THURSDAY OF WEEK 2 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2 TIM 1:10

1 SAMUEL 18:6-9,19:1-7

My Soul's Beloved,

We see in this First Reading the whole gamut of human emotions, both good and bad. When acted upon, the fruit of thoughts has the power to either make us noble and wise or blackguards and murderers. Envy, a deadly sin, is sister to another deadly sin, pride. Saul ought to have known better; not only was he anointed by God as king to rule over his people, but he also ought to have been grateful to David for his hand in destroying the enemy and winning for Israel a great victory. Instead, when the women praised David as Saul, he and the army returned in triumph, his heart became bitter with envy, and he plotted evil against him.

So arrogant was Saul that he made known to all, including his son, Jonathan, that he intended to kill David. He had no idea how dearly Jonathan loved David and revealed his father's deadly plot to him. Interceding passionately on David's behalf, he won a reprieve for David, and he returned to live and attend to the king once more. 

Are we brave enough to speak truth to those in power? Jonathan teaches us that we ought to speak up and defend those who are unable to defend themselves. David teaches us faith and trust in God, no matter how impossible the situation we face may be. For You, O Lord, fight our battles for us; we only need to be still and trust You.

Saul made oaths many times not to harm David, and each time he broke them in his murderous jealousy of him. So too do we. When things get difficult, we make time to pray, and make many promises that if You help us, O Lord, we will reform our way of living. Once all is well, we go back to old ways and old habits, and before long, we have forgotten completely all that You have done for us until the next trial and suffering.

Help me, Lord, to keep my gaze on You in all circumstances and to trust You always to take care of everything in my life, the good, the bad, the difficult, the sorrowful, and the joyful. Thank You, Beloved.

On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.

PSALM 55(56):2-3,9-14

In God I trust: I shall not fear.

Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;

they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.

You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.

This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?

I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.

In God I trust: I shall not fear.

MARK 3:7-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

By this time in Your ministry, You had become well known as You went everywhere preaching, teaching, and healing. Aside from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who saw You as a threat to the status quo, the people thronged about You wherever You went. When You entered a town or a village, word of Your arrival spread like wildfire, and they came bringing their sick in heart, mind, and soul, looking to touch You, be touched by You, and be healed.

Unlike people with a celebrity-like status in the world, You did not seek the crowds but often withdrew from them with Your disciples as You did on this occasion as well. You were at the lakeside with them when people came pouring in from different places. You asked for a boat, so You get into it and preach and teach from there, for the crowd pressing around You would have crushed You as they pressed around You. 

The boat with You in it is symbolic of the Church You founded with You at its head and with Peter and the other disciples. It is not enough to go to healing conferences, praise and worship prayer meetings, and listen to preaching that stir up religious fervor momentarily. No. We are called to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Sacraments, to obey God's Law, follow the teachings of Holy Mother Church, live the Beatitudes, and be a blessing to each other. Most of us come to You for what we can get from You, Lord, but when we are faced with the cross and with suffering, many of us slink away. Yet, there is no other way to get to the Kingdom of God than to pick up our cross daily, knowing You carry it with us, and follow You.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.

ST. AGNES, VIRGIN & MARTYR, ON WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 2 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people. MT 4:23

1 SAMUEL 17:32-33,37,40-51

My Soul's Beloved, 

David slew Goliath with a sling and a smooth stone. This was not a permanent victory of the people of Israel against their enemies. You, however, O Lord, smote evil through Your passion and death by crucifixion and destroyed the power of evil and death forever. 

The five smooth stones that David picked from the stream represent Your 5 wounds, inflicted by the nails that held You fast to the Cross. Only one wound would have purchased the salvation of the world, but the Father wanted to reveal to us the infinite depths of His love for us, His wayward children. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

The way of evil is deception. Goliath looked far more invincible than he really was. Despite his height, his experience as a warrior, and his armor, he was no match for God, who was with David and who delivered the enemy into his hands. All we need is You, Lord, and we need to have the faith of David, and we too will be invincible against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

So many scoff at God and at You, Lord, through ignorance, but we who have faith walk in it and see miracles and signs of Your love everywhere. Every lash of the whip on Your Body, every taunt, all the mockery You endured, the spittle, the blows, and the nails that were hammered into Your hands and feet and splintered bones as You were pinned to the Cross, and finally the spear that was plunged deep into Your side, piercing Your Sacred Heart, has won the final victory. Satan has his hour, Beloved, but You have won the day for all of us who are grafted to You. Thank You, Lord.

