Liturgical Colour : White
John 13 : 31-33a, 34-35
At that time, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. God will glorify Him, and He will glorify Him very soon. My children, I am with you for only a little while.”
“Now I give you a new commandment : Love one another! Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Revelations 21 : 1-5a
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the Holy City coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.
A loud voice came from the Throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals. He will pitch His tent among them and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was has passed away.”
The One seated on the Throne said, “See, I make all things new.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 144 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab
Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.
All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.
That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 14 : 21b-27
Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra and Iconium and on to Antioch. They were strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, for they said, “We must go through many trials to enter the Kingdom of God.” In each church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in Whom they had placed their faith.
Then they travelled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. They preached the Word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God’s grace for the task they had now completed.
On their arrival they gathered the Church together and told them all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the non-Jews.
Liturgical Colour : White
Offertory
Psalm 65 : 1, 2, 16
Jubilate Deo, universa terra, psalmum dicite Nomini Ejus : venite et audite, et narrabo vobis, omnes qui timetis Deum, quanta fecit Dominus animae meae, Alleluja.
English translation
Shout with joy to God, all the earth. Sing all of you a psalm to His Name. Come and hear, and I will tell you, all you who fear God, what great things the Lord had done for my soul. Alleluia.
Secret Prayer of the Priest
Deus, qui nos, per hujus sacrificii veneranda commercia, unius summae divinitatis participes effecisti : praesta, quaesumus; ut, sicut Tuam cognoscimus veritatem, sic eam dignis moribus assequamur. 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 through the holy relationship of this sacrament, had made us partakers of one supreme divinity, grant, we beseech You, that as we know Your truth, so we may follow it with worthy behaviour. 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
John 16 : 8
Cum venerit Paraclitus Spiritus veritatis, ille arguet mundum de peccato et de justitia et de judicio, Alleluja, Alleluja.
English translation
When the Paraclete shall come, the Spirit of truth, He shall convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Post-Communion Prayer
Adesto nobis, Domine, Deus noster : ut per haec, quae fideliter sumpsimus, et purgemur a vitiis et a periculis omnibus eruamur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Be near us, o Lord, our God, that through those things which we have faithfully received, we may both be cleansed of sin and rescued from all dangers. 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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. John
John 16 : 5-14
In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis : Vado ad eum, qui misit me : et nemo ex vobis interrogat me : Quo vadis? Sed quia haec locutus sum vobis, tristitia implevit cor vestrum. Sed ego veritatem dico vobis : expedit vobis, ut ego vadam : si enim non abiero. Paraclitus non veniet ad vos : si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos.
Et cum venerit ille, arguet mundum de peccato et de justitia et de judicio. De peccato quidem, quia non crediderunt in me : de justitia vero, quia ad Patrem vado, et jam non videbitis me : de judicio autem, quia princeps hujus mundi jam judicatus est.
Adhuc multa habeo vobis dicere : sed non potestis portare modo. Cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Non enim loquetur a semetipso : sed quacumque audiet, loquetur, et quae ventura sunt, annuntiabit vobis. Ille me clarificabit : quia de meo accipiet et annuntiabit vobis.
English translation
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I go to Him who sent Me, and none of you asked Me, ‘Where do You go?’ But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow had filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is expedient to you that I go, for if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
“And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment. Of sin, because they do not believe in Me, and of justice, because I go to the Father, and you shall no longer see Me, and of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged.”
“I still have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now, but when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will teach you all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever things that He has heard. He shall speak, and all the things that are to come, He shall show to you. He shall glorify Me because He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 117 : 16 and Romans 6 : 9
Alleluja, Alleluja.
Priest : Dextera Domini fecit virtutem : dextera Domini exaltavit me.
Alleluja.
Priest : Christus resurgens ex mortuis jam non moritur : mors illi ultra non dominabitur. Alleluja.
English translation
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Priest : The right hand of the Lord had wrought power, the right hand of the Lord had exalted me.
Alleluia.
Priest : Christ, rising from the dead, does not die, and death shall have no more dominion over Him. Alleluia.
Liturgical Colour : White
Lectio Epistolae Beati Jacobi Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle
1 James 1 : 17-21
Carissimi : Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
Voluntare enim genuit nos verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturae ejus. Scitis, fratres mei dilectissimi. Sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum : tardus autem ad loquendum et tardus ad iram.
Ira enim viri justitiam Dei non operatur. Propter quod abjicientes omnem immunditiam et abundantiam malitiae, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum, quod potest salvare animas vestras.
English translation
Dearly beloved, every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.
For of His own will He had begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of His creatures. You know, My dearest brethren, and let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak and slow to anger.
For the anger of man does not work the justice of God. Therefore, casting away all uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Liturgical Colour : White
Introit
Psalm 97 : 1-2, 1
Cantate Domino canticum novum, Alleluja : quia mirabilia fecit Dominus, Alleluja : ante conspectum gentium revelavit justitiam suam, Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja.
Salvavit sibi dextera ejus : et bracchium sanctum ejus.
Priest : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Sing all of you to the Lord a new canticle, Alleluia. For the Lord had done wonderful things, Alleluia. He had revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles. Alleluia, Alleluia.
