Day: August 8, 2015

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(Usus Antiquior) Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 August 2015 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-10

Fratres : Notum vobis facio Evangelium, quod praedicavi vobis, quod et accepistis, in quo et statis, per quod et salvamini : qua ratione praedicaverim vobis, si tenetis, nisi frustra credidistis.

Tradidi enim vobis in primis, quod et accepi : quoniam Christus mortuus est pro peccatis nostris secundum Scripturas : et quia sepultus est, et quia resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas : et quia visus est Cephae, et post hoc undecim.

Deinde visus est plus quam quingentis fratribus simul, ex quibus multi manent usque adhuc, quidam autem dormierunt. Deinde visus est Jacobo, deinde Apostolis omnibus : novissime autem omnium tamquam abortivo, visus est et mihi.

Ego enim sum minimus Apostolorum, qui non sum dignus vocari Apostolus, quoniam persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei. Gratia autem Dei sum id quod sum, et gratia ejus in me vacua non fuit.

English translation

Brethren, I make known unto you the gospel which I preached to you, which you have also received, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, and after that by the Eleven.

Then He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once, of whom many remain until this present day, and some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all of the Apostles. And last of all He was also seen by me, as by one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace in me had not been void.

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(Usus Antiquior) Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 August 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Green

Introit

Psalm 67 : 6-7, 36, 2

Deus in loco sancto suo : Deus qui inhabitare facit unanimes in domo : ipse dabit virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae.

Exsurgat Deus, et dissipentur inimici Ejus : et fugiant, qui oderunt eum, a facie Ejus.

Priest : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

God in His holy place; God Who made men of one mind to dwell in a house. He shall give power and strength to His people.

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee from before His face.

Priest : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui, abundantia pietatis Tuae, et merita supplicum excedis et vota : effunde super nos misericordiam Tuam; ut dimittas quae conscientia metuit, et adjicias quod oratio non praesumit. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Almighty, eternal God, You Who in the abundance of Your loving kindness, had exceeded both the deserts and the hopes of Your suppliants, pour forth Your mercy upon us, to take away from us those things which our conscience feared, and to add that which our prayer did not presume to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 August 2015 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about how Moses reminded the people of Israel about how they ought to always remember about God their Lord and Master, who have cared for them so much, and who have provided so much for them in all that they need, so that they prospered and became great. This is necessary because they have often forgotten God’s great love and ended up worshipping the pagan idols and following their pagan neighbours’ ways.

In this we can clearly see that there is a lack of gratitude which the people of Israel, and by extension therefore, all of us as well, on the gratitude which all of us ought to show the Lord our God for His everlasting and continuous love for us, and for all the mercy He had shown us, for every grace and opportunities which He had blessed us with.

We should indeed ask ourselves, whether we have shown gratitude for all that God had done for us in our own lives. Moses reminded the people of Israel not to forget about the Lord for all that He had done, and for all the good things which we have received from Him. But we know how easily we forget Him when we have many goodness with us, and when we celebrate, how many of us truly give thanks to God first before anything else?

Worse still, many of us even attribute all the goodness to ourselves, refusing to believe that all things had been made possible because of the grace and the blessings which our Lord had shown us. We often become even haughty and proud of our own achievements, thinking many things had happened to us and good things had happened to us because of our own power, without realising that without God, all of our power and devices will be nothing.

And if during good times we forget about the Lord and did not give Him thanks, then on the opposite end, whenever we have trouble, then we are quick to worry. We are quick to look for Him whenever we have problem, but we forget to give Him thanks whenever we have good things and good times with us. And when we do not get what we need, we blame the Lord for not helping us, and we often become angry at Him, and even abandon Him.

This is exactly what I meant about a lack of gratitude, and even more importantly, a lack of faith, which we often do not realise. Indeed, we may profess to be faithful to God, but truly, how strong is our faith for Him? If we are truly faithful to Him, then we should have remembered Him at all times, be it at times good or bad, and be it when we are rejoicing or when we are deeply troubled.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of a great saint, namely that of St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic the Guzman, the founder of the Dominican religious order, or the Order of Preachers. St. Dominic was well known for his great and enduring faith in the Lord, and for all the dedication which he showed to the Lord his God. He served the people of God tirelessly and ministered to them.

And what made his order known as the Order of Preachers was because St. Dominic’s own passion and hard works to help many of the lost souls who have gone astray. And he went forth to show them God’s truth and love by preaching to them about this truth, and his words pierced deep into their hearts and minds, and many chose to repent from their past sins, and followed the Lord.

The examples of St. Dominic had shown us that indeed, if we just have more faith in the Lord, what we think is impossible would become possible, for we have to remember that what is impossible for men, is possible for God, for nothing is impossible in the eyes of God. If we just strive to have more faith, then surely we will be better able to see how God had impacted our lives in so many ways, and gave us so many blessings that we cannot count them.

And therefore, let us pray, so that we may be strengthened in our faith, that in all things we do and say, we may strive to be ever more faithful to the Lord our God, and follow Him in all of His ways. Let us all give Him thanks for all of His goodness, and seek His mercy and forgiveness when we have committed sin, and learn the grace to know that we have enough, for we have been provided with the Lord’s love and grace at all times. May the Lord our God, our loving Father be with us always. Amen.