David said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your servant will go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.’
‘The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’
He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’
No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.

PSALM 143(144):1-2,9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.

He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my saviour
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.

To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed lute
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.

MARK 3:1-6

My Soul's Beloved, 

So much about our indifference to Truth and the love of God grieves You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We see this in Your reaction to the Pharisees who refused to answer You because they knew their response would condemn them. Here, in the synagogue, was a man with a withered hand. It was the sabbath day, and Your heart was moved with pity for the poor man. You were quite aware of what the reaction of the Pharisees would be, yet You did not let it hinder You. 

We, on the other hand, are very careful not to upset the status quo for fear of retribution or a negative reaction. We weigh the pros and cons of doing something, and then the moment passes, and we have lost the opportunity given to us by God to do good. Too often, the world hastens to ensure that the rich get richer and more powerful, and then it kowtows to them while the ones in real need of help are ignored and pushed to the peripheries, where we can safely pretend they do not exist.

You invited the man to 'Stand up out in the middle!' You gave the Pharisees a chance to redeem themselves, but they did not. Impatient and angry with them at their refusal to speak up for what was right and true, You said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it and was healed. The response of the Pharisees was to go out immediately and plot against You and discuss how to destroy You.

Jesus went into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up out in the middle!’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.

TUESDAY OF WEEK 2 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. EPH 1:17, 18

1 SAMUEL 16:1-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

Truly, Your thoughts are so unlike ours, and Your ways so much higher than ours, for we look at the outside, but You, who are God, judge the human heart. All too often, we have misjudged people because of their appearance, circumstances, their culture, language, and background, and we make poor judgment calls based on such irrelevant reasons instead of the good qualities and character of the person. 

Samuel, a great prophet of God, was still afraid of the king, instead of trusting that God, who sent him on a mission to anoint a new king, would protect him. We, too, are no different. We are fearful of our own shadows, despite all the times You have proved to us that You are trustworthy and that nothing happens which is not for our own good. You, O Lord, spoke clearly to Samuel and said to him, ‘I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me the one I point out to you.’ We all can have such a close and intimate relationship with You. If we lean on You, rely on You, trust You in all the circumstances of our lives, even in those that are most difficult, in the end all will turn out right. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, You came to give us a peace that the world cannot give but we must be willing to receive it. Grant me this grace today, Lord, and give it to every member of my family who is struggling to rest serenely in Your will and Your peace.

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel replied, ‘How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and then I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me the one I point out to you.’
Samuel did what the Lord ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, ‘Seer, have you come with good intentions towards us?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him’, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. As for Samuel, he rose and went to Ramah.

PSALM 88(89):20-22,27-28

I have found David, my servant.

Of old you spoke in a vision.
To your friends the prophets you said:
‘I have set the crown on a warrior,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

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

‘He will say to me: “You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.”
And I will make him my first-born,
the highest of the kings of the earth.’

I have found David, my servant.

MARK 2:23-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

There are two kinds of people - those like the Pharisees who have their ears to the ground and their eyes peeled to find fault and finger wag. It makes them feel superior, holier than thou, and self-righteous. People who are at peace go about life blithely, safe in the knowledge that they are children of a loving Father. 

Too often, rules, culture, and laws are slammed down the throats of the voiceless, demanding that they be obeyed. The rich, the proud, the influential, the powerful are exempted, whereas those who belong to the wrong religion, or country, or speak a different language, or have the wrong connections are either marginalized or persecuted. 

Today, Lord, You remind us that laws and rules are given to serve the good of people, not to oppress them and forget their legitimate needs. We never forget the person and never fail to show compassion and mercy, just as we expect the same be shown to us.  

One sabbath day, Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to pick ears of corn as they went along. And the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’ And he replied, ‘Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?’
And he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.’

