ST. MARY MAGDALENE, TUESDAY OF WEEK 16 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Tell us, Mary: say
what thou didst see upon the way.
– The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!

SONG OF SONGS 3:1-4

My Soul's Beloved,

My whole life must be one of seeking You, Lord. Not only in moments of rest and contemplation, in the silence, stillness, and quiet, but even when I rise up at dawn, through the day, and until the sun sets, I must be busy about the Father's business. And what is the Father's business but that You, His only and most beloved Son, should be made known to all, for the Father sent into the world, so whoever believes in You will not perish but have eternal life. 

This is what the bride, Your Church, does. Every member who belongs to Your Body, the Church, has one mission and one goal, which is to first seek You, find You, become one with You, and in turn go out into the streets and share the wondrous Good News of our salvation to everyone we encounter. 

You desire to be wholly mine as I am wholly Yours, my Lord. You have sought me, found me, healed me, and You have loved me. You nourish me with Your own flesh and blood, and You desire that I, in turn, share this treasure with the whole world. This is the Father's will that the world may know You, acknowledge You as Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, and bend the knee in worship, glorifying God our Father for the wonder of You.

The bride says this:
On my bed, at night, I sought him
whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
So I will rise and go through the City;
in the streets and in the squares
I will seek him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me
on their rounds in the City:
‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found him whom my heart loves.

PSALM 62(63):2-6,8-9

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.

For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

JOHN 20:1-2,11-18

My Soul's Beloved,

John, the beloved disciple whom You loved, said that when Judas went out to betray You after sharing the Passover Meal with You and the rest of his brother Apostles, it was night. The dark shades of hell invaded his soul and his entire being, choosing freely to be estranged from God and enter into eternal perdition and damnation.

Mary of Magdala, on the other hand, on the first day of the week, before dawn could illumine the night sky, hurried to the tomb. Filled with grief and mourning the death of her beloved Lord, she came to weep and to embalm Your Body with spices. So consumed was she with sorrow that she gave little thought to how she would roll away the heavy stone at the entrance of the tomb. But when she got there, the tomb was open and empty. She did not see Your Body there. Overwhelmed with sorrow, she had no recollection of the many times when You spoke of Your rising on the third day after You were put to death. She looked into the tomb and saw two angels seated, and they spoke to her, saying, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She responded, ‘They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him.’ Sensing a presence behind her, she turned around and saw You standing there. You spoke to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’  She did not recognize You. Thinking You were the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ You then addressed her by her name, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

Beloved, the disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized You at the breaking of the bread. Mary recognizes You when You say her name. Not only do we recognize You as they did at the celebration of every Holy Mass, but also when You call us by our name, and the same mission is entrusted to us, we are to go out and spread the Good News to all that we have seen and experienced the Lord. 

MONDAY OF WEEK 16 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 94:8

EXODUS 14:5-18

My Soul's Beloved,

Like Pharaoh and his courtiers who chased the fleeing Israelites, our sins and our weaknesses pursue us. We are often victims of our own lack of self-mastery. Too often, it is the flacidity of our will, our lack of desire to put up a real fight against giving in to the trivial pursuits of entertaining our senses, which rob us of the time that belongs to You. We fail to understand that eventually we will run out of this precious commodity; concupiscence overrules the still, small voice of our conscience that constantly nudges us to choose the right, the true, the noble, and the good. If we fail to stand our ground, if we refuse to put up a fight against the little sins that tempt us to discipline our will, we will never gain mastery over our senses and our flesh. The less we fight, the easier it will be to lull our conscience until we find ourselves too deeply entrenched in the miry pit and will be too feeble to either help ourselves or cry out for help, and our soul will be destined for eternal death and separation from You, our only good.

Beloved, You are greater than Moses for You are God, and You are right hand and mighty arm are always stretched out to save us. But we need to desire to be saved. You will not save us against our will. Unless we freely choose to embrace Your will always and in all circumstances, all the days of our lives, only then will You part the sea of evil that threatens to drown us, and You will make a way for us to walk on dry ground to safety. Miracles are ours for the asking, but only if we rest in You with childlike serenity and simplicity, trusting that You will do for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. You will save us.

The sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to the Lord. To Moses they said, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!’
Moses answered the people, ‘Have no fear! Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today: the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will do the fighting for you: you have only to keep still.’
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’

EXODUS 15:1-6

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!
The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.
This is my God and I extol him,
my father’s God and I give him praise.

The Lord is a warrior! ‘The Lord’ is his name.
The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea,
the flower of his army is drowned in the sea.

