SATURDAY BEFORE ASCENSION SUNDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree,
has risen from the tomb.

ACTS 18:23-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

St. Luke, in his writing on the Acts of the Apostles, especially St. Paul, brushes with very broad strokes, but there is so much more to all that he is saying about Paul traveling to different places and spreading the Gospel of Life and Light. All too often, he was forced to leave because of persecution, envy, and jealousy of the Jews, and You used all these hardships so he could preach and teach the Good News wherever his journeys took him. Only a real study of the apostleship of Paul will reveal the blood, sweat, tears, and agony that he underwent in carrying out the mission entrusted to him directly at Your command.

Apollos, on the other hand, has heard of You, believes in You, and the fire of zeal burns in his soul so greatly that he can barely contain himself as he preaches eloquently all that he knows of the scriptures. However, Priscilla and Aquila, gauged that, 'though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.' Do we act as Priscilla and Aquila did? Do we take under our wing and mentor those who need further guidance so they can flourish and make even greater progress in their missionary endeavours? Honestly, most of us would prefer to make excuses and not get involved.

How much more powerful and fruitful our own lives as well as those we mentor, would become if we are on fire with zeal to spread the Gospel. How greatly we would benefit from good personal study of the truths of our faith, and how much more effectively we would be able to express that faith to others? Holy Spirit, grant us all the graces and gifts we need to be effective teachers, preachers, and above all, better witnesses to the Good News by the quiet conviction that shines through in our daily, ordinary lives, as we carry out our duties gladly and promptly as You guide and direct us to.

Paul came down to Antioch, where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.
An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.
When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God’s grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

PSALM 46(47):2-3,8-10

God is king of all the earth.

All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.

God is king of all the earth,
sing praise with all your skill.
God is king over the nations;
God reigns on his holy throne.
!
The princes of the people are assembled
with the people of Abraham’s God.
The rulers of the earth belong to God,
to God who reigns over all.

God is king of all the earth.

JOHN 16:23-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

We ought not to misunderstand what You are saying to Your Apostles and to us, ‘I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name. Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.' The more we advance in our faith, the more we will be convinced that it is not so much temporal things that will be granted to us as spiritual gifts, that the Holy Spirit is eager to grant us if we ask. 

Thank You, Lord, that we are alive in this day and age when we understand the whole of salvation history more fully than ever before. Thank You for the Church Fathers, for theologians, for scholars, and for ordinary men and women who make the study of the Word of God their life's work and share that treasure with all. Bless their efforts, O Lord, and grant that we too may increase our own knowledge and understanding of the treasures of the faith and share it with those around us, most importantly, by the way we witness to it with our lives.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.
Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.
I have been telling you all this in metaphors,
the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in metaphors;
but tell you about the Father in plain words.
When that day comes you will ask in my name;
and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you,
because the Father himself loves you for loving me
and believing that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world
and now I leave the world to go to the Father.’

FRIDAY BEFORE ASCENSION SUNDAY - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Christ has risen, he who created all things,
and has granted his mercy to men.

ACTS 18:9-18

My Soul's Beloved, 

Thank You, Lord, for the consolations You give those whom You call, anoint, and consecrate to carry out the mission that You entrust to them. Without these, O Lord, it would be very hard to spread the Good News, for the enemies of Truth abound everywhere. Paul was familiar with persecution, floggings, imprisonment, and being ostracised from the leaders of the Jewish community wherever he went. This is why he needed to be strengthened by Your words of consolation. Beloved, to all of us You say the same as well, over and over again. 'Do not be afraid.' When we carry out Your will, Lord, You are with us. Angels stand guard over us to protect us. Not a hair of our head will be harmed unless it is for the greater glory of God. And from all suffering, You have the power to draw immense good.

Your words of encouragement so strengthened Paul that he lived in and preached in Corinth for eighteen months. As we can see, it was not without trouble, for the envious among the Jews were always stirring up trouble. But Your words of consolation stayed with him, and the Holy Spirit was at work in him.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, to each of us is given a mission to preach, teach, and live the Gospel, according to our vocation in life. We will be called to account as to our faithfulness in doing so. Beloved, when the Day of Judgement arrives, may we not be found wanting. Amen.

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.
But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.
After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

PSALM 46(47):2-7

God is king of all the earth.

All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
given to Jacob out of love.

God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God is king of all the earth.

JOHN 16:20-23

My Soul's Beloved, 

What You said to Your disciples at the Last Supper discourse, You say to each of us today. As long as we are in the world, we must hold ourselves apart from its wanton hedonism, selfish desires, and the depraved insistence of the vast majority who embrace the ways of the world and the ungodly. Life is more than food and drink; it is a life lived in the Holy Spirit, who must be given complete freedom and autonomy over our lives if we are to have the courage to live the Gospel in every season of our lives. 

It is the faithful Christian who keeps the commandments and whose life is a reflection of the Beatitudes who is anathema to the wicked and the spiritually bankrupt. A good Christian who follows closely after You is a silent witness to their sinful lives, and they hate that with a hatred that is often murderous. Yet Lord, we must never be afraid, for we have Your assurance that we will share in Your victory and triumph when our journey in this valley of tears comes to a close and we will live with You forever.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’