Day: November 5, 2015

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Monday, 9 November 2015 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 2 : 13-22

At that time, as the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple court He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.

Making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple court, together with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the money changers, scattering the coins, and ordered the people selling doves, “Take all this away, and stop turning My Father’s House into a marketplace!”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture : ‘Zeal for Your House devours Me like fire.’ The Jews then questioned Jesus, “Where are the miraculous signs which give You the right to do this?” And Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews then replied, “The building of this Temple has already taken forty-six years, and will You raise it up in three days?” Actually, Jesus was referring to the Temple of His Body. Only when He had risen from the dead did His disciples remember these words, then they believed both the Scriptures and the words Jesus had spoken.”

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Monday, 9 November 2015 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 3 : 9c-11, 16-17

You are God’s field and building. I, as a good architect, according to the capacity given to me, I laid the foundation, and another is to build upon it. Each one must be careful how to build upon it. No one can lay a foundation other than the one which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit abides within you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him. God’s Temple is holy, and you are this Temple.

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Monday, 9 November 2015 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our Refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Monday, 9 November 2015 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 47 : 1-2, 8-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound.”

“Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Basilica of our Saviour (Double II Classis) – Monday, 9 November 2015 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

1 Paralipomenon (Chronicles) 29 : 17, 18

Domine Deus, in simplicitate cordis mei laetus obtuli universa; et populum Tuum, qui repertus est, vidi cum ingenti gaudio : Deus Israel, custodi hanc voluntatem. Alleluja.

English translation

O Lord God, in the simplicity of my heart, I have joyfully offered all these things, and I have seen with great joy Your people, who are present. O God of Israel, keep this will. Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Annue, quaesumus, Domine, precibus nostris : ut, dum haec vota praesentia reddimus, ad aeterna praemia, Te adjuvante, pervenire mereamur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Bow down to our prayers, o Lord, we beseech You, that, while we pay our vows here below, we may, by Your assistance, be worthy to attain unto everlasting rewards. 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.

Secret Prayer of the Priest (for the Commemoration of St. Theodore)

Suscipe, Domine, fidelium preces cum oblationibus hostiarum : et, intercedente Beato Theodoro Martyre Tuo, per haec piae devotionis officia ad caelestem gloriam transeamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Receive, o Lord, the prayers of the faithful with offering of sacrifices, and, by the intercession of Blessed Theodore, Your martyr, may we pass through these offices of pious devotion to heavenly glory. 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.

Communion

Matthew 21 : 13

Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur, dicit Dominus : in ea omnis, qui petii, accipit; et qui quaerit, invenit; et pulsanti aperietur.

English translation

My house shall be called the house of prayer, said the Lord, every one who asks therein, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.

Post-Communion Prayer

Deus, qui de vivis et electis lapidibus aeternum majestati Tuae praeparas habitaculum : auxiliare populo Tuo supplicanti; ut, quod Ecclesiae Tuae corporalibus proficit spatiis, spiritualibus amplificetur augmentis. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who from living and chosen stones had prepared for Your majesty an eternal dwelling, help Your people who call upon You, so that what is profitable to Your Church in material growth may be accompanied with an increase of that which is of the Spirit. 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.

Post-Communion Prayer for the Commemoration of St. Theodore

Praesta nobis, quaesumus, Domine : intercedente Beato Theodoro Martyre Tuo; ut, quod ore contingimus, pura mente capiamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Grant us, we beseech You, o Lord, by the intercession of Blessed Theodore, Your martyr, that what we touch with our lips, we may receive with pure hearts. 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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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Basilica of our Saviour (Double II Classis) – Monday, 9 November 2015 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 19 : 1-10

In illo tempore : Ingressus Jesus perambulabat Jericho. Et ecce, vir nomine Zachaeus : et hic princeps erat publicanorum, et ipse dives : et quaerebat videre Jesum, quis esset : et non poterat prae turba, quia statura pusillus erat.

Et praecurrens ascendit in arborem sycomorum, ut videret eum; quia inde erat transiturus. Et cum venisset ad locum, suspiciens Jesus vidit illum, et dixit ad eum : Zachaee, festinans descende; quia hodie in domo tua oportet Me manere. Et festinans descendit, et excepit illum gaudens.

