SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life. EZK 33:11

ISAIAH 58:9-14

My Soul's Beloved, 

You promise springs of living water to gush forth from those who belong to You, grafted to You, obey Your Word, keep Your commandments, and live a life filled with Your Holy Spirit. It is not easy, Lord. The world, the flesh, and the devil are constantly at war with us, and it is relentless. We are weak, frail, and we fall often. Have pity on us, O Lord, help us. We are buffeted on every side, and we are afraid we will fall by the wayside, be trampled upon, and destroyed. Take pity on us, Lord. Stay with us. Hold us up. Strengthen us. Keep our hand firmly in Your own. Keep us faithful to Your Word, Your Church, Your teachings, and we will be safe.

Thank You for Your Mother, all the angels and saints who make constant intercession for us. Hear our prayers as well for our own salvation and the salvation of all the members of our family. We are living in demonic times, Beloved, and we may be lost if You do not come to our aid and help us in our weakness. Stay with us, Lord, lest if left alone, we succumb to temptation and be lost forever.

The Lord says this:
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
build up on the old foundations.
You will be called ‘Breach-mender’,
‘Restorer of ruined houses.’
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
and doing business on the holy day,
if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’,
and the day sacred to the Lord ‘Honourable’,
if you honour it by abstaining from travel,
from doing business and from gossip,
then shall you find your happiness in the Lord
and I will lead you triumphant over the heights of the land.
I will feed you on the heritage of Jacob your father.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

PSALM 85(86):1-6

Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth.

Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save the servant who trusts in you.

You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,
for I cry to you all the day long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.

O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice.

Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth.

LUKE 5:27-32

My Soul's Beloved,

I am sick, the world is sick, and the Church You founded is full of sick people. We need You, Lord. I want to remind You today that it is You who said that it is the sick who need a physician, not those who are well. You came for me, You came for the world where almost all of us, O Lord, need You. Minister to us, Lord. Heal us in every way that we need healing in heart, mind, soul, body, and spirit, according to Your most holy and perfect will. 

Lord, invite us, as You invited Matthew, a public sinner, to follow You as one of the Twelve, grant us the grace to leave all that is a hindrance to our discipleship, and follow You closely all the days that are allotted to us. 

Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he got up and followed him.
In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.’

FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS INTENTIONS

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really be with you.

ISAIAH 58:1-9

My Soul's Beloved,

Your Word is clear. Penances performed for outward appearance to appear holy to the world are abhorrent to You; what You desire is a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Our fasting, almsgiving, and our prayers have to move our spirit so deeply that they evoke a change in us. We are to grow in holiness and perfection. We ought to have a greater reverence and appreciation for the work of salvation wrought for the whole world on the Cross. Anything less than a real conversion is worthless before You.

Beloved, may we see, hear, and act as You desire us to, not superficially but with tenderness, sympathy, compassion, and love, and reach out to those in need in ways that bring comfort and hope. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and grant me the graces I need to be always pleasing to You.

Thus says the Lord:
Shout for all you are worth,
raise your voice like a trumpet.
Proclaim their faults to my people,
their sins to the House of Jacob.
They seek me day after day,
they long to know my ways,
like a nation that wants to act with integrity
and not ignore the law of its God.
They ask me for laws that are just,
they long for God to draw near:
‘Why should we fast if you never see it,
why do penance if you never notice?’
Look, you do business on your fast-days,
you oppress all your workmen;
look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast
and strike the poor man with your fist.
Fasting like yours today
will never make your voice heard on high.
Is that the sort of fast that pleases me,
a truly penitential day for men?
Hanging your head like a reed,
lying down on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call fasting,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me
– it is the Lord who speaks –
to break unjust fetters and
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
to clothe the man you see to be naked
and not turn from your own kin?
Then will your light shine like the dawn
and your wound be quickly healed over.
Your integrity will go before you
and the glory of the Lord behind you.
Cry, and the Lord will answer;
call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’

PSALM 50(51):3-6,18-19

A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

MATTHEW 9:14-15

My Soul's Beloved, 

We get a taste of the Bridegroom's presence and the spiritual union between groom and bride each time we receive You in the Holy Eucharist. What a singular privilege it is for us who receive You in Holy Communion - body, blood, soul, and divinity. Forgive me, Lord, for the times when I approached this Banquet of Love ill-prepared and lacking in fervor. I AM receiving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Savior of the world, and I have often received You with complacency.

