gospel. What joy will fill the earth, Beloved, when the whole world falls on their knees to confess that You, Jesus Christ, are Lord and there is salvation in no other name except Yours.

‘The works I do in my Father’s name are my witness;

but you do not believe,
because you are no sheep of mine.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’

MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me. JN 10:14

ACTS 11:1-18

My Soul's Beloved,

Peter exclaimed, 'Who am I to stand in God's way?' Yet we have no compunction in doing so. We criticize everyone freely, whether or not we know what we are talking about. We are narrow-minded, we demand exclusivity, we build walls instead of bridges, we are suspicious of those who speak differently, look different, have a different culture, or eat foods we would not touch. We desire to limit Your power and Your goodness and generosity. We are in a hurry to pass judgment and create barriers instead of seeing everyone as our brothers and sisters and sharing with them the gift of the Gospel, of faith, and salvation.

Peter saw the same vision three times and was commanded not to declare unclean and unacceptable what God Himself had declared clean. In the Kingdom of God, all are welcome regardless of their past, present, or where they come from. The message of the Gospel must be preached to all peoples to the ends of the earth.

Some nations have laws that forbid evangelizing. They reject the Good News that saves. They do so because they are ignorant. In places like these, Lord, we are to be a living Gospel and by our lives they must come to know You, love You, believe in You, embrace You, and be saved.

The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jews criticised him and said, ‘So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?’ Peter in reply gave them the details point by point: ‘One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,’ he began, ‘I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched it intently and saw all sorts of animals and wild beasts – everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Now, Peter; kill and eat!” But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane or unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, “What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane.” This was repeated three times, before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again.

‘I had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said, “John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” I realised then that God was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?’
This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. ‘God,’ they said, ‘can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.’

PSALM 41(42):2-3,42:3-4

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

JOHN 10:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

There is only one Way to enter the Kingdom of God, and that is through You and through the Church You established. Many do not understand or find it difficult to comprehend Your Word spoken most clearly, ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’

The Devil a liar and a deceiver from the beginning, has thrown a veil of dust over the eyes of so many well-intentioned Christians who genuinely believe they are in good standing with God even when they pick, choose, and interpret Sacred Scripture according to their human thinking. You established one Church. You gave to Peter the key to this Church. He is the rock on which the Church is established, and he and the apostles were entrusted with preaching, teaching, and handing down all that You said and did. As St. John the Apostle testifies, not everything You said and did is recorded, but much of it is handed down, and the Church keeps faithfully in her treasury of faith all that You said and did. This is the Sacred Deposit of our faith, both Oral Apostolic Tradition as received from You, as well as the Gospels.

Some day, Lord, there will be only one flock. You prayed for unity, and the Father has heard and answered Your prayer. We pray with You, Lord, for unity, and we wait with expectation for the day to arrive when we will all be one as You and Your Father are one.

Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come
are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life and have it to the full.’

4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY) - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me. JN 10:14

ACTS 13:14,43-52

My Soul's Beloved,

Some of the Jews among them, Pharisees and Sadducees, and all enemies of Truth to this day are hard-hearted and stubborn. They refuse to give You as well as Your Church a fair hearing. They refuse to consider Your words, teaching, and preaching, Your life, Your suffering, death, crucifixion and glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven. They refuse to consider the wonderful signs that You, the Apostles, and the Church continue to perform, giving authentic witness that You were indeed from God. You said that we are judged by the fruit we bear. Just as they refused to judge You by the wonders, signs, and miracles that accompanied You wherever You went, they refuse to credit the Church for all the positive contributions she has made in every area of life in every nation that has Christian roots, a Christian heritage, and wherever she has sent her missionaries, as well as ordinary laymen and women who live their faith heroically, quietly, and faithfully while making an impact by their witness to Your goodness, compassion, mercy, and love. 

Paul made the decision that enough was enough. The rejection of the Jews, their hatred of the Truth, and their stubborn clinging to a way that was now obsolete. You came to show the world that the only Way to the Father was through You, and the consequences of their rejection lie on their head, for they deliberately and willfully closed their hearts and their ears to the Good News that saves. Paul decided that he and his companions would preach the Good News to the Gentiles who were hungry and thirsty for Life in its abundance, and thus they fulfilled Your command to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

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.
But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

PSALM 99(100):1-3,5

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

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.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

REVELATION 7:9,14-17

My Soul's Beloved,

It is so consoling to know my Lord that all those who have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel, all who are being persecuted for it in so many nations in the world and especially in those places where Christianity is such a tiny fraction and yet the oppressors see fit to do them harm. There is a divine power in our faith, Lord, and this is why the enemies of Truth are afraid of it. Conversions continue to take place in the unlikeliest places and in the most unbelievable ways. So we do not lose hope but continue to live out our faith by the testimony of our lives.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for inspiring the words of Sacred Scripture through its human authors, they encourage us, give meaning and purpose to our lives, and fill us with hope. So many young seminarians, priests, religious, and lay people are losing their lives for the sake of the Gospel. You have taken them to Yourself, and they are in Your glorious Presence where they worship You and intercede for the Church.

