Feast

by

(Usus Antiquior) Fifth Sunday after Easter (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 65 : 8-9, 26


Benedicite, gentes, Dominum, Deum nostrum, et obaudite vocem laudis ejus : qui posuit animam meam ad vitam, et non dedit commoveri pedes meos : benedictus Dominus, qui non amovit deprecationem meam et misericordiam suam a me, Alleluja.

English translation


O bless the Lord our God, you Gentiles, and make the voice of His praise to be heard, who had set my soul to live, and had not suffered my feet to be moved. Blessed be the Lord, who had not turned away my prayer, and His mercy from me, Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest


Suscipe, Domine, fidelium preces cum oblationibus hostiarum : ut, per haec piae devotionis officia, ad caelestem gloriam transeamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation


Receive, o Lord, the prayers of the faithful, with offerings of sacrifices, that through these offices of pious devotion we may pass to heavenly glory. 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

Psalm 95 : 2


Cantate Domino, Alleluja : Cantate Domino et benedicite Nomen Ejus : bene nuntiate de die in diem salutare Ejus, Alleluja, Alleluja.

English translation


Sing all of you to the Lord, Alleluia. Sing all of you to the Lord, and bless His Name. Show forth His salvation from day to day, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer


Tribue nobis, Domine, caelestis mensae virtute satiatis : et desiderare, quae recta sunt, et desiderata percipere. 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, o Lord, unto us, who have been regaled with the virtue of the heavenly table, both to desire what is right and to obtain what we desire. 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.

by

(Usus Antiquior) Fifth Sunday after Easter (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

John 16 : 23-30


In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis : Amen, amen, dico vobis : si quid petieritis Patrem in Nomine Meo, dabit vobis. Usque modo non petistis quidquam in Nomine Meo : Petite, et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum.

Haec in proverbiis locutus sum vobis. Venit hora, cum jam non in proverbiis loquar vobis, sed palam de Patre annuntiabo vobis. In illo die in Nomine Meo petetis : et non dico vobis, quia ego rogabo Patrem de vobis : ipse enim Pater amat vos, quia vos me amastis, et credidistis quia ego a Deo exivi.

Exivi a Patre et veni in mundum : iterum relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem. Dicunt ei discipuli ejus : Ecce, nunc palam loqueris et proverbium nullum dicis. Nunc scimus, quia scis omnia et non opus est tibi, ut quis te interroget : in hoc credimus, quia a Deo existi.

English translation


At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it to you. Hitherto you have not asked anything in My Name, ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

“These things I have spoken to you in proverbs, the hour comes when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will show you plainly of the Father. In that day, you shall ask in My Name; and I do not say that I will ask the Father for you, for the Father Himself loved you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God.”

“I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world, and again I leave the world, and go to the Father.” His disciples said to Him, “Behold, now You speak plainly, and does not speak in proverbs. Now we know that You know all things, and You do not need that any man should ask You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”

by

(Usus Antiquior) Fifth Sunday after Easter (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Tradition of the Faith and John 16 : 28

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Surrexit Christus, et illuxit nobis, quos redemit sanguine suo.

Alleluja.

Response : Exivi a Patre, et veni in mundum : iterum relinquo mundum, et vado ad Patrem. Alleluja.

English translation


Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : Christ is risen, and had shone His light upon us whom He had redeemed with His blood.

Alleluia.

Response : I went out from the Father and came into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father. Alleluia.

by

(Usus Antiquior) Fifth Sunday after Easter (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Epistolae Beati Jacobi Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle

James 1 : 22-27


Carissimi : Estote factores verbi, et non auditores tantum : fallentes vosmetipsos. Quia si quis auditor est verbi et non factor : hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo : consideravit enim se et abiit, et statim oblitus est, qualis fuerit.

Qui autem perspexerit in legem perfectam libertatis et permanserit in ea, non auditor obliviosus factus, sed factor operis : hic beatus in facto suo erit. Si quis autem putat se religiosum esse, non refrenans linguam suam, sed seducens cor suum, hujus vana est religio.

Religio munda et immaculata apud Deum et Patrem haec est : Visitare pupillos et viduas in tribulatione eorum, et immaculatum se custodire ab hoc saeculo.

