Month: June 2019

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 20 June 2019 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 144 : 15-16 and John 6 : 56-57

Oculi omnium in Te sperant, Domine : et Tu das illis escam in tempore opportuno.

Response : Aperis Tu manum Tuam : et imples omne animal benedictione.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Caro Mea vere est cibus, et Sanguis Meus vere est potus : qui manducat Meam Carnem et bibit Meum Sanguinem, in Me manet et Ego in eo.

 

English translation

The eyes of all hope in You, o Lord, and You give them meat in due season.

Response : You opened Your hand, and fill every living creature with Your blessing.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me, and I in him.

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 20 June 2019 : Epistle

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

1 Corinthians 11 : 23-29

Fratres : Ego enim accepi a Domino quod et tradidi vobis, quoniam Dominus Jesus, in qua nocte tradebatur, accepit panem, et gratias agens fregit, et dixit : Accipite, et manducate : hoc est Corpus Meum, quod pro vobis tradetur : hoc facite in Meam commemorationem.

Similiter et calicem, postquam cenavit, dicens : Hic calix Novum Testamentum est in Meo Sanguine. Hoc facite, quotiescumque bibetis, in Meam commemorationem. Quotiescumque enim manducabitis panem hunc et calicem bibetis, mortem Domini annuntiabitis, donec veniat.

Itaque quicumque manducaverit panem hunc vel biberit calicem Domini indigne, reus erit Corporis et Sanguinis Domini. Probet autem seipsum homo : et sic de pane illo edat et de calice bibat. Qui enim manducat et bibit indigne, judicum sibi manducat et bibit : non dijudicans Corpus Domini.

 

English translation

Brethren, I have received of the Lord, that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke it, and said, ‘Take all of you and eat, this is My Body which shall be delivered for you, do this for the commemoration of Me.’

In like manner He also took the chalice, after He had finished supper, saying, ‘This chalice is the New Testament in My Blood, this all of you do, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me.’ For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord until He comes.

Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink of the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 20 June 2019 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White
Introit

Psalm 80 : 17, 2

Cibavit eos ex adipe frumenti, Alleluja : et de petra, melle saturavit eos, Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja.

Exsultate Deo, adjutorio nostro : jubilate Deo Jacob.

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

 

English translation

He fed them with the fat of wheat, Alleluia, and filled them with honey out of the rock, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Rejoice to God our Helper, sing aloud to the God of Jacob.

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

Deus, qui nobis sub Sacramento mirabili passionis Tuae memoriam reliquisti : tribue, quaesumus, ita nos Corporis et Sanguinis Tui sacra mysteria venerari; ut redemptionis Tuae fructum in nobis jugiter sentiamus : Qui vivis et regnat in unitate Spiritui Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

O God, Who in this wonderful sacrament has left us a memorial of Your passion, grant us, we beseech You, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood that we may constantly experience in ourselves the fruit of Your redemption. You Who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Thursday, 20 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God in the Scripture speaking to us about the matter of prayer and how we should be praying to the Lord in the right way. We should understand what prayer truly is, that is communication and connection between God and us, an intimate and close relationship between us and Him and not as what many of us might have thought.

Many of us prayed because we wanted something to be fulfilled, which are things that we did not have and then now desire to have, and we ask God for the favour hoping that we may get what we want through prayer. But when we do not get what we want through our prayers, we become angry with God and become disillusioned with Him, often causing us to forget about God and abandon Him without knowing and understanding His true intentions for us.

Instead, true prayer must be first and foremost an active and fruitful conversation between two parties, that is between us and God, or between our community and God in our communal prayers gathered together by the priest for example during the intercessions and the collect during the Holy Mass. First and foremost we must be willing to listen and we must be open-minded and be willing to accept the word of God in our heart and mind.

That is what true prayer is all about. Without the open-minded attitude and willingness to listen to the Lord speaking in our hearts, and with our insistence to have our desires and wishes heard by God, our prayer will not end up being genuine or true, and instead of a good and fruitful prayer, we will have something akin to the whining of a child who does not get what he wants from his or her father.

How do we pray then? It is by following the example of what the Lord Jesus Himself has done. The Lord Jesus, although He is indeed God, but at the same time, in His person, He also unites to Himself the Humanity, the Son of Man and Son of God, two natures in one person, Jesus Christ, and in today’s Gospel, we heard of the prayer which the Lord Jesus Himself had made to His heavenly Father, as a Son praying to His Father.

He showed us all how we mankind, united to His own Humanity, should be praying. First of all in prayer we glorify God and we thank Him for all that He has done for us, and we open our minds to listen to His will, and acknowledge that whatever it is that we seek or request from Him, His will ultimately shall be done. What the Lord Jesus had said in His prayer is the expression of what true prayer is like, a prayer where we mankind seek to glorify and to come into close and genuine contact with Our Lord and Saviour, Our loving Heavenly Father.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, following the examples of the Lord’s own prayer, are we able to deepen our own relationship with God, and strengthen our own spiritual life by devoting ourselves to the Lord and by refocusing our lives on God instead on our own selfish desires in life? Let us all reflect on this as we continue living our lives in this world, as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle today, being tempted constantly by the forces of the devil.

