Year: 2019

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour, Feast of St. Theodore, Martyr (II Classis) – Saturday, 9 November 2019 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Offertory

1 Paralipomenon (Chronicles) 29 : 17, 18

Domine Deus, in simplicitate cordis mei laetus obtuli universa; et populum Tuum, qui repertus est, vidi cum ingenti gaudio : Deus Israel, custodi hanc voluntatem, Alleluja.

 

English translation

O Lord God, in the simplicity of my heart, I have joyfully offered all these things; and I have seen with great joy Your people, which are present. O God of Israel, keep this will, Alleluia.

 

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Secret (only to be used in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran itself)

Annue, quaesumus, Domine, precibus nostris : (ut, quicumque intra templi hujus, cujus anniversarium dedicationis diem celebramus, ambitum continemur, plena tibi atque perfecta corporis et animae devotione placeamus) ut, dum haec vota praesentia reddimus, ad aeterna praemia, te adjuvante, pervenire mereamur. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

Bow down to our prayers, o Lord, we beseech You (that all of us who are within the precincts of this temple, the anniversary of whose dedication we celebrate, may please You with full and perfect devotion of body and soul) that, while we pay our vows here below, we may, by Your assistance, be worthy to attain unto everlasting rewards. Through our Lord…

 

Secret (Commemoration of Dedication)

Deus, qui sacrandorum tibi auctor es munerum, effunde super hanc orationis domum benedictionem Tuam : ut ab omnibus, in ea invocantibus Nomen Tuum, defensionis Tuae auxilium se nitatur. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

O God, You who are the author of the gifts that are to be consecrated to You, pour forth Your blessing upon this house of prayer, that the help of Your defense may be felt by all who here invoke Your Name. Through our Lord…

 

Secret (Commemoration of St. Theodore)

Suscipe, Domine, fidelium preces cum oblationibus hostiarum : et, intercedente Beato Theodoro Martyre Tuo, per haec piae devotionis officia ad caelestem gloriam transeamus. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

Receive, o Lord, the prayers of the faithful with offerings of sacrifices, and, by the intercession of Blessed Theodore, Your martyr, may we pass through these offices of pious devotion to heavenly glory. Through our Lord…

 

Communion

Matthew 21 : 13

Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur, dicit Dominus : in ea omnis, qui petii, accipit; et qui quaerit, invenit; et pulsanti aperietur.

 

English translation

My house shall be called the house of prayer, says the Lord. Every one who asks therein will receive, and he who seeks, shall find, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened to him.

 

Post-Communion Prayer

Post-Communion (Commemoration of Dedication of Basilica of St. John Lateran)

Deus, qui de vivis et electis lapidibus aeternum majestati Tuae praeparas habitaculum : auxiliare populo Tuo supplicanti; ut, quod Ecclesiae Tuae corporalibus proficit spatiis, spiritualibus amplificetur augmentis. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

O God, who from living and chosen stones had prepared for Your majesty an eternal dwelling, help Your people who call upon You, so that what is profitable to Your Church in material growth may be accompanied with an increase of that which is of the Spirit. Through our Lord…

 

Post-Communion (Commemoration of St. Theodore)

Praesta nobis, quaesumus, Domine : intercedente Beato Theodoro Martyre Tuo; ut, quod ore contingimus, pura mente capiamus. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

Grant us, we beseech You, o Lord, by the intercession of Blessed Theodore, Your martyr, that what we touch with our lips we may receive with pure hearts. Through our Lord…

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour, Feast of St. Theodore, Martyr (II Classis) – Saturday, 9 November 2019 : Holy Gospel

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

Luke 19 : 1-10

In illo tempore : Ingressus Jesus perambulabat Jericho. Et ecce, vir nomine Zachaeus : et hic princeps erat publicanorum, et ipse dives : et quaerebat videre Jesum, quis esset : et non poterat prae turba, quia statura pusillus erat.

Et praecurrens ascendit in arborem sycomorum, ut videret eum; quia inde erat transiturus. Et cum venisset ad locum, suspiciens Jesus vidit illum, et dixit ad eum : Zachaee, festinans descende; quia hodie in domo tua oportet me manere. Et festinans descendit, et excepit illum gaudens. Et cum viderent omnes, murmurabant, dicentes, quod ad hominem peccatorem divertisset.

Stans autem Zachaeus, dixit ad Dominum : Ecce, dimidium bonorum meorum, Domine, do pauperibus : et si quid aliquem defraudavi, reddo quadruplum. Ait Jesus ad eum : Quia hodie salus domui huic facta est : eo quod et ipse filius sit Abrahae. Venit enim Filius hominis quaerere et salvum facere, quod perierat.

 

English translation

At that time, Jesus entering in, walked through Jericho. And behold there was a man named Zachaeus, who was the chief of the publicans, and he was rich, and he sought to see who Jesus was, and he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was of low stature.