His right hand had wrought Him salvation, and His arm is holy.
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 fidelium mentes unius efficis voluntatis : da populis Tuis id amare quod praecipis, id desiderare quod promittis; ut inter mundanas varietates ibi nostra fixa sint corda, ubi vera sunt gaudia. 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, You who had made the minds of the faithful to be of one accord, grant Your peoples that they may love what You commanded them and desire what You had promised, so that, amid the changing things of this world, our hearts may be set where true joys abide. 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.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the opposition which the Jews and the Pharisees showed to the works of St. Paul and the other Apostles as they went about to preach about the Lord. These people were not happy that the Apostles were preaching their teachings and were gaining plenty on followers, many people who abandoned their old ways and listened to the truth, believing in Jesus and became members of the Church.
And in addition, those Jews and influential Pharisees were also irritated at the fact that St. Paul and the other Apostles, St. Barnabas and others, who preached the faith and salvation also to the non-Jews, or the Gentiles. These people at that time would refer to the Greeks, the Romans and all others whom the Jews regarded as those who did not belong to the chosen race of Israel, and also those who did not obey the laws of Moses as they did.
In order to understand this, we have to understand the dynamics of the society and the communities of the people of God at that time. The people at the time of Jesus, especially in Judea and in some other regions were divided between the Jews and the Gentiles or the non-Jews. The Jewish people, or the descendants of the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel kept the laws of Moses faithfully, all the ordinances, rules and laws descended through the generations to them.
And the Jews often kept to themselves and observed those laws strictly, and in many occasions, many of them kept the laws without truly knowing the true intention of those laws as originally intended by God when He gave it to His people through Moses. And in the end, because of the fact that God had chosen them to be His people, they developed the superiority feelings and attitude in their dealings with the Gentiles.
How is this so, brethren? The Jews often treated the Gentiles as those who were not worthy of God’s salvation, and that they alone were worthy to receive God and His grace. And those others were not chosen by God and therefore were heathens and pagans. This is one of the explanation why the Jews were not happy when St. Paul and the other Apostles were preaching that the non-Jews could also be saved by believing in Jesus.
Even within the Church itself at that time, there were Pharisees who believed in God, who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. And yet, if we read through the subsequent parts of the Acts of the Apostles, we will see in some parts, the tension and disagreements between them and St. Paul and the Apostles based on their works with the Gentiles and about their salvation in Jesus.
In all these, we see how mankind often placed their trust in things other than God. Even though the laws of Moses were originally given to the people of Israel by God, but over the many centuries that followed, its true meaning and purpose had been twisted beyond recognition by the many different interpretations and modifications that those people throughout the ages had done to the Law of God.
And these people resisted any change or modification to what they thought was right, and they refused to believe in the truth revealed by God through Jesus His Son. And when the Apostles tried to continue the good works of God, by preaching that same truth to them and to those who have not yet heard of it, they resisted and even persecuted the Apostles and the holy servants of God.
It is a reminder for us all that each and every one of us as those who have believed in God and who have been charged with the same responsibility to preach the Good News to all mankind, will not have it easy for us to live this life in good faith. We will encounter difficulties, challenges and even persecution for enduring to be faithful and remaining committed to God and His cause.
But we should not give up or give in to the world and its demands, just as in the past, St. Adalbert and St. George, the saints whose feasts we are celebrating today, have been devoted to God and were committed to a holy life, and for the salvation of their fellow brethren, even though they were threatened with suffering and even with a painful death.
St. George the Martyr was a great soldier, a soldier in the Roman army, who served during the time of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who was renowned for his particularly oppressive attitude against the Church and all Christians. But St. George did not hesitate at all to resist the Emperor, when he pronounced the persecution of Christians throughout the Empire. And when he ordered all the soldiers to renounce their former gods and offer sacrifices to the Emperor and the pagan gods, St. George refused to do so.
Thus, St. George courageously stood by the faith which he had in the Lord even in the face of suffering and death. He faced his death without fear, knowing that the Lord would be with him, and through his examples, many others would be inspired to remain strong in their faith as well, and thus avoid damnation and destruction which is awaiting all those who refuse to believe in God.
St. Adalbert on the other hand was a renowned bishop of Prague, known also as St. Adalbert of Prague. He was a great servant of the Lord, a faithful worker who spread the Good News among the then still pagan peoples of the region known as Bohemia and Prussia, in what is now northern Germany and western Poland. St. Adalbert continued to minister to the people there despite challenges and opposition, and even when his life was threatened, he did not give up.
And thus, when he was martyred in the midst of doing his works, he did not fear and he was filled with joy knowing that, just as St. George had done before him, and just as many other holy saints and martyrs had done before him, he will be rewarded gloriously for all that he has done for the sake of the people of God, out of love for his Lord and Master.
Let us all also therefore be inspired to live faithfully as these holy saints had lived, and let us all fill our lives with good deeds and commit ourselves to God in all that we do. May this Easter season be a time of renewal for us all, that we may draw ever closer to the Lord our God, and be closer to His saving grace. God bless us all. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 