Et cum viderent omnes, murmurabant, dicentes, quod ad hominem peccatorem divertisset. Stans autem Zachaeus, dixit ad Dominum : Ecce, dimidium bonorum meorum, Domine, do pauperibus : et si quid aliquem defraudavi, reddo quadruplum.

Ait Jesus ad eum : Quia hodie salus domui huic facta est : eo quod et ipse filius sit Abrahae. Venit enim Filius Hominis quaerere et salvum facere, quod perierat.

English translation

At that time, Jesus entering in, walked through Jericho. And behold there was a man named Zaccheus, who was the chief of the publicans, and he was rich, and he sought to see Who Jesus was, and he could not do so because of the crowd, as he was of low stature.

And running before, he climbed up onto a sycamore tree that he might see Him, for He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to that place, looking up, He saw him, and said to him, “Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for this day I must abide in your house.” And he made haste and came down, and received Him with joy.

And when all saw it, they murmured, saying that He is going to be a guest with a man that was a sinner. But Zaccheus standing, said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have wronged any man of anything, I will restore to him fourfold.”

Jesus said to him, “This day salvation has come to this house, because he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save those who were lost.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Basilica of our Saviour (Double II Classis) – Monday, 9 November 2015 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Tradition of the Faith and Psalm 137 : 2

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.

Priest : Deus, cui astat Angelorum chorus, exaudi preces servorum Tuorum.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Priest : Adorabo ad templum sanctum Tuum : et confitebor Nomini Tuo. Alleluja.

English translation

This place was made by God a priceless mystery, it is without reproof.

Priest : O God, before Whom stands the choir of Angels, hear the prayers of Your servants.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Priest : I will worship toward Your holy Temple, and I will give glory to Your Name. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Basilica of our Saviour (Double II Classis) – Monday, 9 November 2015 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Libri Apocalypsis Beati Joannis Apostoli – Lesson from the Book of the Apocalypse of Blessed John the Apostle

Apocalypse 21 : 2-5

In diebus illis : Vidi sanctam civitatem Jerusalem novam descendentem de caelo a Deo, paratam sicut sponsam ornatam viro suo.

Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem : Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis. Et ipsi populus ejus erunt, et ipse Deus cum eis erit eorum Deus : et absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum : et mors ultra non erit, neque luctus neque clamor neque dolor erit ultra, quia prima abierunt.

Et dixit, qui sedebat in throno : Ecce, nova facio omnia.

English translation

In those days, I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself with them shall be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.”

And He Who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Basilica of our Saviour (Double II Classis) – Monday, 9 November 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Genesis 28 : 17 and Psalm 83 : 2-3

Terribilis est locus iste : hic domus Dei est et porta caeli : et vocabitur aula Dei.

Quam dilecta tabernacula Tua, Domine virtutum! Concupiscit, et deficit anima mea in atria Domini.

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

English translation

Terrible is this place, it is the house of God, and the gate of heaven, and shall be called the court of God.

How lovely are Your tabernacles, o Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord.

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

Deus, qui nobis per singulos annos hujus sancti templi Tui consecrationis reparas diem, et sacris semper mysteriis representas incolumes : exaudi preces populi Tui, et praesta : ut, quisquis hoc templum beneficia petiturus ingreditur, cuncta se impetrasse laetetur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who year by year had renewed the day of the consecration of this Your Holy Temple, and had ever brought us again in safety to the holy mysteries, hear the prayers of Your people, and grant that whosoever enters this Temple to seek blessings may rejoice to obtain all that he seeks. 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.

Collect for the Commemoration of St. Theodore

Deus, qui nos Beati Theodori Martyris Tui confessione gloriosa circumdas et protegis : praesta nobis ex ejus imitatione proficere, et oratione fulciri. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who had encompassed and protected us with the glorious testimony of Blessed Theodore, Your Martyr, grant us to profit by imitating him and to be supported by his prayers. 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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Sunday, 8 November 2015 : Thirty-Second (32nd) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this sacred and holy day of the Lord, we heard about the Lord our God Who shows great love and concern for us, the providence which He will give to all those who clung themselves strongly to Him, and He will bless all those who have given their all and devoted their all for the sake of the Lord their God.

