22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
says the Lord,
for I am gentle and humble in heart. MT 11:29

ECCLESIASTICUS 3:19-21,30-31

My Soul's Beloved, 

Humility is a rare virtue, and when we are pleasantly surprised when we find it in the wealthy, famous, and powerful. We are pleasantly disarmed because it was so unexpected. It is a most attractive virtue simply because people are generally quite thin-skinned and often take offence when they wrongly presume they are being patronized. 

Humility is a virtue we must actively cultivate, as it does not come to us naturally. Our ego can get in the way of graciously and humbly accepting a kind gesture extended to us. Yet, it is precisely when we are tempted to act arrogantly that we must exercise it.

You, O Lord, always deal with us kindly even when we are most insufferable and ungracious; this is why humility must be our natural response in everything. You always stoop low over us, Your creatures, and never turn away in anger, no matter how gravely we sin and deface our souls.

Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make my heart always like unto Yours. Amen.

My son, be gentle in carrying out your business,
and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.
The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly,
and then you will find favour with the Lord;
for great though the power of the Lord is,
he accepts the homage of the humble.
There is no cure for the proud man’s malady,
since an evil growth has taken root in him.
The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables,
an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.

PSALM 67(68):4-7,10-11

In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.

The just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
they shall exult and dance for joy.
O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom:

You poured down, O God, a generous rain:
when your people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor.

In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.

HEBREWS 12:18-19,22-24a

LUKE 14:1,7-14

SATURDAY OF WEEK 21 IN ORDINARY TIME - 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

1 THESSALONIANS 4:9-11

My Soul's Beloved, 

We know You, we love You, and we have experienced Your love for us. Unworthy though we are, You lavish Your love on us, and You have claimed us for Yourself. Our response to this love is to walk gratefully and humbly in the way that You have shown us. It is the Way of the Cross, the way of suffering, the way of obedience, the Way of Love which empties itself for the sake of the beloved. And we are Your beloved.

St. Paul reminds us that we who are baptized into Your Body do not need anyone to prompt us to live holy lives, because Your law of love is inscribed in our hearts. All we need to do is listen to the Holy Spirit abiding in us, and He will guide us and lead us in the way of truth. Each day, grace is made available to us, and we must use this grace to make progress, no matter how small it may be. Every day in every way I must allow grace to work in my life and not squander it by ignoring God's call to grow in His image and likeness more and more, daily. 

Your light is poured into my soul, and I am invited to let this light shine so others may see it and glorify You, my Lord and my God.

As for loving our brothers, there is no need for anyone to write to you about that, since you have learnt from God yourselves to love one another, and in fact this is what you are doing with all the brothers throughout the whole of Macedonia. However, we do urge you, brothers, to go on making even greater progress and to make a point of living quietly, attending to your own business and earning your living, just as we told you to.

PSALM 97(98):1,7-9

The Lord comes to rule the people with fairness.

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

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy
at the presence of the Lord.

For the Lord comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

The Lord comes to rule the people with fairness.

MATTHEW 25:14-30

My Soul's Beloved, 

Every one of us is given talents, and when we use them as God intended, those talents multiply. This is why we see those who have given their whole lives to serving You in Your people are excited, joyful, and inspired to share the Good News in such an attractive way that, through grace, many come to know You, love You, and desire to belong to You as members of Your Body.

We see so many Catholic Christians who are on fire with the love of God. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, and everything they do is prompted by their love for You. This is why they can set others on fire with the same fire of love that is alive in them. These are the ones who use God's gifts with abandon, and like the 5 loaves and fish, they never run out but draw continually from God's treasury of graces. 

The more we use the gifts given to us, in faith, hope, and love, we will honor God's will to make Him known and loved. 

Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.
‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”
‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’

THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, ON FRIDAY OF THE 21ST WEEK 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

JEREMIAH 1:17-19

My Soul's Beloved,

When we take God at His Word, we will discover that we are strong, invincible, and the enemy cannot bring us down. John the Baptist, from the moment he leaped with joy in his mother's womb upon coming into Your Presence, was filled with the Holy Spirit. From then on, he belonged wholly to God. Zechariah, his father, prophesied about his son and the extraordinary mission that would be entrusted to him. He was to prepare the way of the Lord. He was to call sinners to repentance. He was a voice in the wilderness, urging all who heard him that the time of indifference was over, God was coming, and they had to prepare to see You, hear You, touch You, obey You, and be saved by You.