Thank You, Beloved, for the glorious destiny that awaits those whom You will eventually call home to Yourself. Keep us faithful to the end, Lord.

I, John, saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. One of the elders said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.’

JOHN 10:27-30

My Soul's Beloved,

My heart aches and breaks for those within my family and in my home who have been baptized, received the Sacraments, have remained faithful to the Church's teaching for years, but now have grown cold and indifferent. How much longer, Lord, before these sheep whom You love so much, who have been called by Your Name, and are sealed in the Holy Spirit, will stray far from the path leading to eternal life?  

You assure me daily that all that I desire, the Father desires even more. You ask me to wait and pray, and while I wait to do so with a glad heart and a joyful spirit. It gets hard, Lord, when days turn to weeks, months, and years. Help me not to lose confidence in Your goodness and in Your Word, which is true.  

Merciful Father, for the sake of Jesus' sorrowful passion, grant that I may never waver in my faith, and never allow discouragement to sadden me so greatly that I lose hope. You assure us most emphatically that we, the sheep, are given to Your Son by You and He assures us that no one can steal them from You. For this assurance Abba, Father, we thank You. 

Beloved Jesus, thank You for assuring the sheep that listen to Your voice and follow You of eternal life. Grant O Lord that every sheep that has strayed is not completely lost. You will seek them, find them, and return them to the fold.

Jesus said:
‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’

SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life. JN 6:63, 68

ACTS 9:31-42

My Soul's Beloved,

With the election of our new Pope, Leo XVI, there is an air of excitement in the Church. The Holy Spirit is breathing new life into her like a cleansing wind, sweeping through all its dark and dusty corners, and refreshing her. Shame no longer has her retreating as the most grievous and heinous sins of her pastors brought her to her knees, and both good and bad priests and religious were looked at with suspicion and hate. 

The Church stands once again as the shining light on the hill that You always intended bringing to her all the people of the world who climb up Mt. Zion and find hope, a home, and refuge in her. You, my Beloved, are granting Your Bride a period of respite so she can grow in confidence, grace, wisdom, and be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. You have given us a successor to St. Peter who is serene, calm, quiet, joyful, filled with steady and firm confidence in You and the work that You have called him to do.

We are ready, Lord, to listen to the voice of Peter and follow him just as he and the Apostles followed You. It's been a while since the members of Your Body, the Church have felt this excited and alive. Pour rich graces on our Holy Father, Pope Leo XVI, the hierarchy, and the faithful, may this be a time when each of us hears and responds to his call to go out to all nations and bring the Good News of salvation to all.

Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to the saints living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and fold up your sleeping mat.’ Aeneas got up immediately; everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were all converted to the Lord.
At Jaffa there was a woman disciple called Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, who never tired of doing good or giving in charity. But the time came when she got ill and died, and they washed her and laid her out in a room upstairs. Lydda is not far from Jaffa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men with an urgent message for him, ‘Come and visit us as soon as possible.’
Peter turned to the dead woman and said, ‘Tabitha, stand up.’ She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter helped her to her feet, then he called in the saints and widows and showed them she was alive. The whole of Jaffa heard about it and many believed in the Lord.

PSALM 115(116):12-17

How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?

How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?

JOHN 6:60-69

My Soul's Beloved,

Every Catholic echoes St. Peter's declaration of faith in You and in the Holy Eucharist. We cling to You, we cleave to You, and we say with him, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Beloved, when we confess with our lips and believe in our heart that You are indeed the Messiah, the first-born, only begotten Son of the Living God, then we will accept everything You say, not just with faith but with supernatural faith. We will hear You as the Holy Spirit desires us to hear and understand what the flesh and natural inclinations will find difficult and even impossible to comprehend. This is the sad truth of our Protestant brothers and sisters. There is a veil that keeps them from plumbing, understanding, and believing divine mysteries that You have revealed to those who have ears to hear.