And running before, he climbed up into a sycamore tree that he might see Him, for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to that place, looking up, He saw him and said to him, “Zachaeus, make haste and come down, for this day I must abide in your house.” And he made haste and came down, and received Him with joy. And when all saw it, they murmured, saying that He is going to be a guest with a man who was a sinner.

But Zachaeus standing, said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have wronged any man of anything, I will restore to him fourfold.” Jesus said to him, “This day salvation has come to this house, because he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man comes to seek and save those who were lost.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour, Feast of St. Theodore, Martyr (II Classis) – Saturday, 9 November 2019 : Gradual and Alleluia

Tradition of the Faith and Psalm 137 : 2

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.

Response : Deus, cui astat Angelorum chorus, exaudi preces servorum Tuorum.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Adorabo ad templum sanctum Tuum : et confitebor Nomini Tuo. Alleluja.

 

English translation

This place was made by God a priceless mystery, it is without reproof.

Response : O God, before whom stands the choir of angels, hear the prayers of Your servants.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : I will worship toward Your holy Temple, and I will give glory to Your Name. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour, Feast of St. Theodore, Martyr (II Classis) – Saturday, 9 November 2019 : Epistle

Lectio libri Apocalypsis Beati Joannis Apostoli – Lesson from the Book of the Apocalypse of Blessed John the Apostle

Apocalypse 21 : 2-5

In diebus illis : Vidi sanctam civitatem Jerusalem novam descendentem de caelo a Deo, paratam sicut sponsam ornatam viro suo.

Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem : Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis. Et ipsi populus ejus erunt, et ipse Deus cum eis erit eorum Deus : et absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum : et mors ultra non erit, neque luctus neque clamor neque dolor erit ultra, quia prima abierunt.

Et dixit, qui sedebat in throno : Ecce, nova facio omnia.

 

English translation

In those days, I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God with men; and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself with them shall be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.”

And He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour, Feast of St. Theodore, Martyr (II Classis) – Saturday, 9 November 2019 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Genesis 28 : 17 and Psalm 83 : 2-3

Terribilis est locus iste : hic domus Dei est et porta caeli : et vocabitur aula Dei.

Response : Quam dilecta tabernacula Tua, Domine virtutum! Concupiscit, et deficit anima mea in atria Domini.

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

 

English translation

Terrible is this place : it is the house of God, and the gate of heaven; and shall be called the court of God.

Response : How lovely are Your tabernacles, o Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord.

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

Collect for the Dedication of Archbasilica of our Saviour

Deus, qui nobis per singulos annos hujus sancti templi tui consecrationis reparas diem, et sacris semper mysteriis representas incolumes : exaudi preces populi tui, ut praesta; ut, quisquis hoc templum beneficia petiturus ingreditur, cuncta se impetrasse laetetur. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

O God, who year by year renews the day of the consecration of this Your Holy Temple, and ever bring us again in safety to the holy mysteries, hear the prayers of Your people, and grant that whoever enters this temple to seek blessings may rejoice to obtain all that he seeks. Through our Lord…

 

Collect for the commemoration of St. Theodore

Deus, qui nos beati Theodori Martyris tui confessione gloriosa circumdas et protegis : praesta nobis ex ejus imitatione proficere, et oratione fulciri. Per Dominum…

 

English translation

O God, who encompasses and protects us with the glorious testimony of Blessed Theodore, Your martyr, grant us to profit by imitating him and to be supported by his prayers. Through our Lord…

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Friday, 8 November 2019 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded that in our lives in this world, we will always ever be tempted to walk down the path of sin, following the whims of our desires, the desires of our flesh, the desires for money and worldly possessions, all sorts of things that distract us from God and His ways. And unless we persistently and actively seek to restrain ourselves from those temptations and sins.

Today we listened to the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel passage in which He spoke to His disciples and followers using the parable of the dishonest steward to highlight the importance of dedicating oneself to God and not to other, worldly things. In that parable, we heard of the story of a steward who was dishonest and corrupt in his actions, whose corrupt practices led him to enrich himself off his master’s money.

When he was discovered by his master and was dealt with a notice of dismissal, he panicked and then did whatever he had been used to doing all the while. As we heard how he approached another two servants of his master, we heard how he cunningly manipulated the debts that those two servants had towards his master, a practice that he probably had done all the times while he was still embezzling his master’s money.

The master praised the astuteness of the dishonest servant, but actually if we understood both the intention of the Lord’s use of this particular parable and also the context of the story and the situation, we should see just how sarcastic the master was when he praised that dishonest steward. Essentially he was rebuking the same steward who had been corrupt and showed how that steward was doing whatever he knew how to do, in being dishonest to safeguard himself and his own interests.

