Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 131 : 6-7, 9-10, 13-14
Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrata, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!
May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.
For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2
Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.
David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.
And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name of YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures of the need for all of us to put our faith and trust in the Lord, and not in our own human power and intelligence. Whenever we do things and carry out our activities, we must always keep in mind that we should not seek our own glory but God’s, and we can do all things in God Who has always been with us, guiding and strengthening us in every steps of our journey. It is when we allow ourselves to be tempted and swayed by all sorts of worldly temptations, ambitions, power and desires that we end up losing sight of what truly matters in our lives. We have to resist those temptations and keep ourselves aligned to God and His will, at all times.
In our first reading today taken from the Book of Numbers we heard of the feuds and disagreements that happened between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, instigated by those latter two because they desired to be in the leading position over the people of God, the Israelites. They did not want Moses to be the only one through Whom God would speak His words to, and they wanted to be the ones to lead the Israelites as well, claiming their position from their prominent roles during the time of the Exodus. This therefore led to the leadership contest and disagreements between Moses and his siblings, and it was mentioned also how Moses in truth was a very humble man, and this implies that all those bickering for power and influence, positions and prestige is not something that he wanted or desired.
This means that the blame for instigating the leadership challenge fell squarely on Moses’ siblings, Aaron and Miriam, and when they all stood before the Lord’s Presence, Who came to them in the pillar of cloud, to let Him be the judge over the matters and things, and it was clear that Moses was in the right and that He was truly the one chosen by God to lead the Israelites, as God struck Aaron and Miriam with the curse of leprosy. And even in that occasion we can see just how kind, compassionate and magnanimous Moses was, as he asked the Lord to heal his siblings and to spare them the punishment due for their actions. They were reconciled and Moses was reaffirmed in his leadership over the people of Israel, without any more dispute from his siblings.
Aaron and Miriam had essentially allowed their worldly desires and ambitions to mislead themselves down the path of rebellion and disobedience, and they strived for position and prestige likely because they were swayed by ambition and desire for renown, glory and more of the great signs and wonders that God had performed through Moses. But it was likely that they overlooked the fact that Moses himself had borne a lot of great grievances and had to endure many hardships throughout his ministry among the Israelites. And yet, Moses faithfully carried out his mission and duties, despite the oppositions, challenges and betrayals that he had to face even from those closest to him. These are reminders for all of us as well that we should not allow something like this to happen to us either.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the account of the moment when the disciples of the Lord were struck by the great storm in the middle of the lake, likely the Lake of Galilee where they were travelling through while the Lord was not with them in the boat. They were terrified at the great waves and storm, and the fact that several of them were fishermen that must have been accustomed to such a condition, testified to the severity of the event. Yet, the Lord appeared to them, walking miraculously on the water and told them to have faith in Him and not to be afraid. It was at this occasion then that St. Peter asked the Lord to prove that it was truly Him Who appeared to them, and the Lord called on St. Peter to come to Him walking on the water as He did.
St. Peter did so and walked on the water, but as we heard, he was overwhelmed by fear and doubt upon seeing the great storm and the waves, and he began to falter and sink. The Lord rescued him and pulled him out from the water, and as He settled into the boat, He chided the disciples for their lack of faith and trust in Him, and showed forth His power by calming the storm and the waves with the mere command and power of His words. This astonished the disciples greatly and was yet another proof of the Lord’s truth and His identity before those same disciples. It is also an important reminder for all of us, relating to what we have just heard from our first reading today, that we should not depend only on our own human power, intelligence and methods, or else we may end up like Aaron and Miriam who tried to seize power from Moses for their own ambitions, or like the disciples in the storm who were overcome by doubt and fear.
As Christians, it is important that all of us should have complete trust and faith in the Lord, knowing that with Him, we shall not falter or fail. We have to put Him as the centre and priority in our lives, and we should always keep in mind His teachings, precepts and ways in every one of our actions, our interactions and dealings with each other. That is how we can protect ourselves from falling ever deeper into the temptations of worldly desires and ambitions, from the allures of the false treasures of this world which may distract us from truly seeking out the true treasures that we can find in the Lord alone. And it is also important that we should do our best to focus our attention on the Lord and resist the evil ones trying to tempt us in various ways to lead us astray in our paths in life.
