Month: June 2022

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Friday, 17 June 2022 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 11 : 1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom.

Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the house of YHVH for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the house of YHVH. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king’s son.

The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do; and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of king David which were in the house of YHVH. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the house of YHVH.

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king’s son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the house of YHVH.

The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, treason!”

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, “Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her.” He gave this order, because he thought, “She should not die in the house of YHVH.” They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king, by the horses’ entrance, there, they killed her.

Jehoiada made a Covenant between YHVH and the king and the people so they would be the people of YHVH. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar. Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the house of YHVH.

All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king’s palace.

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Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, also known as Corpus Christi, marking the commemoration of the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. Today we commemorate the Lord truly present in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which we partake and consume during every celebration of the Holy Mass. As Christians, we all firmly believe that the Eucharist we partake and receive in the Holy Mass is none other than the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord Himself.

Although the appearance of the bread and wine remains, but the mystery of our faith in what is known as Transubstantiation means that the bread and wine had actually, by the power of God, through the priests, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and the authority given to them by the Lord through His Church, become the very essence, reality and matter of the Lord’s own Body and Blood. We have faith that this is the truth, and what we truly eat and drink is the Lord Himself, Whose Body has been broken for us, and Whose Blood has been shed and poured down to us, to wash us clean and to bring us to salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading today, we heard the account of the encounter between Abraham, the father of the faithful and Melchizedek, the High Priest of Salem and the High Priest of God Most High. In that occasion, Abraham gave offering to God through Melchizedek, who then offered Abraham’s offering to God, as His High Priest. Melchizedek according to Church tradition had always been a rather mysterious figure, but one who was highly respected and regarded, and there were many theories and explanations that some tried to provide with regards to Melchizedek. Some said that Melchizedek prefigured Christ Himself, in His role as the High Priest, just as Melchizedek being a High Priest of God as well.

Regardless what it was, the link between Melchizedek and Christ established Christ as the High Priest of all mankind, Who offered the sacrifice and offering on our behalf, for the absolution of our many sins. And this is where He uniquely offered on our behalf, the perfect and worthy offering, of none other than His own Precious Body and Blood, the only offering that is worthy enough for the atonement and forgiveness of our sins. Hence, Our Lord offered His sacrificial offering both as the High Priest as well as the Paschal Lamb being sacrificed.

In our second reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we heard the Apostle recounting to the faithful what happened at the night of the Last Supper, when the Lord Instituted the Holy Eucharist, by offering the bread and wine that He had blessed, and gave them to His disciples, saying clearly that the bread was truly His Body, broken and given to them, while the wine was truly His Blood, shed and poured on all the people, to all sinners, for the salvation of souls and for the forgiveness of sins. He instituted the Holy Eucharist to give us all the means by which we can be saved from the darkness of our sins.

At the Last Supper, the Lord began His offering as the New Passover and the New Covenant that He established with all of mankind. He offered His own Precious and Holy Body and Blood because in the past, the offering and sacrifice of even unblemished lamb was not sufficient for the absolution of the whole multitude of mankind’s many sins. At the original Passover in Egypt, which the Israelites henceforth commemorated every year, the Passover lamb was slain and then its blood used to mark the houses of the Israelites, that they might be rescued and freed from the slavery and suffering they endured in Egypt. Thus, in the New Passover that the Lord had brought with Him, He Himself, as the Paschal Lamb, and the High Priest, offer on our behalf, the sacrificial offering to redeem us and free us from the suffering and slavery to our sins.

But that sacrifice and offerings did not end at the Last Supper. On the contrary, everything that happened during the Passion of the Lord, His suffering and journey, the suffering and rejection He endured, and His Way of the Cross, culminating with His death and suffering on the Cross. It was at Good Friday that His sacrifice and offering was completed and made perfect, as He offered His own Body and Blood, the Divine Word Incarnate, as the perfect and unblemished offering that cleansed all the faithful from the taints of sin. Through the gift of the Holy Eucharist, the Lord has given us the assurance and guarantee of salvation and eternal life.

That is what the Lord also meant to do as highlighted in our Gospel passage today, as we heard from that the account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men with unknown thousands more of women and children with merely five bread and two fishes. He fed them all, and nourished them, giving them the strength to go on, as they were all hungry after following Him and listening to Him for His words and teachings. He then later on would tell them that He is the Bread of Life, the One Who had come into this world to bring life and nourish all of us, with the food that is His Body, and the drink that is His Blood, and as He said it Himself, all of us who share and partake in His Body and Blood shall never die and will have eternal life.

That is because when we eat His Body and drink His Blood, the Lord Himself has come to dwell within us, and He has made us into the Temple of His Holy Presence. As long as He remains in us and we remain in Him, we shall not be lost from Him, and we shall forever enjoy the glorious inheritance and true joy that can come from the Lord alone. The Lord has given His Body and Blood to us freely, and through this act of ultimate love and sacrifice, He has opened for us the gates of Heaven and the path to eternal life. This is what He has promised us and provided for us, and yet, many of us still do not have the firm faith in His providence and love.