ST. ANTHONY, ABBOT ON SATURDAY WEEK 1 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives. LK 4:17

1 SAMUEL 9:1-4,17-19,10:1

My Soul's Beloved, 

We have been created for a purpose, and our entire lives must be spent, first, in discerning what that purpose is and then doing it faithfully to the end of our days. I was created to know You, love You, worship and adore You, to make You known and loved, and to prepare to come to You and remain with You forever. I AM invited to live continually in Your holy presence and to do everything for love of You. Every little deed done in love and done for love of You, find merit in Your sight. Nothing is too small, nothing too insignificant, if the goal is to please You.

God ordains all the circumstances of our lives that will enable us to grow more and more in Your image and likeness. Nothing is good or bad in God's permissible will, and this is why we must not complain, not become despondent, not lose heart, not become anxious or fearful, for this reveals a lack of trust in You, O Lord, who are all good and is the giver of all that is good.

Saul was anointed, and he was given all he needed to be a great king; perhaps the Savior of the world could have come from his lineage. However, he forgot that he was a servant of the Lord and was appointed to lead God's people humbly and faithfully. Pride and envy were his downfall, as they are for so many of us. Pity us, Lord, for we are after all but frail, sinful creatures, and stay with us always lest we perish.

Among the men of Benjamin there was a man named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah; a Benjaminite and a man of rank. He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people. Now some of the she-donkeys of Saul’s father Kish had strayed, so Kish said to Saul, ‘My son, take one of the servants with you and be off; go and look for the she-donkeys.’ They passed through the highlands of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but did not find them; they passed through the land of Shaalim, they were not there; they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ‘That is the man of whom I told you; he shall rule my people.’ Saul accosted Samuel in the gateway and said, ‘Tell me, please, where the seer’s house is?’ Samuel replied to Saul, ‘I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart.’
Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head; then he kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord’s people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.’

PSALM 20(21):2-7

O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.

O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king;
how your saving help makes him glad!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you have not refused the prayer of his lips.

You came to meet him with the blessings of success,
you have set on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked you for life and this you have given,
days that will last from age to age.

Your saving help has given him glory.
You have laid upon him majesty and splendour,
you have granted your blessings to him forever.
You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.

O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.

MARK 2:13-17

My Soul's Beloved,

I give You thanks today that You came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, to follow You, to be a disciple, and to be formed by You so we may be happy in this world and gloriously happy with You eternally in the next.

The elite, those who had everything and used their power and wealth to crush the poor, the sinner, the widow, the orphan, and the alien, robbing them of their rights and dignity, looked down superciliously on You for mixing with tax collectors, prostitutes, and those they considered unclean and beneath their notice. But what a joy and comfort it was to Matthew, the woman caught in adultery, the woman with the bleeding issue, the leper, the blind, and the lame when You mingled with them, touched them, invited them to touch You, cling to You, and ask in faith for all they needed. And You, in turn, Beloved, healed them in every way that they needed healing - in heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit.

Thank You, Lord, for declaring that You came for the lost sheep and You will leave the 99 behind to find the one that strayed.

Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

SAINT JOSEPH VAZ - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. MT 28:19, 20

JEREMIAH 1:4-10

My Soul's Beloved, 

We are created in Your image and likeness, and we are made for eternity. Your Word tells me that You knew me before I was formed in my mother's womb. Your knowledge of me is intimate. Nothing about me is hidden from You. You know me better than I know myself, and this is why You only give me what is good and needful. You created me for a purpose and for a mission. My life must be a testament of Your love, Your power, Your goodness, and Your loving and abiding presence. You, O Lord, to be known and loved by all, and my witness to this truth will, in some measure, help others to desire to have the same relationship with You as well.

None of us who are baptized and are declared children of God by adoption can ignore the command given to us to spread the Good News of God's love. I am equipped to do so by the fact that I have experienced Your goodness and mercy, and I need to tell others simply. I do not need to have any fancy credentials; the only one needed is the knowledge that I belong to Your mystical body, and I was created for joy with You in this life and eternally. 