English translation


Dearly beloved, all of you must do the word, and not as hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word, and does not do it, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.

But he who had looked into the perfect law of liberty and had continued therein, and not becoming a forgetful hearer, but does the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this : to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world.

by

(Usus Antiquior) Fifth Sunday after Easter (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Isaiah 48 : 20 and Psalm 65 : 1-2


Vocem jucunditatis annuntiate, et audiatur, Alleluja : annuntiate usque ad extremum terrae : liberavit Dominus populum suum, Alleluja, Alleluja.

Jubilate Deo, omnis terra, psalmum dicite Nomini Ejus : date gloriam laudi ejus.

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

English translation


Declare the voice of joy, and let it be heard, Alleluia : declare it even unto the ends of the earth; the Lord had delivered His people, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Shout with a joy to God all the earth : sing all of you a psalm to His Name, give glory to His praise.

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, a quo bona cuncta procedunt, largire supplicibus Tuis : ut cogitemus, Te inspirante, quae recta sunt; et, Te gubernante, eadam faciamus. 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, from whom all good things come, generously grant to us who beseech You that we may, by Your inspiration, think those things which are right and, that we perform them under Your guidance. 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.

by

Friday, 3 May 2024 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of not just one but two of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, namely that of St. Philip the Apostle and St. James the Apostle. The latter should not be confused with St. James the brother of St. John the Apostle, who was also an Apostle of the Lord. This St. James whose feast we are celebrating today with St. Philip was also known as St. James the Less or St. James the Lesser, called so not because he was less distinguished but rather because he was physically shorter than St. James the Greater, the brother of St. John. Both St. Philip and St. James the Less dedicated themselves to the Lord and to the missions entrusted to them, and they were faithful to the very end of their lives.

St. Philip was mentioned several times throughout the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, as he accompanied the Lord on His mission and doing the works of the disciples of the Lord, and later on after the Lord had died, risen from the dead, and finally ascended into Heaven, St. Philip would go forth and do just as the other Apostles had done, in proclaiming the Good News of the Lord to many people, initially in the regions of Samaria where quite a few among the Samaritans had been receptive and welcoming towards the Lord and His messages and truth. St. Philip therefore continued the good works that the Lord and His disciples had begun in that region, as he laboured hard to preach the truth of God to more and more people.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Philip was the one who preached the Good News to an Ethiopian official who was on his way back home from Jerusalem. St. Philip spoke with great wisdom and truth, and managed to convince the Ethiopian official, who agreed to be baptised and becoming a disciple of Christ, and hence, bringing the Christian faith back to his Ethiopian homeland. St. Philip would continue to carry on various works for the Lord, going forth on missionary journeys to various places, such as Greece, Syria and Asia Minor, where he spent time and effort going from place to place, town to town to spread the Gospels and to teach the people about the Lord, about His truth and salvation. Through his efforts, many were converted to the faith and became believers, although he did encounter significant opposition and obstacles as well.

St. Philip went through lots of tribulations and yet he still courageously carried on with his responsibilities, spending much time and sacrifices to do the will of God, endlessly and faithfully carrying out the mission entrusted to him. According to Apostolic tradition of the Church fathers, like most of the other Apostles, he went through sufferings and martyrdom at the end of his ministry and life, which happened in the region of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, where he performed his preaching and miracles, which led to the healing and conversion of the wife of the local proconsul, which enraged the latter and led him to order the arrest, torture and finally the martyrdom of both St. Philip and another Apostle, St. Bartholomew, who in some traditions were crucified upside-down.