My Lord, grant me the grace during this season of Lent to prepare myself well before the glorious feast of Easter by prayer, fasting, and abstinence so I may grow more and more like You.

John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. MT 4:17

DEUTERONOMY 30:15-20

My Soul's Beloved,

Daily, we have to make choices about important things and simple things, but every decision we make, whether big or small, impacts our lives and the lives of those around us. Either for good or for evil, whether we are aware of it or not, our choices often have short-term, long-term, or eternal consequences. The truth is that more often than not, we make choices that allow frivolity, shallowness, lack of character, lack of a well-formed conscience, or, as is most of the case, a total absence of serious thought, which impact our actions that can have life-altering results.

How is it, Beloved, that despite having some knowledge of Sacred Scripture that warns us time and time again, both in the Old and the New Testament, that love of God alone can help us make wise and healthy choices, and yet, Lord, we choose to satisfy the cravings of our flesh, we give in to the wiles of the enemy, or we succumb to the lure of the world. There are many reasons for this: poor catechesis, poor knowledge of Scripture, a shallow faith, or we are heavily influenced by our peers and the liberal and lax culture that bombards the morally and spiritually weak on every side. 

Sadly, Beloved, our lives can become the sum total of our poor choices if we do not wake up, repent, and return to You with a humble heart and a contrite spirit.

Moses said to the people: ‘See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin on you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’

PSALM 1:1-4,6

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.

He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.

Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

LUKE 9:22-25

My Soul's Beloved, 

Long before the end of Your 3-year ministry, time and time again You told Your disciples how You would die, who would put You to death, and that death could not hold You, for after 3 days You would rise again. And yet, my Lord, it did not register with them. You are telling them You are God, and to them it's just words, impossible to comprehend the magnitude of Your frank revelation about Yourself. Nothing in their history prepared them for believing such a claim, and hence they can be excused. Not so we. Apart from the testimony of the Apostles, the written Word of God, Sacred Tradition, as well as history, have proved over and over again the authenticity of Your revelation, yet so many choose not to believe.

Today, we are reminded of the cost of discipleship. You embraced the Cross, and the Cross is the only way by which we can be saved. Each of us is privileged to receive from Your hands our own crosses. It is not the whole cross we deserve, no, You bore the entirety of the suffering that is rightfully mine, the weight of my entire cross, and yet I struggle, I chafe under its weight even though You assure me that You are yoked to me and that You carry my cross with me. 

Grant me the graces I need every moment of every day to die to myself, to renounce the lure of the world, to scourge my flesh of its unruly passions, and to hide myself in You and Your Sacred Heart so the devil has no access to me. I am weak, Lord, and given a chance, I will deny You as Peter did, doubt as Thomas did, and betray You as Judas Iscariot did. Pity me, Lord, and help me. I have recourse to none but You.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
Then to all he said:
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?’

ASH WEDNESDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! PS 94:8

JOEL 2:12-18

My Soul's Beloved, 

You graciously give us another Lenten season to draw close to You. So many did not live to see the new year, many have passed on during these past few months, but to us, You give us another opportunity to return to You with all our hearts. Grant us the graces we need to be faithful in keeping the Lenten resolutions we have made that transform us, help us rid ourselves of bad habits, and cultivate those that will benefit our souls.

This is the time, now is the hour; let us not delay our conversion any longer, or it may be too late. I ask for your help, Lord, to participate in the parish community activities during this season of Lent so I may grow in faith, hope, and love. Pour Your grace into my heart so I may enter more deeply into the mysteries of Your passion and death, so I may rejoice greatly as we celebrate the feast of Your glorious resurrection into heaven.

‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
fasting, weeping, mourning.’
Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn,
turn to the Lord your God again,
for he is all tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, rich in graciousness,
and ready to relent.
Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent,
will not leave a blessing as he passes,
oblation and libation
for the Lord your God?
Sound the trumpet in Zion!
Order a fast,
proclaim a solemn assembly,
call the people together,
summon the community,
assemble the elders,
gather the children,
even the infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom
and the bride her alcove.
Between vestibule and altar let the priests,
the ministers of the Lord, lament.
Let them say,
‘Spare your people, Lord!
Do not make your heritage a thing of shame,
a byword for the nations.
Why should it be said among the nations,
“Where is their God?”’
Then the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land,
took pity on his people.

PSALM 50(51):3-6,12-14,17

Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.

