Month: March 2018

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 4 March 2018 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 24 : 15-16 and 1-2

Oculi mei semper ad Dominum, quia ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos : respice in me, et miserere mei, quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego.

Ad Te, Domine, levavi animam meam : Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam.

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

English translation

My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare. May You look upon me, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.

To You, o Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In You, o my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed.

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

Quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, vota humilium respice : atque, ad defensionem nostram, dexteram Tuae majestatis extende. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Have regard to the desires of the lowly, o Almighty God, we beseech You, and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty in our defence. 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, 3 March 2018 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scripture passage relating to us about God’s mercy and great love and compassion for each one of us. God revealed that through His prophet Micah, who reminded the people of God, of the moments when God had cared for them and loved them, when the people were faithful and obedient to God’s laws.

Even though the people of God had wandered off their path, and fell into disobedience and sin, God was always ready and willing to welcome them back to His embrace, caring for them and loving them with all of His heart. He was always ready to forgive them for their trespasses and mistakes, and He even actively tried to bring them back to Him, by sending to them many prophets and messengers, to call upon them to repent from their sins, including that of the prophet Malachi.

Now, let us all reflect on the parable which the Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people, the famous parable of the prodigal son. This parable is a primary example of God’s rich forgiveness, which was framed within the story of the prodigal son, who left his father with all of his inheritance to try out his luck in faraway lands, only to squander all that he had, and lost everything. Yet, the father was very willing and ready to forgive him and embrace him back when he finally returned to him.

The father in that parable is none other than God Himself, Who is always loving and filled with joy for all of His beloved children, all of us mankind, as represented by the two sons that the father had. The elder son represented those who have always been faithful to the commandments and the laws of God, while the younger, prodigal son represented those who have fallen into disobedience and sin, and thus became separated from God’s love, symbolised by the estrangement that happened when the younger son went off for the journey to the foreign lands.

We see how that prodigal son spent off his life in the faraway lands by indulging on the pleasures of life, and squandered off all of his money and possessions on prostitutes and merrymaking, and when he had nothing left, no one was left that cared for him and loved him. They only befriended him and cared for him because of his money and possessions, and once these failed him, he was left with nothing.

But he remembered his father’s love and care, which was a distant memory in his mind. Initially he was embarrassed to return to his father, as he had surely disgraced him, not only by his lifestyle, but because he has also wasted away all of the portion of inheritance that he was to receive from his father. Nonetheless, in the end, he mustered the courage and conviction to come back to his father, even if he had to humiliate himself and beg for forgiveness.

And as we heard in the story, he was forgiven by the father, who did not just welcome him back, but even threw a big and lavish party in welcoming him back, who have been thought lost and gone, but was then found again and reunited with his father. This, as the Lord Jesus explained, was the same with all of us, sinners and rebels, those who have been separated from God and His grace, when we sincerely desire to be forgiven and to be reconciled with God, Our loving Father.

Now, let us reflect on what we have heard, and think of what it is that we should be doing as Christians during this season of Lent. This time of Lent is a particular time of grace, of the preparation of the heart, mind and body, to prepare ourselves to celebrate worthily the coming of Easter and its joyous occasion. First of all therefore, we should remember that joy which we must look forward to, the same joy which engulfed both father and son, when the prodigal son came back to the father in tears, and was received with great joy.

The Lord has given us all His own Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to be Our Saviour, by His death on the cross, and by the outpouring of His Body and Blood. He has become the worthy sacrifice by which all of us who believe in Him and accept Him as Our Lord and Saviour, will be reconciled and reunited perfectly with God. God has gone all the way to this extent, sparing nothing less for us, because He loves each one of us, just like the father who was so joyful in seeing his son that he had a great celebration for his return.

Secondly, all of us should follow the example of the prodigal son, who despite his earlier doubts, was willing to come back to his father, seeking his forgiveness and mercy. Are we able to overcome our doubts, our reluctance and especially, our pride, to humble ourselves before the Lord, knowing that we are sinners and therefore are in need of God’s healing, love and mercy?

And last of all, we should not be like the elder son, who became angry at his father for welcoming back the long-lost child, because he was jealous of the treatment that his younger brother had received from his father. That was what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done at the time of Jesus, as they always sneered and jeered at the Lord’s constant efforts to bring sinners to reconciliation.

Instead, brothers and sisters in Christ, during this season of Lent, we should be filled with greater love and joy, living with greater commitment and dedication to love God with all of our hearts, with all of our efforts and strength. Let us love our brethren with greater heart and dedication, caring for them and looking up to them, that more and more souls may be saved from damnation.

May the Lord awaken in us the strong desire to love Him, that day after day we will grow to realise more and more how much He loves every one of us. Let us all seek to be forgiven and to be reconciled with Him, and receive from Him the gift of mercy and eventually the glory of eternal life. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 3 March 2018 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 15 : 1-3, 11-32

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, ‘This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So Jesus told them this parable : “There was a man with two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between them. Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land, where he squandered his wealth in loose living.”

“Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a severe famine broke out in that land. So he hired himself out to a well-to-do citizen of that place, and was sent to work on a pig farm. So famished was he, that he longed to fill his stomach even with the food given to the pigs, but no one offered him anything.”

“Finally coming to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will get up and go back to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against God, and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me then as one of your hired servants.’ With that thought in mind, he set off for his father’s house.”

“He was still a long way off, when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.'”

“But the father turned to his servants : ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Bring out the finest robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Take the fattened calf and kill it! We shall celebrate and have a feast, for this son of mine was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found!’ And the celebration began.”