We hear them echo the words of those followers who left You, saying, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ You respond, saying, ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life. ‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’

Beloved, now as the Holy Spirit ushers the Church into a new era under the Pontificate of Pope Leo XVI we humbly beg You to open the hearts and minds of those who hearts are hardened because they cannot understand divine truths because their carnal and natural instincts prevent them from seeing what is so clear to the Church wherein the fullness of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness makes its home.

For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.
Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven,
says the Lord.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. JN 6:51

ACTS 8:26-40

My Soul's Beloved,

God will speak to us if we are docile, attentive, humble, obedient, and still. The Spirit does not dwell in chaos and noise but in silence, and only if we have quietened and stilled our souls will we hear Him speak. We do not because we prefer the cacophony of the world. We actively seek distractions. We are unable to recollect ourselves and sit quietly in Your Presence. How then, O Lord, will we hear Your instructions as Philip did? We complain that You do not speak to us anymore, but whose fault is that, if not ours, Beloved?

Philip was not only attentive, but he was prepared to do anything you asked, and he was responsible not only for the conversion of the eunuch but also for the Gospel reaching Ethiopia through this instrument that God had chosen. We, too, could be zealous bearers of the Gospel, but we are deaf to the invitation of the Spirit and lose opportunities to spread God's Good News to those who hunger and thirst for the Truth that saves.

The Eunuch was eager to learn, humble enough to know he did not understand and needed someone to interpret the Scriptures to him, unlike so many Christians. They do not wish to know the Truth; if they did, they would encounter You. They prefer to regurgitate the lies they were fed through ignorance, and are supremely content with being ignorant. Only through humility, obedience, and a hunger for Truth will seekers of Truth grasp it.

Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this:
Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers,
like these he never opens his mouth.
He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him.
Who will ever talk about his descendants,
since his life on earth has been cut short!
The eunuch turned to Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’ Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him.
Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?’ He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.

PSALM 65(66):8-9,16-17,20

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

O peoples, bless our God,
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.

Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.

Blessed be God
who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

JOHN 6:44-51

WEDNESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that whoever believes in the Son shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day. JN 6:40

ACTS 8:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

When trials come, we generally complain or are confused, we look at it as a punishment and believe we have offended You, but oftentimes it is through trials, persecutions, and suffering that You can carry out designs.  Believers fled Jerusalem out of fear because of the great persecution that was being visited on them, and they carried the Gospel with them wherever they went and preached it. This is how the Good News reached those who would otherwise not have heard it. We ask for this grace, O Lord, to bear all our crosses patiently,y for it is through them that You are able to work in us and through us. 

The Apostles did not flee, at least not yet. But a time would come when they too would have to leave Jerusalem. Each went to different parts of the world just as you commanded, carrying the Good News of our salvation to all who would receive it. 

Even when I do not understand why, Lord, grant me the faith, grace, and confidence to know that in all things You work for good in my life and in the lives of those I love and pray for. Thank You, Lord.

Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.
Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.

PSALM 65(66):1-7

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!

Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!’

Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.

Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

JOHN 6:35-40

My Soul's Beloved,

It is no secret, Lord, that God desires that all come to the knowledge of Truth and be saved. What is Truth? Truth is You, Lord, You are the embodiment of Truth. You were sent by the Father to become the means by which all who believe that the Father sent You are saved. When we hear the Good News that saves, we must freely accept or reject it. Only by believing are we saved. Once we believe in You, our lives are transformed. We become Your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God, and temples of the Holy Spirit by virtue of being baptized and grafted into Your Body.

You ensure that we are fed and nourished, for without this spiritual food, we would die. You give us Your own Flesh to eat and Your own Blood to drink, and these well up to eternal life in us. Nourished by Your Body and Blood, the Holy Spirit pours grace upon grace into our souls, and we receive the strength to align our will to Yours in all things. It is only in embracing Your will, Beloved that we can turn our backs to evil and choose to walk the narrow Way that leads to Eternal Life.

Jesus said to the crowd:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.
Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’

TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the bread of life, says the Lord.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst. JN 6:35

ACTS 7:51-8:1

My Soul's Beloved,

Truth makes evil men grind their teeth and fills them with diabolic rage. This was witnessed when evil had its hour, and You gave Yourself to the pawns of Satan. From the moment You created Adam and Eve, Satan roared in rage and swore to destroy the crown of God's creation, and when he cost them paradise, he thought he had won. But Satan cannot win, not against God and not against You, the most beloved Son of God, who in perfect humility lay down Your life in obedience to the will of Your Father, thus destroying the disobedience of Adam and Eve.   

The wicked are consumed with hatred. Their rage fuels all kinds of diabolic schemes to destroy the innocent, the humble, the pure in heart. Every Christian by virtue of our baptism and the gift we receive of becoming children of the Father and members of Your Body, gives us the courage and strength we need to lay down our lives for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel, just as Stephen and countless others since him have done.

