Month: July 2020

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 July 2020 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Green

Offertory

Psalm 16 : 5, 6-7

Perfice gressus meos in semitis Tuis, ut non moveantur vestigia mea : inclina aurem Tuam, et exaudi verba mea : mirifica misericordias Tuas, qui salvos facis sperantes in Te, Domine.

 

English translation

May You perfect my goings in Your paths, that my footsteps may not be moved. Incline Your ear, and hear my words. Show forth Your wonderful mercies, You who saved those who trust in You, o Lord.

 

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Propitiare, Domine, supplicationibus nostris, et has populi Tui oblationes benignus assume : et, ut nullius sit irritum votum, nullius vacua postulatio, praesta; ut, quod fideliter petimus, efficaciter consequamur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

Be propitious to our supplications, o Lord, and graciously accept these offerings of Your people, and that the prayer of none may be without effect, the petition of none that is vain, grant that what we ask in faith we may effectually obtain. 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

Psalm 26 : 6

Circuibo et immolabo in tabernaculo ejus hostiam jubilationis : cantabo et psalmum dicam Domino.

 

English translation

I will go round, and offer up in His tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation; I will sing and recite a psalm to the Lord.

 

Post-Communion Prayer

Repleti sumus, Domine, muneribus Tuis : tribue, quaesumus; ut eorum et mundemur effectu et muniamur auxilio. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

We have been filled with Your gifts, o Lord, grant we beseech You, that by their effect we may be both cleansed and fortified. 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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(Usus Antiquior) Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 July 2020 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Marcum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Mark 8 : 1-9

In illo tempore : Cum turba multa esset cum Jesu, nec haberent, quod manducarent, convocatis discipulis, ait illis : Misereor super turbam : quia ecce jam triduo sustinent me, nec habent quod manducent : et si dimisero eos jejunos in domum suam, deficient in via : quidam enim ex eis de longe venerunt.

Et responderunt ei discipuli sui : Unde illos quis poterit hic saturare panibus in solitudine? Et interrogavit eos : Quot panes habetis? Qui dixerunt : Septem. Et praecepit turbae discumbere super terram. Et accipiens septem panes, gratias agens fregit, et dabat discipulis suis, ut apponerent, et apposuerunt turbae.

Et habebant pisciculos paucos : et ipsos benedixit, et jussit apponi. Et manducaverunt, et saturati sunt, et sistulerunt quod superaverat de fragmentis, septem sportas. Erant autem qui manducaverant, quasi quatuor milia : et dimisit eos.

 

English translation

At that time, when there was a great multitude with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat, calling His disciples together, He said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me for three days, and have nothing to eat, and if I shall send them away fasting to their home they will faint in the way, for some of them came from afar off.”

And His disciples answered Him, “From where can any one fill those who are here with bread in the wilderness?” And He asked them, “How many loaves do you have,” and they answered, “Seven.” And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground. And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks He broke them, and gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they set them before the people.

And they had a few little fishes, and He blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. And they did eat, and were filled, and they took up those that were left of the fragments and filled seven baskets, and those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 July 2020 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 89 : 13, 1 and Psalm 30 : 2-3

Convertere, Domine, aliquantulum, et deprecare super servos Tuos.

Response : Domine, refugium factus es nobis, a generatione et progenie.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum : in justitia Tua libera me et eripe me : inclina ad me aurem Tuam, accelera, ut eripias me. Alleluja.

 

English translation

Return, o Lord, a little, and be entreated in favour of Your servants.

Response : Lord, You have been our refuge from generation to generation.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : In You, o Lord, I have hoped, let me never be confounded, deliver me in Your justice, and release me. Bow down Your ear to me, make haste to deliver me. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 July 2020 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

Romans 6 : 3-11

Fratres : Quicumque baptizati sumus in Christo Jesu, in morte ipsius baptizati sumus. Consepulti enim sumus cum illo per baptismum in mortem : ut, quomodo Christus surrexit a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus. Si enim complantati facti sumus similitudini mortis ejus : simul et resurrectionis erimus.

Hoc scientes, quia vetus homo noster simul crucifixus est : ut destruatur corpus peccati, et ultra non serviamus peccato. Qui enim mortuus est, justificatus est a peccato. Si autem mortui sumus cum Christo : credimus, quia simul etiam vivemus cum Christo : scientes, quod Christus resurgens ex mortuis, jam non moritur, mors illi ultra non dominabitur.

Quod enim mortuus est peccato, mortuus est semel : quod autem vivit, vivit Deo. Ita et vos existimate, vos mortuos quidem esse peccato, viventes autem Deo, in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro.

 

English translation

Brethren, all of us who are baptised in Christ Jesus are baptised into His death. For we are buried together with Him by baptism unto death, that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, and that we may serve sin no longer. For he who is dead is justified from sin. Now if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live together with Christ. Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dies no more, death shall no longer have dominion over Him.