John the Baptist was filled with zeal, unafraid to stand before anyone and speak the truth, even the Pharisees, that Herod, calling out their sins in public, and urging them to set aside their evil and repent, for the day of the Lord was at hand.

My Lord and my God, we are the people of God, privileged to have been born into the Catholic faith. We are blessed to receive grace upon grace through the Sacraments. We have opportunity after opportunity to rise again, no matter how deep we fall into sin, how frequently or how gravely, You are always ready to forgive. Thank You, Lord, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we encounter You personally and You forgive all if we are truly repentant, contrite of heart, and resolve with Your help to sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin. The Holy Eucharist gives us all the strength and power we need to overcome temptation, and in the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped by Him with all His Gifts to fulfill the mission entrusted to us to preach the Good News of salvation by the witness of our lives. 

Lord Jesus Christ, we are not friends of the Bridegroom as St. John the Baptist was; we are the Bride. We have intimacy with the Bridegroom and You, Beloved, will fight our battles for us, help us overcome the powers of darkness that are arrayed against us, and You will accompany us safely home to remain with You forever.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying:
‘Brace yourself for action.
Stand up and tell them
all I command you.
Do not be dismayed at their presence,
or in their presence I will make you dismayed.
‘I, for my part, today will make you
into a fortified city,
a pillar of iron,
and a wall of bronze
to confront all this land:
the kings of Judah, its princes,
its priests and the country people.
They will fight against you
but shall not overcome you,
for I am with you to deliver you –
it is the Lord who speaks.’

PSALM 70(71):1-6,15,17

My lips will tell of your help.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, free me:
pay heed to me and save me.

Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.

My lips will tell of your justice
and day by day of your help.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.

My lips will tell of your help.

MARK 6:17-29

My Soul's Beloved, 

In today's Gospel reading, as the Church celebrates the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, who was unafraid to speak truth to power. We also have on full display the treachery and wickedness of women who have given themselves fully to wanton concupiscence. Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother Philip, lived openly and publicly in an adulterous relationship when she left her husband to marry Herod. The religious authorities of the day remained silent and did not condemn the sinful relationship of their king, but John the Baptist did so loudly, publicly, and in their presence. Herodias seethed with anger but was not satisfied to have him arrested, put in chains, and locked up in prison. She wanted him dead, but could not convince Herod to do the evil deed because his troubled conscience would not permit it. 

Herod was a weak man, and weak men are easily manipulated. She bided her time and had no qualms using her daughter to carry out her murderous plot. She knew Herod all too well. At a banquet given in honor of his birthday and in front of many important guests, her daughter danced before them. So taken was Herod by her that at the end of her performance, he made many foolish and rash oaths.  ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ 

No one is bound to keep an oath made unwisely, even if it is made in public, and even if we will look foolish and will open ourselves to ridicule when we do not keep it. It is better to appear foolish than to commit a gravely evil act. Sadly, Herod cared more for his public image than for his immortal soul. 

What about me, Lord? How often have I made big promises to You and did not keep them, whereas I have foolishly said and done things I am ashamed of simply because I wanted to be part of the crowd? Grant me the wisdom I need to seek to please You and do all You ask of me rather than go with the stream that will lead me to lose my soul forever. 

Herod sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP & DOCTOR, ON THURSDAY OF WEEK 21 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming. MT 24:42, 44

1 THESSALONIANS 3:7-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

This beautiful letter, written by St. Paul to the church in Thessalonica, is filled with love and thanksgiving. Lord, I long for the day when these beautiful sentiments will be my own as I pray for those I love, those nearest, dearest, and closest to my heart. How I long for each of them to make a sacramental confession and return to the sacramental life of the Church. I long for them to take their rightful place in Your Body, which You have made for them. I long for them to receive the inheritance in the Kingdom of God that the Father has prepared for them before He laid the foundations of the world. 

