Mary

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(Usus Antiquior/Extraordinary Form) Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 11 October 2026 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 136 : 1

Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus : dum recordaremur Tui, Sion.

English translation

Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered you, o Zion.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Caelestem nobis praebeant haec mysteria, quaesumus, Domine, medicinam : et vitia nostri cordis expurgent. 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 these mysteries, we beseech You, o Lord, be our heavenly medicine and purge the evil from our hearts. 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 118 : 49-50

Memento verbi Tui servo Tuo, Domine, in quo mihi spem dedisti : haec me consolata est in humilitate mea.

English translation

May You be mindful of Your word to Your servant, o Lord, in which You have given me hope. This had comforted me in my humiliation.

Post-Communion Prayer

Ut sacris, Domine, reddamur digni muneribus : fac nos, quaesumus, Tuis semper obedire mandatis. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

That we may be rendered worthy of Your sacred gifts, o Lord, grant us we beseech You, ever to obey Your commandments. 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/Extraordinary Form) Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 11 October 2026 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

John 4 : 46-53

In illo tempore : Erat quidam regulus, cujus filius infirmabatur Capharnaum. Hic cum audisset, quia Jesus adveniret a Judaea in Galilaeam, abiit ad eum, et rogabat eum, ut descenderet et sanaret filium ejus : incipiebat enim mori.

Dixit ergo Jesus ad eum : Nisi signa et prodigia videritis, non creditis. Dicit ad eum regulus : Domine, descende, priusquam moriatur filius meus. Dicit ei Jesus : Vade, filius tuus vivit. Credidit homo sermoni, quem dixit ei Jesus, et ibat.

Jam autem eo descendente, servi occurrerunt ei et nuntiaverunt, dicentes, quia filius ejus viveret. Interrogabat ergo horam ab eis, in qua melius habuerit. Et dixerunt ei : Quia heri hora septima reliquit eum febris. Cognovit ergo pater, quia illa hora erat, in qua dixit ei Jesus : Filius tuus vivit : et credidit ipse et domus Ejus tota.

English translation

At that time, there was a certain ruler whose son was sick at Capernaum. Having heard that Jesus came to Judea from Galilee, they went with Him and prayed to Him to come down and to heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe.” The ruler said to Him, “Lord, come down before my son die.” Jesus said to him, “Go on your way, your son will live.” The man believed the word which Jesus said to him, and went his way.

And as he was going down, his servants met him, and they brought word, saying, that his son lived. He asked therefore of them, the hour wherein he grew better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father therefore knew that it was at the same hour that Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives,’ and he himself believed, and his whole house.

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(Usus Antiquior/Extraordinary Form) Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 11 October 2026 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 15-16 and Psalm 107 : 2

Oculi omnium in Te sperant, Domine : et Tu das illis escam in tempore opportuno.

Response : Aperis Tu manum Tuam : et imples omne animal benedictione.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Paratum cor meum, Deus, paratum cor meum : cantabo, et psallam Tibi, gloria mea. Alleluja.

English translation

The eyes of all hope in You, o Lord, and You give them meat in due season.

Response : You opened Your hand, and filled every living creature with Your blessing.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : My heart is ready, o God, my heart is ready. I will sing, and I will give praise to You, my Glory. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior/Extraordinary Form) Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 11 October 2026 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians

Ephesians 5 : 15-21

Fratres : Videte, quomodo caute ambuletis : non quasi insipientes, sed ut sapientes, redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. Propterea nolite fieri imprudentes, sed intellegentes, quae sit voluntas Dei.

Et nolite inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria : sed implemini Spiritu Sancto, loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritualibus, cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino : gratias agentes semper pro omnibus, in Nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Deo et Patri. Subjecti invicem in timore Christi.

English translation

Brethren, see how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore, do not become unwise, but understand what is the will of God.

And do not be drunk with wine, wherein is luxury, but may you be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father, being subject one to another in the fear of Christ.

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(Usus Antiquior/Extraordinary Form) Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 11 October 2026 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Daniel 3 : 31, 29, 35 and Psalm 118 : 1

Omnia, quae fecisti nobis, Domine, in vero judicio fecisti, quia peccavimus Tibi et mandatis Tuis non obedivimus : sed da gloriam Nomini Tuo, et fac nobiscum secundum multitudinem misericordiae Tuae.

Beati immaculati in via : qui ambulant in lege Domini.

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

English translation

All that You have done to us, o Lord, You have done in true judgment, because we have sinned against You, and we have not obeyed Your commandments, but give glory to Your Name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the Law of the Lord.

