feast of the Lord

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Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Joel 2 : 12-18

YHVH says, “Yet even now, return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your heart, not your garment. Return to YHVH, your God – gracious and compassionate.” YHVH is slow to anger, full of kindness, and He repents of having punished.

Who knows? Probably He will relent once more and spare some part of the harvest from which we may bring sacred offerings to YHVH, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, proclaim a sacred fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the community, bring together the elders, even the children and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his bed, and the bride her room.

Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, YHVH’s ministers, weep and say : Spare Your people, YHVH? Do not humble them or make them an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples : Where is their God?

YHVH has become jealous for His land; He has had pity on His people.

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(Usus Antiquior) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Offertory

Psalm 29 : 2-3

Exaltabo Te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me, nec delectasti inimicos meos super me : Domine, clamavi ad Te, et sanasti me.

English translation

I will extol You, o Lord, for You have uphold me, and have not made my enemies to rejoice over me. O Lord, I have cried to You, and You have healed me.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Fac nos, quaesumus, Domine, his muneribus offerendis convenienter aptari : quibus ipsius venerabilis sacramenti celebramus exordium. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Make us duly fit, we beseech You, o Lord, for the offering of these gifts, with which we celebrate the beginning of the august sacrament itself. 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.

Preface of Lent

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos Tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : Qui corporali jejunio vitia comprimis, mentem elevas, virtutem largiris et praemia : per Christum, Dominum nostrum.

Per quem majestatem Tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Caeli caelorumque Virtutes ac beata Seraphim socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti jubeas, deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and profitable, for us, at all times, and in all places, to give thanks to You, o Lord, the Holy One, the Father Almighty, the Everlasting God, Who on those who chastise their bodies by fasting had bestowed the restraining of evil passions, uplifting of heart, and the enjoying of virtue with its reward. Through Christ our Lord.

Through Whom the Angels praise, the Dominations adore, the Powers, trembling with awe, worship Your majesty, which the heavens, and the forces of heaven, together with the blessed Seraphim, joyfully magnify. And may You command that it be permitted to our lowliness to join with them in confessing You and unceasingly to repeat :

Communion

Psalm 1 : 2, 3

Qui meditabitur in lege Domini die ac nocte, dabit fructum suum in tempore suo.

English translation

He who shall meditate on the Law of the Lord, day and night, shall bring forth his fruit in due season.

Post-Communion Prayer

Percepta nobis, Domine, praebeant sacramenta subsidium : ut Tibi grata sint nostra jejunia, et nobis proficiant ad medelam. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May the sacraments we have received, o Lord, give us help, that our fasts may be pleasing to You and profitable to us as a healing remedy. 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.

Prayer over the People

Oremus.

Humiliate capita vestra Deo.

Inclinantes se, Domine, majestati Tuae, propitiatus intende : ut, qui divino munere sunt refecti, caelestibus semper nutriantur auxiliis. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Let us pray.

Bow down your heads before God.

Look with favour, o Lord, on those who bow before Your majesty, that those who have been refreshed with the divine gift may ever be strengthened with heavenly aids. 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) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

Matthew 6 : 16-21

In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis Suis : Cum jejunatis, nolite fieri, sicut hypocritae, tristes. Exterminant enim facies suas, ut appareant hominibus jejunantes. Amen, dico vobis, quia receperunt mercedem suam.

Tu autem, cum jejunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava, ne videaris hominibus jejunans, sed Patri tuo, qui est in abscondito : et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi.

Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra : ubi aerugo et tinea demolitur : et ubi fures effodiunt et furantur. Thesaurizate autem vobis thesauros in caelo : ubi neque aerugo neque tinea demolitur; et ubi fures non effodiunt nec furantur. Ubi enim est thesaurus tuus, ibi est et cor tuum.

English translation

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you fast, do not be as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear unto men as fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that you do not appear to men as fasting, but to your Father Who is in secret, and Who sees what is done in secret will repay you.”

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor moth could consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there is your heart also.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Gradual

Psalm 56 : 2, 4

Miserere mei, Deus, miserere mei : quoniam in Te confidit anima mea.

Response : Misit de caelo, et liberavit me, dedit in opprobrium conculcantes me.

English translation

Have mercy on me, o Lord, have mercy on me, for my soul trusted in You.

Response : He had sent from heaven and delivered me. He had made them a reproach, those who trod upon me.

Tract

Psalm 102 : 10 and Psalm 78 : 8-9

Domine, non secundum peccata nostra, quae fecimus nos : neque secundum iniquitates nostras retribuas nobis.

Response : Domine, ne memineris iniquitatum nostratum antiquarum : cito anticipent nos misericordiae Tuae, quia pauperes facti sumus nimis.