Our true purpose is to live our lives in such a way that when we die, You will come to lead us to Your Kingdom in heaven.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
before you came to birth I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.’
I said, ‘Ah, Lord; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!’
But the Lord replied,
‘Do not say, “I am a child.”
Go now to those to whom I send you
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to protect you –
it is the Lord who speaks!’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me:
‘There! I am putting my words into your mouth.
Look, today I am setting you
over nations and over kingdoms,
to tear up and to knock down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

PSALM 95(96):1-3,7-8,10

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

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

Proclaim his help day by day,

tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples,

give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-19,22-23

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is God who ordained who would receive the privilege of being born into a Catholic home, of parents, and receive the wonderful and free gift of baptism. Grafted onto Your Body, I am a child of God, and this truth alone places certain obligations on me. I must be a living testament of the grace and gift I have received. My life must be modelled on the Beatitudes. I must obey the Commandments of God, all of them; I cannot cherry-pick convenient ones and ignore the rest. I am a daughter of the Most High, I am espoused to You, the Church is my home, and I must be a faithful member of the household of God.

I cannot do this on my own, Lord. This is why You gave me brothers and sisters in this Church who will help me and whom I will help on our pilgrim journey from here to eternity. Stay with me, Lord, especially as I grow older, the road is narrow and difficult. Keep my hand firmly in Yours so I neither stumble nor fall by the wayside nor be lost. Thank You.

I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.

So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. For the weak I made myself weak: I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.

LUKE 10:1-9

My Soul's Beloved, 

Many of us live in parts of the world where persecution of Christians is rampant. In some places, it is worse than others. It can be overt or covert and can be done very subtly. The same opportunities are not available to us. We can be sidelined on the flimisiest of excuses; the same opportunities are not available to us, we are often ignored, overlooked, or openly discriminated against. But this must come as no surprise to us, for You warned us that if You, our Lord and Master, were rejected by Your own and subject to such a heinous and brutal death, we Your disciples and servants can expect no less nor ought we to. 

The life of a Christian is one in which we make You known and loved by the way we live our lives. When we stay close to Holy Mother Church, are nourished by her through the Sacraments You instituted, if we obey her doctrines and precepts, we can be sure that we will shed Your light in some measure in a darkened world.

Help us, Lord, to remain faithful labourers in Your vineyard to the end.

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

TUESDAY OF WEEK 1 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking. 1 THES 2:13

1 SAMUEL 1:9-20

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is greatly comforting to know that You, O Lord, are always present with us and ready to come to our aid in our sorrows. You hear all our prayers. You know when grief tears us apart, and we cry out to You, pouring out all our troubles, everything that distresses us, makes us anxious, and renders us helpless and fearful. In times like this, You are an ever-present help. Your Word sustains and consoles, gives hope and courage. You are Truth, and Your Word is Truth, and we can rest assured that all You have said You will do.

Hannah is a great example of God's faithfulness, and there are many women in the Bible who have experienced His goodness and mercy when they cried out to Him in their distress and anguish. These examples are not for us just to read and move on, but to know that what God has done for them He continues to do for us right here and now through You, His beloved Son who abides in Him and in us.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, once we hear Your Word, listen to it, and believe it, we too, like Hannah, will be dejected no longer because we know that Your Word is true and You always keep Your promises.  Thank You, Lord.

After they had eaten in the hall, Hannah rose and took her stand before the Lord, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In the bitterness of her soul she prayed to the Lord with many tears and made a vow, saying, ‘O Lord of Hosts! If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.’
While she prayed before the Lord which she did for some time, Eli was watching her mouth, for she was speaking under her breath; her lips were moving but her voice could not be heard. He therefore supposed that she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long are you going to be in this drunken state? Rid yourself of your wine.’ ‘No, my lord,’ Hannah replied ‘I am a woman in great trouble; I have taken neither wine nor strong drink – I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; all this time I have been speaking from the depth of my grief and my resentment.’ Then Eli answered her: ‘Go in peace,’ he said ‘and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.’ And she said, ‘May your maidservant find favour in your sight’; and with that the woman went away; she returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.
They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and then set out and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with Hannah his wife and the Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’

PSALM - 1 SAMUEL 2:1,4-8

My heart exults in the Lord.

My heart exults in the Lord.
I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
as I rejoice in your saving help.

The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now
but the fruitful wife bears no more.

It is the Lord who gives life and death,
he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.
He brings men low and raises them on high.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.

My heart exults in the Lord.

