Liturgical Colour : White
John 3 : 16-18
At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved.”
“Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.”
Liturgical Colour : White
2 Corinthians 13 : 11-13
Finally, brothers and sisters, be happy, strive to be perfect, have courage, be of one mind and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The grace of Christ Jesus the Lord, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Liturgical Colour : White
Daniel 3 : 52, 53, 54, 55, 56
Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever. Blessed is Your holy and glorious Name, celebrated and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the Temple of Your sacred glory, Your praises are sung forever.
Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, honoured and glorified forever.
Blessed are You Who fathom the depths, Who are enthroned on the Cherubim, praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praised and glorified forever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Exodus 34 : 4b-6, 8-9
Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai as YHVH had commanded, taking in his hands the two slabs of stone. And YHVH came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and Moses called on the Name of YHVH.
Then YHVH passed in front of him and cried out, “YHVH, YHVH is a God full of pity and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in truth and loving-kindness.”
Moses hastened to bow down to the ground and worshipped. He then said, “If You really look kindly on me, my Lord, please come and walk in our midst and even though we are a stiff-necked people, pardon our wickedness and our sin and make us Yours.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Offertory
Tobit 12 : 6
Benedictus sit Deus Pater, unigenitusque Dei Filius, Sanctus quoque Spiritus : quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.
English translation
Blessed be God the Father, and the only Begotten Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit, because He had shown His mercy towards us.
Secret Prayer of the Priest
Sanctifica, quaesumus, Domine, Deus noster, per Tui sancti Nominis invocationem, hujus oblationis hostiam : et per eam nosmetipsos Tibi perfice munus aeternum. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
By the invocation of Your holy Name, o Lord, our God, sanctify, we beseech You, the matter of this oblation, and through it make us ourselves a perfect offering forever. 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
Tobit 12 : 6
Benedicimus Deum caeli et coram omnibus viventibus confitebimur ei : quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.
English translation
We bless the God of heaven, and before all living we will praise Him, because He has shown His mercy to us.
Post-Communion Prayer
Proficiat nobis ad salutem corporis et animae, Domine, Deus noster, hujus sacramenti susceptio : et sempiternae sanctae Trinitatis ejusdemque individuae Unitatis confessio. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
May the receiving of this sacrament, o Lord, our God, and the confession of our faith in eternal, holy Trinity and undivided Unity, profit us for the health of body and soul. 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 Matthaeum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Matthew 28 : 18-20
In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis Suis : Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra. Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti : docentes eos servare omnia, quaecumque mandavi vobis. Et ecce, ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi.
English translation
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Going, therefore, teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Benedictus es, Domine, qui intueris abyssos, et sedes super Cherubim.
Response : Benedictus es, Domine, in firmamento caeli, et laudabilis in saecula.
Alleluja, Alleluja.
Response : Benedictus es, Domine, Deus Patrum nostrorum, et laudabilis in saecula. Alleluja.
English translation
Blessed are You, o Lord, that beholds the depths and sits above the Cherubim.
Response : Blessed are You, o Lord, in the firmament of heaven, and worthy of praise forever.
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Response : Blessed are You, o Lord God of our fathers, and worthy of praise forever. Alleluia.
Liturgical Colour : White
Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Romans 11 : 33-36
O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei : quam incomprehensibilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? Aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit? Aut quis prior dedit illi, et retribuetur ei? Quoniam ex ipso et per ipsum et in ipso sunt omnia : ipsi gloria in saecula. Amen.
English translation
O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! For who had known the mind of the Lord? Or who had been His counsellor? Or who had first given to Him, and recompense shall be made Him? For of Him, and by Him, and in Him, are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Introit
Tobit 12 : 6 and Psalm 8 : 2
Benedicta sit Sancta Trinitas atque indivisa Unitas : confitebimur ei, quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.
Domine, Dominus noster, quam admirabile est Nomen Tuum in universa terra!
Priest : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. We will give glory to Him, because He had shown His mercy to us.
