Month: February 2017

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : Violet
Gradual
Psalm 82 : 19, 14

Sciant gentes, quoniam Nomen Tibi Deus : Tu solus Altissimus super omnem terram.

Priest : Deus meus, pone illos ut rotam, et sicut stipulam ante faciem venti.
English translation
Let the Gentiles know that God is Your Name. You alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Priest : O my God, make them like a wheel, and as stubble before the face of the wind.
Tract
Psalm 59 : 4, 6

Commovisti, Domine, terram, et conturbasti eam.

Priest : Sana contritiones ejus, qui mota est.

Priest : Ut fugiant a facie arcus : ut liberentur electi Tui.
English translation
You have moved the earth, o Lord, and had troubled it.

Priest : May You heal the breaches thereof, for it had been moved.

Priest : That Your elect may flee from before the bow, that they may be delivered.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Violet
Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
2 Corinthians 11 : 19-33 and 2 Corinthians 12 : 1-9

Fratres : Libenter suffertis insipientens : cum sitis ipsi sapientes. Sustinetis enim, si quis vos in servitutem redigit, si quis devorat, si quis accipit, si quis extollitur, si quis in faciem vos caedit. Secundum ignobilitatem dico, quasi nos infirmi fuerimus in hac parte.

In quo quis audet, (in insipientia dico) audeo et ego : Hebraei sunt, et ego : Israelitae sunt, et ego : Semen Abrahae sunt, et ego : Ministri Christi sunt, (ut minus sapiens dico) plus ego : in laboribus plurimis, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis supra modum, in mortibus frequenter.

A Judaeis quinquies quadragenas, una minus, accepi. Ter virgis caesus sum, semel lapidatus sum, ter naufragium feci, nocte et die in profundo maris fui : in itineribus saepe, periculis fluminum, periculis latronum, periculis ex genere, periculis ex gentibus, periculis in civitate, periculis in solitudine, periculis in mari, periculis in falsis fratribus : in labore et aerumna, in vigiliis multis, in fame et siti, in jejuniis multis, in frigore et nuditate : praeter illa, quae extrinsecus sunt, instantia mea cotidiana, sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum.

Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? Si gloriari oportet : quae infirmitatis meae sunt, gloriabor. Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui est benedictus in saecula, scit quod non mentior. Damasci praepositus gentis Aretae regis, custodiebat civitatem Damascenorum, ut me comprehenderet : et per fenestram in sporta dimissus sum per murum, et sic effugi manus ejus.

Si gloriari oportet (non expedit quidem), veniam autem ad visiones et revelationes Domini. Scio hominem in Christo ante annos quatuordecim, (sive in corpore nescio, sive extra corpus nescio, Deus scit 🙂 raptum hujusmodi usque ad tertium caelum.

Et scio hujusmodi hominem, (sive in corpore, sive extra corpus nescio, Deus scit 🙂 quoniam raptus est in paradisum : et audivit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui. Pro hujusmodi gloriabor : pro me autem nihil gloriabor nisi in infirmitatibus meis.

Nam, et si voluero gloriari, non ero insipiens : veritatem enim dicam : parco autem, ne quis me existimet supra id, quod videt in me, aut aliquid audit ex me. Et ne magnitudo revelationem extollat me, datus est mihi stimulus carnis meae angelus satanae, qui me colaphizet.

Propter quod ter Dominum rogavi, ut discederet a me : et dixit mihi : Sufficit tibi gratia mea : nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur. Libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi.
English translation
Brethren, you gladly suffer the foolish, whereas yourselves are wise. For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devours you, if a man takes from you, if a man be lifted up, if a man strikes you in the face. I speak according to dishonour, as if we had been weak in this part.

Wherein if any man dare (I speak foolishly), I also dare. They are Hebrews, so am I. They are Israelites, so am I. They are the seed of Abraham, so am I. They are the ministers of Christ (I speak as one less wise), I am more, in many more labours, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.

Of the Jews I had received forty stripes save one. Thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea. In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren. In labour and painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides those things which are without, my daily instance, the solicitude for all the churches.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalised, and I am not on fire? If I must need glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. At Damascus the governor of the nation under Aretas the king, guarded the city of the Damascenes to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket I was let down by the wall, and so escaped his hands.

If I must glory (it is not expedient indeed), but I will come to the visions and the revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, but God knows) such one rapts even to the third heaven.

And I know such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell, but God knows), that he was caught up into paradise, and heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter. For such one I will glory, but for myself I will glory nothing, but in my infirmities.

For though I should have a mind to glory, I shall not be foolish, for I will say the truth. But I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he sees in me, or anything he heard from me. And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me.