St. Paul can hardly contain his joy that the people of God have remained faithful, holding on to the Good News and sharing it in turn. He is away from them and prays earnestly to see them again. I, too, am separated by miles and miles and oceans between those who are flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone, but they can never be truly separated from me because they are one with me. My thoughts, my prayers, my sighs, my tears, my longings keep them ever before me and before You, my Lord, and I have every confidence that before You call me home to Yourself, I too will experience the joy that St. Paul experienced. Thank You, Lord, for the faith I have in Your love and Your faithfulness.

Brothers, your faith has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrows; now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you, for all the joy we feel before our God on your account? We are earnestly praying night and day to be able to see you face to face again and make up any shortcomings in your faith.
May God our Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, make it easy for us to come to you. May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.

PSALM 89(90):3-4,12-14,17

Fill us with your love that we may rejoice.

You turn men back to dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.

Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.

In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.

Fill us with your love that we may rejoice.

MATTHEW 24:42-51

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is so easy to become careless, to make excuses, to become neglectful of the little things that are necessary for self-control and to discipline our flesh. It is easy to be less and less vigilant, especially when the temptation to give in to the wiles of the world, the flesh, and the devil are constantly vying for our attention and waiting for that moment when we have fallen asleep to attack, enter, and rob, plunder, destroy, and kill. We cannot lose sight of the goal. We cannot say, 'I will begin tomorrow', for time is guaranteed to no one. When the hour arrives, and it will, and if we are asleep at our post, we can be sure that we will crash and burn and will have no one to blame but ourselves. Like the foolish virgins, no matter how we wail and beg to be allowed to enter, the door to the Kingdom will be firmly barred against us eternally.

What kind of servant am I, today, Lord? Were You to come for me this day, would You find me ready, or have I become lax, lazy, drowsy, befuddled, weak, having been a wastrel of the time given to me and the talents allotted to me? I do not know, Lord. I am aware that I have squandered opportunity after opportunity that You have so graciously given me. I fail You daily. I often choose comfort over duty and readily give in to temptation. I pretend not to hear Your voice when You warn me not to make the bad choices that my flesh beguiles me to make. 

Lord, You know better than I how weak, self-indulgent, how lacking in self-control, how I am constantly making excuses for not doing the things I ought and instead doing the things I ought not. I know You pity me. I know You are aware of how foolish I am, and if You did not reach out and drag me from the mire and carry me on Your shoulders back to the fold and to safety, I would be lost forever.

Stay with me, Beloved of my soul, until the hour when You will come to take me home lest I be lost forever.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
‘What sort of servant, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the dishonest servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time,” and sets about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’

ST. MONICA, ON WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 21 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him. 1 JN 2:5

1THESSALONIANS 2:9-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is so easy to allow the ways of the world, the cynicism of the world, the hard and cold world to penetrate our hearts and influence our response to the needs of others, both spiritual and temporal. How easy it is to turn away to make excuses, perhaps sometimes legitimately, and ease our conscience by staying uninvolved. But St. Paul reminds us how he and his companions worked feverishly and tirelessly bringing the Good News to as many as they could and saving souls for the Kingdom of God.

Beloved, if those who had nothing in this world but had faith in You, they would be richer than kings. Faith in You, Lord, has the power to bring light into the darkest places of our lives and joy and peace under the most horrendous conditions. Yet, how often do we withhold sharing the Gospel because we are shy or are afraid of the negative response we may receive? We give our negative feelings and fears predominance over that which is our sacred duty. Nothing is more important than for us to share in the mission entrusted to us at our baptism, and yet so many of us live our entire lives closed in on ourselves. We fail in our paramount duty to share the Good News with those closest and dearest to us in a way that will shape their own lives and choices and save their souls. 

Grant us the grace to end such indifference in us, O Lord, and help us to burn with zeal as St. Paul did to share with others what we have so generously received.

Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work, slaving night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were proclaiming God’s Good News to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, that our treatment of you, since you became believers, has been impeccably right and fair. You can remember how we treated every one of you as a father treats his children, teaching you what was right, encouraging you and appealing to you to live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of his kingdom. Another reason why we constantly thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the message that we brought you as God’s message, you accepted it for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking; and it is still a living power among you who believe it.

PSALM 138(139):7-12

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.