(Genuflect)

Response : Adjuva nos, Deus, salutaris noster : et propter gloriam Nominis Tui, Domine, libera nos : et propitius esto peccatis nostris, propter Nomen Tuum.

English translation

O Lord, repay us not according to the sins we have committed, nor according to our iniquities.

Response : O Lord, do not remember our former iniquities, let Your mercies speedily prevent us, for we have become exceedingly poor.

(Genuflect)

Response : Help us, o God, our Saviour and for the glory of Your Name. O Lord, deliver us and forgive us our sins for Your Name’s sake.

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(Usus Antiquior) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour: Violet

Lectio Joelis Prophetae – Lesson from Joel the Prophet

Joel 2 : 12-19

Haec dicit Dominus : Convertimini ad me in toto corde vestro, in jejunio, et in fletu, et in planctu. Et scindite corda vestra, et non vestimenta vestra, et convertimini ad Dominum, Deum vestrum : quia benignus et misericors est, patiens, et multae misericordiae, et praestabilis super malitia.

Quis scit, si convertatur, et ignoscat, et relinquat post se benedictionem, sacrificium et libamen Domino, Deo vestro? Canite tuba in Sion, sanctificate jejunium, vocate caetum, congregate populum, sanctificate ecclesiam, coadunate senes, congregate parvulos et sugentes ubera : egrediatur sponsus de cubili suo, et sponsa de thalamo suo.

Inter vestibulum et altare plorabunt sacerdotes ministri Domini, et dicent : Parce, Domine, parce populo Tuo : et ne des hereditatem Tuam in opprobrium, ut dominentur eis nationes. Quare dicunt in populis : Ubi est Deus eorum? Zelatus est Dominus terram suam, et pepercit populo suo.

Et respondit Dominus, et dixit populo suo : Ecce, ego mittam vobis frumentum et vinum et oleum, et replebimini eis : et non dabo vos ultra opprobrium in gentibus dicit Dominus omnipotens.

English translation

Thus said the Lord, “Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning. And rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil.”

“Who knows but He will return and forgive and leave a blessing behind Him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather together the people, sanctify the Church, assemble the ancients, gather together the little ones and those who suck at the breasts, let the bridegroom go forth from his bed and the bride out of her bride chamber.”

“Between the porch and the altar the priests, the Lord’s ministers, shall weep and shall say, ‘Spare, o Lord, spare Your people, and do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. Why should they say among the nations : Where is their God? The Lord had been zealous for His land, and had spared His people.'”

And the Lord answered and said to His people, “Behold I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be filled with them, and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations,” said the Lord Almighty.

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(Usus Antiquior) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Wisdom 11 : 24, 25, 27 and Psalm 56 : 2

Miserere omnium, Domine, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti, dissimulans peccata hominum propter paenitentiam et parcens illis : quia Tu es Dominus, Deus noster.

Miserere mei, Deus, miserere mei : quoniam in Te confidit anima mea.

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

English translation

You have mercy upon all, o Lord, and hated none of the things which You have made, winking at the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them, for You are the Lord our God.

Have mercy on me, o God, have mercy on me, for my soul trusted in You.

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

Praesta, Domine, fidelibus Tuis : ut jejuniorum veneranda sollemnia, et congrua pietate suscipiant, et secura devotione percurant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Grant to Your faithful, o Lord, that they may both undertake the venerable solemnities of fasting with piety and carry them through with unwavering devotion. 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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Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday as we all celebrate the Eighth and the last Sunday before the beginning of the Season and time of Lent, we are all called to keep in mind how all of us carry ourselves in our lives, in our every actions, words and deeds. This is because all of us are ultimately accountable for our actions, and our faith in God truly ought to be made genuine, real and evident through our daily living, in how we carry ourselves and interact with one another, and in how we present ourselves in our society and world today, and not just merely paying lip service to the Lord. Each and every one of us must be active in living our faith in our daily lives, and be the good and worthy disciples and servants of God, in proclaiming God’s truth and love through our own lives and actions.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard of the words of the prophet Sirach that brought forth the wisdom of knowing a person by his or her deeds, using the comparison to that of a kiln and its pottery product, or a furnace and its products, a tree and its fruits, among others. It is a reminder for all of us that our faith that we have in us are all ultimately proven through our actions, lives and deeds, in how we all live our lives each day and at every moments of our lives. We cannot truly call ourselves as being faithful to the Lord, committed to Him and His path unless we truly embody our faith in everything that we say and do, in each and every moments of our lives. After all, how can we call ourselves as Christians if we do not live our lives as Christians should, in the manner that the Lord has taught us to do?