MARK 1:21-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

You command, and it is done. No power in heaven, on earth, or under the earth obeys Your Word, for all things are under Your authority. Your Father has made You King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You speak, and mighty miracles occur. The demons know who You are, but not we, O Lord, who, despite everything we know about You, offer resistance. We do this because we know that if we say we believe, then we must change.  The old man in us must die, and we must rise to new life in You. A life that is directed by the Holy Spirit and strives after holiness and purity always.

We are in love with concupiscence. With the broad road. The easy way. But these will eventually lead us to total separation from You, and if we reject You, Lord, we banish ourselves eternally to hell. 

Today, the Church invites us in the Gospel passage to reflect on the evil spirits that had taken possession of a man. You silenced them with one word and commanded them to get out of him, and they did. The people who witnessed the miracle were astonished. We ought not to be, though, Beloved, for we know that You are God and the Word of the Father, and with You all things are possible. Thank You, Lord, for the confidence that we have in Your Word and for the faith that is God's free and precious gift to us.

Jesus and his disciples went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.

MONDAY OF WEEK 1 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15

1 SAMUEL 1:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

The love of man can never be enough; it cannot satisfy, we crave more because we are created for more, infinitely more. Human love can never fill the hungry heart for all it longs for except God alone.

Hannah had the love of a good husband, and even though she was barren, he loved her more than he loved his other wife, Penninah, who had given him several children. But his obvious preferential love for her over his other wife was of no comfort to her. She longed for a child, and he could not understand why his love for her could never be enough. 

Our hearts were made for You, my God, and there is a restlessness in them that nothing the world can offer will ever give them the tranquility and serenity they hunger and thirst for but You alone, O Lord. 

There was a man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the highlands of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives, one called Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Every year this man used to go up from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there as priests of the Lord.
One day Elkanah offered sacrifice. He used to give portions to Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; to Hannah, however, he would give only one portion, although he loved her more, since the Lord had made her barren. Her rival would taunt her to annoy her, because the Lord had made her barren. And this went on year after year; every time they went up to the temple of the Lord she used to taunt her. And so Hannah wept and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Hannah, why are you crying and why are you not eating? Why so sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’

PSALM 115(116):12-19

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

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

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

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

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

MARK 1:14-20

My Soul's Beloved, 

This day marks the beginning of ordinary time, which helps to prepare us for each of the great liturgical events that follow in the Church calendar. It is a time of becoming grounded in the life of the Church, in the Word, in our service for God and neighbor. It is a time of reflection, contemplation, prayer, and metanoia, so we are ready to enter into the next phase of the Church's life. Before we know it, the beautiful season of Lent will be upon us, and if we use these days of preparation in ordinary time well, we will be blessed with a more profound understanding of the Father's great love for us in sending You into the world to stoop low so You can raise us up. 

The Gospel recalls the call of the first disciples to follow You. Simon, his brother Andrew, James, and his brother John. Their response was immediate, the invitation irresistible, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ The Word of God tells us, 'And at once they left their nets and followed him.'

Beloved, we receive Your invitation daily to live in close intimacy with You, but the siren call of the world, the flesh, and the devil pulls us in the opposite direction. We are dazzled by the tinsel of the world and the deafening noise that stops our ears from the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit until eventually His voice is drowned off completely. To each one of us, You say, ' The time has come, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe in the Good News. But we are too busy living in the world and being one with it to heed Your call. Concupiscence is the enemy within, and we are too weak to fight it because we have offered no resistance for too long.

Loving Jesus, Bridegroom of my soul, take pity on us, break into our hardened hearts, and shower Your graces upon us so we may realize that true and lasting joy is only possible if we have an authentic relationship with You.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’
As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The heavens opened and the Father’s voice resounded:
‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ MK 9:8

ISAIAH 42:1-4,6-7

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are God's Covenant of Love with us. He sent You into the world not to condemn it but to redeem and sanctify it. You came into the world, my Lord and my God, not to crush the sinner, the wicked, the outcast, but to call us to repentance. You came to seek and save the lost. You said clearly that sick people need a doctor, not those who are well. You came for the sinner, not the righteous. Yet, O Lord, we human beings desire to crush our enemies. We wish ill on those who wrong us. We ask that those who oppose us and work against us be destroyed. 