Meanwhile, St. James the Less also carried out similar works of evangelisation and spreading of the Good News, beginning from the land of Judea and then to other places. Less information were available about him due to the frequent confusion between the identity of the one identified as St. James the Less, as some attributed him to St. James, son of Alpheus, one of the Twelve, and yet others attributed him to one St. James the Just, who was the first bishop of Jerusalem, and who was one of the Lord’s relative. Regardless of the true facts or the true identity of St. James, he did wonderful works for the Lord’s sake, and he patiently endured all the challenges and trials, guiding the faithful people of God to the right path, and was also martyred at the end of his life and ministry.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we recall the memory of their great faith and contribution to the Church and the faithful people of God, we remember how St. Philip and St. James the Less dedicated themselves to the Lord and spent their whole lives and ministries in trying to proclaim the truth and Good News of God to more and more people. They did not spare the effort and not even their own lives in doing so, and by their great examples and way of life, they have truly shown everyone what it truly means to be a disciple and follower of Christ, and how one should truly live his or her life so that he or she can truly be worthy of Him. The Lord had guided and strengthened them, and in the same manner, He has also guided and strengthened many others of our predecessors who have given their lives and efforts to glorify the Lord.

Now, what each and every one of us are called to do is to embrace God’s calling, to take up the missions which He had entrusted to us, in all the great diversities and types of missions, vocations and whatever it is that we have been entrusted with, in the various commitments, opportunities and in all the talents and abilities that we have been blessed with. Each and every one of us as members and parts of the Church of God, the same Body of Christ, are the ones who have been entrusted with the same missions as those of the Apostles. Therefore, we are also expected to do our best to proclaim the Lord, His Good News and truth to all the people in all the occasions and opportunities we have been presented with in our respective lives.

Let us all therefore continue to live our lives most worthily in the Lord, doing our very best so that in everything that we say and do we will always be ready to glorify God by our lives. Let us all be ever ready to walk the path that the Lord has shown us, even amidst the trials, challenges and obstacles that we may face in our daily living. Let the examples of the Holy Apostles, especially St. Philip and St. James continue to strengthen and encourage us to do our best in being worthy and faithful evangelisers and missionaries of the Lord, in even the smallest things that we do, in showing God’s Love and truth to all the people, through our own exemplary lives and actions. May the Risen Lord be with us all and may He empower us all to do His will, and to be His faithful disciples always. Amen.

by

Friday, 3 May 2024 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 14 : 6-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you know Me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know Him, and you have seen Him.”

Philip asked Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, “What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever sees Me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”

“All that I say to you, I do not say of Myself. The Father Who dwells in Me is doing His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; at least believe it on the evidence of these works that I do. Truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these, for I am going to the Father.”

“Everything you ask in My Name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Indeed, anything you ask, calling upon My Name, I will do.”

by

Friday, 3 May 2024 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

by

Friday, 3 May 2024 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-8

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.

by

Sunday, 28 April 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we all celebrate the occasion of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, and as we continue to mark with great joy our Easter commemoration and festivities, we are all reminded to continue to place our focus and emphasis in life upon none other than Our Lord Himself, in all His truth and love, and in everything which He Himself has revealed and given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. On this Sunday all of us are reminded that if we truly call ourselves as Christians then we really have to centre our whole lives and existence, our every actions, words and deeds upon the Lord, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be the good role models and inspirations for one another, helping many more people to come ever closer to God and His salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard of the moment when Saul, the former enemy of the Lord and His Church, began to do his work and ministry among the people of God in Jerusalem after he was converted through his dramatic encounter with the Lord on his way to Damascus earlier on. Saul had embraced the Lord wholeheartedly and turned away completely from his previously erroneous path, actions and way of life, no longer a persecutor of Christians, of God’s followers and people, but instead, becoming a great role model and champion for the same Christians instead, in proclaiming the truth of the Risen Lord, His teachings, His resurrection and His ways to everyone, to the surprise and astonishment of the Jewish authorities and the early Christian community alike.

St. Paul was called by the Lord to be His disciple and follower, and to be the one who would bear the truth of God to the non-Jewish people, the Gentiles. St. Paul, who was a Jew, was also born and spent his youth in Tarsus, in the area of the diaspora away from the lands of the Jews in Judea and Galilee, where he had lots of experiences and encounters early on with the Gentiles like the Greeks, Romans and other local populations living in the region. His experiences and expertise, his mission and vocation therefore is reasonably centred around the outreach towards all those people, opening the path of God’s salvation to more and more people, reminding everyone that the Lord loves all of His children, all those whom He had created, regardless of their race, background and origin, and thus, he began his ministry in proclaiming the truth of God to all the people of all the nations.