A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:20-6:2

My Soul's Beloved, 

If my heart is breaking that those I love so dearly in the world have separated themselves from You, how much more does God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, ache that His children do not knowHim, have no desire to do so, nor do they give Him the honor, the glory, and the praise that is due for the incredible work of salvation wrought for us on the Cross. 

Beloved Jesus, grant me the graces I need to enter fully into these divine mysteries with the Church, and You will at last hear my prayers and break into the hard hearts of those family members who continue to resist Your love. Bring about their salvation, Lord, before it is too late.

We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.

MATTHEW 6:1-6,16-18

TUESDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

JAMES 1:12-18

My Soul's Beloved, 

Trials abound in my life and in the lives of those dearest to me. Today, I am reminded that in the testing, our character is revealed. Most of our troubles are a direct result of the sinful choices we make, and they affect not just the sinner but the entire family. We fail to consider our actions. We are ignorant of Scripture that warns us over and over of the consequences of disobedience to Your Word, and when tribulations and suffering are our lot because of the bad choices we have made, we become disconsolate, worried, anxious, and we chafe at the weight of the cross that we have brought upon ourselves.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, You know that we are sheep and we need You, our Good Shepherd, to seek us, lead us, heal us, and assist us to receive all that You desire to give us. Thank You, Lord.

Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.
Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.

PSALM 93(94):12-15,18-19

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord,
whom you train by means of your law;
to him you give peace in evil days
while the pit is being dug for the wicked.

The Lord will not abandon his people
nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just
and all true hearts shall uphold it.

When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’;
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.
When cares increase in my heart
your consolation calms my soul.

Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.

MARK 8:14-21

My Soul's Beloved, 

Truly, Lord, I have no perception. My mind is closed. I have conveniently shut my mind to the countless blessings You have showered on my family and me. I am obtuse. Today You say to me, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ Why is your heart heavy? Why are you letting your black mood and your sour disposition color your relationship with those you love? This is displeasing to Me. 

Lord Jesus, I am truly sorry for forgetting that You are good, kind, faithful, loving, compassionate, and full of mercy. Grant me the grace to focus on Your blessings rather than on the trials and crosses laid on my loved ones and me. It is only through suffering endured with grace that we can receive a share in Your glory.

The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

MONDAY OF WEEK 6 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me. JN 14:6

JAMES 1:1-11

My Soul's Beloved, 

I asked You to speak to me, to speak to my heart, to speak to me in the midst of the heaviness in my soul and You did. You answered me. You, O Lord, are faithful and You are good, and You always hear the cry of the needy.

Thank You for Your word today from St. James, who reminds us that suffering is necessary for every Christian who desires to walk in the Way of Life and Truth. Beloved, it was Your ignominious passion and death that wrought our salvation. We are invited to make Your Cross our boast, for in and through the Cross alone are we saved. All too often, Lord, when we find the weight of the cross too heavy to bear, especially when it is our loved ones who suffer, and we suffer because they are suffering, then it becomes doubly hard because we want them to find relief, and it does not seem to come. Disappointment follows on the heels of disappointment, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It is precisely at this time that we are reminded that trials are given to us to test our faith and to help us grow in patience.

Thank You for answering me through Your Word. It is not easy, Lord, but knowing that uniting my trials with Your suffering will produce in me the virtues necessary to walk in faith, hope, and love as I sojourn from this life to the life to come, where sorrow and tears will end, and I will behold the beatific vision in perfect joy eternally.

From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything.
It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.

PSALM 118(119):67-68,71-72,75-76

Let your love come to me and I shall live.

Before I was afflicted I strayed
but now I keep your word.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.

It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.

Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.

Let your love come to me and I shall live.

MARK 8:11-13

My Soul's Beloved,

The only sign a Christian needs is the Sign of the Cross, from which flows the redemption of the whole world. To this day, the hearts of the Pharisees of this present world are hardened against the Truth just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. They refuse to believe that the Messiah has come. The Savior has redeemed the world, and we are to live in righteousness and truth. The opposition of those who refuse to believe is because they are so in love with their sins that they deliberately close themselves off to divine revelation. 

The Sign is given to us, and all who wish to be saved embrace it. In the Cross alone are we redeemed, sanctified, and made perfect so we too may share in Your Crown of glory. Those who refuse, You give up with a sigh for You, O Lord, have created us free, and with this beautiful gift of freedom, we make the choice to be eternally damned or saved.