Let us all be strengthened by our sincere and genuine prayer, committing ourselves to the Lord anew, with a new and more devoted heart and mind, that are constantly attuned to the Lord, our heavenly Father in prayer, at all times. Let us all be ever prayerful and commit ourselves, day after day, to be ever closer to God and to be more faithful to Him each and every days of our lives. May the Lord continue to bless us all and may He listen to our sincere prayers and supplications. Amen.

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Thursday, 20 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do; for they believe that, the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.”

“This, then, is how you should pray : Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name, Your kingdom, come, Your will be done on earth, as in heaven. Give us today, our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.”

“If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you.”

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Thursday, 20 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 7-8

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

The works of His hands are faithful and just, trustworthy are all His precepts, ordained to last forever, bearers of truth and uprightness.

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Thursday, 20 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 11 : 1-11

May you bear with me in some little foolishness! But surely you will. I confess that I share the jealousy of God for you, for I have promised you, in marriage, to Christ, the only Spouse; to present you to Him, as a pure virgin. And this is my fear : the serpent that seduced Eve, with cunning, could also corrupt your minds, and divert you from Christian sincerity.

Someone, now, comes, and preaches another Jesus, different from the One we preach, or you are offered a different spirit from the One you have received, with a different gospel from the one you have accepted – and you agree! I do not see how I am inferior to those super Apostles. Does my speaking leave much to be desired? Perhaps, but not my knowledge, as I have abundantly shown to you in every way.

Perhaps my fault was, that I humbled myself, in order to uplift you, or that, I gave you the Gospel free of charge. I called upon the services of other churches, and served you with the support I received from them. When I was with you, although I was in need, I did not become a burden to anyone. The friends from Macedonia gave me what I needed. I have taken care, not to be a burden to you in anything, and I will continue to do so.

By the truth of Christ within me, I will let no one in the land of Achaia stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

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Wednesday, 19 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we heard of the matter of prayer and fasting, two of the practices of our faith which we constantly do all the time and at the prescribed times of the year. And He reminded all of us to pray and fast with the right attitude and intention, or else we are not doing what is right for us to do as Christians.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? First we must understand the context of what the Lord had said to His disciples at that time, as He compared the practices that the Pharisees at that time did, in showing of their piety and prayers in public, not with the intention to glorify God but glorifying themselves and seeking for attention and human praise. And that is exactly what the Lord does not want His disciples and all of us to do.

The Pharisees were influential group of people who were intelligent and educated at that time, who held sway over a lot of the people, highly respected and honoured because of their role in safeguarding and keeping the customs and practices of the Jewish people, which they came to guard zealously and strongly against anyone or anything that might threaten those practices and customs, and all the privileges that they had earned by safeguarding those customs and laws.

But at that time, their preoccupation and excessive focus on maintaining the customs and the practices of the Jewish people ended up on them focusing on the external appearances and the superficial obedience to those laws and customs, rather than truly appreciating the significance and the real substance and intention of the Law of God. They ended up practicing those customs and laws not because they truly had God in their mind, but a lot of time because they had to do them.

As Christians, all of us are reminded by today’s Scripture readings not to follow the examples of many of the Pharisees who have forgotten the true importance of the Law and the customs they practiced, doing it all for appearances and praise rather than for the true purpose that is to worship, glorify and communicate with God. We must remember that as we live through our faith life, we must practice our faith with sincerity and commitment, not just by paying lip service.

In our first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians reminded us of the gifts that God has given us, His blessings and wonders, and consequently, as those whom the Lord has blessed, all of us should make good use of the gifts He has given to us, that we may truly be fruitful and bountiful in God. He said, those who have sowed meagrely will reap meagrely, and those who sowed generously will reap generously as well.

Therefore, in our lives we should be exemplary in our faith, and in our actions, in how we pray, in what we do in our daily lives we must reflect our faith and dedication to the Lord. We should put God as the focus and attention of our whole lives, and do our best to glorify Him and not ourselves. And today, we also can follow the examples showed by St. Philip Minh and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs.

At that time, the authorities in Vietnam were very hostile to the Christian faith and the missionaries who worked among the people proclaiming the truth of Christ. They were viewed with suspicion of collaboration with the French and other colonial powers. St. Philip Minh was among the first of the local Vietnamese to be ordained a priest and ministered among his own people before he and many others throughout those difficult years were arrested and made to suffer for their faith.

Yet, these courageous saints did not give up their faith despite the many temptations, persuasions, pressures and coercions to do so. They remained firm in their faith and dedication to the Lord. Had they placed their own safety, well-being and glory before that of the Lord, they would have abandoned God to gain the safety and acceptance of the world. But they showed all of us what it means to be true disciples and followers of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all be inspired by the examples of the holy saints of God, especially St. Philip Minh and his companions, the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs. Let us all dedicate ourselves to the Lord in the same way as they have done and do our best to be true disciples of the Lord. May the Lord bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, “Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face, as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have been paid in full already.”

“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father, Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”

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Wednesday, 19 June 2019 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 3-4, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are for his family; there, his integrity will remain. He is for the righteous a light in darkness; he is kind, merciful and upright.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.