Month: August 2017

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(Usus Antiquior) Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

Luke 10 : 23-37

In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis Suis : Beati oculi, qui vident quae vos videtis. Dico enim vobis, quod multi prophetae et reges voluerunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt. Et ecce, quidam legisperitus surrexit, tentans illum, et dicens : Magister, quid faciendo vitam aeternam possidebo?

At ille dixit ad eum : In lege quid scriptum est? Quomodo legis? Ille respondens, dixit : Diliges Dominum, Deum tuum, ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus viribus tuis; et ex omni mente tua : et proximum tuum sicut teipsum.

Dixitque illi : Recte respondisti : hoc fac, et vives. Ille autem volens justificare seipsum, dixit ad Jesum : Et quis est meus proximus? Suscipiens autem Jesus, dixit : Homo quidam descendebat ab Jerusalem in Jericho, et incidit in latrones, qui etiam despoliaverunt eum : et plagis impositis abierunt, semivivo relicto.

Accidit autem, ut sacerdos quidam descenderet eadam via : et viso illo praeterivut. Similiter et levita, cum esset secus locum et videret eum, pertransiit. Samaritanus autem quidam iter faciens, venit secus eum : et videns eum, misericordia motus est. Et appropians, alligavit vulnera ejus, infundens oleum et vinum : et imponens illum in jumentum suum, duxit in stabulum, et curam ejus egit.

Et altera die protulit duos denarios et dedit stabulario, et ait : Curam illius habe : et quodcumque supererogaveris, ego cum rediero, reddam tibi. Quis horum trium videtur tibi proximus fuisse illi, qui incidit in latrones? At ille dixit : Qui fecit misericordiam in illum. Et ait illi Jesus : Vade, et tu fac similiter.

 

English translation

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.” And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting Him, and saying, “Master, what must I do to possess eternal life?”

But He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” He answering, said, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”

And He said to him, “You have answered rightly, do this and you shall live.” But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” And Jesus answering, said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away, leaving him half dead.”

“And it happened that a certain priest went down the same way, and seeing him, passed him by. In similar manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, he passed him by. But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion, and going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

“And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatsoever you shall spend over and above, I, at my return, shall repay you. Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbour to him who fell among robbers?” But he said, “He who showed mercy to him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go, and do it in similar manner.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 33 : 2-3 and Psalm 87 : 2

Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore : semper laus ejus in ore meo.

Response : In Domino laudabitur anima mea : audiant mansueti, et laetentur.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Domine, Deus salutis meae, in die clamavi et nocte coram Te. Alleluja.

 

English translation

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Response : In the Lord shall my soul be praised. Let the meek hear and rejoice.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : O Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried in the day, and in the night, before You, Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3 : 4-9

Fratres : Fiduciam talem habemus per Christum ad Deum : non quod sufficientes simus cogitare aliquod a nobis, quasi ex nobis : sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est : qui et idoneos nos fecit ministros novi testamenti : non littera, sed spiritu : littera enim occidit, spiritus autem vivificat.

Quod si ministratio mortis, litteris deformata in lapidibus, fuit in gloria; ita ut non possent intendere filii Israel in faciem Moysi, propter gloriam vultus ejus, quae evacuatur : quomodo non magis ministratio Spiritus erit in gloria? Nam si ministratio damnationis gloria est, multo magis abundat ministerium justitiae in gloria.

 

English translation

Brethren, such confidence we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God. He Who also had made us fit ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit quickens.

Now if the ministration of death, engraven with letters upon stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of His countenance; which is made void. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather in glory? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more ministration of justice abounds in glory.

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(Usus Antiquior) Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Green

Introit

Psalm 69 : 2-3, 4

Deus, in adjutorium meum intende : Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina : confundantur et revereantur inimici mei, qui quaerunt animam meam.

Avertantur retrorsum et erubescant : qui cogitant mihi mala.

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

 

English translation

Incline unto my aid, o God. O Lord, make haste to help me. Let my enemies be confounded and ashamed, who seek my soul.

Let them be turned backward and blush for shame, who desire evils to me.

Response : 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 et misericors Deus, de cujus munere venit, ut Tibi a fidelibus Tuis digne et laudabiliter serviatur : tribue, quaesumus, nobis; ut ad promissiones Tuas sine offensione curramus. 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, Whose gift is that Your faithful serve You worthily and rightly, grant us, we beseech You, that we may without offense hasten on to the fulfilment of Your promises. 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, 26 August 2017 : 20th 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 listened to the Word of God in the Scriptures telling us all about the importance of humility and obedience to God, as we heard firstly of how the woman Ruth met Boaz, who would then become the grandparents of the famous king of Israel, David. And then we heard in the Gospel, how Jesus our Lord rebuked the Pharisees and their proud attitude, and their lack of genuine faith to God.

