Month: June 2024

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Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 3 : 20-35

At that time, Jesus and His disciples went home. The crowd began to gather again and they could not even have a meal. Knowing what was happening, His relatives came to take charge of Him, “He is out of His mind,” they said.

Meanwhile, the teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, said, “He is in the power of Beelzebul : the chief of the demons helps Him to drive out demons.”

Jesus called them to Him, and began teaching them by means of stories, or parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a nation is divided by civil war, that nation cannot stand. If a family divides itself into groups, that family will not survive. In the same way, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished.”

“No one can break into the house of a strong man in order to plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man. Then indeed, he can plunder his house. Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven humankind, even insults to God, however numerous. But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He carries the guilt of his sin forever.”

This was their sin when they said, “He has an unclean spirit in Him.”

Then the mother and brothers of Jesus came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.” He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”

And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”

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Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 4 : 13 – 2 Corinthians 5 : 1

We have received the same spirit of faith referred to in Scripture, that says : I believed and so I spoke. We know that He, Who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us, with Jesus, and bring us, with you, into His presence. Finally, everything is for your good, so that grace will come more abundantly upon you, and great will be the thanksgiving for the glory of God.

Therefore, we are not discouraged. On the contrary, while our outer being wastes away, the inner self is renewed, from day to day. The slight affliction, that quickly passes away, prepares us for an eternal wealth of glory, so great, and beyond all comparison. So, we no longer pay attention to the things that are seen, but to those that are unseen, for the things that we see last for a moment, but that which cannot be seen is eternal.

We know that, when our earthly dwelling, or, rather, our tent, is destroyed, we may count on a building from God, a heavenly dwelling, not built by human hands, that lasts forever.

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Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord, o Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness.

For that You are revered. I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with Him is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

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Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 3 : 9-15

YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 9 : 11-12, 13

Sperent in Te omnes, qui noverunt Nomen Tuum, Domine quoniam non derelinquis quaerentes Te : psallite Domino, qui habitat in Sion : quoniam non est oblitus orationem pauperum.

English translation

Let them trust in You, those who knows Your Name, o Lord, for You have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing all of you to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion, for He had not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Respice, Domine, munera supplicantis Ecclesiae : et saluti credentium perpetua sanctificatione sumenda concede. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Look upon the offerings of Your suppliant Church, we beseech You, o Lord, and grant that, by Your continual sanctification, that they may conduce to the salvation of those who partake of them with faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

Luke 15 : 10

Dico vobis : gaudium est Angelis Dei super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente.

English translation

I say to you : there is joy before the Angels of God upon one repentant sinner.

Post-Communion Prayer

Sancta Tua nos, Domine, sumpta vivificent : et misericordiae sempiternae praeparent expiatos. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May Your holy things which we have received, o Lord, fill us with life, and prepare for Your everlasting mercies, those whom You have purified. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Luke 15 : 1-10

In illo tempore : Erant appropinquantes ad Jesum publicani et peccatores, ut audirent illum. Et murmurabant pharisaei et scribae, dicentes : Quia hic peccatores recipit et manducat cum illis. Et ait ad illos parabolam istam, dicens : Quis ex vobis homo, qui habet centum oves : et si perdiderit unam ex illis, nonne dimittit nonaginta novem in deserto, et vadit ad illam, quae perierat, donec inveniat eam?

Et cum invenerit eam, imponit in humeros suos gaudens : et veniens domum, convocat amicos et vicinos, dicens illis : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam, quae perierat? Dico vobis, quod ita gaudium erit in caelo super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente, quam super nonaginta novem justis, qui non indigent poenitentia.

Aut quae mulier habens drachmas decem, si perdiderit drachmam unam, nonne accendit lucernam, et everrit domum, et quaerit diligenter, donec inveniat? Et cum invenerit, convocat amicas et vicinas, dicens : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni drachmam, quam perdideram? Ita dico vobis : gaudium erit coram Angelis Dei super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente.

English translation

At that time, the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This Man received sinners and ate with them.” And He spoke to them this parable, saying, “Which man among you who had a hundred sheep, and if he lost one of them, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after the one which was lost, until he finds it?”

“And when he had found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing, and coming home, calling together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.” I say to you, that this was even how there shall be joy in heaven upon the repentance of one sinner, more than upon the ninety-nine who do not need penance.”

“Or which woman having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachmas, would not light a candle, sweeping the house, and seeking diligently until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma I had lost.’? So I say to you, there shall be joy before the Angels of God upon the repentance of one sinner.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 54 : 23, 17, 19 and Psalm 7 : 12

Jacta cogitatum Tuum in Domino : et ipse Te enutriet.

Response : Dum clamarem ad Dominum, exaudivit vocem meam ab his, qui appropinquant mihi.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Deus judex justus, fortis et patiens, numquid irascitur per singulos dies? Alleluja.

English translation

Cast your care upon the Lord and He shall sustain you.

Response : When I cried to the Lord He heard my voice, from those who draw near to me.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : God is a just Judge, strong and patient. Is He angry every day? Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Epistolae Beati Petri Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle

1 Peter 5 : 6-11

Carissimi : Humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos exaltet in tempore visitationis : omnem sollicitudinem vestram projicientes in eum, quoniam ipsi cura est de vobis. Sobrii estote et vigilate : quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit, quaerens, quem devoret : cui resistite fortes in fide : scientes eandem passionem ei, quae in mundo est, vestrae fraternitati fieri, Deus autem omnes gratiae, qui vocavit nos in aeternam suam gloriam in Christo Jesu, modicum passos ipse perficiet, confirmabit solidabitque.

Ipsi gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Dearly beloved, may you be humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation, casting all your care upon Him, for He had cared for you. Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Who may resist You, those strong in faith, knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, Who had called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you and confirm you and establish you.