If I say: ‘Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,’
even darkness is not dark for you
and the night is as clear as the day.

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

MATTHEW 23:27-32

My Soul's Beloved,

We cannot ascribe the grievous sin of deicide to the Jews and the Romans of the time alone, for each one of us is just as guilty as they of putting to death the Son of God and the Son of Man. As St. Paul reminds us, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' Not one of us can claim innocence, and we continue to wound You by our deliberate and wanton disobedience to the Law of Love which God has inscribed on every heart.

How easily we point to the speck in our brothers' and sisters' eyes, yet fail to notice the log in our own, and rid ourselves of them. We are all hypocrites like the scribes and Pharisees that you condemn. We are guilty of an overly critical spirit of the faults and failings of others, and their sins, while whitewashing our own.

Pity us, Lord, and in Your great mercy and tender compassion, grant us true wisdom so we can amend our own lives before seeking to amend the lives of others. 

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our fathers’ day.” So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers began.’

MONDAY OF WEEK 21 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

1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-5,8-10

My Soul's Beloved,

To live the Christian life in its fullness as You invite us to, is everything. We are to be shining examples of those called by God to be baptized and members of the Church You founded with Peter and the Apostles as its rock and foundation, and You as its cornerstone. Built on this firm foundation, we shall never be movedand we shall not perish when we are persecuted for our faith.

Beloved, there is no excuse for any one of us to perish; there is no excuse for any Christian to claim ignorance about the truths of our faith in You and in the Gospel. You died and rose again from the dead, and all who believe will share in the fruit of Your resurrection. If we are ignorant, it is because we choose to be so, but a deliberate choice to be ignorant only serves to increase our guilt at the time of our judgment by the righteous judge appointed by God, our Father.  

Beloved, hear our prayers for the salvation of those we love and hear the prayers of the Church for her weak, sick, and sinful members, and through the power of Your life, passion, death, and glorious resurrection, hear, answer, and save.

From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.

PSALM 149:1-6,9

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

MATTHEW 23:13-22

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’ JN 14:6

ISAIAH 66:18-21

My Soul's Beloved,

Once again, my Lord, You confirm what You always assure me of - You will bring people from every nation home so all can worship You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, in spirit and in truth. Thank You, Lord, for not wearying of me but for comforting me always and revealing tirelessly that it is the will of God that all His children come to know You, His beloved Son, and through You come to know Him who created us all for glory in and through You.

Beloved, You sent the Twelve on a mission to the ends of the earth to people of every land and nation, culture and language, those who never heard of You, giving them the authority to preach the Good News and to baptize all who believe. Today, Lord, that mission is fulfilled. The Good News has been preached to the farthest ends of the earth, and praise and worship are offered to You from the rising of the sun to its setting. 

However, Beloved, the work is not finished yet. Evil thrives. Satan and his demons are working feverishly to destroy those who are weak in their faith, for he knows his time is coming to a close and his power will soon be ended. Bless us, O Lord, and strengthen us in our faith so that when the hour arrives, we will stand up fearlessly for the Truth even to the shedding of our blood and the laying down of our lives just as You did, for the salvation of the world.

The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.

PSALM 116 116(117)

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!

Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

HEBREWS 12:5-7,11-13

My Soul's Beloved,

The older we get, the more we understand that suffering is a necessary part of life. It reveals to us the truth that it is only through suffering that we grow in wisdom and understanding. Suffering when received and endured in the right spirit helps us rid ourselves of those things in our lives that bring death, not life. All too often, when we are grief-stricken, when we suffer loss of any kind, when we have to endure sickness, or the death of a loved one, we complain, we become angry at You, and we grumble as the Israelites did in the wilderness. But time and God's mercy teach us the wisdom of enduring all our trials patiently.

Let us keep our gaze on the crucifix, especially in times of suffering. When we do, we will begin to understand that we must first walk through the valley of tears, choose the narrow, difficult path if we are to emerge victorious. Suffering gets rid of the dross in our lives and purifies us so we can one day be permitted to enter and remain in Your Presence forever.

Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.