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.

6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ECCLESIASTICUS 15:16-21

My Soul's Beloved, 

Our fallen nature has so weakened us that, left to itself, we will always choose the broad road and the easy path. A consistent lack of discipline and moderation in all things sets us up for moral, physical, and above all, spiritual decline, decay, and malaise. Self-indulgence and instant self-gratification are what the world and the worldly promote, and we, because we lack purpose and will, readily believe the lies and fall into the trap that will ultimately destroy not just our body but our soul.

We were created for life, joy, purpose, and spiritual and physical well-being. Sadly, because we choose not to live pure and holy lives as children of God, we have lost our moral compass. We have lost a sense of all that is right, true, good, and beautiful, and all that is ugly, illogical, and immoral, and even positively demonic, has taken hold of so many. 

Today, Your Word reminds us that we have autonomy over our choices. We can choose to freely obey or disobey Your commandments that give life and direction to our lives. When we choose to disobey, we have no one to blame for the sorry mess we make, and the consequences of our error destroy not just our lives but the lives of those who love us.

If you wish, you can keep the commandments,
to behave faithfully is within your power.
He has set fire and water before you;
put out your hand to whichever you prefer.
Man has life and death before him;
whichever a man likes better will be given him.
For vast is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is almighty and all-seeing.
His eyes are on those who fear him,
he notes every action of man.
He never commanded anyone to be godless,
he has given no one permission to sin.

PSALM 118(119):1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34

They are happy who follow God’s law!

They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.

You have laid down your precepts
to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
to obey your statutes.

Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.

Teach me the demands of your statutes
and I will keep them to the end.
Train me to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.

They are happy who follow God’s law!

1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-10

My Soul's Beloved, 

The great tragedy of the lives of the vast majority of people in this age is that we have chosen mediocrity in every sphere of our lives. Content with choosing to exist at a very base and animal level, we have so blunted our senses that we lack the eagerness of spirit that strives for excellence in thought, word, and action. Those great intellects of the past who were ready to sacrifice all in the pursuit of knowledge have left us treasure troves of wisdom that still feed us. Sadly, too many prefer to chase what perishes.

Beloved, fill us anew with Your Holy Spirit so that our lives may be transformed and we can hunger and thirst for wisdom that is eternal. Thank You, Lord.

We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.
These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.

MATTHEW 5:17-37

STS. CYRIL, MONK, & METHODIOUS, BISHOP ON SATURDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

1 KINGS 12:26-32,13:33-34

My Soul's Beloved, 

When we fail to trust in Your promises as Jeroboam did, we will place greater trust in our own judgment, the fruit of which will always be great sorrow, confusion, and distress. The more we turn away from You, from Your Word, and the teachings of the Church, the deeper will be the rift between ourselves and You, and the further we will drift from the Truth that saves.

Beloved, all Your promises are true. Your Word is true. We must believe in every one of Your assurances; only then can we live in childlike simplicity, looking to You to satisfy all our needs. You have no use for a divided heart with one foot in heaven and one on earth. You desire our whole self, all that makes us who we are in entirety. You poured Yourself out for love of us, and we are invited to do the same. The more we love our neighbor whom we can see for Your sake, the more we will love You whom we cannot.

When we compromise our faith and juggle our conscience to accept what is clearly a lie, we will find ourselves on the slippery slope to heartache and heartbreak. We cannot make idols of anything. Your Word is crystal clear: "The LORD God tolerates no rivals; he punishes those who oppose him. In his anger, he pays them back". Grant us the wisdom, Beloved, to trust You always, for You alone have the power to draw good from evil and through our sorrow You have the power to bring joy.

Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people’s heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.’ So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, ‘You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, Israel; these brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ He set up one in Bethel and the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other. He set up the temple of the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast that was kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. That was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; and at Bethel he put the priests of the high places he had established.

Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

PSALM 105(106):6-7,19-22

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

Our sin is the sin of our fathers;
we have done wrong, our deeds have been evil.
Our fathers when they were in Egypt
paid no heed to your wonderful deeds.

They fashioned a calf at Horeb
and worshipped an image of metal,
exchanging the God who was their glory
for the image of a bull that eats grass.

They forgot the God who was their saviour,
who had done such great things in Egypt,
such portents in the land of Ham,
such marvels at the Red Sea.