The prophet Isaiah tells us clearly who You are. King of Kings, Lord of Lords, only and most beloved Son of the Living God, and yet You are humble. You left Your glory behind as the Father willed, and became like one of us in all things but sin. You came to seek the outcast, the sinner, the tax collector, the prostitute, the thief, those whom the world looks down upon, judges, condemns, and rejects. You who are God and for whom the world is a footstool, took upon Yourself the sins of the whole world so we would not be crushed, bruised, or our life quenched, or refused entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

You came to reveal to us the Father's infinite, unsurpassable, and incomprehensible love for us that while we were yet sinners, You died for us, for He laid on You the punishment and the death that was ours.

Thank You, Lord. Help me never to take my salvation for granted, but to walk in Your will, embracing it always. Keep me safe in Your love until You call me home to Yourself to remain with You forever. Amen. 

Thus says the Lord:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I have endowed him with my spirit
that he may bring true justice to the nations.
He does not cry out or shout aloud,
or make his voice heard in the streets.
He does not break the crushed reed,
nor quench the wavering flame.
Faithfully he brings true justice;
he will neither waver, nor be crushed
until true justice is established on earth,
for the islands are awaiting his law.
I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;
I have taken you by the hand and formed you;
I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to free captives from prison,
and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.

PSALM 28(29):1-4,9-10

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

O give the Lord, you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.

The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.

The God of glory thunders.
In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king for ever.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

ACTS 10:34-38

My Soul's Beloved, 

God has no favorites. How comforting this knowledge is to us sinners. In a world where the rich, the powerful, and the famous are given privileges, adulation, and recognition because of who they are, You, O Lord, love all without equally and without measure.

The people of Israel believed themselves to be better than people of other cultures, nations, and backgrounds because God chose them to ultimately reveal to the world who He was and is.  He did not choose them for any merit of their own but because they were the least. This is Your way, Lord. You are a God of contradiction, and this is why so many do not understand how God can be like You, humble always and seeking out always the last, the least, the lowest, the discarded, the crushed, those on the peripheries.

This, Beloved, is our consolation, that You came for all - the sinner and the saint and You are aware of the greater need of the sinner to encounter You in his/her brokenness and to be healed and restored by Your love and Your touch. Thank You, Lord.

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.
‘It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ – but Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.’

MATTHEW 3:13-17

My Soul's Beloved, 

If each of us who is baptized and grafted onto Your Body strove always to do all that righteousness demands of us, we would all be saints and the Kingdom of Heaven would be among us. You show us the way to be holy. You show us how we ought to live and act in this pilgrimage from earth to heaven. John recognized who You were, and of course, he was reluctant to baptize You for baptism if for sinners and for repentance, and You, O Lord, are the Sinless One, the Lamb of God without blemish or stain. Yet You lined up with the sinner, identifying with the sinner, clothed in human flesh through the incarnation in the womb of the Virgin. Becoming Man, You wanted to enter fully into our humanity and all that it entails.

Thank You, Lord, for all You have done for us. Thank You for opening the gates of the Kingdom of God to us, gates that were shut to us by the old Adam. As the new Adam, Beloved, we now receive hope and a future. We are reconciled to the Father through You. If we wish the Father to receive us, Lord, then we must recognize and accept who You are for the Father and the Spirit rested on You as You stood in the waters of the Jordan to be baptized, and as the Spirit rested on You, the Father made this proclamation to the whole world, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ Anyone who rejects You, Lord, rejects hope of being saved. Grant O Lord, that Your sacrifice may not be in vain for anyone, but all be saved and come to the knowledge of Truth. You, my Beloved, are Truth. Sanctify us in the Truth.

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. ‘It is I who need baptism from you’ he said ‘and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.’ At this, John gave in to him.
As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’

FRIDAY AFTER EPIPHANY SUNDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of diseases among the people. MT 4:23

1 JOHN 5:5-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

I thank You for the Church, I thank You for the Sacraments You instituted and are administered to us by her. We thank You for the life of grace we receive through these Sacraments. You are God. You are the Son of God. You are the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world, and without You we will perish.