LUKE 13:22-30

My Soul's Beloved,

This is why I worry for the salvation of those I love - that they are simply unwilling to understand the gravity of their sins and the serious lack of time to repent, beg for forgiveness, and be healed, strengthened, and made whole so they can be saved. Too many of us take our salvation for granted; we believe that the God of mercy and compassion will not judge us too harshly. Yet, we are indifferent, ignorant, and unwilling to know what God requires of us and do it. We expect eternal life in bliss with God, and yet the truth is that nothing unclean can enter His Presence.   

Our salvation is not guaranteed by the things we do out of fear, or habit, the number of prayers we recite, the novenas we make, the works of mercy we perform, our participation in the various organizations in our parish, if we do these merely to be seen, like the scribes and Pharisees, and praised. There is no way to be saved except through carrying our cross and following You daily, hourly, moment by moment, to Calvary. Each of us has a route mapped out that will take us from Gethsamene to Golgotha, and by God's infinite love, grace, and mercy to receive and share in Your glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven. 

The uncomfortable and unpalatable truth is that many are called, but few are prepared to heed the call and do all that God's will demands. Keep us humble, keep us little, keep us childlike, keep us sincere, and above all, O Lord, keep us yoked to You, for without You, Lord, we will perish by the wayside.

Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’

SATURDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You have only one Father,
and he is in heaven;
you have only one Teacher,
the Christ. MT 23:9, 10

RUTH 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17

My Soul's Beloved, 

Reading the account of Ruth's life, we know, Lord, that each one of us has a divine purpose, and when we seek to discern God's will and do it, we will be blessed and not just we, O Lord, but generations to come as well. Ruth's devotion to her mother-in-law did not go unnoticed. Not only was she praised by all who knew Naomi, but also by Boaz, her kinsman. It is precisely when life seems dreariest and darkest that we must never lose hope for You, O Lord, are constantly at work to draw good out of every difficult and painful circumstance in our lives.

God always watches over us. We are never alone, even when we think the whole world is against us. God will send people into our lives to look out for us and to be the light that will illumine our path. Sometimes, Beloved, it seems that our prayers fall on deaf ears. Our cries meet silence. We feel alone, and faith and hope grow dim in the increasing darkness that invades our souls. Yet, Lord, we know this is not true. You have made a Covenant with us, a Covenant of Love, and You have espoused us to Yourself. You are a far greater, more loving, and powerful Lover than Boaz ever was. We are betrothed to You, and You, Beloved Bridegroom of our souls, will neither fail nor disappoint us.  

Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, well-to-do and of Elimelech’s clan. His name was Boaz.
Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go into the fields and glean among the ears of corn in the footsteps of some man who will look on me with favour.’ And she said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’ So she set out and went to glean in the fields after the reapers. And it chanced that she came to that part of the fields which belonged to Boaz of Elimelech’s clan.
Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter, and understand this. You are not to glean in any other field, do not leave here but stay with my servants. Keep your eyes on whatever part of the field they are reaping and follow behind. I have ordered my servants not to molest you. And if you are thirsty, go to the pitchers and drink what the servants have drawn.’ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground. And she said to him, ‘How have I so earned your favour that you take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?’ And Boaz answered her, ‘I have been told all you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come among a people whom you knew nothing about before you came here.’
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And when they came together, the Lord made her conceive and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left the dead man without next of kin this day to perpetuate his name in Israel. The child will be a comfort to you and the prop of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you and is more to you than seven sons has given him birth.’ And Naomi took the child to her own bosom and she became his nurse.
And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name. ‘A son has been born for Naomi’ they said; and they named him Obed. This was the father of David’s father, Jesse.

PSALM 127(128):1-5

Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!

Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.

MATTHEW 23:1-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

In the world, injustice abounds. This has always been so. Generation after generation comes and goes, but the rule of might is right has always dominated over the rule of justice for all. Those in power, at the time when You addressed these words to Your disciples and those who came to listen to You, were no different from despots who have sneered at the poor, robbed them, withheld justice from them, and punished and crushed them if they dared to speak.

'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' This has always been true. In the world, it is the elite few with obscene amounts of wealth and power who use it to crush the will of the people. You were unafraid in calling out the scribes and the Pharisees for failing the poor, and using to their advantage the ignorance of the people, to lay on them burdens too heavy to bear. Sadly, even spiritual leaders, all through history, have used their positions of power to take advantage of the poor, the weak, and the voiceless. 