Then this leads to what the Lord then continued on, in highlighting how man cannot love two masters at the same time, and how man cannot serve both God and money. He explained saying how if one love one of the masters, then that man will be bound to love the other one less or even despise the other one. Similarly therefore, we cannot claim or endeavour to serve both God and also the ways of this world.

This is a reminder for all of us as Christians that God should be the primary focus of our lives, of our every actions and deeds, of our every effort and considerations. God should be at the very centre of our lives and our existences, and that befits our role and identity as Christians who believe in God and in His salvation and providence. If we do things otherwise, and choose to follow instead the path of worldliness, how can we call ourselves as Christians then?

Unfortunately, it is a sad reality that many of us Christians have not been truly faithful to God as we should have. We have often put God aside in our relentless and continued pursuit of worldly glory and satisfaction, in our desire for money and material goods, for fame and status within the community, for praise and adulation, for pleasures of the mind and the body among many others.

This is where as Christians all of us are called and challenged to be different, and to resist those temptations that had made so many of us to fall into the darkness of sin. It will not be easy for us to resist those many temptations and wickedness, but unless we put conscious effort and do our best to be righteous and good in the presence of God, then it may be difficult for us to embrace our calling fully to live as faithful Christians.

Let us all therefore do our best in our respective lives, for each and every moments, to be followers of Christ by our good examples in life, and by our dedication and commitment to do His will and not just on formality only. Let our faith in God be a great and sincere one, and let us all draw ever closer to Him and to His saving grace. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 8 November 2019 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 16 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.”

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Friday, 8 November 2019 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

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Friday, 8 November 2019 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 15 : 14-21

As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced, that you have goodwill, knowledge, and the capacity to advise each other; nevertheless, I have written boldly in some parts of this letter, to remind you of what you already know. I do this, according to the grace God has given to me, when I was sent to the pagan nations. I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God, as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God, as an agreeable offering, consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This service of God is, for me, a cause of pride, in Christ Jesus.

Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things, but what Christ, Himself, has done, through me, my words and my works, with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit – so, that, non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way, I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illyricum.

I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is already known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others. Let it be as Scripture says : Those not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

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Thursday, 7 November 2019 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are called to reflect on how God has loved each and every one of us so much that every single one of us are precious before Him and He does not want us to be lost to the darkness. Sin has caused us to be separated from Him and has created the chasm and separation between us and God’s fullness of grace and love.

Fortunately, God’s love for us is even more powerful and greater than all of that. That is proven because even though we have committed many acts of sin throughout our lives, He never ceased to reach out to us and calling us to be repentant and to turn away from those sins. He wants us to be cleansed from those sins and therefore become worthy of the fullness of God’s grace and inheritance. He is always on the lookout for us, being concerned for our souls.

This is what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples about the matter of God seeking His people as being compared to that of a shepherd who is looking for his one lost sheep, or likened to a person looking for a lost coin. In those cases, the shepherd and the person looking for the lost coin would have done all they could to find the one thing they loved and desired the most.

And this ought to be compared with and seen in the light of how God loves us all very dearly and how each and every one of us are precious to Him. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were making vicious and wicked comments on the Lord and His actions when He reached out to those whom the community in general considered as sinners and as people who were unworthy of God. These were the tax collectors and prostitutes, as well as people who were crippled and inflicted with diseases.

The Pharisees were in particular critical of all those people, seeing them as sinners unworthy of God’s help and grace. But in the process they have overlooked the very fact that they themselves were sinners who were equally unworthy and whom the Lord in fact also sought. The Lord came into this world to reconcile all of His people with Him, and even that included all those who had persecuted, hated and ridiculed Him.

That was what St. Paul spoke about in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, in our first reading today, as he reminded all the faithful of how God has extended His loving mercy, compassion and forgiveness to us, in seeking us the lost sheep of His. He came into this world and willingly took up His Cross, and bearing in our stead and for our sake, the mighty and the many burdens of our sins, He died for us that we may live.

The Lord loves us that much that He was willing to endure all of the sufferings of our sake. It was His love, the love of the true and Good Shepherd that allowed Him to go through all of that. Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what then has been our response to God’s love? Have we embraced His love, mercy and forgiveness with the same kind of love and faith? Or have we instead spurned His love and rejected Him?

If we harden our hearts like that of the Pharisees, being so full of themselves and filled with pride and selfish thoughts, then there is going to be hardly any space in our hearts to allow God to enter into our hearts and transform us. Instead, we should humble ourselves and not judge each other by our sins, for ultimately we are all sinners before God. And rather than judging and being condescending to others or comparing our sins and worthiness, we should instead focus on helping one another to live virtuously and righteously in accordance with God’s will.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time to discern how we will proceed in life from now on, knowing what we need to do in order to be truly righteous and to seek God in all things we do, reaching out to Him Who has always been ready to welcome us back and to be reconciled with us. Let us all do our best therefore to follow God and be obedient to His will from now on. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.