Feast

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 7 July 2024 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 33 : 12, 6 and Psalm 46 : 2

Venite, filii, audite me : timorem Domini docebo vos.

Response : Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini : et facies vestrae non confundentur.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus : jubilate Deo in voce exsultationis. Alleluja.

English translation

Come, children, hearken to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Response : Come all of you to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : O clap your hands, all you nations, shout unto God with the voice of joy. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 7 July 2024 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

Romans 6 : 19-23

Fratres : Humanum dico, propter infirmitatem carnis vestrae : sicut enim exhibuistis membra vestra servire immunditiae et iniquitati ad iniquitatem, ita nunc exhibete membra vestra servire justitiae in sanctificationem. Cum enim servi essetis peccati, liberi fuistis justitiae.

Quem ergo fructum habuistis tunc in illis, in quibus nunc erubescitis? Nam finis illorum mors est. Nunc vero liberati a peccato, servi autem facti Deo, habetis fructum vestrum in sanctificationem, finem vero vitam aeternam.

Stipendia enim peccati mors. Gratia autem Dei vita aeterna, in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro.

English translation

Brethren, I speak a human thing, because of the infirmity of your flesh, for as you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification. For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from justice.

What fruit therefore did you then have in those things, of which you are now ashamed? For the end of them is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life everlasting.

For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 7 July 2024 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Green

Introit

Psalm 46 : 2, 3

Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus : jubilate Deo in voce exsultationis.

Quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis : Rex magnus super omnem terram.

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

English translation

O clap your hands, all you nations. Shout unto God with the voice of joy.

For the Lord is most high. He is terrible, He is a great King over all the earth.

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, cujus providentia in sui dispositione non fallitur : Te supplices exoramus; ut noxia cuncta submoveas, et omnia nobis profutura concedas. 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, You Whose providence does not fail in setting things in order, we, Your suppliants, beseech You, that You would remove from us all things harmful and grant us all that makes for our welfare. 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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Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, also known as Thomas Didymus or Thomas the Twin. He was quite known in the Gospels as a figure who was always a doubter, a pessimistic person and disciple of the Lord, who always threw out doubts and questions against the Lord and His works and decisions. For example, at the time just before the Lord was about to embark on His last journey and Passion in Jerusalem, to face the moment of His sufferings, crucifixion and death, He told His disciples of His plan to return once again to Judea and Jerusalem despite the opposition and the threats which He had faced from the Pharisees and the chief priests, which St. Thomas replied rather sarcastically saying that they should all indeed follow the Lord to their deaths.

Then, we also heard in today’s Gospel reading from the moment after the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead, of how St. Thomas refused to believe in the Risen Lord despite all the other disciples of the Lord having told him that they had seen the Risen Lord Himself in the flesh, appearing before them shortly after His Resurrection at Easter Sunday. St. Thomas was not there at that moment, and he therefore refused to believe, and said that unless he could prove it himself that the Lord was truly Risen from the dead, and that it was truly indeed the Lord, to the point of mentioning that unless he can place his fingers into the holes that the wounds of the nails and the spear had made on the Lord’s hands and side, that he would not believe otherwise. St. Thomas truly had that doubting side in him which became a great barrier preventing him to truly believe in the Lord, but why is that so? That is because he has yet to embrace the Lord fully at that time and earlier on, allowing himself to be swayed by his pride and ego.

This pride and ego likely made St. Thomas think that he could not be wrong in his assessment that the Resurrection was just nonsense mentioned by the other disciples, and in his naturally doubtful mind, it was indeed hard for him to accept that his pessimism about the chances of the success of the Lord’s mission could have been wrong. Thus, he asked for the signs and proofs to prove to him that the Lord did indeed rise from the dead, because his pride and ego were still holding him back from truly being able to believe in the Lord, in His Resurrection, truth and Good News. But the moment the Risen Lord Himself appeared before him and everyone else, challenging him to do whatever he had said that he would do in order to prove that it was truly the Lord Himself, Risen in body and flesh, St. Thomas was struck dumbfounded and finally professed his faith before the Lord.

The words that were spoken by St. Thomas may indeed sound familiar to all of us, ‘My Lord and my God.’ That is because these are the same words that we all say right at the moment when the priest at the Mass during the time of the Consecration as the Consecrated Host and Wine, the Most Precious Body and Blood of the Lord to all the faithful before we are to receive Him at Holy Communion. Through the hands of the priest and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been shown the Lord Himself truly present in His Body and Blood before us, and although the shape and the appearance remain of that bread and wine, but through our faith and belief in the doctrine of ‘Transubstantiation’, all of us believe that the Eucharist, the bread and wine are truly the Most Precious Body and the Most Precious Blood of the Lord.