Today, You remind us that while all human beings are subject to concupiscence and those with power and authority often prove to have feet of clay, You can be trusted always. You alone are perfect, and Your authority is above every other authority and power. If we listen to You and obey Your commands, we will never go astray. You are our Teacher, our Father, our Brother; there is none like You, Lord, and if we follow in Your footsteps, model our lives on Yours, imitate You in all things, then our salvation is sure.

Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’

MEMORIAL OF OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN, ON FRIDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women. LK 1:28

ISAIAH 9:1-7

My Soul's Beloved,

Even as God, the Creator, through His Breath, the Holy Spirit, spoke His Eternal Word which is You, O Lord, His only and well-beloved Son, He knew that at the very first instance, the man and woman He created to be His sons and daughters would sin. They would thwart God's loving plan to create, lovingly and joyfully, men and women whom He desired to be like gods. Sadly, they listened to crafty whispers of the wily serpent and wanted to grasp what was not theirs to take, and in doing so, lost it all.

Banished from God's sight, naked and vulnerable and open to every attack from evil, God, in His everlasting mercy, clothed them in animal skin. Some animal had to be killed so God could cover their nakedness. Driven out of what God intended to be their home, the Garden of Eden, they were condemned to walk in the darkness and to labor with sweat and tears to sustain themselves. God created us for joy and fellowship with Him, for fruitful labor and to enjoy the fruit of that labor, but because we allowed ourselves to be beguiled by evil, we lost it all.

But as You have revealed to us, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life," And so God put into motion, from that very moment of our betrayal of His love a plan that would save us and give us renewed hope of eternal bliss with Him. 

Thank You, Father, for Your generosity in not permitting our disobedience to have the last word but in counteracting it by Your Son's perfect atonement with obedience to Your will. You, Beloved, opened once more the Garden of Eden to us.

Today is the day, in the Church You founded, when all its members honor the Lady who made it all possible by her fiat. Today we celebrate the recognition of the Church of that great Woman clothed with the Sun, who is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. We celebrate her maternal rule over our lives, and we, her loving children, acknowledge her with great tenderness as our Queen who has complete sway over us. Grant us this grace O Lord, that always and everywhere, to always say as she did, 'I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as You will." And to obey her when she says to each of us, 'Do whatever He tells you to do.'

In this way, Lord, we are certain that our Queen, the Star of the Ocean, will navigate the stormy waters of our life and bring us to safe harbor and to the heavenly shore.

The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.
For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor,
these you break as on the day of Midian.
For all the footgear of battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
is burnt,
and consumed by fire.
For there is a child born for us,
a son given to us
and dominion is laid on his shoulders;
and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,
Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Wide is his dominion
in a peace that has no end,
for the throne of David
and for his royal power,
which he establishes and makes secure
in justice and integrity.
From this time onwards and for ever,
the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.

PSALM 112(113):1-8

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!

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.

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!

LUKE 1:26-38

'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

https://lovesongstothebeloved.blogspot.com/2010/10/hail-mary.html

ST. PIUS X, POPE - ON THURSDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

JUDGES 11:29-39

My Soul's Beloved,

Jephthah already had God on His side, and true to His Covenant, deliverance of the enemy would have been theirs that day, and they would have been victorious whether or not he made a vow and a very rash one at that, as it turns out, in exchange for God granting them triumph against the Ammonites. 

Lord God, all we need to do is discern Your will and do it, trusting You to provide all we need to carry out all that You desire, if we do so with faith. To make a vow to God to discipline and mortify ourselves is one thing, but to make rash promises that could harm another or even ourselves is foolish. This is why, when we do, we ought to be certain that anything we vow to undertake will not go against wisdom or plain common sense.

