THURSDAY OF WEEK 3 IN LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JOEL 2:12-13

JEREMIAH 7:23-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

From the opening lines in the Book of Genesis to its closing in the Book of Revelation, the triune God reveals Himself to us clearly and unmistakably. We have chosen to be blind and obtuse. We have chosen to go our own way. We have chosen to heed our own fallen instincts and deliberately walk away from Wisdom, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. You came to take by the hand, not angels but us, human beings, but we have ignored Your outstretched hand and instead wandered, like the prodigal son, far away from home to live a life of licentiousness and depravity. 

In this holy season of Lent, the Church reminds us that we are created in Your image and likeness, and we can never find happiness apart from You. We have to only look at our war-torn, violence-ridden world to see the fruit of lawlessness. We are governed by power-hungry, ruthless, and wicked people, and this is the result of breaking every one of God's commandments generation after generation. 

Just as Abraham pleaded with You to have pity for the sake of 10 good people and to hold back Your wrath so we will not be totally annihilated, I too plead with You, Beloved, for the sake of the faithful few to have mercy on the many. We lift up Your Passion to the Father and for Your sake and the sake of Your atoning sacrifice, to see Your most Precious Blood covering us sinners, and lift Your hand of chastisement and grant us pardon, healing, and peace.

These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.
But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”

PSALM 94(95):1-2,6-9

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

LUKE 11:14-23

My Soul's Beloved, 

Where You are, there is the Kingdom of God. When You live and reign in us, the Kingdom of God is in us. When Christian nations give You, the Christ, the glory, the honor, the power, and the obedience and allegiance due to You, then in these nations will the Kingdom of God flourish and spread. Sadly, in our present age, the opposite is true. We have distanced ourselves from You in every possible way and this is why the reign of darkness has sucked all the light from our lives and from almost every nation in the world.

Nations are warring against nations, and people of different religions, different languages, and different cultural backgrounds are warring against each other, and our world today is a reflection of this hatred and suspicion of each other on a global scale. The victims are the poor caught in the crosshairs of power-hungry, wicked, stubborn, and vindictive leaders.  

Satan is having a field day, pitting one group against another, and the division sown by evil is the cause of all that is wrong in our world. Have mercy on the faithful, O Lord, and in Your tender mercy and compassion, save us from the destruction that evil is hell-bent on visiting on us.

Heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus' sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’

TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JOEL 2:12-13

DANIEL 3:25,34-43

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are our Covenant between God and His people. We, the Church, You founded on the Rock of Peter with You as its Cornerstone, are the New Israel, the new people of God. We begin as a grain of wheat that died and gave life in abundance to all who believe in You, hope in You, adore You, and love You. We are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You, O Lord, as willed by Your Father, have become the means by which every man, woman, and child across nations, cutting across all barriers, cultures, and languages, invite us to become members of Your Body, children of the Father, and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of God. Every prophecy of Azariah as he sang Your praises in the midst of the fire that did not burn nor even singe them, is by the power of the Holy Spirit, and all the prophecies of Daniel and every one of the prophets in the Old Testament is realized in You, O Lord, our God.

We are Your people. We are the sheep of Your pasture. It is we whom You feed with Your Flesh and quench our thirst on Your Blood. Out of Your side pours life-giving water, and in this wonderful tide of unending grace, we are baptized, confirmed, healed, forgiven, and raised to new life. Sacramental grace accompanies us until we close our eyes on earth and are awakened in Your glorious Presence in heaven. You, O Lord, are our prize and our joy. In You alone is our peace, our hope, our reconciliation with the Father, and in You we will find our final and eternal home.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for all You have done for us who are the new people of God. Thank You for laying down Your life for us, entering into our death, and for raising us up to new life in You. 