And we heard about the story of two poor and suffering woman in both the first reading today from the Book of Kings, and in the poor woman from the Gospel of St. Mark, who gave all the possessions she had, despite herself having difficulties to persevere in her own difficult life. But what Jesus wanted to tell us is that, her gifts and offerings, being given out through times of difficulty is truly a genuine gift pleasing to the Lord.

For Jesus showed rightly that those who are rich, when they gave to the poor or donated money to the Temple treasury, they tried to outdo the other man in our giving to all those who needed them. While they gave what they had, they gave from their plenty and had no concerns or qualms about giving what they had, whereas the woman who had so little, still yet gave from her own pocket, whatever she could give to help the Temple building at that time.

In trying to glorify the Lord by her actions and by her dedication, she has shown all of us true and genuine faith, and a courageous and real commitment to the Lord, by giving all she had without worry or concerns for this world and for whatever she had in this world. She placed her trust completely and entirely in the Lord, and in doing so, she will indeed receive eternal and glorious reward of heaven.

But yet, at the same time, we have to take note that Jesus was not condemning the rich and those who have many possessions and things of this world. For we know of the rich people and those who have much with them, who have generously given from their own coffers to help others who are in need, and for various other good purposes and deeds.

The key here is that when we give to others, and we give something that belongs to us to help other who are around us, we have to be sincere and devoted in our giving, and we cannot give with the expectation that whoever we gave to, we demand them to return the gift in the same manner. And when we give something, let us not be too concerned about the loss we incur because of our giving.

Why is this so, brethren? This is important as it is our tendency to grow too attached to what we have, and we do not like it when we need to lose them or to part ways with them, because it is in our human nature to always desire for more things, to accumulate what we already have to get even more of them. It is this attachment that is so harmful and so dangerous for us, as unchecked, they can bring about ruin to our souls.

The wealth and possessions that we have, they are in themselves not evil or wicked in nature, for they are just objects and tools that can indeed be used for the purpose of evil, as well as for good purposes and for the benefit of all those who are around us. It is in how we use them, that we can effect either good or bad things upon others, and it is in how we look at them and treat these that we can use them for good or evil, and in doing so bringing either blessings or disgrace and condemnation upon our souls.

The Lord wanted us all to know that if we want to love Him and if we want to be truly faithful to Him, then there is truly no greater price to pay than our total devotion and commitment, and the full trust that we all should place in Him, our Lord, Master and Saviour. Just like the widow of Zarephath who suffered greatly from the famine that came over Israel because of their disobedience, she had less and less food, and soon enough, her food stock would run out and she and her son would perish.

But the prophet Elijah came to her seeking for help and food, and when she voiced her concerns, Elijah told her not to worry, for the Lord Who is loving and kind to all those who put their trust in Him will provide all that is needed for sustenance and survival, as well as joy and happiness for His people. He will not abandon them to suffer in need without what they need, and He will in His own ways, bless His people and grant them help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God proved His love and commitment to help His people, by showing His everlasting providence through the flour jar that never finished, and the jug of oil that never ran out. In this, He wanted the widow of Zarephath and all of us to know that if we put our trust and complete faith in Him, then we truly have nothing to be worried about.

Remember on another occasion Jesus told His disciples and the people about how God blessed the beautiful flowers in the field and the birds with colourful feathers and various raiments of colour with much blessings, and how if He has blessed these with such great blessings then we should not need to worry if we put our trust in Him. In one way or another, in His own way, He will take very good care of us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us make use of the opportunities that God has given us, and let us use whatever blessings He has graced us with, we may share the goods and the joys we have with one another. Let us not be greedy or be selfish, in selfishly keeping all the wealth, goods and blessings of God to ourselves. May God awaken in all of our hearts the desire to love one another, so that we may realise that even if we are in unfortunate condition, there are always those who are poorer and who are in greater suffering than us.

Let us all act now, and from now on let us all devote ourselves completely to serve the Lord in all the things we do, and let us all commit ourselves to care about each other, and sharing the joys we have received from the Lord. May Almighty God, our Lord bless our endeavours and keep us always in His grace. God bless us all. Amen.