O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Your Name in all the earth!
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 dedisti famulis Tuis in confessione verae fidei, aeternae Trinitatis gloriam agnoscere, et in potentia majestatis adorare Unitatem : quaesumus; ut, ejusdem fidei firmitate, ab omnibus semper muniamur adversis. 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, by whose gift Your servants, in the confession of the true faith, acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and adore the Unity in the power of His majesty, we beseech You that in the firmness of the same faith we may ever be defended from 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.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us heard about how the Lord Jesus praised the faith and dedication of the poor old woman, who went to the Temple to give her donations, just two small coins, which was most of her money, as a devotion to the Lord. He was comparing it to the large donations made by many other people, which they made by boasting and comparing with one another, and by showing them off to show just how generous they were in giving.
To be fair, Jesus was not criticising the rich and the powerful for being wealthy or influential as they were, and neither did Jesus praise the poor to the point that He made all the poor sound so saintly. There are many rich people out there indeed, at the time of Jesus and in our world today, who are truly generous with their money and wealth, sharing them with those who are in need, who readily give whatever extra things and blessings they have with those who have little or none. And there are also poor people who were wicked and evil in those times as it is now.
Similarly, Jesus was not criticising the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for who they were, or for what they were practicing and wearing. What He was criticising is the fact that they did what they had done, all of their prayers and devotions in order to be seen and be praised by the people. They said all the long prayers publicly in the square and marketplaces, all that they would be highly regarded by the people and respected by them.
It is for their love of self-adulation and praise that Jesus had condemned them, similarly with those people who have not donated to the Temple treasury with genuine sincerity, but in order to be seen and praised by others around them. Therefore, it is indeed sad, to see how in our Church today, it is quite often that there are those who attack and persecute priests, religious and laity who are committed to a life of prayer and piety to God, just because, according to them, the priests were wearing ornate and beautiful vestments, or that the churches are richly decorated and ornamented, all the precious vessels and items used in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
That is because those people misunderstood and misinterpreted what Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees and the rich people for. They thought that by doing what they had done, they were doing what the Lord had done. But remember, that many of those priests and laity who were committed to make sure that the Holy Mass and our celebrations of the faith is solemn and worthy of God, is doing so not for their sake, but for God’s sake, unlike those Pharisees.
Most importantly, we should support all those who had given themselves in service to God, committing themselves wholeheartedly, their whole lives to the Lord. If we do see some of them who genuinely erred in their ways, then indeed we should remind them. But it is not ours to judge what we do not know. There are many of those who have left everything behind, fame, money, possessions and worldly renown so that they might serve the Lord and us, His people.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps this should bring us to attention to what all of us Christians need to do in our own lives. Many of us have lived our lives perhaps without realising what it is that each one of us can do in order to contribute in the way that the Lord had commanded us all to do. We live our lives as usual, focusing on what we need and what we want, but failing to do what we should be doing as the disciples of the Lord.
How many of us spend some time to think about all those who are in need around us? How many of us actually take part in helping the good works done by the Church to help all these less privileged brethren of ours? How many of us help to support our priests and all those who have devoted themselves to a religious life? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves, if we have not done any of these.
What is important, brothers and sisters in Christ, is not in the size of our giving or in how much we have contributed. Even the old, poor widow gave only whatever she was capable of giving, but most importantly, she gave it sincerely from her heart, and not from her ego and desire for any rewards or for recognition. And our priests have given their lives, efforts and works for the sake of the Lord, serving Him and all of us. While some had indeed erred and fallen on their ways, but almost every one of them had been faithful and were committed to their vocations.
It is now the part for each and every one of us to take part as well, by devoting our time, effort and actions for the sake of our fellow brethren, for the love of our God, and in all that we do, let us always remember that we do them not for ourselves, but for the greater glory of our God, Who has given us all these blessings we have in life. Let us remember this, as we continue to live in our world today, doing His will all the time. May God bless us all, and remain with us always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 