Jephthah's foolishness cost him the life of his only and most precious daughter. Keep us from making rash promises, O Lord. Rather, let us trust You to watch over us and care for us and help us through the right interpretation of God's laws to rely on You in faith, to help us triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead made his way to the rear of the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then the first person to meet me from the door of my house when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer him up as a holocaust. Jephthah marched against the Ammonites to attack them, and the Lord delivered them into his power. He harassed them from Aroer almost to Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.
As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out from it to meet him; she was dancing to the sound of timbrels. This was his only child; apart from her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, ‘Oh my daughter, what sorrow you are bringing me! Must it be you, the cause of my ill-fortune! I have given a promise to the Lord, and I cannot unsay what I have said.’ She answered him, ‘My father, you have given a promise to the Lord; treat me as the vow you took binds you to, since the Lord has given you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.’ Then she said to her father, ‘Grant me one request. Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.’ He answered, ‘Go’, and let her depart for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains. When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had never known a man.

PSALM 39(40):5,7-10

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Happy the man who has placed
his trust in the Lord
and has not gone over to the rebels
who follow false gods.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.

In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.

Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Gospel AcclamationPs118:27

MATTHEW 22:1-14

My Soul's Beloved, 

Every living soul is created by God, redeemed by God, Sanctified by God for an eternal purpose - to love Him, serve Him, and worship Him our whole life with all our strength and our entire being. From the moment God revealed Himself to Abraham, calling him out of his familiar life and surroundings to go to a place that God desired to give him and his innumerable descendants, he did as he was commanded in faith. The people of Israel were chosen by God from all the nations of the world, not because they were the greatest, but because they were the weakest. This is God's way. He chooses what is foolish and weak, so no one can doubt that it is He who is at work in us that makes us great, as You did with the Twelve.

Today's parable is a wonderful and apt commentary on the nation that God chose but who rejected Him so thoroughly and completely. They boast to themselves that although they are today a tiny nation, God's favor remains with them since they are still powerful because they have strong allies. While it is true that You will never withdraw Your favor on those You have chosen, Beloved, they rejected the fulfillment of God's eternal Covenant with them. They rejected You, their Messiah, out of hand, Lord, and not just rejecting You but condemning You to death by crucifixion. The religious authorities of the day ensured the complete destruction of their nation. What they feared that belief in You would do, they did by their own hand and hubris. 

Today, while individual Jews will come to know You, love You, and be baptized into Your Church, the political and religious authorities who continue to reject You as the Messiah who has already come into the world and redeemed it will never taste true freedom and peace.  God's Covenant with them is eternal, but they have forsaken it and the consequences remain of their own stubborn, hard-hearted making.

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

TUESDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty. 2 COR 8:9

JUDGES 6:11-24

My Soul's Beloved, 

As long as we live and breathe, You will call us out of the darkness of sin into Your marvelous light of life, truth, goodness, beauty, and grace. We will hear You, Lord, if we are attentive to Your voice that speaks to us constantly in all the circumstances of our life, for You, O Lord, are always with us. 

Today, in the reading from the Old Testament taken for our reflection, we hear of Your call to Gideon. He was busy doing the daily work that occupied his life when the angels of the Lord appeared to him and revealed God's mission for him. Nothing in particular qualified him for it is Your way, O Lord, to qualify the called, not call the qualified so all praise and glory goes to You alone when they succeed, with God's mighty power working in their favor to bring about God's purposes and plans.

Keep me attentive to the sound of Your voice as well, Lord. Help me to be faithful in the little ways that I am invited to do all that needs to be done for Your greater honor and glory. The tasks I am called to do are routine, but may I do all well and for love of You, keep me aware of Your loving gaze that is always on Me, and may all that I say and do offer You pleasure and delight. Stay with me, Lord, all the days of my life. And grant me the courage to live as an authentic witness to the Gospel.

The angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the winepress to keep it hidden from Midian, when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant warrior!’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but if the Lord is with us, then why is it that all this is happening to us now? And where are all the wonders our ancestors tell us of when they say, “Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?” But now the Lord has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.’
At this the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength now upholding you, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan, you must know, is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in my family.’ The Lord answered him, ‘I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as though it were a single man.’ Gideon said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that it is you who speak to me. I beg you, do not go away until I come back. I will bring you my offering and set it down before you.’ And he answered, ‘I will stay until you return.’
Gideon went away and prepared a young goat and made unleavened cakes with an ephah of flour. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the terebinth. As he came near, the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Take the meat and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.’ Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished before his eyes. Then Gideon knew this was the angel of the Lord, and he said, ‘Alas, my Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’ The Lord answered him, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’ Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is-Peace.