Azariah stood in the heart of the fire, and he began to pray:
Oh! Do not abandon us for ever,
for the sake of your name;
do not repudiate your covenant,
do not withdraw your favour from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your friend,
of Isaac your servant,
and of Israel your holy one,
to whom you promised descendants as countless as the stars of heaven
and as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Lord, now we are the least of all the nations,
now we are despised throughout the world, today, because of our sins.
We have at this time no leader, no prophet, no prince,
no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense,
no place where we can offer you the first-fruits
and win your favour.
But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you
as holocausts of rams and bullocks,
as thousands of fattened lambs:
such let our sacrifice be to you today,
and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly,
since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.
And now we put our whole heart into following you,
into fearing you and seeking your face once more.
Do not disappoint us;
treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle
and very merciful.
Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds,
let your name win glory, Lord.

PSALM 24(25):4-6,7a-9

Remember your mercy, Lord.

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.

Remember your mercy, Lord,
and the love you have shown from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth.
In your love remember me.

The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.

Remember your mercy, Lord.

MATTHEW 18:21-35

My Soul's Beloved, 

Peter posed this question to You and expected You to concur with him. Your response is nothing short of flabbergasting. ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ You replied, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.’ You then went on to give us a parable about forgiveness that reveals to us the heart of our merciful God towards sinners.

The servant in the parable represents every sinner. He owed his master the astronomical sum of ten thousand talents. It was an amount that he could not pay back in his lifetime. Our sins are a grave offence against the goodness of God, and yet when we approach the throne of mercy and grace with repentant, contrite, and humble hearts, You O Lord, readily forgive our sins and throw our sins in the vast ocean of Your mercy, never to remember them again. We, in turn, ought to treat those who sin against us with the same mercy and compassion; sadly, we don't. And this is why, over and over again, You remind us, especially in the Lord's Prayer, that in the measure that we forgive, we will be forgiven. Lord, grant us this grace today, to forgive the offences caused to us, both real and imagined, then we will be confident that You will remember our sins no more. Thank You, Lord.

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’

MONDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption. PS 129:5, 7

2 KINGS 5:1-15

My Soul's Beloved, 

There is much You say to us through this passage in Sacred Scripture. Naaman was not a Jew; he had leprosy; he was a man who enjoyed his king's favor; he was successful in war, and this was because the Lord granted him victory. He enjoyed the king's favor only because God had blessed him with success in battle. You, O Lord our God, work in mysterious ways, and while we may not always view the crosses sent our way as a blessing, You have the power to draw immense good from them. The little Jew girl was taken as a slave, and young though she was, she knew the power of the God of Israel and made it known to her mistress that if her master would only go there, he would be healed. 

Naaman not only believed what the girl said but also acted on it. Loading himself with money and gifts, he went to Israel, the king of Israel, however, was unhappy, for unlike the slave girl, he had forgotten the God he worshipped had power to heal. He was afraid that the king of Aram was spoiling for a fight with him and tore his garments. When the prophet Elisha heard of it, he reminded the king that God was alive and His power to perform miracles was given to His prophet. So the proud and haughty Naaman was sent to the prophet, and when he sent a messenger to meet him, saying, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more,’ he was affronted and angry. He expected to be treated with pomp and circumstance; instead, his pride was wounded, and he felt insulted and dismissed after receiving instructions on what he should do. Ranting and raving before his servants, he was gently reminded by them,  ‘My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, “Bathe, and you will become clean.”’ Reason and common sense won the day; he did as he was told, and humility and obedience obtained for him the healing he longed for.

Beloved Jesus, our souls are scarred with the sin of leprosy, yet so many of us refuse, like Naaman, to receive the simple and effective remedy of healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They lack the humility to do as You ask and show themselves to the priest and hear those consoling words after showing him our wounds, "I absolve you from your sins. Go in peace." 

Naaman was healed completely, and he returned home determined to worship the God of Israel, the true God, and Him alone. Thank You, Beloved, for the gift of faith in the Church You founded, for salvation is found in her alone.

Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man was a leper.
Now on one of their raids, the Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israel a little girl who had become a servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.’
Naaman went and told his master. ‘This and this’ he reported ‘is what the girl from the land of Israel said.’
‘Go by all means,’ said the king of Aram ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’
So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes. He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read: ‘With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments. ‘Am I a god to give death and life,’ he said ‘that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy? Listen to this, and take note of it and see how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.’
When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king, ‘Why did you tear your garments? Let him come to me, and he will find there is a prophet in Israel.’
So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.’
But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, ‘Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part. Surely Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I not bathe in them and become clean?’ And he turned round and went off in a rage.
But his servants approached him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, “Bathe, and you will become clean.”’
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.
Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.’

PSALM 41(42):2-3,42:3-4

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?

Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?

LUKE 4:24-30

My Soul's Beloved, 

People define us by what they knew of us a long time ago. While we have grown, evolved, and are now quite different, their view of us is frozen, and more often than not, they refuse to change their perspective and accept us for who we are in the here and now. Often, when we change for the better, our lives become an irritant to them; they dislike what their conscience is telling them, hence they lash out at the one who reminds them of who and what they really are. This is just what You experienced when You returned to Your hometown in Nazareth.  

The people who came to the synagogue watched You grow from a child to manhood, working alongside Your father, Joseph. They knew Your mama Mary. Some of the women in the area were her friends, and now that You had returned, even though they heard of the miracles You were performing in the neighboring towns, they still refused to really see You. 

This is true of our own experiences, Lord. We freeze people in their past sinful lives, we recall their past when we see them again, perhaps decades later, and we refuse to see them as they have now evolved into the saintly and godlike people they have grown to be. We spread calumny and ostracise them, and like Your townsfolk were prepared to do, drag them to the top of a high cliff, throw them off, and destroy them. You slipped away. It was, perhaps to their eternal loss, that they rejected You.

Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue: ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

3RD SUNDAY IN LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Lord, you are really the saviour of the world:
give me the living water, so that I may never get thirsty. JN4:42, 15

EXODUS 17:3-7

My Soul's Beloved,

Just like the people in the desert who complained ceaselessly at every hardship they face, we too, when troubles come, as they do so often, fail to suffer with patience and with faith. When our children or those we love are faced with great trials, instead of praying, praising, thanking, and trusting You, we lose heart, become despondent, are troubled, and complain constantly to anyone who will hear. If our prayers are not answered as quickly as we desire and in the manner we desire, we become dispirited, our hearts are heavy, gloom settles heavily on our countenance, and we lose our joy and our peace. We quickly forget all the times when You have blessed us abundantly and far more than we deserve in the time of our tribulation.

Loving Lord, I too am guilty of forgetting past blessings, mercies, and Your munificence, even when I was undeserving. Help me to count my blessings daily and to praise You for every one of them. If I constantly recall Your goodness to me, when the time comes for You to lay a cross on me or on those I love, I will bear them with patience, knowing that in the end, when the purpose of the trial is fulfilled, You will bless, heal, renew, restore, strenghten, purify, and make whole, filling us once more with numerous blessings joy and peace according to Your riches and mercy. Thank You, Lord.

Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt?’ they said. ‘Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle?’
Moses appealed to the Lord. ‘How am I to deal with this people?” he said. ‘A little more and they will stone me!’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take with you some of the elders of Israel and move on to the forefront of the people; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be standing before you there on the rock, at Horeb. You must strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.’ This is what Moses did, in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah because of the grumbling of the sons of Israel and because they put the Lord to the test by saying, ‘Is the Lord with us, or not?’

PSALM 94(95):1-2,6-9

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

ROMANS 5:1-2,5-8

My Soul's Beloved, 

Thank You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for creating me and for every member of my family. We were created for an eternal destiny of joy in Your presence. Our first parents not only robbed us of our inheritance, but there was no way that we could find our way back to You and receive what You had always intended to give. Their sin cut us off from grace forever, and we were condemned to live apart from You, who are the source and giver of life.

