Feast

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 7 : 55-60

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice : “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he died.

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today marks the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which takes place forty days from the time of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday. On this day we remember how the Lord Jesus, after having spent that period of forty days appearing before His disciples and manifesting Himself in His Risen glory, then went on to ascend to Heaven in order to return to where He has come from. And although He has ascended into Heaven, He did not abandon any one of us, His disciples and His Church, as while He is no longer physically present and tangible, but He is always with His Church and followers, and through the Holy Spirit that was sent shortly after the Ascension, the Lord guided His faithful ones in the right path and was with them all.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account from the Acts of the Apostles about the moment of the Ascension itself, where the Lord ascended into Heaven in the view of many of His disciples, and reassured them all of the guidance and providence that they all would receive through the Holy Spirit. The Lord told them all when they asked whether He would restore the Kingdom of Israel, that the hour is not known for them of when the Lord will do all that is intended by Him and how He will do these. The Lord told them all that through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, they all would be His witnesses to the whole world, to bring forth His Good News and truth to more and more people that they encounter in their lives and respective ministries.

Thus, the Lord entrusted the works of His Church and all that He has initiated and begun to the Apostles and the other disciples, who have witnessed all that He has done and taught to the people, and then from them to all of us, through the many generations of the faithful who have received and passed on the same faith and belief in the Risen Lord. That we believe in this same faith which the Apostles themselves had believed, came from the fact that countless people, our holy and committed predecessors had laboured hard to bring these revelations and truths to us, passing them down through the generations, even when things and conditions were tough and challenging for them, such as through persecutions and trials, oppositions and rejections.

We are all reminded that God’s works, His Providence and grace are far greater than all these challenges and trials, and nothing can prevent the Lord from accomplishing His works and His will, much as how the Church is still standing firm and strong even after so many challenges and hardships, trials and obstacles that have been facing the Church and all the faithful disciples and followers of the Lord. Many of our predecessors had suffered and even perished in martyrdom in the defense of their faith, in their commitment to remain true in their faith in God, as well as their commitment to their mission and love for God, their desire to proclaim the Good News and the truth and hope in the Lord, the One and only True God, our Lord and Master.

From our second reading passage today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard of the words of the author of this Epistle, which many took to be St. Luke the Evangelist, among others, who spoke about the role of the Lord Jesus Who as the High Priest of all the faithful, the One True and Eternal High Priest of all, Who has entered into the Heavenly Sanctuary, and Who has taken upon Himself the most important role of offering on our behalf the most perfect and worthy sacrifice worthy in atonement of all of our many sins, wickedness and evils. He chose willingly and most lovingly to bear upon His own shoulders the heavy weight and burden of the Cross, so that by becoming at the same time, the Paschal Lamb of Sacrifice, by the offering of His own Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, He has given us all the perfect and only means worthy of our salvation.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the reality and truth is such that Our Lord and Saviour, Who is both our High Priest and the Paschal Lamb of Sacrifice, has offered on our behalf the most perfect and worthy sacrifice and offering in atonement for our many sins, wickedness and evils, such that He has opened for us the gates of Heaven and offer us the sure path to salvation. If we truly believe in Him and put our faith in Him, then we shall indeed experience and receive the fullness of all that He has promised to us, all the love, kindness and grace that He has promised to everyone who believe in Him, out of His infinite love and compassion, His mercy and kindness to us, His beloved people and children. That is why we are reminded today of the great grace which we have received from the Lord, and how Our Lord has always loved us, and even as He ascended into Heaven, He did so in order to prepare the places for us in Heaven.

Then, lastly, from our Gospel passage taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, once again we are briefly reminded of everything that had happened at that time after the Lord’s Resurrection when He went around showing Himself to the disciples and many others who have seen the Risen Lord in person. From what we heard we are reminded that everything that we believe in, the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven really happened and occurred as how it was happening at that time. This is because of the many witnesses that had seen all that happened and which they testified courageously and fearlessly despite the opposition and obstacles they encountered in their journey and mission as the disciples and followers of Christ.

This is a reminder for all of us as Christians living in our world today that all of us ought to continue doing the great works of the Lord in proclaiming His Good News and truth, and in proclaiming His Resurrection to all. After all, the works of the Lord are still aplenty and have not been fully accomplished yet. Even when the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord had achieved so much and converted so many to the Lord, but there have always been a lot of areas and opportunities still awaiting us to explore and go forth in being missionary and evangelising in our faith, as there are many more out there who have not yet known the Lord, His Good News and truth, His salvation and all that He has offered and assured us all, in the eternal life that He has promised to us through His Passion, death and Resurrection.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all rejoice and greatly celebrate in the Lord’s glorious Ascension into Heaven today, let us all remember that while the Lord has ascended into Heaven, we are never alone, and the Lord Himself is still with us, in each and every moments of our respective journeys in life. That is why we have to trust in the Lord’s Providence and help, and trust in Him to lead and guide us in our respective missions and works so that by our efforts and good works, our commitments to proclaim Him and His truth, we will always be courageous and strengthened with the desire to always glorify Him by our lives, our actions and by our every interactions with those whom we meet and encounter daily in life.