The deeps hide them; they sank like a stone.
Your right hand, Lord, glorious in its power,
your right hand, Lord, has shattered the enemy.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

MATTHEW 12:38-42

My Soul's Beloved,

We demand signs for various reasons; for some, it is a lack of faith, whereas for others, like the scribes and Pharisees, it is a time-wasting tactic, an excuse to reject what is clearly the Truth. By this time, having already worked so many miracles, many were already convinced. At the very least, the religious authorities had to ask themselves whether or not a mere man could do the mighty deeds that You performed, and that there could be a real possibility that You were indeed from God.

To this day, many refuse to believe because they love their earthly and temporal power, wealth, authority, and influence more than they love God and the Truth. We sign our death warrant when we allow our possessions to possess us. We are created for God, and when we settle for anything other than You, O Lord, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. 

Lord God, grant us the simplicity of a child so we can stand in awe as we gaze with wonder at the beauty, wisdom, and power of the Lord.  

Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up. ‘Master,’ they said ‘we should like to see a sign from you.’ He replied, ‘It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.’

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance. LK 8:15

GENESIS 18:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

Like Abraham, let us always be attentive to Your coming, Lord. It was the hottest part of the day, and he was seated at the entrance of his tent. No one would have faulted him if he were lying down in the cool of the inside of his tent. But his soul kept him alert and waiting; it was as if his spirit knew that God was about to visit him. 

As soon as he saw the three men standing before him, he bowed low to the ground and worshipped. Then, addressing the three men as Lord, he implored them to rest awhile, eat, and be refreshed before they continued their journey. They accepted his hospitality, and Abraham went eagerly to prepare a feast for them, choosing only the finest and best and spreading the food before them. 

While they ate, he stood attentively before them as a servant ready to attend to their needs. They then asked about his wife, Sara, and assured him that at the same time the following year, they would come and visit him again and by that time she would have given birth to a son.

Beloved, our whole lives must be attuned to Your love and to Your will for us. We must keep our gaze fixed on You so we know what it is that You ask of us, and do it at once. Your will must be our food and drink, only then will we experience the peace that You came to give. A peace beyond understanding. A deep, unwavering, unfaltering awareness of the goodness and faithfulness of God in all the circumstances of our lives. To accept all things, whether good or bad, knowing with certainty that it is all part of the journey of our lives, and through it all, believing in faith that You have the power to draw good from every experience, every sorrow, every trial, every trouble. You will always bless those who are prepared to give their all in serving You, with unimaginable graces and unbelievable generosity. 

Give me a heart that never stops to count the cost and give my all to You just as You gave Your all for love of me. 

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and bowed to the ground. ‘My lord,’ he said, ‘I beg you, if I find favour with you, kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’
Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah.’ ‘Hurry,’ he said ‘knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.’ Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.
‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent’ he replied. Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son.’

PSALM 14(15):2-5

The just will live in the presence of the Lord.

Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.

He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.

He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.

The just will live in the presence of the Lord.

COLOSSIANS 1:24-28

My Soul's Beloved,

We live in a world that offers us a stream of distractions, unbelievable comfort, time-saving devices, travel to exotic destinations, tempting us with sinful indulgences, convincing us that it is all part of living life to its fullest. We have time for every craving of our flesh, but no time for the God who created us. We abhor silence and quiet. We do not want to listen to the still voice inside us where You reside in our soul, wooing us gently and tenderly to experience the sweetness of Your love.

For the Apostles, St. Paul, and Christians in earlier centuries, suffering for the faith was not only the norm, but they welcomed it with joy. They knew You, Beloved, better than any of us can claim to know You in our age, even though we have all the tools available at our fingertips and there is no justifiable excuse for our ignorance of You. Then they heard the Apostles and disciples teach and preach, and their hearts were touched, and they believed and, believing they in turn went out to make disciples of all nations. They were ready to suffer all kinds of hardships, privations, persecutions, torture, imprisonment, and death. But we are too soft. Too self-indulgent. 

Sadly, concupiscence rules our lives. We have allowed the world to peddle lies, and we readily believed these lies. We have failed as Christians in every way that it is possible to fail as parents, religious leaders, and world leaders. Our eagerness for soft living has given Satan and his followers a foothold, and slowly but surely, we see how evil is spreading its tentacles like a putrid cancer and taking over every Christian institution. It is not too late to wake up and take back what You have given us - the gift of Yourself and of the Holy Spirit.  It is never too late. Raise up new disciples on fire with love and zeal for the Truth, and may we be ready to lay down our lives for Your Sake and for the sake of the Gospel.

