Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection June 03, 2026

03rd June 2026 (Wednesday)

Readings of the Day

First Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and selfcontrol. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Psalm 123:1-2ab, 2cdef (R. 1a)

R/. To you, O Lord, have I lifted up my eyes.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: Mark 12:18-27

At that time: Sadducees came to Jesus, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Wednesday – 9th Week in Ordinary Time

Main Point: The fire of faith does not die in a moment. It fades slowly when we stop tending it. Paul tells us to stir it back to life, and the martyrs show us what it looks like when it truly burns.

1. A fire left unattended does not explode. It simply dwindles. The flames sink to embers, the embers turn grey, and the warmth slips away while no one is watching. Paul knows our faith can fade the very same way, and so he writes to wake it up.

2. “Fan into flame the gift of God that is within you,” he tells Timothy. He is reminding a young man that the grace he received is still there, but it needs stirring. Faith is not a fire we light once and forget. It must be tended, fed, and kept alive.

3. Then Paul names the great enemy of that flame. Fear. “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self control.” How often is it fear that keeps us small? Fear of what others think, fear of standing out, fear of the cost of living our faith openly.

4. So Paul says it plainly: “Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord.” Do not hide your faith to keep the peace. He himself is in chains as he writes this, and still he is not ashamed. He has staked everything on the One he trusts.

5. In the Gospel, the Sadducees come with a clever trap. They do not believe in the resurrection, so they invent a story about a woman married to seven brothers, and ask whose wife she will be in heaven. They are trying to make the life to come look foolish.

6. Jesus cuts through it. He tells them they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. Then He says something we must never forget: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Those who belong to God are alive in Him, even now.

7. This is the truth that gave the martyrs their courage. If God is the God of the living, then death is not the end of the story but the door into it. The grave cannot hold those who belong to Him, and so there is nothing left worth being afraid of.

8. Charles Lwanga and his companions were young men, some of them barely more than boys. When the king demanded they betray their faith and their purity, they refused. They were burned alive, singing and praying, because they believed the words Jesus spoke. God is the God of the living.

My Practice: Today, stop letting fear smother your faith into cold ashes. Name the one place where you hide what you believe to keep others comfortable, and fan the flame there instead. Speak the word you have been swallowing. Stand where you have been shrinking. The young martyrs gave their lives without flinching. The least we can do is stop being ashamed.