Therefore, when we utter the same words which St. Thomas had mentioned, essentially that is what the Lord had told St. Thomas about those who have not seen and yet believed, and truly how they will be blessed. We may not have seen the Lord Himself in His physical form as known and recognised by the Apostles like St. Thomas when He was still walking in this world, but we still believe in Him, in His Real Presence in the Eucharist, and we profess this faith in each and every moments despite not seeing the Lord in the form that is recognisable by us as a Man. But we know that in the Most Precious Body and Blood we have received and partaken, we truly receive the Lord Himself into our being, that He truly dwells within us.

St. Thomas himself would thereafter become a very steadfast servant of God, leaving behind all of his past doubts and lack of faith, embracing a new life of ministry and commitment to God, as he went to many distant places to proclaim the truth and Good News of God’s salvation and love, facing lots of hardships, persecutions and challenges on his path and journey. St. Thomas according to many Apostolic traditions and historical evidences, went to the region which is now part of southern India, where he proclaimed the Christian faith to the local population, gaining converts and establishing the first Christian communities in that area, which would remain strong after many centuries, known as ‘St. Thomas Christians’ for long afterwards.

It was told that he also ministered to other areas like Parthia or Iran today, and also the northwestern parts of India together with St. Bartholomew, another Apostle of the Lord. He continued to carry out his missions for many decades in the region of India, until about forty years or so after the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, he was martyred at the place known today as St. Thomas’ Mount in Chennai, southern India. It was told that he was martyred by being pierced with a spear in that place, likely after facing oppositions from those who worshipped pagan idols and opposed the efforts of St. Thomas in spreading the Christian faith and the belief in the Risen Lord among the local populace. We see how St. Thomas’ faith and trust in the Lord had developed that he no longer doubted but trusted in the Lord so wholeheartedly that he was willing to give up his life for Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all rejoice in the glorious memory of St. Thomas the Apostle, holy servant of God, let us all first realise that each and every one of us are also called to be faithful to God as St. Thomas had been reminded to have faith in God. All of us are reminded to be strong in our faith in the Lord so that any doubts, persecutions, oppressions and oppositions facing us in this world will not deter us from following God wholeheartedly. And then, at the same time, we are also reminded that all of us have the same obligations and missions to continue the good works of the Apostles in proclaiming the Good News and truth of God to more and more people. All of us are reminded that we should continue to do God’s will and to carry our whatever mission He has entrusted to each one of us.

May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all in our journey through life, and may He continue to empower and strengthen us all in our faith so that despite the many trials and challenges that we have to face, we may always continue to do our best to glorify the Lord by our exemplary lives and actions, at all times. May God bless us all in our every efforts, good works and endeavours for the Lord, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 20 : 24-29

At that time, Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with the other Eleven when Jesus came. The other disciples told Him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

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Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy Temple, in the Lord.

In Him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

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Sunday, 30 June 2024 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded through the words of the Sacred Scriptures which we have heard and received that each and every one of us as God’s most important Creation, as the pinnacle of His works in this Universe and world, as His most beloved ones are truly precious to God, and we should truly be thankful to Him because He has always shown us His grace, kindness and love despite our many transgressions, stubborn attitudes and disobedience against Him. He has always put us first and foremost in His mind, reaching out to us to find us, to be reconciled with us and to help us all out of our predicament. He has always wanted each and every one of us to find our way back to Him, so that what was once lost from us through disobedience and sin, we may regain through our renewed obedience and faith in Him, through His love and ever generous forgiveness for our sins and transgressions.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which it was highlighted that God created all things good and perfect, and what we all must realise is that because God Himself is all good and perfect, He did not create evil or sin, or any of the imperfections in this world. He created all things including all of us mankind in the state of perfection, all good and wonderful, truly worthy of God as the Master and Lord of all creation. Especially for us, we have been made and crafted in the very image and likeness of God Himself. All of us were never meant to suffer and to endure all the challenges and trials present before us and our predecessors in this world, as we were all meant to exist in the Presence of God, to enjoy fully His love and grace, experiencing fully His inheritance and everything that He has prepared for us in this world.

And as mentioned by the author of the Book of Wisdom, God also did not create death or rejoice in our destruction. Rather, our deaths came about because of our own doing, by our failures and inability to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, in our conscious choice to follow the path of rebellion and disobedience against God, which essentially us rejecting the love of God, His grace and kindness, and hence, when we reject God, the Lord and Master of life, then the life which He has granted to us will depart from us, and we will not have share in Him, and that was how death came to claim us, because when life departs us, then we suffer from death, as the prime consequence of sin, which in turn is the consequence of our disobedience against God.