It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ.

LUKE 10:38-42

My Soul's Beloved,

Give me the heart of both Martha and Mary. The servant heart of Martha, whose joy was to welcome You and serve You, and the quiet and contemplative heart of Mary, whose joy was to sit at Your feet and listen to You. Grant me the grace to know when it is appropriate to be busy in service and when it is necessary to sit quietly in silence and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to me.

Grant me this grace, not to allow distractions to take my attention away from You when I am seated with You, and when I am busy, it is always appropriate to keep the eyes of my soul fixed on You, doing every simple or great task well for love of You. May I never become resentful when called to serve. To be ready to deny myself as and when called to do so readily, promptly, and joyfully. To give my attention to serving another, rather than when required to do so, instead of grumbling inwardly and harboring feelings of being put upon. And when it is time to set everything aside, no matter how pleasurable the occupation is with which I am indulging myself, to do so wholeheartedly and with delight giving up my whole being - heart, mind, soul, body and spirit to worshiping You, my Lord and my God, who are worthy of all my love always. You are always the better part, Beloved, and may I always choose You and not be so foolish as to give in to the desires of my flesh that tempt me and rob me of being wholly and completely encompassed and absorbed by You and Your love.

Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’

SATURDAY OF WEEK 15 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. 2 COR 5:19

EXODUS 12:37-42

My Soul's Beloved,

No matter how long the soul is in exile, You will come to our rescue and save us no matter how long we have waited in hope for You. Eventually, when the time is right, at the appointed hour, You will come. You will rescue and You will save. This is the power of Your Name, O Lord, Jesus, one who saves. This is why we can trust You always. No matter how dark the night, You will come. All we need to do is wait patiently and pray. You are a God of tender mercy and compassion, slow to anger and ready to forgive. You know that we, children of Adam, are weak. We are self-indulgent, desirous only for pleasure and easily distracted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. But You pursue us relentlessly. It does not matter how far we run, we cannot outrun You. 

Too often, we make the perilous journey through life without making any provision for it, and any resources we have are meager. But You make sure that not one of these little ones who are sealed in Your Blood will go hungry. You provide food for the journey - Your own Most Precious Body and Blood. You will abide in us and You will ensure that not one of us, created in love by our Father, redeemed by You, and sanctified by Your Holy Spirit, will be lost. Thank You, Lord.

The sons of Israel left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march – all men – not counting their families. People of various sorts joined them in great numbers; there were flocks, too, and herds in immense droves. They baked cakes with the dough which they had brought from Egypt, unleavened because the dough was not leavened; they had been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying, and had not provided themselves with food for the journey. The time that the sons of Israel had spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And on the very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all the array of the Lord left the land of Egypt. The night, when the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, must be kept as a vigil in honour of the Lord for all their generations.

PSALM 135(136):1,10-15,23-24

Great is his love, love without end.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

He remembered us in our distress.

And he snatched us away from our foes.

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote.

He brought Israel out from their midst.

Arm outstretched, with power in his hand.

He divided the Red Sea in two.

He made Israel pass through the midst.

He flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea.

Great is his love, love without end.

MATTHEW 12:14-21

My Soul's Beloved,

You are unmatched in humility and obedience, even though You are God, the only Son and First Born of the Living God, the Eternal Word of the Father in whom and through whom all that is was created. Yet, You willingly submitted Yourself to death on the Cross, for this was the Father's will, the salvation of the human race. Creating us in His image and likeness, granting us the gift of free will, this great gift that we would use to deliberately and shamefully turn against Him, who is love, and created us in love. Yet, instead of wiping us off the face of the earth, annihilating us in anger, which would be justified, He asked You to become like us. You left Your glory behind. Clothed Yourself in human flesh taken from Your Virginal Mother, who received You in her womb, as the Ark of the Covenant received the Stone Tablets, the Rod of Aaron, and the manna - the bread of heaven. You, O Lord, are the Eternal Word of the Father, the High Priest, the true Bread from Heaven. 

From the moment Herod got news that a King was born, he was threatened,  and vowed to kill You and to this day every Herod in every age, culture, and language is threatened by You who are all love, humility, tenderness, and compassion. No weapon forged against Love Incarnate will prevail, yet the enemies of Truth will never cease trying. Even those chosen by God to be His own people refused to acknowledge You, and in doing so, they scripted their own downfall. Unless they acknowledge You, Beloved, they will never know peace, but will be hounded at every turn until they acknowledge to the glory of the Father, bend their knees, and confess that You are indeed Lord, their long-awaited Messiah has indeed come into the world and redeemed it only then will they experience the peace that You came into the world to give all who believe. 

The Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him.
Jesus knew this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved, the favourite of my soul.
I will endow him with my spirit,
and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.
He will not brawl or shout,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break the crushed reed,
nor put out the smouldering wick
till he has led the truth to victory:
in his name the nations will put their hope.

FRIDAY OF WEEK 15 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

EXODUS 11:10-12:14

My Soul's Beloved,

As we journey through this valley of tears as pilgrims making our way to our heavenly home, which is the Kingdom of God, we need food for the journey, or we will perish on the way. Before the people of Israel could leave the place of their exile, God commanded that they eat the passover meal. God gave Moses clear instructions as to the kind of lamb that was to be chosen, how it was to be prepared (it was to be roasted whole), and how it was to be eaten. He also instructed them on what they were to wear while eating it. The blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the doorposts and the lintel; this was imperative, for the angel of death that passed through would spare the lives of the firstborn sons when he saw the blood on the door.

Every feast and ritual celebrated in the Old Testament finds its meaning and fulfillment in the New. The Old Testament veils the glory of God, the love of God, the wonder of God's humility, compassion, and faithfulness, which is unveiled in the New Testament when God walked among us as a Man. You, Beloved, are God's revelation of Himself to us. 

The fullness of God's Truth, Beauty, and Goodness finds its home in the bosom of Holy Mother Church, founded on the Rock of Peter and whose Cornerstone is You, my Lord. Here, the Church offers us eternal life, the Sacraments which help us who are exiles, make our way through this valley of tears, this narrow and difficult way, the way of sorrow, the way of the cross which purges and purifies us and fits us to inherit the crown that awaits the faithful in the Kingdom of God.

Moses and Aaron worked many wonders in the presence of Pharaoh. But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he did not let the sons of Israel leave his country.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but roasted over the fire, head, feet and entrails. You must not leave any over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you are to burn. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

PSALM 115(116):12-13,15-18

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

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.

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.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

MATTHEW 12:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

All those who are opposed to Catholicism, and most especially Protestants who are blind guides and constantly nitpicking Catholic doctrinal beliefs and practices. They are like the Pharisees in today's Gospel passage; they observe the disciples who were hungry picking ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath, rushing to make rash judgments, and condemning without understanding. Too often, those who oppose the Catholic Church are blind, deaf, and haughty, and this attitude prevents them from humbly and sincerely asking questions to understand Church teaching and practices. Only those who seek with an open heart and a childlike spirit will find the wonder, the mystery, the incomparable beauty, and divine life that can be found in the bosom of Holy Mother Church.

In the Catholic Church alone is found the fullness of the mercy of God and comes from a right understanding of Your incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection, and glorious ascension into heaven. 

Guard us against pride, Lord, and may we be powerful witnesses to the faith we are privileged to have received by the authenticity of our lives as Catholics.

Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’

THURSDAY OF WEEK 15 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. MT 11:28

EXODUS 3:13-20

My Soul's Beloved,

To the extent that we are capable of knowing and understanding You, to that extent alone You reveal who You are to us. Little by little, day by day, according to our willingness to be open, to surrender, to submit, and to yield to Your holy will, we will come to know You better every day. 

God heard all that Moses had to say patiently. He listened to every excuse he made as to why he was not the one to lead his fellow Israelites from exile to freedom. He asked God to choose another. But You, O Lord, do not choose as we do. You choose who You will and qualify and equip them to do all You ask of them. You often choose the least, the little ones, those whom the world rejects to carry out Your commands so all will know that it is You, O Lord, who perform Your mighty works through Your most humble instruments.

Beginning with Abraham and now with Moses, God has been revealing Himself to the people He chose from all the nations of the world, for they were the least of all. It is through them that God, the Creator of the heavens and the universe, the earth and all it holds, would go a step further and make Himself, the invisible God, visible and tangible to us through You, His most beloved Son, for You are the perfect image of God, Father and Creator of all. 

God revealed His Name to Moses as - I AM WHO I AM, without beginning and without end. Moses, the people of God in exile, and all the miraculous events that follow as God with mighty hand liberates His people and leads them from slavery to freedom, are a typology of all that God will accomplish for the whole of the human race through You as the Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior of the world.

Like Moses, each of us who belongs to You is called to mission. It does not matter whether or not we believe ourselves capable of accomplishing it. You who have called us by name will equip us and provide all we need to carry out Your command. We are called to image You in our lives. We are called from exile and slavery to sin to freedom as children of God. We have been empowered by You and by Your Name, and in this Name which is above every other, every knee will bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue will confess that You, Jesus Christ, is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Keep us little, keep us obedient, keep us humble, and keep us open to Your call and grant us all the grace we need to say always, 'Yes, Lord, here I am, I come to do Your will.'