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

MARK 8:1-10

THURSDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls. JM 1:21

1 KINGS 11:4-13

Why is it, My Soul's Beloved, that we are so fickle? When our souls are bereft of suffering, when things do not go our way, when those we love are facing great trials, we cling to You day and night and plead with You to rescue them and us from all our calamities. But, no longer than everything is right again and life becomes serene and joyous again, we forget that we owe You constant obedience and love. 

Solomon owed everything to You. His wisdom was God's gift to him, including his fame and his wealth. The hand of God bless him, and yet in his old age, he forgot completely to whom his allegiance was due. All too often, we bend backwards to please people, those with power, influence, or those we love, and we fail in our duty to God and to keeping Your commandments, which are imperative if we are to live fruitful and holy lives pleasing to You.

There is only one God, and Him alone we must fear because You are good and because You first loved us. Have pity and mercy on us, O Lord, for having strayed, either deliberately or through ignorance. Bring us back, O Lord. Wash away our iniquity, cleanse us from our sins, and restore and heal us in every way.

When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord the God of Israel who had twice appeared to him and who had then forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out the Lord’s order. The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.’

PSALM 105(106):3-4,35-37,40

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

They are happy who do what is right,
who at all times do what is just.
O Lord, remember me
out of the love you have for your people.

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,
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.

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

MARK 7:24-30

My Soul's Beloved, 

You had every intention of healing the woman's little daughter who had an unclean spirit. She heard of You. She believed You could do for her daughter what You had done for so many. Her love for her child emboldened her to plead persistently that You do what she asked of You with complete faith and confidence. Soon, before all who were present, You would praise her persistence in not taking no for an answer, and her faith in You would be rewarded. But first, You wanted to teach them and us how we are to approach You when we make our prayers of petition to You.

We ought not to give up when our prayers are not answered immediately. Persistence purifies us as we humbly continue to make our cause known to You who already knows our hearts and desires to give us all that is good for us. We are not to be easily offended, but understand who You are and who we are. You are God; we are not. We keep asking, pleading, praying, even with tears and loud cries, until at a favorable time, at a time of Your choosing, You will give us all we ask for and more. And in the waiting and praying, our faith, hope, and love are strengthened.

Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

ST. SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN, ON TUESDAY OF WEEK 5 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law. PS 118:36, 29

1 KINGS 8:22-23,27-30

My Soul's Beloved, 

Solomon's story is the story of so many of us who begin well but end badly. In fact, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived in the Old Testament, ended up a fool because he ultimately relied on his own wisdom rather than on the wisdom of God.

Lord God, we are raised in the faith handed down from generation to generation, but we make little or no effort to make it our own, to study it, examine it, and understand why we believe what we believe, allowing that faith to expand and grow. It is the duty of every baptized Christian to have a vibrant faith that is unshakeable. However, we are so weak in our beliefs that when asked for a reason for our beliefs and practices, we are unable to give a suitable defence.

Beloved, You have made my heart Your holy temple in which You delight to live. Sadly, Lord, I am negligent in making sure that it is a place fit for You to dwell in. Today, I make the prayer of Solomon my own, unworthy as I am, stay with me, Lord. Walk with me, direct my steps, show mercy and kindness always. Grant me the graces I need to discern Your will in all things and then do it without question or hesitation, but joyfully and promptly. Hear my prayers always on my own behalf and for those I love, and when You hear the sound of my voice crying to You, O Lord,

‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’

In the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built! Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.
‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’

PSALM 83(84):3-5,10-11

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.

The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.

One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

MARK 7:1-13

My Soul's Beloved,  

We humans, like the Pharisees and some of the leaders of the law in Your day, are extremely clever when it comes to justifying our sinful actions, which are contradictory to the will and law of God. We are extremely good at making excuses for our own sinful actions while freely condemning everybody else and assigning and consigning them to hell. If we kept our gaze unflinchingly on our words and deeds, we would have far less time nitpicking the flaws of our neighbours.