In the first reading today, continuing from what we have heard in the Scriptures, we heard how the woman Ruth, a foreigner, who decided to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi to the land of Israel, met up with Boaz, with whom she would eventually be married to, and had a son. Ruth and her mother-in-law were faithful to God, and they placed their trust in Him, despite the difficulties and the challenges they had to encounter.

They had no possessions of their own, Naomi and her husband having left behind the land of Israel, and when her husband and two sons died in the land of Moab, Naomi was left with just Ruth and her other daughter-in-law whom she told to return to her homeland. Ruth refused to leave, but instead vowed to follow Naomi wherever she went, and took the Lord, the God of Naomi and her people, as her own God and Master.

In this manner, even though they were without family and possessions, but they had great favour in the sight of God, Who saw their faith and were glad at their dedication. That was why He blessed Ruth and Naomi, and Ruth became one of the members of the history of salvation, as through her and Boaz came the king David, and eventually through David, to Jesus Christ, Who was born into the house of David.

Then linking it to the Gospel passage we heard today, the Lord Jesus spoke about the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were often seen in the public places showing their piety through their prayer bands and shawls, their long prayers and public show of faith, their public fasting and observances of the Law. He rebuked them for all of these because, despite all that they had done, they did not do those things for God but instead for themselves and for their own selfish desires.

God did not have a place in their hearts, as their hearts were full of ego and pride, with their worldly desires and greed. They have not been humble before God but instead thinking that their way is the best and the right way. In that same spirit therefore they have conducted their lives, acting with arrogance and pride, and looking down on all those whom they deemed to be inferior to themselves. But they did not realise that God despised their selfishness and arrogance.

In today’s readings, God reminded us all His followers that as Christians all of us are called to be humble and to be open to His will. We are called to listen to Him and to allow His works to be fulfilled through us. But this is something that is not easily done, and challenges will surely be in our path as we walk in God’s path. There will be those times when we will be tempted to succumb to the allures of the pleasures of the flesh, and tempted to satisfy our greed and our ego.

However, if we do not actively resist these temptations, we may end up becoming like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whose faith has been found wanting, and whose love and commitment to the Lord was found to be lacking. Is this what we want from ourselves? Is this what the Lord had taught us to do? As Christians, in fact, all of us should seek to listen to the Lord Who told us in the Gospel today, that we must be humble in all things, and the greater we are, the humbler we should be.

At the centre of all these is the fact that as Christians we must be men for others, and we should not put ourselves and our own wants and desires ahead of the need of others. We must be selfless and ever be ready to think of others first, and be concerned with them. This is what all of us Christians must do, and which many of us may not have done in our faith life. Let us all therefore have that commitment to live faithfully in accordance with God’s will, knowing that it is He alone Who can guide us to the right path.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive to walk in the path shown to us by the Lord, by doing what He has commanded us to do, by not succumbing to our ego and desires, and by cultivating in us the spirit of love and compassion for our fellow men. Let us all be faithful to God and be humble in all things we say and do. Let God enter into our hearts and do not close our hearts to Him because of our ego and arrogance, our greed and our desires.

May the Lord bless us all, just as He has blessed those who are faithful to Him, and all those who walk humbly in His presence. May He empower us all so that we will always be ever faithful to Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 23 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them.”

“They do everything in order to be seen by people : they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.”

“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, He Who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.”

“Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”

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Saturday, 26 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

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Saturday, 26 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Ruth 2 : 1-3, 8-11 and Ruth 4 : 13-17

Naomi had a well-to-do kinsman, Boaz, from the clan of her husband Elimelech. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to pick up the left-over grain in the field whose owner will allow me that favour.” Naomi said, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. It happened that, the field she entered belonged to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech.

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go away from here to glean in anyone else’s field. Stay here with my women servants. See where the harvesters are and follow behind. I have ordered the men not to molest you. They have filled some jars with water. Go there and drink when you are thirsty.” Bowing down with her face to the ground, she exclaimed, “Why have I, a foreigner, found such favour in your eyes?”

Boaz answered, “I have been told all about you – what you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, how you have gone with her, leaving your own father and mother and homeland, to live with a people you knew nothing about before you came here.”

So Ruth was taken by Boaz and became his wife. YHVH made her conceive and give birth to a son. The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHVH Who has provided you today with an heir. May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and stay in your old age, for he is born of a daughter-in-law who loves you and is worth more than seven sons.”

Naomi took the child as her own and became his nurse. And the women of the neighbourhood gave him his name, saying, “A son has been born for Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was David’s father.

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded by what we have heard from the Book of Ruth, our first reading today, of the faith that Ruth, a woman hailing from the country of Moab, a foreigner, had in the Lord. Ruth stayed on at the side of Naomi, her mother-in-law despite the fact that her husband and all her other immediate family had passed away. She remained faithful to the Lord and followed her mother-in-law back to the land of Israel.

