Daily Mass Readings – Monday, 23 November 2026

1 And I beheld, and lo a lamb stood upon mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.

2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the noise of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder; and the voice which I heard, was as the voice of harpers, harping on their harps.

3 And they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand, who were purchased from the earth.

4b These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb:

5 And in their mouth there was found no lie; for they are without spot before the throne of God.

R. (6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

1bc The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: the world, and all they that dwell therein.

2 For he hath founded it upon the seas; and hath prepared it upon the rivers.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord: or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

42a, 44 Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

1 And looking on, he saw the rich men cast their gifts into the treasury.

2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in two brass mites.

3 And he said: Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4 For all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings of God: but she of her want, hath cast in all the living that she had.

The readings point to a heart that belongs wholly to God. The people gathered before the Lamb bear his name and the name of the Father; they follow him wherever he goes, and truth is found in their mouths. The psalm describes them as those who seek God’s face with clean hearts and innocent hands. This is a life shaped by desire for God, expressed in faithful action.

Jesus shows what such devotion can look like in the poor widow. Her offering is small in the eyes of the world, yet it carries the weight of her entire life. Others gave from abundance; she entrusted to God what she needed for herself. Her gift reveals that love is measured less by appearance than by the surrender of the heart. “Stay awake,” the Gospel acclamation says, because discipleship requires attentiveness to the Lord’s coming and to the quiet opportunities before us. We may not have much to offer, but we can give God our truthfulness, our trust, and the next faithful step. A heart that seeks his face learns to recognize that nothing given to God in love is insignificant.

Lord Jesus, Lamb of God, write your name upon my heart and teach me to follow you wherever you lead. Purify my desires, keep my words truthful, and make me attentive to your presence and your coming. Free me from measuring my offering by its size or by the praise it receives. Give me the widow’s trusting generosity, so that I may place before you what I have, even when it seems small. May I seek your face with an undivided heart and remain faithful in the quiet choices of each day. Amen.