Day: March 17, 2015

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.


Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them.

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 4 : 13, 16-18, 22

If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith. For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.

Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written : ‘I will make you father of many nations.’ He is our father in the eyes of Him who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in whom he believed. Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told : ‘See how many will be your descendants.’

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

“He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’ I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.”

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Samuel 7 : 4-5a, 12-14a, 16

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for My Name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son.”

“Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Wednesday, 18 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the relationship between Jesus and His Father in heaven, as Jesus is the Son of God, begotten from the Father, and whom together with the Holy Spirit is part of the inseparable and indivisible Holy Trinity, One God with Three Divine Persons. The Word of God, the Son, was sent into the world in order to save it, through the person of Jesus.

And this is the central theme of this Lenten celebration, and indeed, the very central mystery of our faith itself. For we believe in the Lord who has come down from heaven, in order that we may be saved from the sure threat of death. Death is the consequence for sin, and because of sin, we have been subjected to death and to pain as well as suffering. It is the just punishment for the disobedience which we have shown to our Lord.

But God is willing to have mercy on us, and to forgive us all of our faults and trespasses. For we are all the beloved children of our God, who were beloved over all other creatures. He loves us very much, even as He also hates all of our infidelities and rebelliousness. He is willing to forgive us, but only if we also play our part, on renouncing our wickedness and to sin no more before both God and men alike.

Those who are faithful to the Lord will receive great blessings and graces, and they will have their sins and faults forgiven, because the Lord knows of their righteousness and He knows that in their hearts, they keep always a special place for Him to dwell in, and their ears and hearts are not closed against the ever constant reminders which He had sent to remind us of our sinfulness.

And He continues to urge all those who have yet to turn themselves to His ways to change themselves before it is too late. For when it is too late, when the embrace of death takes us before we are able to repent, then what is left for us will be just punishment for our faults, and as what awaits all those who are wicked, the eternal suffering and despair that all of them suffer in hellfire.

It is clear that God does not want this to be our fate. That is why He gave us constant reminders, and lastly by sending His own Son into the world. Remember the famous passage from the Scripture, that God so loved the world and all of us, so that He sent His only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him may be saved? It was also mentioned that He came not to judge us, but to show us the fullness of God’s mercy and salvation.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, once the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the overseer of the See where most of the most wonderful things in the Scriptures has happened, and where our Lord Himself laid down His life and shed His Blood for our sake and for our salvation. He was a great theologian and servant of God and His Church, and as a leader of God’s faithful, he was devoted to the people entrusted under his care.

He was faithful in his leadership, and despite the heresies that filled the churches of God at that time, with Arianism being at the forefront, he led the people through the difficult times, and he kept their faith strongly within them. His dedication and hard work has helped the people greatly and many souls were saved because of him. St. Cyril had many enemies, many of those desired to bring about his downfall.

But he continued on with his hard work, and through those hard work, much goodness came from that, and many souls who had been at the gates of hell were saved because of what St. Cyril had preached. He defended the true faith and preached against the falsehoods of heresies. He preached true doctrine of the faith, and the orthodox beliefs of the faith, which provided the much needed light and guidance to all those who have lost their way in the darkness of this world.

Therefore, in this holy season of Lent, we are all reminded that we have so much we can do in this world in order to help each other in achieving the path to salvation. There are many things that are in our ability which we can use to help in bringing salvation to all of us, to one another. If we think only about our own salvation, then we truly are selfish and we have no God’s love within us.

If we want to be truly righteous and loving people of God, then we all should show the love of God in our lives, in our own actions, in all the things that we say and do, so that by all of them, we will be found just and worthy, and God will reward us with His everlasting grace and blessings. God be with us all, and may He forgive us sinners our sins, and fill us with His light and with His love. Amen.