And eventually she was blessed by God for her faith, and she met her future husband, Boaz as she was working in his field. She bore a son whom she called Obed, who was the father of Jesse, and who in turn was the father of David, the famous king of Israel. All of these would not have been possible without the faith which Ruth had shown to God, her dedication and commitment to her newfound faith in Him.

In this we also see how God calls the people of all the nations to come to Him and worship Him, as even among the ancestors of the king of Israel existed the faithful foreigners and pagans who turned away from the path of their own ancestors and chose to follow God’s path instead. In this we see how God loves us all, and how each and every one of us also need to love God in the same manner. That is what God intended for us, that through His Laws, we may love Him just as He had loved us first.

That is what the Lord Jesus spoke of in the Gospel passage today, when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law confronted Him and tried to argue with Him, presumably trying to trap Him in His own words, by asking Him which law is the most important one in the whole Laws and Commandments which Moses had received from God. But those people did not truly understand what God intended to do with His Law, and neither did they practice the Law in the manner He wanted them to do.

They did not understand that God’s laws are truly about love, loving God first and foremost before anything else, and then loving one another, loving our fellow men, our parents, our friends and all those whom we encounter in our lives in the same manner as we have loved God and just as how we love ourselves. Instead, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law became too preoccupied with the formalities and the less important aspects of the Law, focusing on the wrong things and mistaking the true purpose of those Laws.

They reinforced the strict commandment and observances of the Law, but all these were done to advance their own self-interests, that they might be praised for their supposed piety and obedience to the Law. They looked down on tax collectors and prostitutes, and closed the door of salvation to them, thinking that those people were sinners and were unworthy of God. Yet, the Lord Jesus rebuked them and showed them just how genuine and true is the love that those supposed sinners had shown to God.

Just like Ruth, those tax collectors, prostitutes and all those deemed as foreigners, pagans and sinners were able to show greater love, commitment and devotion to the Lord. In that, they have obeyed the Law of God to a far greater degree than what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. They have loved God, and desired the love of God, and as a result, God welcomed them, and forgave them their sins when they sincerely sought Him looking to be forgiven and committed to the change in their lives and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to do the same as well? Are we able to change our lives in the same way? Are we able to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and love Him sincerely from our hearts? This is what we have been called to do, and what we have been reminded by the Word of God which we have heard in the Scripture passages today.

Let us all look at the examples of the holy saints, St. Louis, the holy King of France, and St. Joseph Calasanz, a holy priest and servant of God, whose feasts we celebrate today. Let us all look at the examples of these holy men who had gone before us, and see how they have dedicated their own lives to God, so that we too may be able to follow their footsteps and walk in the same path.

St. Louis, also known as King Louis IX of France, was a very famous and renowned King of France, known as a paragon of virtue and piety, devoted wholeheartedly to the service of God and to his people, being a model king and ruler, who cared greatly for the well-being of his people, both physically and spiritually. Unlike many other rulers of his time, before and after, he used his power with justice and righteousness, and did not succumb to the temptations of power to abuse that authority which God had granted him.

Instead, St. Louis devoted himself to the improvement of the lives of his subjects and people, building churches and helping to establish the institutions of the Church to bring his people closer to God, and seeking to make peace between the feuding factions among his people, to end the bitter rivalries and conflicts among them, that they might overcome their sinful past filled with wickedness, and turn wholeheartedly towards God.

In the same manner, St. Joseph Calasanz had also shown us how to become a better follower of God as St. Louis had done. St. Joseph Calasanz was remembered for his great works of charity among the poor, even establishing a congregation of the servants of God dedicated to help the poor and ministering to them in their needs. He showed his great devotion and charity to the people who were in need, and in that way, he also dedicated himself wholeheartedly to God.

He helped to establish institutions to care for homeless and neglected children, and offered places for the poor and the homeless to stay in. He helped them to get by with their worldly needs, and helped to provide jobs and work through which they were able to sustain themselves in their needs. He was also credited with bringing peace to feuding factions in the Church, just as St. Louis had done among his people.

In all these examples shown by these two holy saints, all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, are reminded that there are many things that each and every one of us can do as Christians to be good servants and followers of the Lord. We should follow their examples, and also the faith and dedication of Ruth and all those who have given themselves entirely to love and to serve the Lord.

Are we able to commit ourselves in this manner? Are we able to do more in order to serve Him? The one who decide this will be ourselves. We need to decide if we can give more to serve the Lord, to love Him with ever greater devotion and to have an ever greater and living faith in Him. Let us all therefore renew our commitment to Him, and renew our commitment to show the same love we show Him to our fellow men as well. May God bless all our endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. One of them, a lawyer, questioned Him to test Him, “Teacher, which commandment of the Law is the greatest?”

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. The second is like it : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and prophets are founded on these two commandments.”