You have revealed to us,  O Eternal Word of the Father, that God so loved the world that He gave You, His only Son, to redeem and save us, or else we would perish forever.  Were it not for Your fiat to Your Father's will, Beloved, we would be wanderers on the face of the earth like Cain, the Israelites wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, and like the people of God who, over and over again, were taken into captivity by their enemies.

Thank  You, Father, for willing our redemption, thank You, Son of God, for saying yes to the will of Your Father, and thank You, Holy Spirit love between the Father and Son, for only divine love could make it possible. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. And this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

JOHN 4:5-42

My Soul's Beloved, 

While remaining God, becoming man through the incarnation, You experienced the gamut of human emotions. You were hungry, thirsty, tired, angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, joyful, filled with pity, compassion, tender love, and on occasion, You wept. In today's Sunday Gospel, taken from the evangelist John, we are told of the encounter between You and the Samaritan woman at the well. It was noon when You and the disciples reached the town of Sychar in Samaria. It was noon, and You were hot and tired from the journey. The disciples left You seated by the well and went into the town to buy food. This encounter was planned in eternity. Though the unhappy woman did not know it, her life was about to change forever. She was privileged to recognize You as the Messiah and become the first evangelist to carry the Good News to everyone in the town who had rejected her and made her life a misery because she was a public sinner. 

It is a great blessing, Lord, that nothing is hidden from You, which means that when we approach You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, You are already there waiting for us, just as You waited for the Samaritan woman at the well. When we are humble, contrite, and repentant, and resolve firmly, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more, You cast all our sins behind Your back and remember them no more. 

Thank You, Beloved, for this healing Sacrament of mercy and grace. Grant that we make frequent use of it, so even if death comes suddenly and unexpectedly, we will be in a state of grace and need have no anxiety or fear of being separated from You forever.

Beloved, our hideous past, all our faults and failings, all our grievous sins are as nothing when God heaps on us His mercy and love. You sought her out, Lord, just as You seek all who are lost, and having found us, You heal us, wash away all our guilt, and restore us once again as members of God's family.

Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied:
‘If you only knew what God is offering
and who it is that is saying to you:
Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask,
and he would have given you living water.’
‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’ Jesus replied:
‘Whoever drinks this water
will get thirsty again;
but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give
will never be thirsty again:
the water that I shall give
will turn into a spring inside him,
welling up to eternal life.’
‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.’ ‘Go and call your husband’ said Jesus to her ‘and come back here.’ The woman answered, ‘I have no husband.’ He said to her, ‘You are right to say, “I have no husband”; for although you have had five, the one you have now is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.’ ‘I see you are a prophet, sir’ said the woman. ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said:
‘Believe me, woman,
the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know;
we worship what we do know:
for salvation comes from the Jews.
But the hour will come
– in fact it is here already –
when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth:
that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants.
God is spirit,
and those who worship
must worship in spirit and truth.’
The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything.’ ‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’
At this point his disciples returned, and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, though none of them asked, ‘What do you want from her?’ or, ‘Why are you talking to her?’ The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people. ‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did; I wonder if he is the Christ?’ This brought people out of the town and they started walking towards him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, do have something to eat; but he said, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples asked one another, ‘Has someone been bringing him food?’ But Jesus said:
‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me,
and to complete his work.
Have you not got a saying:
Four months and then the harvest?
Well, I tell you:
Look around you, look at the fields;
already they are white, ready for harvest!
Already the reaper is being paid his wages,
already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life,
and thus sower and reaper rejoice together.
For here the proverb holds good:
one sows, another reaps;
I sent you to reap a harvest you had not worked for.
Others worked for it;
and you have come into the rewards of their trouble.’
Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said, ‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe; and they said to the woman, ‘Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world.’

TUESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. EZK 18:31

ISAIAH 1:10,16-20

My Soul's Beloved, 

We are created for life in You, for joy, for fullness in all the good things that were created for our fulfilment. All this is possible only if we live a life pleasing to You. Beloved, as long as we are in a right relationship with You and with each other, we will be happy, we will be blessed, we will experience lasting peace only if we listen to Your Word and keep it. Sin brings death. Sin separates us from You. Sin opens wide the door to evil and gives it a home, and when sin reigns in us, nothing good remains.

The worldly are extremely good at living compromised lives and justifying their choices, and the fruit of these choices is evident in the culture, hedonism, and idolatry of material things. Humanity and compassion are sacrificed on the altar of self-interest and personal gain, and there have never been more unhappy people than there are now. All who attempt to live their lives with You are doomed to be restless and dissatisfied.

The remedy is to believe in You and in Your Word. To turn away from evil and do good. To return to You with all our hearts and begin anew. You are the God of second chances, and we never run out of them for as long as we are alive. Have mercy on us, O Lord, and grant us the wisdom to repent and be healed and receive in abundance every good and perfect gift so we can build Your Kingdom of love, peace, and joy in the world. 

Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.
‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good,
search for justice,
help the oppressed,
be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.
‘Come now, let us talk this over,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
‘If you are willing to obey,
you shall eat the good things of the earth.
But if you persist in rebellion,
the sword shall eat you instead.’

PSALM 49(50):8-9,16-17,21,23

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.

‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,

‘You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

MATTHEW 23:1-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

There is no easy or better way to enter into a right relationship with You than humility. Nothing is so pleasing to God our Father than that we imitate You in Your sublime humility in taking on Yourself the punishment that was ours in totality, our sins, our guilt, our shame, all our sorrows, and all the ways in which man dehumanises man by willingly submitting Yourself to the cruelty and injustice of evil men. 

The world is filled with Pharisees and Sadducees, and Scribes as well as Pontius Pilates. They are only concerned with ensuring that nothing interferes with the way they live their lives of total compromise with the Word of God. They use their positions of power, whether ecclesial or secular, not just for personal gain, but use them as a whip against the poor, the illiterate, and the ignorant.

Lord Jesus, You suffered every deprivation, humiliation, and horrific suffering as the Son of Man, as is the lot of so many in the world, so no one can say that You do not understand. You do. This is why we can come to You with any human experience and be confident that You will understand, having suffered it all Yourself.

Thank You, Jesus. This Lent, give us a better understanding and appreciation of what our salvation cost You so we can love You more and be more appreciative of all You have done to redeem us.

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

SATURDAY IN THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation. 2COR 6:2

DEUTERONOMY 26:16-19

My Soul's Beloved, 

The only reason we faithfully keep all Your commandments is love, not fear, for fear has no place in love. To love You as we ought with our whole heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit is the reason for which God created us in love, and the only acceptable response to Your love is to do all You command because in this is life, joy, and peace. Disobey, as our first parents did, and we die. For all sin brings death and separation from You, our Lord and God, from whom flows life and love. Apart from You, we are nothing.

The world is in a sorry mess, and so is the Church You founded because her shepherds have failed miserably in caring for Your sheep entrusted to her care. They have not obeyed Your Commandments, and because of their disobedience, they preach a watered-down version of them. The Commandments of God are the gold standard by which not just Christians but all men must live by and model their lives on if the world is to know true joy and peace. But many in the Church do, Lord, and for those who strive after holiness and perfection, You will bless abundantly and grant every grace and help to grow in these virtues.

Stay with us, Lord, and help us, for without You we have no hope of living a life pleasing to God. Take us by the hand as You promised, and lead us at last safely home to the Kingdom of God.

Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’

PSALM 118(119):1-2,4-5,7-8

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.

I will thank you with an upright heart
as I learn your decrees.
I will obey your statutes;
do not forsake me.

They are happy who follow God’s law!