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city of Corinth, we are all reminded of the dangers of sin which is death, and how St. Paul reassured the faithful that sin and death no longer have their hold and power over us because of what our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had done for our sake, in offering Himself as the Paschal Lamb of sacrifice for the atonement of all of our innumerable sins and faults. We must first understand that disobedience leads to the existence of sin, as we and our predecessors since the days of Adam had disobeyed the Lord and His commandments, following instead the rebellion of Satan and the fallen angels, and hence, through sin, we have been sundered from the Lord and Master of Life, God Himself, and therefore, falls into the sufferings of death.

However, God does not desire for any one of us to be destroyed because of sin and death, and that is why, He sent unto us His Son to be our Redeemer, and to open for us the sure path towards Himself and His loving Presence. Through Christ, all of us have received the assurance of eternal happiness and life with God, because by His most selfless and loving sacrifice on the Cross, He has offered on our behalf the only worthy sacrifice and offering to blot out all of the corruptions of sin and evil that have afflicted us, and by His perfect obedience, He as the Son of Man and the New Adam, has shown us all the antithesis of the disobedience of man that had led us all into sin and death in the first place. Therefore, through the great love and mercy of God, all of us have received this assurance of salvation.

Our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard again something similar to what we have heard in our first reading from the prophet Sirach, in which the Lord told His disciples and therefore all of us of the need for all of us mankind to reflect upon our lives and actions, on whether we have truly lived our lives worthily of the Lord, by doing what He has commanded us to do, or whether we have allowed ourselves to be swayed easily by the many temptations of worldly glory and pleasures, ambitions and other attachments we may have to all these worldly things which can distract us from the true path towards God and His salvation. We must ourselves first be aware of our own shortcomings and sins, or else, we may not be able to take the right steps towards the Lord.

This was presented by the Lord using the analogy and comparison to the ‘blind leading the blind’ and also the example of how a person who wants to remove the splinter in the other person’s eyes, and yet failed to realise the presence of the ‘plank’ in his own eyes. This is in fact also a subtle criticism that the Lord presented against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the religious elites and the elders of the people of the time, many of whom were very proud of their superior knowledge of the Law and their piety to God, and yet, they failed to recognise that they themselves were sinners and unworthy before God, and their way of observing the Law had in fact been flawed as well, and that pride, arrogance and haughtiness had become stumbling blocks in their path towards God without them perhaps realising it.

That is why the Lord reminds all of His disciples and followers, all of us gathered here today that we should always be vigilant against all sorts of the temptations to sin, and continue to grow in our faith and virtues in the Lord, resisting all the temptations of sin and evil, and disconnecting ourselves from all the worldly pursuits of glory and all the other things that may lead us astray away from the Lord. We must always try our best to keep our lives holy and worthy by doing what is right according to the Law of God, and to do His will in each and every moments of our lives, being good inspiration and examples to our brothers and sisters around us, leading by examples as good and faithful servants and disciples of the Lord. We should always be humble in all things and at every circumstances, knowing that we are truly sinners, and it is by God’s grace that we have been made whole again through His mercy and forgiveness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all reflect upon these words of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all continue to commit ourselves to the Lord each day, doing our best to walk in the path of the Lord, being devoted servants of God and being good examples to others, while giving our support to our fellow brethren who may be struggling in their faith and lives. And the best day that we can do this is by trying our best to live lives that are truly committed and obedient to the will of God in our own capacity, and strive to support our brethren in their own efforts and actions, that together as the members of God’s Church, we may persevere together throughout whatever challenges and trials we may have to face along our journey together as one united people of God.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God and Father, continue to guide us all through this journey of faith and life, especially as we begin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming season and time of Lent, to be more aware of our sinfulness and the need for conversion and renewal in our lives, to renew our faith in the Lord and to attune ourselves once more with Him, so that we may draw ever closer to His loving Presence and be ever more courageous in committing ourselves to the path of virtue and righteousness, distancing ourselves from all that is sinful and evil. May the Lord bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and be with us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 39-45

At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”

“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”

“No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit. And each tree is known by the fruit it bears : you do not gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles. Similarly, the good person draws good things from the good stored in his heart, and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.”

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Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 15 : 54-58

When our perishable being puts on imperishable life, when our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled : Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

Sin is the sting of death, to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin. But give thanks to God, Who gives us the victory, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. So then, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, and do not be moved. Improve constantly, in the work of the Lord, knowing that, with Him, your labour is not without fruit.

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Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 91 : 2-3, 13-14, 15-16

It is good to give thanks to YHVH, to sing praise to Your Name, o Most High, to proclaim Your grace in the morning, to declare Your faithfulness at night.

The virtuous will flourish, like palm trees, they will thrive, like the cedars of Lebanon. Planted in the house of YHVH, they will prosper, in the courts of our God.

In old age, they will still bear fruit; they will stay fresh and green, to proclaim that YHVH is upright, “He is my Rock,” they say, “He never fails.”