For in that He died to sin, He died once, but in that He lives, He lives unto God. So if you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 July 2020 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Green

Introit

Psalm 27 : 8-9, 1

Dominus fortitudo plebis suae, et protector salutarium Christi sui est : salvum fac populum Tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati Tuae, et rege eos usque in saeculum.

Ad Te, Domine, clamabo, Deus meus, ne sileas a me : ne quando taceas a me, et assimilabor descendentibus in lacum.

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

 

English translation

The Lord is the strength of His people, and the protector of the salvation of His anointed. Save, o Lord, Your people, and bless Your inheritance, and rule them forever.

Unto You I will cry, o Lord, o my God, may You be not silent to me, lest if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down into the pit.

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 virtutum, cujus est totum quod est optimum : insere pectoribus nostris amorem Tui Nominis, et praesta in nobis religionis augmentum; ut, quae sunt bona, nutrias, ac pietatis studio, quae sunt nutrita, custodias. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

O God of virtues, to Whom belongs every excellent things, implant in our hearts the love of Your Name, and bestow upon us the increase of religion, fostering what things are good, and, by Your loving care, guarding what You have fostered. 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, 11 July 2020 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us heard first of all from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the description of a great vision that Isaiah received, as he saw the marvellous glory of God, the magnificent Throne of God and His divine majesty, enthroned among the Seraphim and Cherubim, the greatest among the Angels of God. The Lord showed Isaiah that vision to strengthen him and to make him know how He has chosen him to bear His words to the people and to proclaim His truth and prophesy in His Name.

And therefore, from then on, Isaiah after he enthusiastically answered God’s call with, ‘Here I am! Send me!’, went on to serve the people, speaking God’s words among them, encouraging them as shown at the moment when king Sennacherib of Assyria came up to besiege Jerusalem with a mighty army and mocked both God and the king, Isaiah reassured both the king of Judah and the people, that God would be with them and that for all the boasts and hubris of the Assyrian king, he was nothing compared to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Sure enough, no sooner that the Assyrian king had made his boast, blaspheming against God, that the Lord sent His Angels against the king’s mighty army, and wiped them all out with a great disaster and plague, that when morning broke, hundreds of thousands were dead and the Assyrian king Sennacherib had to abandon his siege and retreat back to his lands in shame. Through this, God showed that He is truly the One in charge, and the Master over all things.

And through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord has also promised His people that He would bring them salvation and liberation, as He renewed His promise of the coming of the Messiah or Saviour, Who was extensively spoken about in many of Isaiah’s prophecies. Through all these assurances, the Lord again wanted His people to have faith in Him and to keep their trust in Him, that despite everything that they might have suffered and endured because of their sins, their wickedness and disobedience, but God was always ready to welcome them back and be reconciled with them.

This reconciliation came about and was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, the One Whom the prophet Isaiah had been prophesying about. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the whole world has seen the salvation of God, and the world that was once filled with darkness and uncertainty, have seen the light and hope of God, finally revealed to all. And Christ reiterated again and again, including in what we have heard in our Gospel today, how we are truly fortunate to have God Who loves us all dearly and considers us precious.

In today’s Gospel, the Lord spoke of the trust that we ought to have in God because of just how precious we are in the sight of God, how beloved we are and how fortunate we are because every single one of us are blessed and important to God, no matter how small or insignificant we may think we are. The Lord has shown again from time to time, throughout history, how He has protected His faithful ones and provided for them in their time of need. And even at the darkest and the most vulnerable moments, when we mankind have no where else and nothing and no one else to turn to, the Lord is and will always be there for us.

But are we willing to accept Him? Are we even aware that He is always there for us, providing for us and granting us what we need? The Lord has shown us His ever present love and attention, but many of us have abandoned Him, left Him for other things, for worldly comforts and desires, for all sorts of temptations that made us more and more distant, and became more and more separated from God. That is why today we are reminded through these Scripture passages, to turn once again towards God if we have forgotten about Him or abandoned Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us have to remember how we are truly beloved by God and precious to Him, and then, even more importantly, we are called by God to do His will, to follow in the footsteps of the prophet Isaiah and help others to find their way back to God, and to remind them all of how great and loving God has been towards us. All of us have been called and share in this calling through our baptism, that we all are charged with spreading the word of God, to lead others to Him.

St. Benedict, holy Abbot and great father of Christian monasticism in the Western Christendom can be our great source of inspiration, as we celebrate his feast day today. St. Benedict, also known as St. Benedict of Nursia, was a great and holy servant of God, renowned for his piety and commitment to live a life of purity and prayer dedicated to God. He was born in a Roman noble family and had a good upbringing and life, but as he continued his education in Rome, the immorality and wickedness he witnessed made him to want to seek God.