MATTHEW 5:43-48

My Soul's Beloved, 

You invite us to be like Your Father whom You have taught to call our Father as well. To be like our Abba, we must emulate Him as children do, and all God's characteristics are perfectly reflected in You, His only, well-beloved, Firstborn Son. In modeling my life on Yours, I will reflect God's holiness and perfection to some degree as I strive to become like You more and more each day. You and I both know, my Lord, that I cannot succeed because I am weak, I am filled with concupiscence, and I am easy prey for all the wily snares the devil sets for me. However, it is in the relentless striving for holiness and perfection that You are well-pleased. You know my limitations. You know all my frailties, and You who are always yoked to me will help me. I am not alone, You are always with me.

It is hard sometimes not to let my fallen nature overpower the good I know that I must do. I get impatient. I lack humility. I bristle in my spirit when I am called to serve with a glad heart. Help me, Lord. You came to serve, not to be served, and to give Your life as a ransom for many. Grant me the grace to be grateful for every opportunity presented to me, every moment of every day to be a servant like You.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT - FEAST OF ST. GREGORY OF NAREK, ABBOT & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. EZK 18:31

EZEKIEL 18:21-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

All sinners, no matter how gravely they have sinned, rejoice at the assurance that the Word of God gives them today. Although our sins are like scarlet, if we return to You with a contrite and humble heart, resolving to sin no more with Your help, You will welcome the sinner just as the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son welcomed his wayward, sinful son.

Beloved, You know that we are weak. Original sin is our inheritance from our first parents, and though it is washed away by the waters of baptism, its effects remain. We are rendered weak and susceptible to temptations. We must constantly battle the lure of the world, the sinful culture, as well as our flesh, and the traps set by the devil to ensnare us and snatch us at our weakest. Thanks be to God, Lord, that we have You and the Holy Spirit, we have the love of our Father God, and we have the wonderful Sacraments that You instituted to help us remain faithful and to begin anew over and over again. You never reject the repentant sinner, no matter how often he falls, but You seek and save the lost, and You joyfully restore us to Your flock. Thank You, Lord, for the gifts of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist that help us on this journey from this life to the life that is to come in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Thus says the Lord:
‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?
‘But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object, “What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’

PSALM 129(130)

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)

Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

MATTHEW 5:20-26

THURSDAY OF 1ST WEEK OF LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A pure heart create for me, O God,
and give me again the joy of your help. PS 50:12, 14

ESTHER 4:17

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is only when we truly understand that You are our only refuge, our only help in times of trials, and that we can rely on no one but You because the help of man is vain. In the world, we are alone for there is no one on earth powerful enough, or tender, compassionate, and loving enough as You, O Lord. In You alone must we always place our faith, hope, and trust, for no man, no matter how great in the world, can ever love as dispassionately as You do. You love us for our own sake. You love us even when we turn our back to You and refuse Your love. Your love is the same today, yesterday, and forever. 

Queen Esther's prayer is a model for all prayer for those who are in dire straits. When we are looking down the barrel of the Enemy, and all seems lost, it never is if we turn to You, cling to You, cry out to You, expressing unabashedly that we are afraid, anxious, distressed, pouring out how we feel. We can be absolutely certain that You will understand, comfort, and provide all the help we need to deliver us just as You helped and delivered Queen Esther and her people. 

Today I come to You, Beloved, with all my trials and my anxieties, pleading with You, God of heaven and earth, to hear and answer me as only You can. I believe in You, I hope in You, and I trust You to take care of all those I love and for whom I pray unceasingly. Thank You, Lord, for never leaving or forsaking me. I believe all Your promises for I know them to be true.

Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:
‘My Lord, our King, the only one,
come to my help, for I am alone
and have no helper but you
and am about to take my life in my hands.
‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family,
that you, Lord, chose
Israel out of all the nations
and our ancestors out of all the people of old times
to be your heritage for ever;
and that you have treated them as you promised.
‘Remember, Lord; reveal yourself
in the time of our distress.
‘As for me, give me courage,
King of gods and master of all power.
Put persuasive words into my mouth
when I face the lion;
change his feeling into hatred for our enemy,
that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand,
and come to my help, for I am alone
and have no one but you, Lord.’