May the Risen Lord, ascended into glory to Heaven, continue to bless us all and our missionary efforts, bless our every good endeavours and works, our interactions with everyone we meet in life, and may He continue to be with His Church and allow us all to go forth ever more courageously to the nations, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 46-53

At that time, Jesus said, “So it was written : the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in His Name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And that is why I will send you what My Father promised. So remain in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus led them almost as far as Bethany; then He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And as He blessed them, He withdrew, and was taken to heaven. They worshipped Him, and then returned to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple, praising God.

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 9 : 24-28 and Hebrews 10 : 19-23

Christ did not enter some sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the True One, but Heaven itself. He is now in the presence of God, on our behalf. He had not to offer Himself many times, as the High Priest does : he, who, may return every year, because the blood is not his own. Otherwise, He would have suffered many times, from the creation of the world.

But no; He manifested Himself only now, at the end of the ages, to take away sin by sacrifice, and, as humans die only once, and afterward are judged, in the same way, Christ sacrificed Himself, once to take away the sins of the multitude. There will be no further question of sin, when He comes again, to save those waiting for Him.

So, my friends, we are assured of entering the Sanctuary, by the Blood of Jesus Who opened, for us, this new and living way, passing through the curtain, that is, His Body. Because we have a High Priest in charge of the House of God, let us approach, with a sincere heart, with full faith, interiorly cleansed from a bad conscience, and our bodies washed, with pure water.

Let us hold fast to our hope, without wavering, because He, Who promised, is faithful.

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.

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Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 1-11

In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when He ascended to heaven. But first He had instructed through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles He had chosen. After His passion, He presented Himself to them, giving many signs that He was alive, over a period of forty days He appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God.

Once when He had been eating with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the fulfilment of the Father’s promise about which I have spoken to you : John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit within a few days.”

When they had come together, they asked Him, “Is it now that You will restore the Kingdom of Israel?” And He answered, “It is not for you to know the time and the steps that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.”

After Jesus said this, He was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven where He went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus Who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen Him go there.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Sunday after the Ascension (II Classis) – Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 46 : 6

Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, et Dominus in voce tubae, Alleluja.

English translation

God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet, Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Sacrificia nos, Domine, immaculata purificent : et mentibus nostris supernae gratiae dent vigorem. 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 this immaculate sacrifice purify us, o Lord, and impart to our souls the vigour of supernal grace. 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 the Ascension

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Qui post resurrectionem suam omnibus discipulis suis manifestus apparuit et, ipsis cernentibus, est elevatus in caelum, ut nos divinitatis suae tribueret esse participes. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus hymnum gloriae Tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to You, o holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. He who after His resurrection very openly showed Himself to all His disciples, and in their sight was raised up to heaven, in order to give to us to be partakers of His Godhead. And therefore, with the angels and archangels, with the thrones and dominations, and with all the array of the heavenly host, we sing a hymn to Your glory and unceasingly repeat :

Communion

John 17 : 12-13, 15

Pater, cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos, quos dedisti mihi, Alleluja : nunc autem ad te venio : non rogo, ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo, Alleluja, Alleluja.

English translation

Father, while I was with them, I kept those who You gave Me, Alleluia. But now that I come to You, I pray that You should not take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from evil, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer

Repleti, Domine, muneribus sacris : da, quaesumus; ut in gratiarum semper actione maneamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

As we have been filled with heavenly gifts, o Lord, grant, we beseech You, that we may constantly persevere in thanksgiving. 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) Sunday after the Ascension (II Classis) – Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

John 15 : 26-27 and John 16 : 1-4

In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis : Cum venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me : et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia ab initio mecum estis.

Haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Absque synagogis facient vos : sed venit hora, ut omnis, qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se prestare Deo. Et haec facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem neque me. Sed haec locutus sum vobis : ut, cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini, quia ego dixi vobis.

English translation

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me, and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning.”

“These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalised. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the hour comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Sunday after the Ascension (II Classis) – Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 9 and John 14 : 18

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Regnavit Dominus super omnes gentes : Deus sedet super sedem sanctam Suam.

Alleluja.

Response : Non vos relinquam orphanos : vado, et venio ad vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum. Alleluja.

English translation

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : The Lord had reigned over all the nations. God sits on His holy throne.

Alleluia.

Response : I will not leave you orphans. I go and I come to you, and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sunday after the Ascension (II Classis) – Sunday, 1 June 2025 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

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

1 Peter 4 : 7-11

Carissimi : Estote prudentes et vigilate in orationibus. Ante omnia autem mutuam in vobismetipsis caritatem continuam habentes : quia caritas operit multitudinem peccatorum. Hospitales invicem sine murmuratione : unusquisque, sicut accepit gratiam, in alterutrum illam administrantes, sicut boni dispensatores multiformis gratiae Dei.

Si quis loquitur, quasi sermones Dei : si quis ministrat, tamquam ex virtute, quam administrat Deus : ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum, Dominum nostrum.

English translation

Dearly beloved, be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covered a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one toward another without murmuring. As every man had received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man ministers, let him do it as of the power which God administers, that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ, our Lord.