Moses, hearing the voice of God coming from the middle of the bush, said to him, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This,’ he added, ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’ And God also said to Moses, ‘You are to say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.
‘Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he has said to me: I have visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to you. And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are oppressed, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey flow.” They will listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God.” For myself, knowing that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I shall show my power and strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work there. After this he will let you go.’

PSALM 104(105):1,5,8-9,24-27

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.

He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.

He gave his people increase;
he made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceitfully with his servants.

Then he sent Moses his servant
and Aaron the man he had chosen.
Through them he showed his marvels
and his wonders in the country of Ham.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

MATTHEW 11:28-30

My Soul's Beloved,

Here I am in answer to Your invitation. I lean on You. I rest my weary head on Your breast. Take my hands in Your own and strengthen, heal, and comfort me. Grant salvation to all I pray for, so someday we can all stand in Your Presence and praise You, and the Father and the Holy Spirit together with all the angels and saints in glory. 

With You beside me, Beloved, I can do all things. Keep me yoked to You till I draw my final breath on this earth, then take me by the hand and lead me to the Father, and there I will praise God in Your holy Presence eternally.

Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

WDNESDAY OF WEEK 15 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25

EXODUS 3:1-6,9-12

My Soul's Beloved,

When we read the Old Testament, we have no way of truly understanding the events that took place as God revealed Himself to Abraham and his descendants until we read the New Testament. Then everything comes together. Light casts away the shadows, and we begin to see the ultimate revelation of God in and through You, His only Son. All the great men chosen by God throughout salvation history lead us to the final revelation of God becoming Man in the incarnation. Moses is such a figure chosen by God to prefigure the coming of the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who will draw God's people enslaved by sin and exiled from the Kingdom of God. We who were doomed to eternal death and separation from God will be reconciled to Him through You.  

God's love is an all-consuming fire that does not destroy but purifies. Moses, who wanted to see this mysterious phenomenon, was warned not to draw any nearer, for he was in God's presence. God called him by name, and he responded as everyone should when You call our name, "Here I am." He was instructed to remove his sandals as he stood on holy ground. 

Moses drew near because he was curious and wanted to see the mystery of the fire blazing from the middle of the bush. God spoke to him and revealed the mission that He would entrust to him. God draws us to know Him in different ways, and once we respond to His invitation as Moses did. You will reveal to us also Your purpose and plan for our lives.   

Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said, ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’
Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ Moses answered. ‘Come no nearer,’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.
And the Lord said, ‘The cry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have witnessed the way in which the Egyptians oppress them, so come, I send you to Pharaoh to bring the sons of Israel, my people, out of Egypt.’
Moses said to God, ‘Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’ ‘I shall be with you,’ was the answer ‘and this is the sign by which you shall know that it is I who have sent you... After you have led the people out of Egypt, you are to offer worship to God on this mountain.’

PSALM 102(103):1-4,6-7

The Lord is compassion and love.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord does deeds of justice,
gives judgement for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel’s sons.

The Lord is compassion and love.

MATTHEW 11:25-27

St. Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor, on Tuesday of week 15 in Ordinary Time

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 94:8

EXODUS 2:1-15

My Soul's Beloved,

God's plan for us will always be realized no matter what we do to evade it, escape it, ignore it, or pretend that we are ignorant of His purpose for our lives. Moses was chosen by God to lead His people from slavery to freedom, from exile to the promised land. The law commanded that all the Hebrew male children were to be put to death, but God ensured that this child should live, and he did. We often say it was a coincidence or happenstance when certain unforeseen things happen there is no such thing. It is God who ordains that His plans come to pass and ordains circumstances to ensure that it is so.

Moses, although he grew up in a palace, did not forget his origins. He recognized that he was a Hebrew and was aware of the terrible plight of his people. Having all the advantages of being brought up in the royal household, God ensured that he was well-equipped to carry out His designs for his life when the time arrived.

Moses had to run away from Egypt and from the crime of murder he committed. And this too was part of God's plan.

Beloved, You have a plan for all our lives, no matter where we try to hide or escape from it, it will be revealed to us, and You will provide the grace, strength, and courage to embrace it according to Your will. We cannot be happy in this life if we do not surrender wholeheartedly to You and Your will. Only in total and loving submission to You can we live lives of meaning and purpose. Help us, Lord, to submit to You gladly as You submitted to Your Father. Amen.