To Him be glory and empire forever and ever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 9 June 2024 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 24 : 16, 18 and 1-2

Respice in me et miserere mei, Domine : quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego : vide humilitatem meam et laborem meum : et dimitte omnia peccata mea, Deus meus.

Ad Te, Domine, levavi animam meam : Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam.

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

English translation

May You look upon me, o Lord, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor. See my abjection and my labour, and forgive me all my sins, o my God.

To You, o Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In You, my God, I put my trust. Do not let me be ashamed.

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

Protector in Te sperantium, Deus, sine quod nihil est validum, nihil sanctum : multiplica super nos misericordiam Tuam : ut, Te rectore, Te duce, sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, the Protector of all who have hoped in You, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy upon us, that, with You for our Ruler and Leader, we may so pass through the good things of this life so as not to lose those which are eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 June 2024 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, after we have celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus yesterday, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today we recall the great loving heart of Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, who has loved us all most generously and wonderfully just as she has always loved her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. From her Immaculate and most loving heart, just like that of her Son’s Most Sacred Heart, we have seen a great outpouring of love and affection, through which she has always patiently taken care of us, as our adoptive mother, who cares for us and for our salvation through her Son.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah spoke joyfully about the coming of God’s salvation to His beloved people, reminding them of all the love which God has shown to all of us constantly and repeatedly. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the coming of God’s blessings and love, rejuvenation and reinvigoration for all of His beloved people, restoring them to grace and honour, after they have all fallen from grace and rebelled against Him, reminding them that after all, they were still beloved and dear to God, precious to their Lord and Master, Who have always desired their conversion and liberation from the many temptations and distractions, obstacles and other things that had pulled them away from their paths towards God.

The prophet Isaiah came at the time when the fortunes of the people of God, the Israelites had been getting very low, as they faced lots of trials and challenges, which were all because of their own infidelities and refusal to follow the path of God. They hardened their hearts against Him and turned away from His generous love and kindness, refusing to listen to the many messengers that God had sent to them to remind them of their obligations and missions in life, in their need to follow the Law and commandments of God, just as the Lord has taught them. They chose to follow the path of evil, wickedness and worldly desires, instead of following and obeying God. They continued to do so even after God has repeatedly shown His love and patience, always having reached out to them to show His love for them.

They persecuted the many prophets and servants of God out of their stubbornness and in their continuing desire to follow the path of sin, and as a result, they fell into their predicament, being divided one against another, and facing a lot of hardships and sufferings, which led to the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and the deportation of many of its people just around the time when the prophet Isaiah began his mission in the southern kingdom of Judah. But God wanted to reassure His people that despite all these and the punishments that they had to endure then, and would have to endure in the future, God would always still love them as a loving Father, as a Father Who chastised His wayward children but One Who did so out of genuine love and care.

From our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus during His younger years at the age of twelve went to Jerusalem for the Festival and celebration of the Passover. In this quite well-known story, the Lord Jesus purposefully stayed behind in Jerusalem at the Temple when His family went back to Nazareth after the festivities which caused His parents, St. Joseph and Mary to be really worried and went back to Jerusalem to find the young Jesus, and found Him at the Temple. There they saw Him in deep discussions with the Temple priests and the teachers of the Law, revealing His Wisdom and part of His true nature as the Son of God Incarnate.

We heard how Mary and St. Joseph both showed their concern and worry, because Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem without their knowledge, and yet at the same time we also heard how Mary kept everything that she had experienced, witnessed and heard in her own heart. This is coupled with whatever she had experienced and witnessed earlier on, such as at the moment when the Baby Jesus was brought to the same Temple of Jerusalem shortly after His birth, and the man of God, Simeon spoke of everything that the Child would be, echoed by the prophetess Anna who was also there to witness the occasion. All these were kept by Mary in her heart, who kept on loving her Son throughout her whole life, the wonderful love that she has shown Him from her Immaculate Heart.

And she would indeed bear great burden and pain in her heart, pierced by the great sorrow which she had witnessed when she saw her own beloved Son suffering and dying on the Cross at the moment of His Passion. She still committed herself nonetheless, following her beloved Son even right up to the foot of the Cross. This is the same kind of love which God has shown His people earlier on in our first reading today, one that He told them through the prophet Isaiah, a love that is truly selfless, compassionate and wonderful, love that is ever nurturing and genuine, love that is ever patient and life-giving. And it is this same love which Mary herself has given to all of us, whom she has taken to be her own beloved children, as we have all been entrusted to her by the Lord Himself, at the moment of His Passion and death, that we may become her children, and she become our mother.

Throughout history, our loving Mother Mary has shown herself to various people especially during time of great conflicts and great hardships in the Church, and through her apparitions and examples, many had been touched by her love and the efforts she had done in calling all of us out of the darkness and into the light of God. Mary’s most amazing and love-filled Immaculate Heart has indeed shown to each and every one of us this generous love which she has always had for all of us. She wants to lead us all to her Son, and as our loving Mother naturally she does not want any one of us to be lost to her or her Son because of our sins, which may lead us all into eternal damnation and destruction. If that happens, then there will be no hope left for us, only darkness and despair.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us appreciate the great love that Mary, our loving Mother and the Mother of Our Lord and God has for us from her Immaculate Heart. Let us all also have the same love for her and for her Son, our Lord and God, and also for one another, so that in all of our ways and actions in life, we may truly be filled with love, befitting our mission and calling as Christians, that is to be loving just as the Lord has loved us. May all of us continue to love one another most generously, and follow the loving examples of our Blessed Mother at all times. Most Immaculate Heart of Mary, loving Mother, please pray for us all your children, now and always. Amen.