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

Largire, quaesumus, Domine, fidelibus Tuis indulgentiam placatus et pacem : ut pariter ab omnibus mundentur offensis, et secura Tibi mente deserviant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Being appeased, o Lord, grant to Your faithful in abundance, we beseech You, both forgiveness and peace, that they may both be cleansed from all offences and with a quiet mind give themselves to Your service. 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, 7 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in which we remember Mary, the Holy Mother of God, in her aspect of her gift to us in the rosary, the beads that we usually use in our prayers, composed usually of fifty beads that are interconnected together, and represent the chain of prayers that all of us have been given so that we may be able to find our path towards the Lord. Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary has always shown us God’s wonderful love, through her own compassionate and loving attention towards each and every one of us, God’s beloved people. God entrusted to His beloved mother, all of us to be His own children, so that we may be under her care and protection.

This event of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary had its roots in the victory of the forces of the Lord at the great Battle of Lepanto, in which the combined forces of Christendom stood its ground against the mighty forces of the Ottoman Empire, which at that time, was greatly expansionist and aggressive, in trying to subjugate Christian realms and God’s people. Hence, after having suffered from many important setbacks, the forces of the Christian rulers were gathered and assembled under the leadership of the Pope, then Pope St. Pius V, who urged Christian rulers to gather their forces and stop the forces of the Ottomans, and hence, a mighty fleet came to meet the Ottoman fleet at the bay of Lepanto in what is today part of Greece.

Pope St. Pius V commanded all of Christendom and urged all Christians everywhere to pray for the success of the forces of the Christian nations, and advised everyone to pray the rosary, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God, the Angels and the saints, to help the forces of the Lord’s faithful against those of their enemies. In the end, during the great battle, which went miraculously for the forces of Christendom, ended up in a great and triumphant victory against the forces of the enemies of the people of God, their oppressors and all those who have refused to believe in the Lord. It was told according to tradition and eyewitnesses on both sides of the battle that during the battle, a heavenly vision of great army of Heaven, led by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, the Angels and saints were fighting on the side of the faithful against the Ottomans.

Thus, upon the great victory, the Pope declared a great celebration and dedicated this victory to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the title of Our Lady of Victory. However, soon after, this celebration and dedication was renamed after the title of Our Lady of the Rosary which we celebrate up to this day. This is also a reminder of the powerful nature of the rosary prayer, in invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in helping us all to find our way towards the Lord and His salvation and grace. We must not underestimate the use and the power of the rosary, which had indeed helped countless souls in finding their way back towards God. The rosary has been instrumental in helping so many people to rediscover their faith and also prayer habits, and reconnecting many of them back to God, through His Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary.

The rosary itself, also sometimes known as the Dominican rosary, came to be in its present form from the practices of the Church fathers in praying over knotted prayer ropes, which our brethren in the Eastern Churches still used till this day. Initially, those ropes were used to say the Jesus prayer, or the entire a hundred and fifty chapters of the Book of Psalms, which then evolved into the rosary in its present form, in the prayers offered to God through His Blessed Mother, the Pater Noster or the Lord’s Prayer, the Ave Maria or Hail Mary, and the Gloria Patri or the Glory Be prayer. These were presented to St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, in a vision which the saint received from the Mother of God, who passed on to St. Dominic, the gift of the rosary.

Ever since then, the rosary has become a truly powerful spiritual weapon and sacramental, helping many of the people of God to remain firmly rooted in their faith in God. Back then, the practice of saying prayers like Ave Maria or Hail Mary had been commonplace, and the rosary helped to give this popular practice an anchor through which more and more people could practice this devotion and deepen their relationship with God through His Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary. Therefore, today, as we celebrate this great Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, let us all renew our devotion and commitment to God which we made through spending meaningful and good time in praying, in deepening our relationship with Him and in honouring His Blessed Mother at all times.

This is why today, we should renew our practice and make the good habit of praying to God, and especially through the use of the holy rosary. Through the rosary, each and every one of us have been led to the Lord via the patient and loving hands of our blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary. The rosary has helped us to redirect our attention and focus back towards the Lord, and away from all the distractions, evils and the temptations of the world, all of which threatened to lead us down the wrong path into our downfall and destruction. We should always strive to fulfil God’s will, as well as obeying His Law and commandments at all times. Through the faithful devotion and genuine prayer of the rosary, all of us should grow ever stronger in our faith and love for God. At the same time, we should also pray the rosary and other prayers with genuine attention and focus on the Lord, and not merely reciting the prayers without meaning or proper intention.

May Our Lady of the Rosary, the Most Holy Mother of God, our protectress, guide and inspiration continue to pray for all of us sinners, and may she, our loving Mother, continue to intercede for us, that we may be strengthened in our faith and lives by the Lord. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, in all of our every efforts and endeavours, and in our every actions, so that we may indeed be good role models and inspirations to one another, and to all those whom we encounter in our daily lives. May God be with us always, now and forevermore, together with His Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary. Amen.