There was a man of the tribe of Levi who had taken a woman of Levi as his wife. She conceived and gave birth to a son and, seeing what a fine child he was, she kept him hidden for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him; coating it with bitumen and pitch, she put the child inside and laid it among the reeds at the river’s edge. His sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.
Now Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe in the river, and the girls attending her were walking along by the riverside. Among the reeds she noticed the basket, and she sent her maid to fetch it. She opened it and looked, and saw a baby boy, crying; and she was sorry for him. ‘This is a child of one of the Hebrews,’ she said. Then the child’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and find you a nurse among the Hebrew women to suckle the child for you?’ ‘Yes, go,’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her; and the girl went off to find the baby’s own mother. To her the daughter of Pharaoh said, ‘Take this child away and suckle it for me. I will see you are paid.’ So the woman took the child and suckled it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who treated him like a son; she named him Moses because, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’
Moses, a man by now, set out at this time to visit his countrymen, and he saw what a hard life they were having; and he saw an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, one of his countrymen. Looking round he could see no one in sight, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. On the following day he came back, and there were two Hebrews, fighting. He said to the man who was in the wrong, ‘What do you mean by hitting your fellow countryman?’ ‘And who appointed you,’ the man retorted, ‘to be prince over us, and judge? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Moses was frightened. ‘Clearly that business has come to light,’ he thought. When Pharaoh heard of the matter he would have killed Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and made for the land of Midian.

PSALM 68(69):3,14,30-31,33-34

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive. 

I have sunk into the mud of the deep
and there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep
and the waves overwhelm me.

This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails.

As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.

The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

MATTHEW 11:20-24

My Soul's Beloved, 

Concupiscence is the bane of our lives. The wound that original sin has left on our soul has weakened us too greatly that unless we throw ourselves on Your mercy and rely on Your strength, we cannot truly renounce the cravings of our flesh, the clamoring temptations of the world, and the wiles of the devil. All too often, we are quite aware that there is neither peace nor joy apart from You and a life of grace and holiness, but the siren call of the flesh gets the better of our best intentions.

The people witnessed the great miracles You performed, Lord, there could be no doubt in their minds that You came from God and were all that You claimed to be. No one but God could perform the works of healing and even raising from the dead. But to follow You as Your disciple came at a cost, and many of them were prepared to pretend that You were just a good and holy rabbi. In their hearts, they knew the truth, but they did not wish to give up their lives of comfort and ease for the narrow and difficult way.

It is not different for us in our day, Lord. The world has made great strides in presenting to us a life that makes us insensate to the divine and holy things. A life of renunciation and sacrifice. A life of submission to the will of God. So we live in a godless world, and we indulge every wicked and selfish whim at the cost of our eternal salvation and the salvation of others. The whole world conspires to keep us entertained, cutting us off not only from You but from one another. Each one of us is self-absorbed to the point where we are scarcely aware that we are alive and have been created for a life of love and communion with each other and ultimately for eternal life.

Only an earth-shaking event can wake us up from the deep sleep of indifference to God and to each other, can save us, Lord. Have pity on us now lest we damn ourselves to hell forever.

Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent.
‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.’

MONDAY OF WEEK 15 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MT 5:10

EXODUS 1:8-14,22

My Soul's Beloved,

No one can destroy those who belong to You, those called by Your Name, those whom You declared to be Yours. Our names are written on the palm of Your hand. We see this is true even as the Pharaoh turns against the people of God. Those whom He had promised to make a great nation and their descendants more numerous than the stars or the grains of sand on the beach. The new power in Egypt was unaware of the mighty works God performed through Joseph and how God chose him. Through him, God's mighty hand of protection was over His chosen people. But God knows those who are His, and He never forgets His Covenant.

We live in a world that is increasingly ignorant of You, Beloved, and Satan works tirelessly to keep people that way. A stream of mindless entertainment robs us all of the precious and short time we have on earth before we stand before you to be judged by the righteous Judge.

Keep us faithful, O Lord, and do not forget that we are the people of the New Covenant, washed in Your Blood and sealed in Your Spirit.

There came to power in Egypt a new king who knew nothing of Joseph. ‘Look,’ he said to his subjects ‘these people, the sons of Israel, have become so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. We must be prudent and take steps against their increasing any further, or if war should break out, they might add to the number of our enemies. They might take arms against us and so escape out of the country.’ Accordingly they put slave-drivers over the Israelites to wear them down under heavy loads. In this way they built the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the more they were crushed, the more they increased and spread, and men came to dread the sons of Israel. The Egyptians forced the sons of Israel into slavery, and made their lives unbearable with hard labour, work with clay and with brick, all kinds of work in the fields; they forced on them every kind of labour.
Pharaoh then gave his subjects this command: ‘Throw all the boys born to the Hebrews into the river, but let all the girls live.’