Many of us still do not show that we truly believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. We may profess our faith in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, but from the way we behave and respond to the Eucharist more often than not showed just how little we appreciate the Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, and how little the faith and love that we have in Him. We treated the Lord with indifference and even contempt, in the manner how we receive the Holy Eucharist, in our lack of respect for the Holy Mass and the important tenets of our Christian faith, and in not living our lives in accordance to what we have been expected as Christians.

Today, each and every one of us are reminded that we have been so fortunate that the Lord, our most loving Father, Creator and Master, have been so kind, patient and compassionate towards us that He has given us all His Son, to be Our Lord and Saviour, and by Whose sacrifice, both as our High Priest and Paschal Lamb, He has brought unto us the assurance and guarantee of salvation and eternal life, by giving us His own Body and His own Blood, for us to partake, that He may dwell in us, and that we may always be together with Him.

Let us remind ourselves that we are in the Holy Presence of God, that the Lord Himself has dwelled amongst us, and within us. Let us remind ourselves that we have to be worthy of Him, and strive to be better Christians for now on, in honouring and loving the most loving and perfect sacrifice that He has shown us, in bringing about our salvation. Let us all deepen our faith from now on, in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, that what we receive in the Holy Eucharist, is truly real Body and the real Blood of Our Lord, and not just merely bread and wine, or just merely a symbol.

And we have to begin that from ourselves. We have to give due reverence and honour to the Holy Eucharist, in the manner we receive it, such that we ensure that we are in a proper disposition and state of grace, just as St. Paul said that it would be harmful for Christians who are not in the state of grace to partake of the Holy Eucharist. We have to keep in mind that our every actions and deeds reflect our faith and what we believe in, and how can we expect others to believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, Transubstantiation and that the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of the Lord is truly present in the Eucharist, at every celebration of the Holy Mass, if we ourselves have not wholeheartedly believed in it and showed that we truly believe?

May the Lord, Who has given us His own Precious Body and Blood, for our salvation, continue to love us and may He strengthen each and every one of us by His grace and love. May all of us draw ever closer to the Lord and His saving grace, with each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all and be with all of our works, efforts and good endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 11b-17

At that time, Jesus welcomed the people of Bethsaida, and began speaking about the kingdom of God, curing those who needed healing. The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell Him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for we are here in a lonely place.”

But Jesus replied, “You yourselves, give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves and two fish. Do You want us to go and buy food for all this crowd?” for there were about five thousand men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”

So they made all of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and, raising His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them; He broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. They ate and everyone had enough; and when they gathered up what was left, twelve baskets were filled with broken pieces.

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Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 11 : 23-26

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is My Body which is broken for you; do this in memory of Me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, He said, “This cup is the new Covenant in My Blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until He comes.

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Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 14 : 18-20

Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth! And blessed be God Most High Who has delivered your enemies into your hands!”

And Abram gave him a tenth part of everything.

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Leviticus 21 : 6

Sacerdotes Domini incensum et panes offerunt Deo : et ideo sancti erunt Deo suo, et non polluent Nomen Ejus. Alleluja.

English translation

The priests of the Lord offer incense and loaves to God, and therefore they shall be holy to their God, and shall not defile His Name. Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Ecclesiae Tuae, quaesumus, Domine, unitatis et pacis propitius dona concede : quae sub oblatis muneribus mystice designantur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Of Your goodness, we beseech You, o Lord, grant to Your Church the gifts of unity and peace which are mystically represented under the gifts we offer. 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

1 Corinthians 11 : 26-27

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, Alleluja.

English translation

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. Alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer

Fac nos, quaesumus, Domine, divinitatis Tuae sempiterna fruitione repleri : quam pretiosi Corporis et Sanguinis Tui temporalis perceptio praefigurat : Qui vivis et regnat in Spiritui Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Grant us, we beseech You, o Lord, to be filled with the everlasting enjoyment of Your divinity, which the temporal partaking of Your precious Body and Blood had foreshown. You who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. John

John 6 : 56-59

In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus turbis Judaeorum : 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 illo.

Sicut misit Me vivens Pater, et Ego vivo propter Patrem : et qui manducat Me, et ipse vivet propter Me. Hic est Panis, qui de caelo descendit. Non sicut manducaverunt patres vestri manna, et mortui sunt. Qui manducat hunc Panem, vivet in aeternum.

English translation

At that time, Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews, “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.”

“As the living Father had sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he who eats Me, the same shall also live by Me. This is the Bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers had eaten manna and are dead. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.”

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 16 June 2022 : Sequence

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequence of St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th Century

Lauda Sion Salvatorem, Lauda ducem et pastorem in hymnis et canticis.

