Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 96 : 1 and 2b, 6 and 7c, 9
The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Justice and right are His throne.
The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory. Let all spirits bow before Him.
For You are the Master of the universe, exalted far above all gods.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 7 : 55-60
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”
But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice : “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he died.
Liturgical Colour : White
Offertory
Psalm 46 : 6
Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, et Dominus in voce tubae, Alleluja.
English translation
God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet, Alleluia.
Secret Prayer of the Priest
Sacrificia nos, Domine, immaculata purificent : et mentibus nostris supernae gratiae dent vigorem. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Let this immaculate sacrifice purify us, o Lord, and impart to our souls the vigour of supernal grace. 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.
Preface of the Ascension
Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Qui post resurrectionem suam omnibus discipulis suis manifestus apparuit et, ipsis cernentibus, est elevatus in caelum, ut nos divinitatis suae tribueret esse participes. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus hymnum gloriae Tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes :
English translation
It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to You, o holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. He who after His resurrection very openly showed Himself to all His disciples, and in their sight was raised up to heaven, in order to give to us to be partakers of His Godhead. And therefore, with the angels and archangels, with the thrones and dominations, and with all the array of the heavenly host, we sing a hymn to Your glory and unceasingly repeat :
Communion
John 17 : 12-13, 15
Pater, cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos, quos dedisti mihi, Alleluja : nunc autem ad te venio : non rogo, ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo, Alleluja, Alleluja.
English translation
Father, while I was with them, I kept those who You gave Me, Alleluia. But now that I come to You, I pray that You should not take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from evil, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Post-Communion Prayer
Repleti, Domine, muneribus sacris : da, quaesumus; ut in gratiarum semper actione maneamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
As we have been filled with heavenly gifts, o Lord, grant, we beseech You, that we may constantly persevere in thanksgiving. 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 15 : 26-27 and John 16 : 1-4
In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis : Cum venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me : et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia ab initio mecum estis.
Haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Absque synagogis facient vos : sed venit hora, ut omnis, qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se prestare Deo. Et haec facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem neque me. Sed haec locutus sum vobis : ut, cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini, quia ego dixi vobis.
English translation
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me, and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning.”
“These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalised. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the hour comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 9 and John 14 : 18
Alleluja, Alleluja.
Priest : Regnavit Dominus super omnes gentes : Deus sedet super sedem sanctam Suam.
Alleluja.
Priest : Non vos relinquam orphanos : vado, et venio ad vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum. Alleluja.
English translation
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Priest : The Lord had reigned over all the nations. God sits on His holy throne.
Alleluia.
Priest : I will not leave you orphans. I go and I come to you, and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.
Liturgical Colour : White
Lectio Epistolae Beati Petri Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle
1 Peter 4 : 7-11
Carissimi : Estote prudentes et vigilate in orationibus. Ante omnia autem mutuam in vobismetipsis caritatem continuam habentes : quia caritas operit multitudinem peccatorum. Hospitales invicem sine murmuratione : unusquisque, sicut accepit gratiam, in alterutrum illam administrantes, sicut boni dispensatores multiformis gratiae Dei.
Si quis loquitur, quasi sermones Dei : si quis ministrat, tamquam ex virtute, quam administrat Deus : ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum, Dominum nostrum.
English translation
Dearly beloved, be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covered a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one toward another without murmuring. As every man had received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man ministers, let him do it as of the power which God administers, that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Liturgical Colour : White
Introit
Psalm 26 : 7-9, 1
Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad Te, Alleluja : Tibi dixit cor meum, quaesivi vultum Tuum, vultum Tuum, Domine, requiram : ne avertas faciem Tuam a me, Alleluja, Alleluja.
Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea : quem timebo?
Priest : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Hear, o Lord, my voice with which I have cried to You, Alleluia. My heart had said to You, I have sought Your face, Your face, o Lord, I will seek. Do not turn away Your face from me, Alleluia, Alleluia.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
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 : fac nos Tibi semper et devotam gerere voluntatem; et majestati Tuae sincero corde servire. 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 and eternal God, make us ever bear a devout affection towards You, and with sincere heart to serve Your majesty. 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
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the works of St. Paul in continuing his evangelisation of the peoples, spreading the Good News of God, and how an inspirational preacher, Apollos, who although lacking somewhat in the full knowledge of the faith, but he has a great courage and energy, as well as charisma in proclaiming the truth of God, and as a result, many people turned to God because of his works and his inspiring sermons.
He was helped by the other disciples who explained to him in greater detail the fullness of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and because of that, his works became ever more instrumental in helping to establish the strong foundations of the Church in the cities where he ministered in, especially in Ephesus and Corinth. Many of the people in those places became believers of Christ.
If you think that these people were great men and women who were very capable in all things, you are mistaken. God did not choose the great, the mighty and the powerful to be those whom He had chosen to be the extension of His mighty works on earth, but instead He chose the simple and normal people, just like each and every one of us, and He blesses those whom He had chosen to be His followers.
God will give all that the ones He blesses, granting them the authority over many things, even over sin and death. He will not leave those whom He had blessed alone. But the problem is that, it is so often that we are afraid to ask for help, and we are reluctant to ask our Lord for what we need and for what we want. In our reluctance, we do not gain what we needed, and therefore, we missed the opportunities for us to implement whatever good we have within us.
Sometimes we are afraid because we tend to view God as someone Who is exacting and wanting many things from us, and we do not therefore dare to seek for the Lord when we are in need, and we keep our hearts and minds closed against God. Or it may be that we also do not know that God is able to help us, either because we do not truly believe in Him, or that because we tend to ignore His words speaking in our hearts simply because we are too busy with matters of this world.
Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened to you. Such is the very generous words and terms which our Lord has given us. After all, which other gods or beings would do the same? God Who loves us all wants us to listen to Him, to accept His path and to welcome His ways. And to that extent, He even sent us His own Son, Jesus to be our Saviour and as our Deliverer to free us from the bonds of our sins.
God has blessed us with many gifts and many graces. But it is really up to us how we ought to use them. As Christians we have to realise that we cannot be passive and inactive. It is such inactivity and passivity which has prevented us from seeking the Lord our God and asking Him for the graces and help which He is willing to give to us.
Christians must stand up and be active in making the effort to bring forth the gifts of God, of love, hope and faith, and share these with one another. This means that we should reach out to our brethren and love them through our actions, showing our genuine care and love for them, that through that same love, we may find true love in each other, and help one another in reaching out to God, and having shown love, we may therefore be found worthy by the Lord, and be welcomed into eternal life.
May God help us all in this journey of life, and may He strengthen the faith in each and every one of us. May all of us find the courage and the strength to always walk in the path of righteousness and justice. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 16 : 23b-28
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you. So far you have not asked in My Name; ask, and receive, that your joy may be full. I taught you all this in veiled language, but the time is coming when I shall no longer speak in veiled language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.”
“When that day comes, you will ask in My Name; and it will not be for Me to ask the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and you believe that I came from the Father. As I came from the Father, and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world, and going to the Father.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 2-3, 8-9, 10
Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.
God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy Throne.
The leaders of the nations rally together with the people of the God of Abraham. For in His hands are the great of the earth. God reigns far above.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 