“Meanwhile, the elder son had been working in the fields. As he returned and approached the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. The servant answered, ‘Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration, and killed the fattened calf.'”

“The elder son became angry, and refused to go in. His father came out and pleaded with him. The son, very indignant, said, ‘Look, I have slaved for you all these years. Never have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends. Then when this son of yours returns, after squandering your property with loose women, you kill the fattened calf for him.'”

“The father said, ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But this brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found. And for that we had to rejoice and be glad.'”

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Saturday, 3 March 2018 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

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Saturday, 3 March 2018 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Micah 7 : 14-15, 18-20

Shepherd Your people with Your staff, shepherd the flock of Your inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst of a fertile land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old, in the days when You went out of Egypt. Show us Your wonders.

Who is a God like You, Who takes away guilt and pardons crime for the remnant of His inheritance? Who is like You Whose anger does not last? For You delight in merciful forgiveness. Once again You will show us Your loving kindness and trample on our wrongs, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

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Friday, 2 March 2018 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to two important stories from the Scriptures, one from the Old Testament, in the Book of Genesis, and another one from the Gospels, as a parable told by the Lord Jesus to His disciples. Both of these stories tell us the same message and are parallels of each other. And what is this message which all of us should take heed of?

The Old Testament story tells us about the sons of Jacob, also known as Israel, who were the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. We heard about how Jacob loved Joseph, one of his youngest sons very much, doting on him and giving him the best of everything, because he was born of his beloved wife Rachel, the woman she loved. And Joseph’s brothers resented him because of this preferential treatment, and they plotted against him.

We heard how they wanted to kill Joseph, and they were plotting to do so among themselves, but Reuben, one of the brothers, spoke out against the killing of Joseph and wanted to rescue him from the plots of his brothers who hated him. In the end, after they have seized Joseph and threw him into a well, they agreed to sell him to the Midianite merchants who were passing by that area, and they got twenty pieces of silver in return for the sale.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus told the disciples a story, about a landowner who possessed a vineyard and then entrusted that vineyard and property to several tenants when he left the country for other lands. This story was indeed very similar and a parallel to what we have heard from the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers, as we heard how the tenants entrusted with the vineyard refused to obey their part of the obligations and contract.

The landowner sent his servants several times to the tenants, asking them to fulfil their obligations according to the contract that he had set with them. They refused to listen to the servants of the landowner and instead rejected them, cast them out and even persecuted them and tortured them, and killed some of them. The tenants refused to pay their due to the landowner, likely because they were tempted by the riches that they have attained through their harvests and refused to share them with the rightful master of the vineyard.

Eventually, in the end, the landowner sent to them his own beloved and trusted son, the heir to all of his vineyard and properties. He thought that the tenants would respect his son and listen to him. But no sooner that he reached the vineyard that they plotted against him and killed him, thinking that if they did so, they would be able to seize all the properties and the riches of the vineyard for themselves. That was what we heard from the New Testament today, which is a clear parallel to the story of Joseph and his brothers.

As you can see, just as the brothers of Joseph plotted against him, the wicked tenants also plotted against the son of the landowner and his servants. Ultimately, in the end, many of the concerns were about property, worldly wealth, power, prestige, and all the other things which throughout the history of mankind, have resulted in much bitterness and rivalry among us, causing relationships to break, and even for man to oppress and to hurt his fellow men.

Then, brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we look at yet another example, which even though was not part of our Scripture passages today, but it is in fact the most important of all? What the Lord Jesus had told His disciples on the parable of the landowner and the wicked tenants was in fact a premonition and prophecy which the Lord Jesus spoke about Himself. He spoke of what would happen to Himself, when He was betrayed and handed over to the chief priests, with the price of a slave.

Surely we all remember how Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, went to the chief priests and offered to betray Him? And what did he receive from the elders and the chief priests in return? Thirty pieces of silver, a price comparable to that of Joseph when he was sold to the Midianite merchants as a slave. Thus, the Lord Himself has been betrayed and sold out like a slave, the most humiliating of all positions and peoples.

But that was exactly what He has done, in the manner of Joseph, who was brought to the land of Egypt. Yet, it was all God’s plan, for Joseph was sent ahead of his brothers and family, to be powerful in the land of Egypt, eventually becoming its Regent, and by whose wisdom and authority, helped not just his own family, but countless other people when the whole world was wrecked by famine, which was alleviated only by Joseph’s wisdom and preparedness.

Similarly, the Lord has done everything as He had done, for our sake, for our salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin. He has lowered and humbled Himself so much, assuming the appearance of a slave, a criminal, condemned to death for sins and mistakes that He Himself did not commit. Yet, He took everything up upon Himself, endured the great and unimaginable agony of the cross, with the singular purpose of our salvation. That is ultimately because God loves each and every one of us, His beloved children.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on the Scripture passages today, the story of Joseph, the parable of the wicked tenants and the landowner, and the Passion of Our Lord Himself, let us think about our own respective lives, in all that we have done in our lives thus far, and how we can follow the Lord more faithfully by our actions. Let us not be tempted by the allures of worldly glory and the passions of the flesh, all the things that have caused the brothers of Joseph, the wicked tenants, the chief priests and the Pharisees to do sinful and wicked deeds, in order to preserve themselves and their worldly desires.

Let us all be ever more generous with our love and charity during this time of Lent, by reaching out to our brethren in need, those who are in need of our love, care and attention, those who are hungry and suffering, those who have no one to feed them or be with them when they are in need of company. May the Lord move our hearts and limbs to be His tools to do His will among His people. May the Lord bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.