PSALM 123(124)

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’
this is Israel’s song.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.

‘Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.’
Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
a prey to their teeth!

Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the fowler.
Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

MATTHEW 10:34-11:1

15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 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

DEUTERONOMY 30:10-14

My Soul's Beloved,

The Law of God is Love, the Love of God is the Holy Spirit that unites You and the Father and makes You One. The power of God's Love made manifest to us through Your incarnation, life, passion, death, and glorious resurrection into heaven, and the Holy Spirit You sent to abide in us at Pentecost draws us into the love and life of God. So yes, the Word of God, the Eternal Word of God, is true - His Word is very near us - we eat the Word of God made Flesh and Blood at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We have the Life of the Holy Spirit in us, enabling us to do all things that love demands of us through the Gifts that He freely gives us. You have commanded us to be holy and perfect as our heavenly Father is holy and perfect,t and this is not impossible because the love of God in You abides in us as You abide in God. 

Beloved, I can strive with Your help to be holy in the present moment. I do not desire to live in regret over past sins, but entrust it to Your mercy. All I have is the here and now, and with the help of Your grace, do all that love demands in this present moment for Your greater glory. The future is not here, and so I will entrust it to Your providence. May I live from moment to moment aware of Your loving gaze on me, and strive to perform all that love demands of me for love of You.

Moses said to the people: ‘Obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping those commandments and laws of his that are written in the Book of this Law, and you shall return to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

‘For this Law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, “Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.’

PSALM 68(69):14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive

This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
Lord, answer, for your love is kind;
in your compassion, turn towards me.

As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.

The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.

For God will bring help to Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah
and men shall dwell there in possession.
The sons of his servants shall inherit it;
those who love his name shall dwell there.

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive

COLOSSIANS 1:15-20

My Soul's Beloved,

We thank God, our Father, for sending You into the world as one of us, clothed in human flesh through the incarnation. The invisible God would have remained unknown to us in a tangible way if He had not sent You into the world to reveal the depths of His love for us. We would have died in our sins, Lord, if You, in loving submission to Your Father's will, did not come into the world to heal and save it and restore our relationship with Him, our Creator. We were created by Him through the power of His Eternal Word uttered by the breath of the Holy Spirit.

You are the First Born of the Father in whom God created all that exists and established You as Lord of all that is seen and unseen. You, O Lord, make us one with the Father, for we who are baptized are members of Your Body. We draw our life from Your Holy Spirit. We who were born in sin and death are now alive in You, and at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we have the hope of eternal life in heaven.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace and Savior of the world, for reconciling us to the Father in time and in eternity through Your death on the Cross.

Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –
all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.
As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross.

LUKE 10:25-37

SATURDAY OF WEEK 14 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

It is a blessing for you
when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,
for the Spirit of God rests on you. 1 PET 4:14

GENESIS 49:29-33,50:15-26

My Soul's Beloved,

No one can thwart the plans of God. Yes, we are sinners and we sin grievously and often, but God hates the death of the sinner and desires that all come to the knowledge of the Truth that was revealed in You, His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved. Joseph's brothers represent all of us who sin and are afraid of the consequences of our offences against God. We are helpless, for we know that we deserve death and separation from the God of love who created us in love. But for Your sake, Beloved, for the sake of Your sorrowful passion and for the Precious Blood that You shed for us all, God has pity, mercy, and compassion on us. God makes Himself vulnerable when He sees us bathed in Your Blood and the price paid for our salvation. For Your sake, He will forgive all our wrongs, all our sins, and He will cast our sins behind His back, into the depths of the ocean of His mercy and will remember them no more.

Joseph's response to his brothers' plea for forgiveness and mercy reflects in some measure God's response to us when we repent and come to Him and You with humble and contrite hearts, resolving to sin no more. We are assured that a humble and contrite heart, You will not spurn. So we take courage, Lord, we approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with humility and hope, we meet You here in the wonderful Sacrament of healing and grace, and You restore our dignity to us, embrace us, and welcome us home. Thank You, Lord.