PSALM 84(85):9,11-14

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people and his friends
and those who turn to him in their hearts.

Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.

The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

MATTHEW 19:23-30

MONDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MT 5:3

JUDGES 2:11-19

My Soul's Beloved, 

What are the Baals that I serve, as well as the peoples of all the nations? The greatest of these is self-love to the extent that I put my needs and wants, my preferences, my likes and dislikes, over those of others, and most especially over the weak and vulnerable, because I have the power to do so. In turn, there are those with greater power who put their needs and so on, over mine, not just because they can but because they do so with little or no thought at all, for they just naturally assume that their needs come first. Everyone, and especially Christians, must always be vigilant in living the Gospel values and placing the needs of the more disadvantaged before their personal preferences of a life of self-indulgent ease, satisfaction, and comfort.

Today, those who possess wealth and power in every nation in the world are hell bent on domination. Satisfying the greed of a privileged few has tilted the balance of power, usurping the rights and privileges of the common people and handing them over to the ones with the greatest power to bully the rest into submission.  There is no place on earth where false gods are worshipped and idolatry in one form or another is practiced that is not under divine wrath.

The cup of God's wrath is brimming and if we do not turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to the fulfillment of God's plan of salvationin You, His Beloved Son, if we fail to listen and obey You, Lord, we can expect the whole world to be destroyed just as He destroyed Sodom and Gommorrah. It is not too late for repentance, just as it was not too late for the people of Nineveh. If we return to You with a broken heart and contrite and repentant spirit, with humility and sorrow for our sins, You will forgive. Hear the prayers of the remnant, O Lord, who fast, pray, and plead, and cry out to you with tears, mourning, and lamentation for forgiveness, and You will hear and answer, forgive and bless, and restore. 

The sons of Israel did what displeases the Lord, and served the Baals. They deserted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples round them. They bowed down to these; they provoked the Lord; they deserted the Lord to serve Baal and Astarte. Then the Lord’s anger flamed out against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were not able to resist them. In every warlike venture, the hand of the Lord was there to foil them, as the Lord had warned, as the Lord had sworn to them. Thus he reduced them to dire distress.
Then the Lord appointed judges for them, and rescued the men of Israel from the hands of their plunderers. But they would not listen to their judges. They prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of the Lord; they did not follow their example. When the Lord appointed judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, for the Lord felt pity for them as they groaned under the iron grip of their oppressors. But once the judge was dead, they relapsed and behaved even worse than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them, and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.

PSALM 105(106):34-37,39-40,43-44

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

They failed to destroy the peoples
as the Lord had given command,
but instead they mingled with the nations
and learned to act as they did.

They worshipped the idols of the nations
and these became a snare to entrap them.
They even offered their own sons
and their daughters in sacrifice to demons.

So they defiled themselves by their deeds
and broke their marriage bond with the Lord
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.

Time after time he rescued them,
but in their malice they dared to defy him.
In spite of this he paid heed to their distress,
so often as he heard their cry.

O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.

MATTHEW 19:16-22

My Soul's Beloved,

Why is it, Lord, that when it comes to a life of ease, of temporal goods, a life free from want, and a desire to please and sate our senses, we aim to pursue with great zeal, but when it comes to the things of God and the Kingdom of God, we lack will, desire, and fervor? We prefer a mediocre spiritual life and spend our entire lives seeking to gain one that promises the indulging of our temporal one.  

The spirit of the rich young man in today's Gospel hungered for more, but his flesh demanded a life of ease and comfort. He came to You and made his need for more, and what did he expect You to say? Was he hoping for? That You would pat him on the back for doing just enough by keeping the commandment and not demanding more of him? He was certainly surprised when You responded to his query, 'What more do I need to do?' by saying, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ The poor man went away a beggar despite keeping his wealth, and that is why he returned to his home sad.

Am I any different, Beloved? I only desire to give You what does not cost me much. The moment it hurts, it requires suffering, a renunciation of my will and my own selfish wants and needs, I scale back promptly and turn away. Pity me, Lord, and do for me what I am unable to do for myself. Take my will, my liberty, take my life and hide me in You, then do with me what You will.

There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.