Thank You for making provision for us to be born anew, no matter how low we sink in sin. Keep us grateful. Keep us faithful. Keep us humble, and above all, provide us with the grace to be obedient to Your Word and surrendered completely to Your will always.

Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth –
so that there are three witnesses,
the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and all three of them agree.
We accept the testimony of human witnesses,
but God’s testimony is much greater,
and this is God’s testimony,
given as evidence for his Son.
Everybody who believes in the Son of God
has this testimony inside him;
and anyone who will not believe God
is making God out to be a liar,
because he has not trusted
the testimony God has given about his Son.
This is the testimony:
God has given us eternal life
and this life is in his Son;
anyone who has the Son has life,
anyone who does not have the Son does not have life.
I have written all this to you
so that you who believe in the name of the Son of God
may be sure that you have eternal life.

PSALM 147:12-15,19-20

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.

He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

LUKE 5:12-16

My Soul's Beloved, 

In a world where everyone is looking for validation and their 5 minutes of fame, You show us a totally different way.

A man covered in leprosy pleaded with You to heal him, saying, 'If you want to, you can cure me.' You did not hesitate, reaching out and touching him, caring not for the taboos or the ritual laws, and said, 'Of course I want to! Be cured!' And he was healed immediately.  This is the comforting message You speak to us too today. Touching us, You reassure us that it is Your desire that we live holy, fruitful, and healthy lives. We receive Your touch, O Lord, confident that all we desire according to Your holy will, You will give us. 

Grant us the grace to not seek praise, adulation, and affirmation for any good thing we may have done, rather, like You, may we withdraw to a place where we can be alone with You, and pray. 

Jesus was in one of the towns when a man appeared, covered with leprosy. Seeing Jesus he fell on his face and implored him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once. He ordered him to tell no one, ‘But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your healing as Moses prescribed it, as evidence for them.’
His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.

MONDAY AFTER EPIPHANY SUNDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Glory to you, O Christ,
proclaimed to the pagans;
glory to you, O Christ,
believed in by the world. 1TIM 3:16

1 JOHN 3:22-4:6

My Soul's Beloved, 

You say to us this day, 'Ask, and you will receive.' This is Your promise and assurance to us; however, it is conditional on our keeping God's commandments. If I keep Your commandments, Beloved, all of which are encompassed in the two great commandments, “love the Lord thy God with all your heart” and “love your neighbour as yourself,” only then can I expect my prayers to be answered. A true disciple must be a reflection of the master in all things. This is a lifelong process and ends only when I draw my last breath.

It is hard to love as You love, Lord. To forget oneself. To pour oneself out as a libation as You did. You loved us to the end, through Your passion, crucifixion, and death on the cross. You paid the price for the sins of our first parents and every subsequent sin that followed from that first deliberate breaking away from God through disobedience. 

The world teaches us to put ourselves and our needs first, but true joy, the kind of joy that the world cannot give, is to put the needs of others before my own. The lives of the saints, who imitated You closely, are a witness to this kind of authentic love of neighbor. The more closely I follow You, Lord, the more I will love You as You did. The closer I grow to You, the more I will become like You. And the more I become like You, the greater will be my witness to You in the world. Help me, Lord. Help me.

Whatever we ask God,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.
It is not every spirit, my dear people, that you can trust;
test them, to see if they come from God,
there are many false prophets, now, in the world.
You can tell the spirits that come from God by this:
every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh
is from God;
but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus
is not from God,
but is the spirit of Antichrist,
whose coming you were warned about.
Well, now he is here, in the world.
Children,
you have already overcome these false prophets,
because you are from God and you have in you
one who is greater than anyone in this world;
as for them, they are of the world,
and so they speak the language of the world
and the world listens to them.
But we are children of God,
and those who know God listen to us;
those who are not of God refuse to listen to us.
This is how we can tell
the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.

PSALM 2:7-8,10-11

I will give you the nations for your heritage.

The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.’

Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
and trembling, pay him your homage.

I will give you the nations for your heritage.

