ST.PHILIP NERI, PRIEST ON TUESDAY OF WEEK 8 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

1 PETER 1:10-16

My Soul's Beloved, 

For those outside the fullness of Truth and Grace, living the life of Christ and preached and taught by the Church You founded is hard, for it goes against all that the world, the flesh, and the devil stand for. Even Christians whose spirit is willing to live the Gospel in its fullness find it hard when they come up against these three, and most especially concupiscence. Be holy for I am holy is the call to all the baptized into Your Body, but, Beloved, this is impossible without the continual streams of grace received from the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. This is why, Lord, we who are members of Your Body are not just privileged but infinitely blessed. We can count on grace to assist us, for no one can be holy and imperfect by their own will.

St. Peter reminds us that all that the prophets have said has now come to pass. They longed to see the days in which we live, but they did not. We are here in the age of the Holy Spirit, where He abides, and pours upon and into this Church His fullness of grace, beauty, virtue, goodness, love, and truth. It is the life of the Holy Spirit alive in the Church that makes it invincible against all the dark, demonic powers within and without her that enable her to stand firm. Her foundation is on the Rock, and the wind, the rain, and the storm can try their best to destroy her, but will fail. You, O Lord, will remain with Your Bride until the end of time.

It was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected. It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
Free your minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.

PSALM 97(98):1-4

The Lord has made known his salvation.

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

  has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

  for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

MARK 10:28-31

My Soul's Beloved,

Many whom You call to serve You generously, to give up all that they have for the sake of the Kingdom of God, are afraid to do so, believing that they stand to lose all they have - money, family, status, the temporal joys of the world. These temptations prove too much for them, so they ignore Your call, muzzle the Holy Spirit, and pretend they do not hear or understand. They mistakenly imagine their lives will be greatly impoverished if they lack the temporal goods of the world. They are like the rich young man who left You and went away sad. Their whole lives will be tinged with regret, for they will never know what You would have accomplished through their generous and whole-hearted surrender to Your call.

Today, You say once more to all whom You call to serve You, whatever their vocation may be, whether great or small, that whatever we give up for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel, You will restore a hundredfold and more. Lord, daily and moment by moment, I am invited to follow You more closely and to carry my cross more courageously. Thank You for the graces You provide through the Sacraments to make this possible. Today, Lord, we pray that many young people in the world who hear Your call to surrender their entire lives to You as priests and religious be responsive and say 'Yes.' May they also be aware that they will receive so much more than they can ask for or imagine. You are a generous God, and You love and will reward a cheerful giver.

At that time Peter began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’