If we wonder why God Who made us all good and perfect had allowed us to disobey Him and to commit such evils, this was because He granted to us the gift of free will, the great gift which He has bestowed on us, because He wants us to love Him by our own free will, and that we truly choose to love Him and not by coercion or force. This is because true love is something that comes voluntarily and freely from the heart, and not something that God can force from us. Thus, He gave us the gift of free will, which is something that His Angels have also been given, as was evident from how Satan, once known as Lucifer, the most brilliant and mightiest of all the Angels that God had created, chose to embrace and give in to his pride and ego, his ambition and desire, rebelling against God and falling from grace, becoming the great enemy of all the faithful. It was him who also successfully tempted our first ancestors to sin, to disobey God just as he himself had done.

In our second reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth in which the Apostle exhorted all of the faithful people of God to be filled with love just as much as they had been filled with knowledge and other riches of all sorts, imitating and following the good examples of Christ Himself, the Lord and Saviour of all, Who had loved everyone, all of us so greatly, that He was willing to empty Himself of all glory, honour and riches, of all dignity so that by His loving embrace of our sufferings and by bearing upon Himself all of our sins and their consequences, He might open for us the path to salvation and eternal life, showing us all the path to return once again to the loving Presence and grace of God, to regain what we have lost.

God had sent unto us all His own beloved Son, so that while our ancestors sinned by engorging upon the forbidden fruits and desiring and craving after knowledge, glory and riches of the world, thus, by His Son’s perfect obedience, and by His willingness to abandon all glory and honour, He has shown us all how we can come out from our state of deprivation and the darkness all around us in this world. Through His Son, God wants us all to find our way back to Him, and to have the chance to be reconciled with Him. He has given us many opportunities, again and again, for us to embrace Him and to accept the generous love and mercy which He has always shown us. He has reached out to us, calling out upon us to follow Him once again into the path of righteousness, abandoning our wickedness and sins.

And in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Mark of the story of the two great miracles that the Lord Jesus performed during His ministry, the well-known healing of the woman who had long suffered from haemorrhage or bleeding issue, and also the raising of the dead daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official, back into life. These two miracles showed us first of all the love of God which He has generously given to us through His Son, through which He has come into our midst, touching our lives and strengthening us, leading us back to His loving embrace, giving us new hope and rejuvenating our lives. And as the Lord had done to both the woman suffering from haemorrhage and the dead daughter of Jairus, He showed us all that He is truly in charge of all things, over all the matters of the world, over all life and death. And again, He does not want us to be lost forever to death, but to return to Him and to live and exist with Him forever in a renewed bond of love.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to these words from the Scriptures, all of us must heed the message which the Lord through His Church had been giving to us, as He calls upon us to listen to Him and to embrace His love, compassion and mercy. He wants us all to seek Him with faith and love, just as how the woman while trying to hide her shame and condition, dared to brave through the huge crowd around the Lord with the firm hope and faith in her heart, that the Lord could heal hear from her predicament, and that of Jairus, who remained faithful and trusting in the Lord when He reassured him and his family that his daughter did not die and would be returned to him, while others laughed at the Lord and mocked Him. We too must have this strong, enduring and vibrant faith, trust and hope in the Lord, at all times.

Each and every one of us are sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ, and by our ancestors’ disobedience against God and by our own conscious choice to disobey Him and to disregard His Law and commandments, we have fallen into the state of sin, and been corrupted by sin’s dangerous stranglehold on us. But the Lord Who has loved us all has never given up on us, and He has given us the sure hope and guarantee of our liberation and salvation through His own Beloved Son, and what we all need to do now is for us to embrace this most and ever generous love and mercy. The question is then, are we willing to humble ourselves and seek Him, recognising how wicked and fallen we have ended up in, and are we willing to embrace Him with the faith and trust which those people mentioned in our Gospel passage today had shown us all?

Let us all therefore return to the Lord, our loving God and Father, with renewed love and desire to serve Him and to follow Him all of our lives, rejecting from now on all the allures, temptations and false pleasures that sin and evil have tempted us with, and committing ourselves henceforth to live ever more faithfully in God’s Presence. May the Lord continue to help, guide and strengthen us all in this journey of faith throughout our lives, and may He bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 30 June 2024 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Among the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.”

Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint. But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward, trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 5 : 21-24, 35b-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Sunday, 30 June 2024 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 7, 9, 13-15

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel, also, in this generous service. You know well, the generosity of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor, to make you rich, through His poverty.

I do not mean that others should be at ease and you burdened. Strive for equality; at present, give from your abundance what they are short of, and, in some way, they, also, will give from their abundance, what you lack. Then, you will be equal and what Scripture says shall come true : To the one who had much, nothing was in excess; to the one who had little, nothing was lacking.