For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in infirmity.” Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet
Introit
Psalm 43 : 23-26 and 2

Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine? Exsurge, et ne repellas in finem : quare faciem Tuam avertis, oblivisceris tribulationem nostram? Adhaesit in terra venter noster : exsurge, Domine, adjuva nos, et libera nos.

Deus, auribus nostris audivimus : patres nostri annuntiaverunt nobis.

Priest : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Arise, why do You sleep, o Lord? Arise, and cast us not off to the end. Why do You turn Your face away, and forgot our trouble? Our belly had cleaved to the earth. Arise, o Lord, help us and deliver us.

O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have declared to us.

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 conspicis quia ex nulla nostra actione confidimus : concede propitius; ut, contra adversa omnia, Doctoris gentium protectione muniamur. 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 see that we put not our trust in any deed of our own, mercifully grant that by the protection of the Teacher of the Gentiles we may be defended against all adversities. 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, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are presented with the passages from the Sacred Scriptures, calling us to be faithful to the Lord our God, by the examples of our forefathers, who had been made just and righteous by their faith, from the time of Abel, whose faith was a great and shining light amidst the darkness in the hearts of men, to the time of Enoch and Noah, and finally to the time of Jesus itself.

While mankind had been corrupted by sin, and through their disobedience they had been sundered from God’s love, but among the sons and daughters of mankind, there had been those who were willing to resist the temptations to sin, and preferred to walk in the path of the Lord, following the path of righteousness and faith, and for that, they had been greatly rewarded.

Abel had been faithful to the Lord, and offered to Him a worthy sacrifice, and He had been faithful to the Lord’s commands, offering only what was the best for Him. Abel gave his offering with a sincere heart, and God answered Abel’s faith with His approval. But Cain was jealous of his younger brother’s acceptance by the Lord, while his offering was rejected, because he was likely not sincere and genuine in offering his own gifts.

As we know, Cain murdered Abel for that, and were cursed for what he had done. For he had sinned before God and men alike. But Abel did not suffer and die for nothing, for his faith in God had justified him, and by his blood, the blood of his martyrdom for his righteousness had made him just, and God surely welcomed him into His place in heaven.

Enoch was exceptional among the sons and daughters of mankind, for he alone among all others, have been raised and lifted up directly to heaven, not having to endure the pain of death, which is the punishment and consequence for our sins. Enoch was righteous and just in all of his actions, and therefore God rewarded him with the gift of heavenly grace, for his faith and dedication to Him.

And Noah had been faithful amidst a world filled with wickedness, evil and all sorts of sin. He alone among all others had been faithful, and therefore God rescued him and his family from the great flood, with which God cleansed the whole world from the taints of mankind’s great sins. By his faith, Noah had been made worthy and brought away from the calamities that befell all others around him.

And it is the great contributions and examples of these three great predecessors of ours which should inspire us to also walk in their footsteps and be obedient to the Lord as they had been obedient and faithful. In the Gospel today, Jesus was transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor, where He revealed the truth about Himself and His glory to St. Peter, St. John and St. James, showing to them Who He really was, and indeed what they and all other men and women are going to be, as a preview of the time that is to come.

The story of the Transfiguration of our Lord is more than just the revelation of our Lord Jesus as the Divine Word of God and the Messiah to His disciples, but even more so, because He has taken up the nature of our flesh and blood, and therefore as the perfect Man, He had shown us all our future, if we are to follow Him and obey Him in all of His laws and precepts.

The Transfiguration of our Lord is a prelude and a brief taste for us to see how God revealed to us what awaits all those who have kept their faith in Him. This is because by sin we have been made dirty and tainted, unworthy to receive the grace of God, but at the same time, God wants us to be cleansed and be purified from all those things that had tainted us, all for the same reason that God loves each and every one of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time to reflect on today’s Scripture passages, and ask ourselves whether we have been faithful to God in all of our actions, words and deeds. Have we loved and showed care for one another, for our brethren and neighbours around us, just as the Lord had taught us to do? Have we committed ourselves faithfully to be true disciples of our Lord, or is our faith just an empty and meaningless faith without action?

Let us all remind one another, that each and every one of us will always do our best to help each other to reach out to the Lord and to His salvation, that we may always persevere to resist the temptations to sin and the pressure to commit things that cause corruption and wickedness to enter into our beings. Let us all pray that all of us may become more like Christ in our ways, that we will be transformed by His light and His love, that we are no longer children of sin and darkness, but instead like Abel, Enoch and Noah of the ancient times we may be found worthy to be with God and receive His eternal life and grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Mark 9 : 2-13

At that time, six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain. There His appearance was changed before their eyes. Even His clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say : they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came a voice, “This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him.”