Seeing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph intends to treat us as enemies and repay us in full for all the wrong we did him?’ So they sent this message to Joseph: ‘Before your father died he gave us this order: “You must say to Joseph: Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and all the wrong they did you.” Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime of the servants of your father’s God.’ Joseph wept at the message they sent to him.
His brothers came themselves and fell down before him. ‘We present ourselves before you’ they said ‘as your slaves.’ But Joseph answered them, ‘Do not be afraid; is it for me to put myself in God’s place? The evil you planned to do me has by God’s design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as indeed he has, the deliverance of a numerous people. So you need not be afraid; I myself will provide for you and your dependants.’ In this way he reassured them with words that touched their hearts.

PSALM 104(105):1-4,6-7

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!

Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.

O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

MATTHEW 10:24-33

My Soul's Beloved,

You ask nothing of us that You have not done or experienced. You do not ask us to follow You by taking different paths, but You invite us to walk in Your footsteps and to imitate You closely. You have not left us without not only showing us the way but walking in it. The Way to the Kingdom of Heaven can only be reached by way of Gethsemane and Golgotha. There are no shortcuts; there is no easy way. Unless we are prepared to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel as You did, Lord, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

All that You instructed the Twelve has been handed down either through the written word, the Sacred Scriptures, or orally through Apostolic Tradition. This deposit of faith is kept in the treasure of the Church's memory and safeguarded by the Holy Spirit according to Your promise to Your Apostles, that the Holy Spirit will remind them of all that You told them. And St. John testifies that not everything You said and did is written down, for the whole earth could not contain these books. It is the Church guided by the Holy Spirit that hands down this Sacred Deposit of faith from one generation of believers to the next. We must hand the faith to our children and they to theirs. We are responsible as adults to take our faith seriously, grow in it but studying it and being able to defend it. We cannot do so if we are ignorant. 

Ignorant Catholics are the greatest enemies of the faith, for through their colossal ignorance, they are unaware of the power of doctrinal Truths and are unable to defend the faith against those who come against them better prepared to attack them, even though their positions are based on lies and deceit.

Grant every baptized Catholic this grace, O Lord, to strengthen our faith by educating ourselves so we are not destroyed by the first hint of opposition and attack. Rather, we will be able to face our enemies boldly, prepared to die if necessary, for we know in whom we have placed our hope.

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household?
‘Do not be afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.
‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

ST. BENEDICT, ABBOT, FRIDAY OF WEEK 14 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

When the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
and he will remind you of all I have said to you. JN 16:13,14:26

GENESIS 46:1-7,28-30

My Soul's Beloved,

These events that took place in salvation history are a perfect allegory of our sojourn on earth as we experience different spiritual seasons in our lives. We carry all our possessions (the baggage of all our life's experiences) wherever we go. 

Our whole life on earth is lived in exile, for we are created for the Kingdom of God. But we are not alone. We belong to a community of believers. We belong to the Church. We are members of Your Body. We are Your bride, and You are our Bridegroom. We are one in You, and we are one with each other. All that we do for good or ill has a direct effect on the rest of the members of Your Body.  

Lord God, Savior of the world, no matter how far we wander from You, accompany us, do not abandon us while we live among godless people, may we not be tainted by their idolatrous practices, and bring us back in safety to Yourself so we may not die but live with You eternally. Thank You, Lord. 

Israel left Canaan with his possessions, and reached Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, ‘Jacob, Jacob’, he said. ‘I am here’, he replied. ‘I am God, the God of your father’, he continued. ‘Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down to Egypt with you. I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.’ Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him.
Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his family with him: his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his grand-daughters, in a word, all his children he took with him to Egypt.
Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that the latter might present himself to him in Goshen. When they arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder. Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now I can die, now that I have seen you again, and seen you still alive.’

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

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

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

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

Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

MATTHEW 10:16-23

My Soul's Beloved,

It has always been so, and You warned the Apostles that if they persecuted You, they would be persecuted as well. They did not stop at persecution, Beloved, but they committed all kinds of atrocities against You before they crucified You. If they did it to God, can we expect anything less?

Beloved, we read and hear all the time of Christians being specifically targeted and persecuted. They are imprisoned, flogged, humiliated, paraded naked, and often put to death in barbaric ways, and from the very beginning, martyrs have taken their cue from You, the Master, the Teacher, the Son of God, and have accepted all manner of evil perpetrated against them in imitation of You.  

Let us stop the hand-wringing when we hear of or read such reports or witness them; instead, let us praise God who gives them the courage and the words to be powerful witnesses to the Good News and to Truth. Above all, let us pray that if God so blesses us with occasions to suffer for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel, that we too may be filled with the Holy Spirit and with courage and boldness to prefer to die rather than deny You, Our Lord and our God.

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.

‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’