And it is this great missionary zeal and efforts which St. Paul carried out throughout his ministry, all that was how the Church kept on growing rapidly and from strength to strength despite the challenges and trials that they were constantly facing, simply because they were with the Lord, and the Lord guided and strengthened them all through all those difficult moments and struggles, the hands He guided St. Paul and the other disciples with. As long as the Lord was with His people, with His disciples and missionaries, the Church will overcome all things, even the greatest trials and challenges, just as He Himself had said, that not even the gates of hell will be able to hold against His Church which He has established in this world upon the foundation of the Apostles, and is the visible union of all of His faithful ones.

This is what St. John the Apostle also reminded all the faithful people of God in his Epistle, part of which is mentioned in our second reading passage today, where St. John told the faithful to continue living their lives in accordance to the commandments and the Law of God, obeying whatever it is that the Lord Himself has revealed to us through His Church and through the Holy Spirit, ever guiding us in our lives and actions, in each and every moments of our lives. All of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He has called and chosen, all of us must embody within us the true faith in Christ and everything that we have been taught and shown so that in all things and at every moment, we will always continue to do our best to glorify the Lord by our lives.

If we truly believe in the Lord and consider ourselves as Christians, then we will certainly do our utmost in order to live in accordance with the path and ways that God has shown us. Each and every one of us are reminded that in everything we say and do, we should always be filled with God’s love and grace, full of love firstly for the Lord our God Himself, and then surely for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters, in how we interact with one another, with those whom we encounter in our daily lives. We have to be truly committed and full of compassion for our fellow men, in whatever we say and do, that by our examples, God’s love may touch more and more of those who have not yet known or realised His ever generous love, compassion and mercy.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples using a parable, the Parable of the True Vine, in order to tell all of them to remain firmly attached to Him and His truth, and not to separate themselves from Him, or to follow their own path and desires. The Lord revealed Himself as the True Vine, the One through Whom all truth, all life shall come from, using the terms that were familiar to the people of the time, as vineyards were common in the lands of the Israelites, and the people, including the disciples themselves, would have recognised what is meant by the Lord’s parable. This is because if the grapes are not attached to the vine, then they would not only not grow, but they would perish and die. This is therefore an important message and reminder by the Lord to His Church, to all of us that we must always be firmly centred and attached to Him, in all of our faith and lives.

If we allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and pleasures, fame and ambition, we may end up falling away, further away from the true path of Christ. All the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, the early Church fathers and missionaries have remained firmly true in this path, in the missions and journey that they had undertaken in proclaiming the truth and salvation of God to the nations. There were however many others who have gone astray, who have embraced worldly ambitions and temptations, leading many into the false paths and evils, the path of heresy and disobedience against God. That was how many heresies sprung up in the early Church, leading to divisions in the Body of Christ, the Church of God, breaking the unity of the Church and leading to many people falling into the path of sin and darkness.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all realise that we must always adhere closely to the fullness of the teachings of the Lord as preserved and taught by His Church, and not to give in to the temptations to embark on our own ideals and interpretations that may lead us down the path of error and even heresy, as what many of our predecessors had done. We have to remember that as parts and members of the same Church of God, the Body of Christ, all of us are united in Our Lord and Saviour, and we ought to believe in Him and His truth wholeheartedly. Otherwise, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by those temptations and wicked desires all around us, then we may end up falling ever deeper into the path of sin and evil, and from there, we may find it hard to get out and return to the path towards the Lord and His salvation. We must remember that separated from the Lord, we can do nothing and there is absolutely no hope for any one of us.

Instead, let us all continue to embrace the Lord and remind ourselves to stay faithful to His Law and commandments, doing our very best to live our lives in accordance with His ways. Let us all continue to bear rich fruits of grace and righteousness, of virtue and love, of Christ’s light and truth, by our every good works and deeds, and by everything that we do, in our every endeavours and efforts, to glorify the Lord by our lives. May the Risen Lord continue to bless us all and may He continue to guide and strengthen us in our path in life, in whatever we do for the sake of His glory, and for all that He has called us to do in our respective lives, to be His worthy and good missionaries, all throughout our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.