PSALM 137(138):1-3,7-8

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.

You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

MATTHEW 7:7-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are the Eternal Word of the Father, and if the Word of God, issued forth from Him by the Breath of the Holy Spirit, we can rest assured that His Word is true. You have revealed to us that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except by You. Today, You say to us, Your disciples, members of Your Body, that all that we ask will be given, all that we seek, we will find, and when we knock, You will always open the door to us. This means that we always, with no exceptions, have access to Your goodness, mercy, power, and above all, Your love. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us this assurance of Your unchanging, unending love for us, although we are unworthy of such love.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’

WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JOEL 2:12-13

JONAH 3:1-10

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are a God of new beginnings. In You, there is always hope. No matter how far we have sunk in the miry pit of sin, You will hear our cry of repentance, and You will come and save us. Thank You, Lord, that there is no sin so great that cannot be forgiven by Your atoning sacrifice on the Cross of shame. You took on Yourself all our iniquities and made reparation for all our sins, beginning with the sin of Adam to the last man before Your coming in glory. You died, my Lord, so we could live.

Jonah, the second time, was obedient to God's word and set out to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, a pagan city. Although they did not know the true God, the king of Nineveh heard the preaching and the warning that the nation would be destroyed in 40 days, lest they repent. He believed and commanded that men and beasts alike should put on sackcloth and ashes, refrain from food and drink, and repent of all their sins. God relented and did not destroy that nation.

Lord, we are in the season of Lent. A season given to us by the Church to turn away from the world and its distractions, to deny the flesh, to pray constantly to withstand the wiles of the Enemy, to give alms to those in need, and to experience anew the joy of our salvation. My Lord, grant us the grace to persevere in our Lenten observances so we will be renewed, reinvigorated, and refreshed after these 40 days of withdrawal from the world, the flesh, and the devil that without ceasing clamors to take our attention away from You and from our ultimate goal, which is eternal life with You in the Kingdom of God.

The word of the Lord was addressed to Jonah: ‘Up!’ he said ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to them as I told you to.’ Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare: it took three days to cross it. Jonah went on into the city, making a day’s journey. He preached in these words, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.’ And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least. The news reached the king of Nineveh, who rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. A proclamation was then promulgated throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his ministers, as follows: ‘Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked things he has done. Who knows if God will not change his mind and relent, if he will not renounce his burning wrath, so that we do not perish?’ God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour, and God relented: he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.

PSALM 50(51):3-4,12-13,18-19

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.

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.

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.

LUKE 11:29-32

My Soul's Beloved, 

More than 2000 years ago You called that generation a wicked generation who kept asking for signs that God was present and alive among them. If they were wicked then, Lord, how great is the wickedness in our world today. Unprecedented evil has seeped its slimy and grimy way into every area of our lives. Nothing and no one is spared. The wicked prey on the innocent, and no one is spared. The whole world is now Sodom and Gomorrah, and the great chastisement of God is almost upon us. Just as the people in Noah's time were eating and drinking before the great flood wiped them off the face of the earth, so it will be for us if we fail to repent and turn from all our wickedness and come back to God.

There is no greater sign given to the world than the Sign of the Cross. It is the sign of our salvation, or our healing, of life. Those who ask for signs, ignoring the only sign that matters, will perish in their sins. We thank Holy Mother Church for this season in the year when we can reflect, reform, renew, and be born anew as we reflect on Your passion, Your death, and finally the glory of the resurrection. 

The Catholic Church is famous of drawing bigger and bigger crowds on particular feasts. They crawl out of the woodwork and then return to their unholy, passive, grey lives after the great outward show of coming for ashes and Holy Week services, or attending Church services at Christmas and Easter. Open the eyes of all, O Lord to recognize that the greatest sign is already given to us, there is no other, and let this be the hour and the moment of our repentance and return to You with all our hearts.