And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them. As they came down the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what ‘to rise from the dead’ could mean.

Finally they asked Him, “Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Of course Elijah will come first, so that everything may be as it should be. But why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they have treated him as they pleased, as the Scriptures say of him.”

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise You day after day and exalt Your Name forever. Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

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.

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Hebrews 11 : 1-7

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the stages of creation were disposed by God’s word, and what is visible came from what cannot be seen.

Because of Abel’s faith his offering was more acceptable than that of his brother Cain, which meant he was upright, and God Himself approved his offering. Because of this faith he cried to God, as said in Scripture, even after he died.

By faith Enoch was taken to heaven, instead of experiencing death : he could not be found because God had taken him. In fact, it is said that before being taken up he had pleased God. Yet without faith it is impossible to please Him : no one draws near to God without first believing that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him earnestly.

By faith Noah was instructed of events which could not yet be seen and, heeding what he heard, he built a boat in which to save his family. The faith of Noah condemned the world and he reached holiness born of faith.

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Friday, 17 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard the proclamations of the Scripture reminding us not to follow in the footsteps of the proud, the arrogant and the haughty ones. In the first reading we heard about the story of the Tower of Babel, which was the place where God scattered all of His people because of their pride and arrogance.

In that passage, we heard about how mankind after the time of Noah had grown powerful, great and filled with many great things and riches of the world. Everyone spoke the same language since they were descended from Noah and his family, and all the people gathered together, having ambition in their hearts to surpass even the glory of God, plotting to build a great tower which height would reach out to heaven itself.

It was their pride that had become their undoing, as it had for Satan, who fell from his haughtiness, and became an example for all others who thought that they could become like God, or to be even greater than God. He wanted to surpass God and the other Angels, such was the pride and ambition in his heart, who had been created with great and unsurpassed beauty and might among the Angels of God, as Lucifer.

But Lucifer rebelled against God, and disobeyed Him. And he was defeated, and was humiliated and cast out of heaven. Such was his fate because of his pride, and such was therefore also the fate of those others who followed in his footsteps, the people who tried to build up the great tower of Babel. They were scattered and confused in their language, as a reminder that no matter how great, mighty and powerful we are, our power and might are nothing if we are not with God.

It is what the Lord wanted us all to remember, even as we now continue to live our respective lives here on earth. He Himself has come into this world in order to show us the way. Many kings and lords of this world were powerful, proud of their power, intellect, achievements and greatness, but He, Who is the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, came into this world humbly, not flaunting to others His might and power, even though His power is true power, and His might is real might.

He came into this world to humbly work the works that His Father has entrusted to Him to do, that is the salvation of this world. He bore the burden of the cross for our sake, His people, that by all of His sacrifice, He might save us all from the hopelessness and despair because of our sins, and from all the sufferings caused by our disobedience against God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should also heed what our Lord Jesus had said in the Gospel today. He said that it is better for someone to lose one’s life and lose other things for the sake of the Lord, rather than for someone to try to save his or her life, and at the cost of his or her own soul. It is a kind reminder by our Lord that to be His disciple, we often will need to make sacrifices, and also to endure rejection and opposition from others.

Are we as Christians ready to take up the challenges and the crosses of our life together with Jesus? Are we ready to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, be humble and be meek in all things, and not to be proud, arrogant or haughty just because of our human achievements, power and greatness? It is important that we should resist the temptations of our flesh, through which the devil is constantly trying to pull us into sin.

Let us all follow in the footsteps of the seven Holy Founders of the Servite order. These seven men were people of exceptional piety and devotion to the Lord, and each of them were committed to serve God’s people, and for that reason, they established the congregation of the Servites. They led others into a life of poverty, simplicity and humility before God.

Many people were inspired to follow in their footsteps, to let go of their pride and their human ambitions, and instead endeavour to follow the Lord and be humble in all of their deeds. Let us all seek to be humble and to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. Let us all spend our whole lives and all the things that we do, glorifying the Lord by our deeds.

May the Lord bless us all and all of our endeavours and works. May He remain with us always, and keep us all in His loving grace. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 8 : 34 – Mark 9 : 1

At that time, Jesus called the people and His disciples, and said, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel, you will save it.”

“What good is it to gain the whole world, while destroying your soul? There is nothing more precious than your soul. I tell you : If anyone is ashamed of Me and of My words among this adulterous and sinful people, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the Glory of His Father with the holy Angels.”

And He went on to say, “Truly I tell you, there are some here who will not die before they see the kingdom of God coming with power.”

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Friday, 17 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 32 : 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’ designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.

From where He sits He watches all those who dwell on the earth – He Who fashions every heart observes all their deeds.