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Wednesday, 7 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Wednesday, 7 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Wednesday, 7 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

All of these, together, gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women, and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

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Tuesday, 15 September 2026 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is very much tied with the celebration the day before of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Just as we remember the glory of the Cross of Our Lord and Saviour yesterday, in everything that He had done for our sake, in submitting most humbly to the will of His heavenly Father and bearing His Cross, therefore today we remember the one person who has always remained firm and committed in following her beloved Son, throughout all of His ministry and works, and even to the foot of the Cross, where He hung, suffering and dying for the salvation of the whole world. Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, had endured the worst that a mother would have to do, in seeing, witnessing and experiencing her own Son’s suffering and death.

In the very well-known art work, called the Pieta, crafted and made by the famous Michaelangelo, we see the figure of the sorrowful Mary, Mother of God, holding in her own hands the dead body of her beloved Son, after His mission had been accomplished and completed, as He gave up His Spirit and died on the Cross, to redeem all of mankind, by offering Himself as the perfect and most worthy sacrifice, an offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, to be offered and broken on the Altar of the Cross, as the Lamb of God, as well as our Eternal High Priest. Mary watched everything unfolding before her very own eyes, and we can only begin to imagine the kind of sorrow and heartache that she had to experience as she witnessed the sufferings and the trials faced by her Son.

That is why Mary, as Our Lady of Sorrows, has always been so attentive to all of us, having been entrusted with all of us as her own children, and she has become our own Mother, loving and caring for us, even from her heavenly abode. This is what we have heard in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel of St. John, when just before He gave up His Spirit, the Lord Jesus told St. John, His beloved disciple, to take care of His Mother, and then He also told Mary that St. John there was to be like her own son, which was actually a symbolic entrustment of Mary to all of us, represented by St. John, to be our own loving mother. Mary has always therefore loved us all just as how she has loved her Son throughout all of His life in this world.

Why is that, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because Mary herself had witnessed what any mothers should not have seen and witnessed, seeing her own Son’s death, and not just any death, but death in the most humiliating, painful and terrible way, and all of those things happened because her Son willingly took upon Himself all the punishments and consequences that were meant for us, to save us all from the sins and wickedness that we have committed, that we do not end up in eternal damnation in hell, by our disobedience, sins and evils. Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, have shown us all the perfect example of obedience, as we heard in our first reading today, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, that He would become for us, the Source of eternal salvation and life.

Each and every one of us, the children of mankind, have been subjected to sin and death by our disobedience against God, through our refusal to obey God, His Law and commandments. And if not for the enduring and persistent love which God has always shown us, we would have been condemned to an eternity of sufferings and pain, an eternal death in hell, in which we are forever separated from God and His love. But that is not what the Lord wanted to happen to us, because He Who had created us with love, and out of love, wants us to be reconciled with Him once again, and to experience the power of His mercy and forgiveness. Otherwise, if He had not done so, and if He has not intervened through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour we would have been cast out into the eternal darkness and hell, to suffer the whole consequences of our sins and evils.

Thus, Mary, who has experienced the sufferings and struggles that her Son had to endure in saving us from the depth of our wickedness and sins, certainly does not want any of us to suffer the destruction that we have been going towards, especially because her Son had suffered so that we may have new life and hope through Him. That is why Mary kept on interceding for us, guiding and helping us on our way, as she does not want us, her beloved children, to be lost to her, and she still wants us to be reunited with her and her Son, Our Lord and Saviour. That is why, Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, had made so many apparitions, appearances meant to help remind us mankind to turn away from our sins and wickedness, a common theme of her apparitions, and that we should embrace the Lord and His merciful love once again.

That is why, the phrase of ‘to Jesus through Mary’ is indeed very popular and appropriate, reminding us how Mary is indeed the very sure path for us to follow in our desire to seek the Lord and the redemption in Him. Her great faith and dedication to God, her commitment to the mission and the path that has been entrusted to her are great examples for all of us to follow in our own lives, so that in everything that we do and say, in our every actions and interactions in life, we will always glorify God, and that we will always be obedient to Him and His Law, His commandments and path, in doing what He has called and entrusted to us to do. Let us all no longer be subjected to the tyranny and dominion of sin, evil and death, after everything that the Lord had done for us.

Let us all remind ourselves and one another of the great and ever enduring love which God has for us, and how His blessed Mother, Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, who is also our loving mother, have always loved us and watched over us. Let us all appreciate just how fortunate we are to have been beloved in such a manner, and we should always ever be thankful for all the blessings and love, the grace that we have received from God and His most generous mercy. May the Lord, and His blessed mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, continue to help us in our journey of faith towards the Throne of God’s love and mercy. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.