MATTHEW 4:12-17,23-25

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

We saw his star as it rose
and have come to do the Lord homage. MT 2:2

ISAIAH 60:1-6

My Soul's Beloved, 

This passage from Isaiah comes alive when read and understood in the light of the Gospels. All that God has ever promised us from the dawn of creation, when He made the world by the power of His Word, His Eternal Word that became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is fulfilled. The Catholic Church was instituted by You. She is Your Bride. Yes, she is stained, and wrinkled, and torn in places, but she is irrevocably Yours. Every one of us who is baptized is grafted onto You. We draw our life from Your Holy Spirit. The deeper we are rooted in You, Beloved, the stronger we are, and the more effectively we will carry out the mission entrusted to us.

Nothing in this life will ever give us peace, joy, and a sense of belonging to Someone greater than anything we can imagine, when we know and believe that we are citizens of the New Jerusalem and the Light of the World shines in us. We no longer walk in the darkness of sin, despair, fear, and death. God has declared that we are His. We are children of the Father who delights in sharing His Fatherhood with You as His adopted children.  

You are a God of contradiction and those who are in the world and of the world and even all those who call themselves Christians but reject the fullness of goodness, beauty and truth found only in the Church, Your Bride, will never grasp the absolute splendour and embrace the unfathomable mysteries of a God who humbly stooped so low, leaving the splendour of heaven behind and entering the womb of the Virgin Mother in poverty, in littleness, in total helplessness beginning with Your conception, Your birth, Your life, Your death, and Your glorious resurrection. Thank You for the ineffable gift of being born into a Catholic home and the gift of my baptism.

Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising on you,
though night still covers the earth
and darkness the peoples.
Above you the Lord now rises
and above you his glory appears.
The nations come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.
Lift up your eyes and look round:
all are assembling and coming towards you,
your sons from far away
and your daughters being tenderly carried.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart throbbing and full;
since the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you;
camels in throngs will cover you,
and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Sheba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing the praise of the Lord.

PSALM 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13

All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.

O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.

In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.

The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts
shall pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.

For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.

All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.

EPHESIANS  3:2-3,5-6

My Soul's Beloved,

The life and conversion of St. Paul from Saul gives us, abject sinners, hope. Saul did not seek You; You sought him. You came to him on behalf of the members of Your Body that he was persecuting and made it known to him that it was You that he was persecuting in truth. You brought him to his knees, and You blinded him for a while so he could, in darkness, humbly encounter the Light of the world. See You face to face and recognize that You, who are God, identify Yourself wholly and completely with every one of us who, through our baptism, are grafted onto You.

No one is excluded from receiving the free gift of faith through baptism. All are welcome. The invitation is thrown open to all. Grace is available freely to all who desire it. But it takes humility and obedience to give up our old ways, old thoughts, old ideas, emptying ourselves of all that is not of God so we can receive what is of God, from God, and is God. It takes humility to admit that what we once thought to be right and true is, in fact, just counterfeit, dross, not gold. Saul did that, and becoming Paul was the greatest evangelist of all time to the Gentiles. What You did for him, You will do for anyone willing to submit and yield wholly to You and Your will.

You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.

MATTHEW 2:1-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

The world is chock full of people like Herod. When the wise men made known to him their mission in seeking the infant king of the Jews, he, seemingly ignorant of the prophecies, called together all he thought would be in the know, to inquire with them about where You, the Christ, was to be born. The world is filled with prideful academics and scholars who feverishly study all the faiths, but do so only for the sake of knowledge. Their knowledge, however, does not lead them to the trut,h and even if it does, they lack the courage to make that leap of faith that will make them children of God and heirs to His Kingdom.

Herod's reaction to being told the prophecy was fear, for he thought his throne was  threatened:

‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’

He was interested in the newborn King only to seek and destroy and eliminate the threat to his rule. He made the wise men promise that they would report back to him, lying to them that he also wanted to pay the little Babe homage. But even though it appeared that the Son of God and the Son of Mary, with Joseph, were hidden in obscurity from the mighty, the boastful, and the proud, God Himself, along with all the angels in heaven, was looking down and lovingly keeping watch over them. Protecting them from all Your enemies until Your hour had arrived. In that hour, it would be You who would give Yourself up to them. 

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Magi, the epiphany of our Savior and King of Kings and Lord of Lords. With them, Beloved, we too bow down before You, offer You our worship, and the poor gift of ourselves. We are Yours now and forever.

After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.