Month: January 2021

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (I Classis) – Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Malachi 3 : 1 and Psalm 71 : 1

Ecce, advenit dominator Dominus : et regnum in manu ejus et potestas et imperium.

Deus, judicium Tuum Regida : et justitiam Tuam Filio Regis.

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

English translation

Behold the Lord the Ruler has come, and a kingdom in His hand, and power and dominion.

Give to the King Your judgment, o God, and to the King’s Son Your justice.

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 hodierna die Unigenitum Tuum gentibus stella duce revelasti : concede propitius; ut, qui jam Te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam speciem Tuae celsitudinis perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

English translation

O God, You who by the guidance of a star had revealed this day Your only begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we, who know You now by faith, may be so led as to behold with our eyes the beauty of Your majesty. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Wednesday after Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded yet again that the Lord has revealed and manifested His love to us in the form of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has been born into the world. This season of Christmas and at the Solemnity of the Epiphany, we are constantly being reminded of the Lord’s manifestation of His perfect love and compassion for us in Christ.

The Lord is reminding us to live in love, and to be loving just as He has been loving and kind to us. He has shown us so much compassion and kindness, and then therefore, we should also follow in His examples and all that He had taught us and revealed to us. He wants us all to learn from Him and follow the way that He has loved generously from His loving heart, so that each and every one of us may love Him and also love our fellow brethren as well.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of the Lord Jesus coming to His disciples when they were all in a boat in the middle of the stormy Lake of Galilee. There was such strong waves and wind that the boat where the disciples were travelling in was almost overcome and sunk, and the disciples were filled with fear and panic, worried about what would happen to them if the boat sank.

The Lord was praying at that time by Himself, and then He came towards them in the midst of all the waves and the storm, the wind and squalls. The disciples were worried and freaked out because they thought that they had seen a ghost. And all these happened just after they had witnessed the Lord performing the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men with just five loaves of bread and two fish as per mentioned in yesterday’s Gospel.

The Lord has repeatedly shown His love to us all His people, and patiently reaching out to us to heal us and to bring us out of our predicament and troubles. But we need to have faith in Him, brothers and sisters in Christ. Unless we trust in Him and place our faith in Him, we will end up like the disciples who worried over their lives and were full of fear, ready to even abandon the ship, which would actually mean danger to their lives.

That is because when we panic, we end up making rash and improper decisions that we will only come to regret later on. Abandoning the boat was one of the last thing that the disciples should contemplate, as although the waves were indeed very powerful, but if they chose to abandon the ship, there goes therefore their last anchor to safety, as the waves could quickly overwhelm them and sank them.

The Lord Jesus came to them and calmed them, reassured them that it was indeed Him, and not a ghost or apparition. He reminded all of them that they need to have faith in Him, no matter how difficult, dangerous or terrible the situation might be for them. We must never forget that even through our most challenging situations, the Lord will always be by our side, journeying with us and leading the way for us.

We should keep this in mind even as we begin this new year with so many uncertainties and fears that remain over the pandemic and the other trials currently faced by the world. Instead of fear, we should deepen our faith in the Lord and resolve to commit ourselves ever more to the Lord, dedicating ourselves to Him with even greater faith and conviction, and becoming genuine and powerful witnesses of His love and hope in our communities today. We should reach out in love to all those suffering, and be selfless towards each other, and not only thinking of our own survival.

Let us all be the bearers of Christ’s light, His love and compassion in our world today, so that through our collective actions, no matter how little they may be, we may be brought ever closer to God and to His consoling love. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us, with His love and grace. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Wednesday after Epiphany (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 6 : 45-52

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, toward Bethsaida, while He Himself sent the crowd away. And having sent the people off, He went by Himself to the hillside to pray.

When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, while He was alone on the land. Jesus saw His disciples straining at the oars, for the wind was against them; and before daybreak He came to them, walking on the lake, and He was going to pass them by. When they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified.

But, at once, He called to them, “Courage! It is I; do not be afraid!” Then Jesus got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely astonished, for they had not really grasped the fact of the loaves; their minds were dull.

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Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Wednesday after Epiphany (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 71 : 1-2, 10-11, 12-13

God, endow the King with Your justice, the Royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.

The kings of Tarshish and the islands render Him tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts, all kings bow down to Him, and all nations serve Him.

He delivers the needy who call on Him, the afflicted, with no one to help them. His mercy is upon the weak and the poor; He saves the lives of the poor.

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Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Wednesday after Epiphany (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 11-18

Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us. How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit.

We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God. We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.

When do we know, that we have reached a perfect love? When, in this world, we are like Him, in everything, and expect, with confidence, the Day of Judgment. There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear, for fear has to do with punishment; those who fear do not know perfect love.

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Tuesday, 5 January 2021 : Tuesday after Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the readings of the Scripture of the love that God has shown us and manifested to us in the person of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world. Through Him we have seen God’s love becoming tangible, no longer distant and unapproachable, and in Him, all of us have received the new experience of God’s ever enduring love.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle we heard St. John describing plainly and clearly what is God’s love, and how God Himself is love and the personification of true love. And he said that unless we know love and practice love among ourselves, then we cannot say that we have known God or have faith in Him because God Himself is love, and if we know God, we would have known love and how to love.