The Holy Spirit makes us temples of God, and with God on our side, we are more than conquerors, just as Stephen was. The world is presently teetering dangerously on the precipice of relativism, debauchery, vice, and greed. Stephen, filled with courage, firm in faith, and confident of the Truth that illumined his life, testified to his dying breath that You, O Lord, whom the enemies of Truth had killed, was indeed alive and in glory in heaven. They stoned Stephen to death, believing that by killing the messengers of Truth, they would succeed in destroying it. But You, O Lord, have a way of using the blood of martyrs to raise brand new Christians and convert the most unlikely people into the most dynamic evangelisers just as You did with Saul, later Paul, who was in the crowd and approved the murder of Stephen. 

Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted?’
They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. 

As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep. Saul entirely approved of the killing.

PSALM 30(31):3-4,6,8,17,21

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
As for me, I trust in the Lord:
let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plotting of men.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

JOHN 6:30-35

My Soul's Beloved,

Why is it that we are always clamoring for signs, and no sign is enough, Lord? The more signs we receive, the more we ask for because we are not willing to commit our lives to You. Our lives are a miracle. The very fact that God created us is a miracle. That God desires us for eternal life and a life of unending bliss in Your Presence is a miracle. Yet we demand more because we are not serious about living up to the demands that faith makes of us.

The people witnessed not just the astounding miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish but many miracles of healing, and yet they demanded more, like children. And when they spoke of the manna that Moses gave their ancestors to eat in the desert, calling it bread from heaven, You reminded them that it was Your Father, not Moses, who gave them the bread. That bread was perishable. You promise that Your Father sends from heaven the true bread, which gives life to the world. They did not understand. They asked for this life-giving bread, and it was then You revealed that You were the Bread that came down from Heaven, and if we eat You we will live forever.

Thank You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the Holy Eucharist. Thank You, Father, for desiring to give us Your Son as food for our souls. Thank You, Beloved, for becoming the Bread that makes us like You. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for making the miracle of transubstantiation possible. Thank you, Mama Mary, for giving Your Son, Jesus, His Flesh for the life of the world.

The people said to Jesus, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,

‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.’

MONDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ACTS 6:8-15

My Soul's Beloved,

It has always been so, Lord, the servants of Satan know how to twist the truth and declare lies to be the truth and truth lies. The enemies of Truth have no qualms about bringing false witnesses to testify against God's people. If they did it to the Son of God, Your disciples can expect nothing less, just as You forewarned all who would follow You. 

Saints are seen as troublesome to those who prefer licentious living and are prepared to do anything, even murder, to gain wealth, power, and influence. They covet these with single-mindedness and are prepared to swear lying oaths to get what they want. Truth cannot be hidden and cannot be conquered by lies, and even for a while, if deceit prevails, it does so only for a season, for Truth can never be suppressed long. Truth is always victorious. To this day, we remember Stephen and celebrate with joy his martyrdom, gaining him paradise as his reward. We remember the names of his accusers and their infamy in putting an innocent man to death for the sake of furthering a way of life that had ended. Salvation had come to the world. Death was conquered. The time that the patriarchs and prophets had longed for had finally arrived. The Son of Man and the Son of God have established His everlasting reign on earth. God has conquered by suffering, dying, and rising up to new life, and all who believe in You, Beloved, are raised to new life with You.  

They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say, ‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.

PSALM 118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30

They are happy whose life is blameless.

Though princes sit plotting against me
I ponder on your statutes.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counsellors.

I declared my ways and you answered;
teach me your statutes.
Make me grasp the way of your precepts
and I will muse on your wonders.

Keep me from the way of error
and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me.

They are happy whose life is blameless.

JOHN 6:22-29

My Soul's Beloved,

All too often, we forget that we are also spiritual beings. We have a soul that will live forever, but sadly, we pay far more attention to temporal and material things than we do to the things that will last forever. 

The crowds had their fill of bread, and they sought You the next day only because they wanted more of the same, but the miracle of the loaves was only a prelude to something far more significant: the Holy Eucharist, the supernatural bread, the bread of angels, the heavenly manna. Without this heavenly food, our souls would wither and die. The world labors wearily for bread which perishes but cares little for the Bread that wells up to eternal life.

The key to true happiness, Lord, is no secret. You tell us clearly that our lives on earth must be spent in service to God, and service to Him begins with believing in You, His only Son, whom He sent into the world not to condemn the world but to save it. 

Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’