Quantum Potes, Tantum Aude : Quia major omni laude, Nec laudare sufficis.

Laudis Thema Specialis, Panis vivus et vitalis, Hodie proponitur.

Quem in Sacrae Mensa Coenae, Turbae fratrum duodenae datum non ambigitur.

Sit Laus Plena, Sit Sonora, Sit jucunda, sit decora mentis jubilatio.

Dies Enim Solemnis Agitur, In qua mensae prima recolitur hujus institutio.

In Hac Mensa Novi Regis, Novum Pascha novae legis, Phase vetus terminat.

Vetustatem Novitas, Umbram fugat veritas, Noctem lux eliminat.

Quod in Coena Christus Gessit, Faciendum hoc expressit in Sui memoriam.

Docti Sacris Institutis, Panem, vinum, in salutis Consecramus hostiam.

Dogma Datur Christianis, Quod in Carnem transit panis, Et vinum in Sanguinem.

Quod Non Capis, Quod Non Vides, Animosa firmat fides, Praeter rerum ordinem.

Sub Diversis Speciebus, Signis tantum, et non rebus, Latent res eximiae.

Caro Cibus, Sanguis Potus : Manet tamen Christus totus, Sub utraque specie.

Asumente Non Concisus, Non confractus, non divisus : Integer accipitur.

Sumit Unus, Sumunt Mille : Quantum isti, tantum ille : Nec sumptus consumitur.

Sumunt Boni, Sumunt Mali : Sorte tamen inaequali, Vitae vel interitus.

Mors est Malis, Vita Bonis : Vide paris sumptionis quam sit dispar exitus.

Fracto Demum Sacramento, Ne vacilles, sed memento, Tantum esse sub fragmento, Quantum toto tegitur.

Nulla Rei Fit Scissura : Signi tantem fit fractura : Qua nec status nec statura signati minuitur.

Ecce Panis Angelorum, Factus cibus viatorum : Vere panis filiorum, Non mittendus canibus.

In Figuris Praesignatur, Cum Isaac immolatur : Agnus paschae deputatur datur manna patribus.

Bone Pastor, Panis Vere, Jesu, nostri miserere : Tu nos pasce, nos tuere : Tu nos bona fac videre in terra viventium.

Tu, Qui Cuncta Scis Et Vales : Qui nos pascis hic mortales : Tuos ibi commensales, Coheredes et sodales, Fac sanctorum civium.

Amen. Alleluja.

English translation

Praise, o Sion, your Saviour, praise your Leader and your Shepherd in hymns and canticles.

As much as you can, so much you dare, for He is above all praise, nor you are able to praise Him enough.

Today there is given us a special theme of praise, the Bread both living and life-giving.

Which, is not to be doubted, was given to the assembly of the brethren, Twelve in number, at the table of the Holy Supper.

Let our praise be full and sounding, let the jubilations of the soul be joyous and becoming.

For that solemn day is now being celebrated, on which is commemorated the first institution of this table.

At this table of the new King, the new Passover of the New Law puts an end to the ancient Passover.

The new supplants the old, truth puts to flight the shadow, day banishes night.

What Christ did at that Supper, the same He commanded to be done in remembrance of Him.

Taught by His sacred precepts, we consecrate bread and wine into the Victim of salvation.

This is the dogma given to Christians, that bread is changed into Flesh, and wine into Blood.

What you do not understand, what you do not see, a lively faith confirms in a supernatural manner.

Under different species in externals only, and not in reality, wondrous substances lie hidden.

Flesh is good, Blood is drink, nevertheless Christ remains entire under each species.

By the recipient the whole Christ is received, He is neither cut, broken nor divided.

One receives Him, a thousand receive Him, as much as the thousand receive, so much does the one receive, though consumed, He is not diminished.

The good receive Him, the bad receive Him, but with what unequal consequences of life or death.

It is death to the unworthy, life to the worthy, behold then of a like reception, how unlike may be the result!

When the Sacrament is broken, doubt not, but remember, that there is just as much hidden in a fragment, as there is in the whole.

There is no division of the substance, only a breaking of the species takes place, by which neither the state nor stature of the substance signified is diminished.

Lo, the Bread of Angels is made the food of earthly pilgrims. Truly, it is the Bread of children, let it not be cast to dogs.

It was prefigured in types, when Isaac was immolated, when the Paschal Lamb was sacrificed, when Manna was given to the fathers.

O Good Shepherd, True Bread, o Jesus, have mercy on us, feed us and protect us. Make us see good things in the land of the living.

You who knows all things and can do all things, who here feeds us mortals, make us there be Your guests, the co-heirs and companions of the heavenly citizens.

Amen. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) The Feast of Corpus Christi (I Classis) – Thursday, 16 June 2022 : 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.