The Lord manifested His love in sending His Son into the world so that by this act, this singular act of supreme love, He may save all of us His beloved ones, by the act of His most merciful love, in reaching out to us and touching us with His own hands, in caring for us and in providing us all that we needed, just as He has always intended. He has always loved us and been faithful to the Covenant He had made with us, even when we were still rebels and being unfaithful.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus and His miraculous feeding of the five thousand men, which indicated an even much greater number of people, as the women and children were not counted among the numbers, and it was very likely that those men gathered there would have brought their families together with them, either to listen to Him or to be healed by Him.

And the Lord had pity on them when He saw how they had been following Him for days on end, without food and sustenance, and they were all very hungry. The Lord took the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were there, offered by a young boy, and after having blessed them, multiplied them miraculously by His power into such a quantity of food that all the people had enough to eat, and twelve baskets of leftover were obtained in the end.

We see in this act, how God truly cared for His people, feeding them and caring for them in their hour of need, while at the same time also caring for them spiritually through His teachings and through His words calling on all of them to turn away from their sins and to find their path towards God and His grace and love, as shown through Christ Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us having known of God’s love and having received His love at all times throughout our lives, let us all first be grateful and appreciative of all these love which we have received from God. Let us all be thankful that the Lord has shown His compassion and kindness to us despite us having been irresponsible, stubborn and hard-hearted all these while.

And then, we are all now having been beloved by God, full of His compassion and love. Can we love the Lord in the same manner as how He has first loved us all so generously, brothers and sisters? Every time we celebrate Christmas, we are being reminded of God’s love incarnate in the Flesh, in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, born into this world. Through Him all of us have received the fullness of God’s promise and love.

Let us all therefore be filled with renewed love of the Lord, with faith and trust in Him and His providence. Just as He has fed His people and guided them to His truth, He shall guide us all and provide us all the path to eternal happiness and true joy, for an eternity of glory with Him in Heaven. Let us all bear witness to this love and commit ourselves to be the witnesses of the light and salvation of God in the midst of all the darkness.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us and our resolve that we may ever serve God and dedicate our time, effort and attention to make the Lord known in this world, within our own communities and among all those whom we meet and encounter regularly in life. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 January 2021 : Tuesday after Epiphany (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 6 : 34-44

At that time, as Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things. It was now getting late, so His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a lonely place and it is now late. You should send the people away and let them go to the farms and villages around here, to buy themselves something to eat.”

Jesus replied, “You, yourselves, give them something to eat.” They answered, “If we are to feed them, we need two hundred silver coins to go and buy enough bread.” But Jesus said, “You have some loaves; how many? Go and see.” The disciples found out and said, “There are five loaves and two fish.”

Then He told them to have the people sit down, together in groups, on the green grass. This they did, in groups of hundreds and fifties. And Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish and, raising His eyes to heaven, He pronounced a blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them.

They all ate and everyone had enough. The disciples gathered up what was left, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces of bread and fish. Five thousand men had eaten there.

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Tuesday, 5 January 2021 : Tuesday after Epiphany (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 71 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8

O God, endow the King with Your justice, the Royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.

Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills justice. He will defend the cause of the poor, deliver the children of the needy.

Justice will flower in His days, and peace abound till the moon be no more. For He reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

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Tuesday, 5 January 2021 : Tuesday after Epiphany (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-10

My dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves, is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love.

How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world, that we might have life, through Him. This is love : not that we loved God, but that, He first loved us and sent His Son, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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Monday, 4 January 2021 : Monday after Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continue to celebrate the season of Christmas, and we are all called to continue walking in the path that the Lord has shown us, to dedicate ourselves to the same truth that He has revealed and passed down to us. Are we able to commit ourselves to His truth and resist the temptations and falsehoods from all those who seek to subvert His message of truth?

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle, St. John is reminding all of us of the truth and commandments that the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to all of us, and to stay steady in that faith that He has bestowed on us. We must be wary of the falsehoods and all the false leaders and false prophets who can end up leading us astray from the path of truth.

In this season and time of Christmas, all of us are reminded that the Lord has come into this world in order to save us, just as we have heard in our Gospel passage today of the Lord Who has come in the flesh in Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God Most High. The Gospel passage we heard today spoke of His works and ministry among the people, healing their sick and casting out evil spirits among others.

The Lord also proclaimed the message of repentance and change, calling on all the people to repent from their sins and to change their ways that they would no longer follow the path of the devil and his falsehoods and lies. He is calling on all of us to abandon these sins and wickedness in life, rejecting the false paths and distractions in this world and renew our dedication and commitment to God.

In this time of Christmas, we are called to refocus our attention on the Light of Christ and not in all the false ‘lights’ that merely serve as distractions and false leads that we may be trapped into following. We are all called especially at the start of this new year to reexamine our lives, how we have lived them and how we are going to proceed forward in our path of life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through these reminders that the Lord has given us, let us all do whatever we can in order to devote our efforts and attention to be witnesses to Him in wherever we are, in our families, among our friends and within our communities. We are all called to bear faithful witnesses to the Lord, by our every words, actions and deeds, through even our smallest and regular interactions with each other, with all those whom we encounter in our daily lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our calling as Christians is to be the bearers of Christ’s light of hope, of strength and love in the midst of all these darkness. And we all clearly know just how darkened this world had been in the past year alone, and we are all in the position to make a difference in the lives of so many people. Let us all strive to be devoted Christians from now on, living our lives with faith, genuine faith from now on, and not just treat it as a mere formality.

Let us all stand fast to the truth and Light of Christ, and reveal Him to the world, that many more people may come to see His goodness and love, and be saved from the abyss of their despair, the darkness of this world and the corruption of their sins. May God be with us and may He guide us in all of our good efforts and endeavours, for His greater glory. Amen.