As a result, he and his sister, St. Scholastica, began to seek God through prayerful life and retreat away from the world. Through his efforts and example, the foundations for Christian monastic practices in the Western Christendom were established, as he inspired many others to follow him in a life of asceticism and prayer dedicated to God, living in a close-knit community, and wrote the rule which would be remembered for many centuries and generations since, the Rule of St. Benedict, which would also inspire the rules in the many other monastic orders.

Through his life, St. Benedict inspired many people to turn once again towards the Lord, some of whom decided to follow his way of life and become an ascetic and monk, while others endeavoured to lead a better life more connected to God, through greater charity, life more attuned to God and more righteous and just in all of their dealings. Are we able to inspire others just as St. Benedict had done? That is why we need to follow God wholeheartedly and make our lives a great reflection of our Christian faith.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He make us all great instruments of His presence in this world. May He grant us the strength and courage to be ever faithful, dedicated to Him as how the prophet Isaiah and the many other prophets, and as St. Benedict of Nursia and the many other holy saints, holy men and women of God had done before us. May all of us be ever faithful, and be great and committed disciples of the Lord, in words, deeds and actions, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 July 2020 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Saturday, 11 July 2020 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Saturday, 11 July 2020 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 6 : 1-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings : two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with. They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His glory!”

At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.”

Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the Altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?”

I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

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Friday, 10 July 2020 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the assurance of love and mercy from God, the assurance that no matter what, God will always be by our side regardless of whatever that had happened or will happen to us, and we can be sure of the Lord’s guidance and protection. That is because, if all else fail and all else fall apart, the Lord alone can be fully trusted and depended upon. His everlasting and enduring love for us is the reason for all these.

In our first reading today, as we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea, after many days listening to God’s anger at His people’s constant disobedience and sins, their lack of faith and stubbornness in worshipping idols and performing what were wicked in the sight of God, today we heard that despite all of these, the Lord still truly loved His people, and called on all of them to return to Him, to repent from their sins, turning away from their wickedness and once again embrace God’s righteousness.

The Lord wanted all of them to throw away the shackles of their sins, to put their trust once again in Him instead of all the idols and other worldly powers that they had entrusted themselves to at that time, as many of the people turned instead to Baal, Ashtaroth, and other pagan gods for direction and guidance, instead of turning to God, and they trusted more in politics and worldly connections rather than to trust in God.

As mentioned in the passage today, what was spoken was truly prophetic, as Assyria mentioned in that passage as one of those to whom the Israelites had turned to for support, would in short time, ended up becoming the very one that would destroy the kingdom, its capital Samaria and brought its people into exile. All those who had sought to seek Assyria’s help and support, particularly in the context of the ever-bitter rivalry between the northern kingdom and the neighbouring country of Aram-Damascus would eventually be disappointed as both kingdoms were crushed by the rising Empire.

The Lord through His prophet Hosea was reminding His people that He alone has the power to guide them all to the true happiness and joy, and save them from their predicament and trouble. For He is truly the One with the power and authority to rule over all things, and there is no other things in this world that we can rely on or trust besides the Lord. Unfortunately, we are often too busy or preoccupied, distracted and ignorant to realise just how fortunate we have been, to have been so beloved by God, Who has always been ever so patient towards us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke of this same reassurance to His disciples, as He encouraged them and strengthened them, in saying that they should not fear of worry about themselves, should they encounter trials and challenges during their ministry and faithful commitment to His cause. He said all these to strengthen them and prepare them for what they were to experience. Many among the Apostles and disciples would endure prison, torture and suffering, and even death. Many others would endure trials and persecution, rejection and opposition.

The Lord reassured them that He would be with them, standing by them even through their most difficult moments. They would never be alone, or face their oppressors and challengers on their own accord. If they trust in the Lord, the Lord would be their strength and consolation, their guide and protector, and His Spirit would be with them, giving them wisdom and courage, brilliance and perseverance, just as most prominently we can see in St. Stephen’s martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this past year alone, and especially this year, we have seen, witnessed and likely experienced for ourselves, how our usual trust and dependance on worldly matters and things have been shaken and our trust in them destroyed. We see how our society and respective communities were affected badly by all the negative implications of the current pandemic, troubles and conflicts affecting our whole world. When what we have thought all these while to be stable are gone and can no longer be trusted, who or what then can we turn our attention to?

Of course it is the Lord, He Who is ever constant and faithful, Whose love for us is ever present and enduring, even amidst all of our infidelities and lack of faith. God has shown us yet again and again, how He is ever patient, in calling us to return to Him and to be reconciled to Him. Yet, at the same time, we also have to realise that He is calling us to repent and turn away from our sins and wickedness, for if we constantly being stubborn and refuse His mercy, then it is by those sins that we will be condemned and judged.

Let us all turn towards God with a renewed love and dedication, that from now on we will draw ever closer to God, and be filled with deeper and more genuine faith in Him from now on. May the Lord be with us always, and may He be our inspiration, strength, guide and protector as we continue to journey through life with faith. May God bless us always, in all of our good works, now and forevermore. Amen.