ST. CLARE, VIRGIN, ON TUESDAY OF WEEK 19 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
says the Lord,
for I am gentle and humble in heart. MT 11:29

EZEKIEL 2:8-3:4

My Soul's Beloved,

You speak to me all the time through Your Spirit, through my conscience, those around me, the Church, nature - if I am open and attuned to the sound of Your Voice, I will always hear You. Grant me the grace to be attentive, to listen, to discern which voice is Yours and which is not. Help me to be obedient as I humbly surrender and do all You ask of me. I am proud, haughty, self-righteous, easily moved to impatience, annoyance, and sometimes even anger. Lord, if I consider Your Word and I allow myself to be consumed in it and allow it to consume my spirit and direct my life and my will, then I will always remain in Your will. 

Your Word is sweet, O Lord, if we embrace it and allow it to direct and shape our whole lives, granting us direction and wisdom.

I, Ezekiel, heard a voice speaking. It said, ‘You, son of man, listen to the words I say; do not be a rebel like that rebellious set. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.’ I looked. A hand was there, stretching out to me and holding a scroll. He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on back and front; on it was written ‘lamentations, wailings, moanings.’ He said, ‘Son of man, eat what is given to you; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel.’ I opened my mouth; he gave me the scroll to eat and said, ‘Son of man, feed and be satisfied by the scroll I am giving you.’ I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey.

Then he said, ‘Son of man, go to the House of Israel and tell them what I have said.’

PSALM 118(119):14,24,72,103,111,131

Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.

I rejoiced to do your will
as though all riches were mine.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counsellors.

The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Your promise is sweeter to my taste
than honey in the mouth.

Your will is my heritage for ever,
the joy of my heart.
I open my mouth and I sigh
as I yearn for your commands.

Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.

MATTHEW 18:1-5,10,12-14

My Soul's Beloved,

In a world where everyone is jostling for first place and to get ahead, uncaring of who is pushed aside and thrown down on the way to the top, You remind us to have the disposition of a child. The kingdom of God operates differently from the way the world and the worldly-wise operate. Everything about God and the way He works is contrary to the wisdom and the dictates of the world. The small are great, the weak are strong, the meek, the humble, and the obedient will be first, the poor are rich, and those who give up all for the sake of the kingdom will inherit everything. 

Only those who accept the wisdom of God and live it will experience the treasures that the Holy Spirit will dispense to those who bend their heart and will to Yours.

Thank You, Beloved, that even when I am an obstinate, disobedient child, You will not abandon me no matter how far I stray from the fold. You assure me that You will come to seek me, leaving the 99 sheep until You find me, and You will carry me back to the fold. Undeserving as I am of Your love, I am grateful that You love me anyway.

The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
‘See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’

ST. LAWRENCE, DEACON AND MARTYR - 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 8:12bc

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-10

My Soul's Beloved,

Unlike the widow who dropped her last two coppers into the treasury, we calculate, we contemplate, we hedge, we expend far more energy in wondering if we can give of our surplus, and we would never dream of giving so much that it would hurt us to do so. We are so absorbed by the thought that we may not have enough for ourselves that we wind up giving even less than we had planned to. Is it any wonder that our own lives, especially our spiritual lives, are so impoverished? We haggle with our greed and wind up giving nothing.

Haggling is a way of life with us. We want the best of the bargain, so we often haggle even with poor vendors, which can take away the little profit they would have made if we had given them the asking price, and by saving a few coins we think we have won. We are guilty of being particularly mean-minded and mean-spirited when we rob the poor all the while well aware that we have more and can give far more than we do. 

Lord Jesus, if we are not open-handed and open-hearted in our giving of all that is due to both God and to man in all circumstances, our souls will shrivel, our countenance will sour, and our entire demeanour will reflect our mean-spiritedness, making us particularly unattractive in every way to both God and to neighbor.

Teach me, O Lord, to be a cheerful giver, for this is what You love. Grant me the grace that like You I may not stop to count the cost and to give all, especially of myself, until it hurts. I have You, Mama Mary, and all the saints as models. Help me, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to give all whenever I am prompted to do so.

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. And there is no limit to the blessings which God can send you – he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance, and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works. As scripture says: He was free in almsgiving, and gave to the poor: his good deeds will never be forgotten.
The one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide you with all the seed you want and make the harvest of your good deeds a larger one.

PSALM 111(112):1-2,5-9

Happy the man who takes pity and lends.

Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.

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;
he will see the downfall of his foes.

Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.

Happy the man who takes pity and lends.

JOHN 12:24-26

My Soul's Beloved,

There are many ways one can die to oneself. You are the example par excellence. You who are God made Yourself small, poor, humble, subject to Your creatures, and poured Yourself out in total sacrifice, a holocaust, for the salvation of the whole world. I can die to myself, to my flesh and to my will every day, moment by moment, by choosing to do what I ought and doing it cheerfully. 

To deny myself something extra. To walk the extra mile. To give a cheerful and patient answer even when everything within me rebels. To listen attentively even when I do not want to. To understand and remain silent when I am met with opposition, anger, impatience, rudeness, especially when wholly undeserved. Grant me this grace, my Lord, to be aware, watchful, and attentive when faced with numerous instances that come up during the course of the day to choose always to die to myself. The saints have in various ways, some to a greater extent than others, according to their vocation, to be like the grain of wheat that is buried in the dirt and dies in order to bring forth life in its abundance for the greater glory of God.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’