Lord God, the plight of so many aging parents is heartbreaking. How heartlessly they are treated and neglected by their sons and daughters after they have sacrificed everything for them. The day will come, though, Lord, when the same harsh and coldly selfish reasons they trumpeted for their negligence in doing their duty will be used by their own children against them. For the ways of the Lord are just, and to those who have shown kindness and mercy will receive it, but those who have been wicked and selfish, disobedient and hard of heart will be punished until they pay everything they owe to the last penny.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12

ISAIAH 58:7-10

My Soul's Beloved, 

Our love cannot be lip service only. I cannot say I love You, Lord, and I ignore those in need, those who are hurting, those in need of compassion, those who are hungry not just for bread but for sympathy and understanding. I dare not say I love You, Lord, and I avert my eyes from the terrible suffering and injustice that goes on in the world. I may not be able to do much, but I must do what I can. Above all, I must pray for we know that prayer can move the most hardened heart.

I must share what I have. I must cast my bread on the water. Anything that I have that I do not need but hoard anyway is a sin against those in want. Too long, Beloved, have we made excuses for storing up for a rainy day, while many will not live to see another sun rise. Apathy and indifference are the bane of most of our lives.

Lord, give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to serve, feet to go where we are needed, and above all, a heart to love. So on the day when You come to judge the living and the dead, I may be counted among the sheep on the right whom You will welcome into the home of Your Father. 

Thus says the Lord:
Share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
clothe the man you see to be naked
and do not turn from your own kin.
Then will your light shine like the dawn
and your wound be quickly healed over.
Your integrity will go before you
and the glory of the Lord behind you.
Cry, and the Lord will answer;
call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.

PSALM 111(112):4-9

The good man is a light in the darkness for the upright.

He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.

The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.
He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.

With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.

The good man is a light in the darkness for the upright.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5

My Soul's Beloved,

Too many of us, I included, mistakenly think we need degrees and certificates, and be Scripture and theology scholars before we open our mouths to evangelize. This is not just a lie but an excuse to justify our negligence in carrying out the mission You entrusted to us to preach the Gospel by our lives. All we need to do is to testify clearly what You have done for us. How You saved us, how You stretched out Your hand and saved us from the pit of destruction. We just need to tell others our story of how You came to us and rescued us. We allow ourselves to be tempted into believing that we need special gifts to evangelise; however, St. Paul, the greatest evangelizer of all time, clearly refutes this idea. We just need to tell our story. 

To do this effectively, I need to turn my gaze away from myself, my self-consciousness, and my fears of inadequacy and rejection. Nothing is more important than to share with someone who is struggling that there is hope. My story is the most powerful testimony of how God has loved me, cared for me, and saved me, and how I experience joy and peace in the midst of tribulations. It is a story of hope that many need to hear and experience for themselves, and I need to tell it because it is mine, and no one can tell it more effectively than me. 

When I came to you, brothers, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

MATTHEW 5:13-16

My Soul's Beloved, 

I am a member of Your Body. I belong to the Church You founded. I am baptized, and by virtue of my baptism, and because You are my Brother, I am an adopted daughter of Your Abba whom You have taught to call my Abba. As a child of God, I receive a share in Your inheritance as co-heir with You. This is the work of salvation that You wrought for me by Your life, passion, death, and glorious resurrection into heaven. 

The Holy Spirit makes His home in me, and because I am united to You and the Father in the Holy Spirit, I must be salt and light in the world. If I do not fulfill the mission that being a child of God imposes on me, then I am good for nothing. Like adulterated salt and a light that is hidden under a lamp-stand, I fail to fulfill the purpose for which I was created, redeemed, and sanctified. When You come again in glory, Lord, if I am numbered among the sheep on the left, I will have no one to blame but myself for not fulfilling the mission for which I was created. I alone will be responsible for being damned forever.

Keep me faithful, Beloved, to the end. You know how weak and frail I am. Keep me in Your Sacred Heart, act through me as I rest in You.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

FEAST OF ST. AGATHA, VIRGIN & MARTHA, ON THURSDAY OF WEEK 4 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 KINGS 2:1-4,10-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

David was a very poor foreshadowing of You, our Lord, God, and King. You are the Son of David to whom all the prophecies referred, and You are so much more than that. You are, in fact, the Son of the Living God, the Eternal Word of the Father, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, the Savior and Redeemer. You are the visible and tangible Love of the Father revealed to us most powerfully on the crucifix and even more powerfully through Your abiding Presence in all the Holy Eucharist in all the tabernacles of the world.

As David's life was ending, he called his son Solomon and advised him how to live his life if he was to enjoy to the fullest all the promises that God had made concerning Solomon, his son. “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.” Sadly, although Solomon began well he ended very, very badly because he lost sight of the fact that all blessing come to us from God and when we sin, sin gravely, sin continuously adding mortal sin upon mortal sin we alone are responsible for actively blocking God's infinite love, mercy, gifts, and blessings to flow into our lives and transform them.