The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus addressed them:
‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’

TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT - 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

ISAIAH 55:10-11

My Soul's Beloved, 

Thank You for confirming and reinforcing what You have already said to Me in Your Word today. You are a God who delights in giving Your children good gifts. Thank You for all Your promises and for Your assurances that the time for mourning and weeping is at an end. You have spoken, O Eternal Word of the Father. You have spoken words of healing, restoration, and provision, and Your Word always accomplishes what You want it to. 

All that we need, O Lord, You will provide. The whole earth and everything in it relies on You, and You, who look after the sparrows in the air and the lilies in the field, will most surely give all of us all we need in this life and eternal joy in Your Presence in the life to come.

Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’

PSALM 33(34):4-7,16-19

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.

Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The Lord turns his eyes to the just
and his ears to their appeal.

They call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

MATTHEW 6:7-15

My Soul's Beloved, 

Thank You for Your loving assurance that our Father in heaven knows what we need even before we ask Him, and that He delights in His children approaching Him with confidence and making all that we need known to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, what I desire most of all is the salvation of my children, and You and our Heavenly Father desire this with far greater intensity than I ever can. So I will pray, and I will not worry, but have this certainty, that in the end, Your hand and holy arm will save them from the jaws of hell and death and put them on the path of salvation and life.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching Your disciples how to pray in the Lord's Prayer. We begin by acknowledging that God, who is our Father, is God whose abode is in heaven. He is holy and perfect, and we must never for an instant forget that although He is our Abba, He is also God Almighty. It is He who created us in love and knows what we need far better than we do. Thank You for also revealing to us that unless we forgive from our hearts, we will not be forgiven. May we always have this confidence in Him that all that we ask for in Your Name He will give us.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the evil one.
‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’

MONDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT, FEAST OF ST. POLYCARP, BISHOP & MARTYR - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation. 2COR 6:2

LEVITICUS 19:1-2,11-18

My Soul's Beloved, 

God is the gold standard by which we ought to model our lives. You, O Lord, are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You have shown us the way we are to walk, which is the way of the cross and the only way by which we can be saved. You have revealed the Truth of the Love of God by Your Life, and if we embrace this Truth, believing with all our hearts and living it, then we will be filled with the Life of the Holy Spirit, which is a life of grace. 

The commandment is clear, 'Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.' You showed us that, through the incarnation, we can strive after holiness and perfection by crucifying our will and embracing God's in all the circumstances of our lives. The world is filled with liars, cheaters, idolaters, adulterers, murderers, and fornicaters, and the fruit of such abominations is the toxic culture we presently live in. It is a culture that promotes decadence and self-absorption, and the worship of cultural icons and their unhealthy lifestyles.

The good, the holy, the Christlike, are lampooned and mocked, nevertheless many remain steadfast in faith and are a beacon of light to those weary of the world. Lord, hear the prayers of the Church for her children and for the world that in these difficult times, with Your help and power, she will navigate the storms that threaten to destroy her, and finally bring her to safe harbor. 

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
‘“You must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. You must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. You must not exploit or rob your neighbour. You must not keep back the labourer’s wage until next morning. You must not curse the dumb, nor put an obstacle in the blind man’s way, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
‘“You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts. You must neither be partial to the little man nor overawed by the great; you must pass judgement on your neighbour according to justice. You must not slander your own people, and you must not jeopardise your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord. You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you will not take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact vengeance, nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”’

PSALM 18(19):8-10,15

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.

May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.

MATTHEW 25:31-46

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are my Lord, my God, my King, my Savior, my Redeemer, and the Bridegroom of my soul.  You are my Master, my Teacher, my all-in-all, and today You remind me that You are present in every man, woman, and child and every thought, word, deed, and action, whether good or bad done to any of them, You consider done to You. This truth ought to make such an effective impact on me that from this day forth, I must always see You in everyone. Grant me this grace, O Lord, for left to myself, I will forget, and be blind to Your presence in my brothers and sisters. My immortal soul depends on it.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’