If only we paid heed to the good advice given to us, we would save ourselves so much heartache, heartbreak, and grief. Sadly, we choose to follow the world. We do not wish to stand out or be made to feel ridiculous because we live our faith openly among those we call friends. We are prepared to imperil our souls eternally because we refuse to take Your commandments, which are given to us for our good, seriously. How foolish and stupid we are, Lord, and how it must break Your Heart that we have eyes but do not see, ears but do not hear, and a heart that refuses to believe.

As David’s life drew to its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon, ‘I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. Observe the injunctions of the Lord your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his customs and his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that the Lord may fulfil the promise he made me, “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.”’

  So David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David. David’s reign over Israel lasted forty years: he reigned in Hebron for seven years, and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.

  Solomon was seated upon the throne of David, and his sovereignty was securely established.

PSALM- 1 CHRONICLES 29:10-12

You, Lord, are the ruler of all.

May you be blessed, O Lord,
the God of Israel, our father,
for ever, for ages unending!

Yours, Lord, are greatness and power,
and splendour, triumph, and glory.
All is yours, in heaven and on earth.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are supreme above all.
Both honour and riches come from you.

You are the ruler of all,
from your hand come strength and power;
from your hand come greatness and might.

You, Lord, are the ruler of all.

MARK 6:7-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

Whenever we make a journey, we make our travel cumbersome by carrying far more than we could ever need on the off-chance that we might. How foolish is that? We lug around and tire ourselves with this needless baggage when we could travel easily, lightly, and freely without it. Sadly, we refuse to believe that You are Jehovah Jirah. We refuse to trust in Your providence. We refuse to take You at Your Word, the power of which, when uttered by the Creator, brought all things into being.

The Apostles witnessed the power of Your Word, which effected what You commanded. What You said came to be, no matter what it was that You declared Your Word over - the body, the soul, the spirit, mind, the elements of nature. You fed the five thousand with 3 loaves and 5 fish. You commanded the storm, and the waves subsided, and the winds became a gentle breeze. You turned six stone water jars filled with water at the wedding in Cana into approximately 20 to 30 gallons of delicious wine. Your Word provides all who believe with all we need in superabundance. Your Word, O Lord, is truth, and each of us who is baptized and grafted to Your Body is sanctified by this Truth. When we claim the power of Your Word in faith, we too receive the power of this Word to change our lives from ordinary to extraordinary, just like the Twelve. 

Thank You, my Lord and my God, for all You have done for Your Church and for all who belong to her. Grant, O Lord, that all Christians come to her, find their home in her, and Your prayer for unity, which the Father has already heard and answered, become visible here and now rather than later.

Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.

4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven. MT 5:12A

ZEPHANIAH 2:3,3:12-13

My Soul's Beloved,

Humility is the hallmark of saints. Nothing we ever do will be pleasing to You, O Lord, or to the Father and the Holy Spirit if it lacks the sweet fragrance of humility. You, O Lord our God, are humble; how can we poor, sinful, frail, weak creatures dare to be anything else? Pride cost Lucifer and his minions the glorious life that was theirs, and hell will be the reward of those who refuse to humble themselves before God. St. Paul reminds us so eloquently to have the same mind as Yours:

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

    did not regard equality with God

    as something to be exploited,

7but emptied himself,

    taking the form of a slave,

    being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8     he humbled himself

    and became obedient to the point of death—

    even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him

    and gave him the name

    that is above every name,

10so that at the name of Jesus

    every knee should bend,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

    that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father. PH 2:6-11

Beloved Lord, our days are numbered. Grant us the grace, the courage, and the strength to live them out in fear and trembling and not take our salvation for granted. Keep our gaze fixed on You, O Lord, who from the moment of Your conception until Your glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven have given us an example of the ultimate reward of authentic humility.

Seek the Lord,
all you, the humble of the earth,
who obey his commands.
Seek integrity,
seek humility:
you may perhaps find shelter
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
In your midst I will leave
a humble and lowly people,
and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
They will do no wrong,
will tell no lies;
and the perjured tongue will no longer
be found in their mouths.
But they will be able to graze and rest
with no one to disturb them.

PSALM 145(146):6-10

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

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

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

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31

MATTHEW 5:1-12a