Today also marks the celebration of the anniversary of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four Papal Major Basilica in Rome, which is also the chief and most important of Marian churches and shrines all around the world, dedicated to Mary herself, the Mother of God. And this shrine was dedicated originally to Our Lady of Snows as the history and tradition was such that during the time shortly after Christianity was tolerated by the Roman Empire and the Emperors such as Constantine the Great began supporting the building of great churches in Rome, there was an wealth, elderly and childless Christian couple who wanted to dedicate their wealth and possessions to the Lord, and they prayed to the Lord asking for guidance on what they ought to do.
It was then that the Lord guided them to a site on the Esquiline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, where miraculously, at the height of the Summer season, which was exactly today, the fifth day of August, when the weather and condition should have been at the hottest, that snow fell upon that very site that the Lord pointed out to the elderly Christian couple. They bought the site and there they built and established a great Basilica, a truly venerable House of God dedicated to the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God herself, in her title as Our Lady of the Snows, in remembering that great miracle. Over time, this devotion to Mary further developed with the arrival of the famous Byzantine style icon of Our Lady, the Protectress of the Roman People, also known as the Salus Populi Romani, which is venerated by many people.
It is upon that icon that our late Pope, Pope Francis, the predecessor of our current Pope, Pope Leo XIV, always prayed before he went on all of his Apostolic Journeys, and to which he also returned once he returned from those Apostolic Journeys. It is at this great Basilica too that Pope Francis himself chose to be buried, at the side of the Basilica’s shrine to Our Lady. And many others came to seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother, the Protectress of the Roman people, and many people had been helped and assisted by the kind assistance of the Mother of God, who is also our Mother that loves us all so much, and we recall Mary’s great faith and dedication to the mission entrusted to her as we rejoice in the memory of the Dedication of this great Basilica and House of God dedicated in her name.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to live our lives as faithfully as we can as Christians, in following the example of Mary, our Most Blessed Mother, in her faith and dedication to her mission, and ask her to intercede for all of us in each and every one of our endeavours and efforts in life. May the Lord continue to bless us all and our good efforts and works, our every actions and interactions in life, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Matthew 14 : 22-36
At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.
Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”
Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”
They came ashore at Gennesaret. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought to Him all the sick people, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.
Alternative reading
Matthew 15 : 1-2, 10-14
At that time, some Pharisees, and teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around Jesus. And they said to Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders? For they, they do not wash their hands before eating.”
Jesus then called the people to Him, and said to them, “Listen and understand : What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”
After a while the disciples gathered around Jesus and said, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended by what You said?” Jesus answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted. Pay no attention to them! They are blind, leading the blind. When a blind person leads another, the two will fall into a pit.”
Alternative reading (Mass of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Luke 11 : 27-28
At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”
Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 6bc-7, 12-13
Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.
For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.
What is evil in Your sight, I have done. You are right when You pass sentence; and blameless in Your judgement. For I have been guilt-ridden from birth; a sinner from my mother’s womb.
Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Alternative Psalm (Mass of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Judith 13 : 18-19
My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.
Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Numbers 12 : 1-13
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married and they said, “Has YHVH only spoken through Moses? Has He not also spoken through us?” And YHVH heard.
Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth. Yet suddenly YHVH said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three of them came out.
YHVH came down in the pillar of cloud and, standing at the door of the Tent, called Aaron and Miriam. They both went out and He said, “Listen carefully to what I say, ‘If there is a prophet among you, I reveal Myself to him in a vision and I speak to him in a dream. It is not so for My servant, Moses, My trusted steward in all My household.'”
“‘To Him I speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles, and he sees the presence of YHVH. Why then did you not fear to speak against My servant, against Moses?'” YHVH became angry with them and He departed. The cloud moved away from above the Tent and Miriam was there white as snow with leprosy. Aaron turned towards Miriam and he saw that she was leprous.
And he said to Moses, “My lord, I beg you, do not charge us with this sin that we have foolishly committed. Let her not be like the stillborn whose flesh is half-eaten when it comes from its mother’s womb.”
Then Moses cried to YHVH, “Heal her, o God, I beg of You.”
Alternative reading (Mass of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Revelations 21 : 1-5a
Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.
A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them, and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was, has passed away.”
The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and therefore they were also the grandparents of the Lord, as Mary is the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And we remember them today in particular because of their great faith and virtues in life, becoming good examples and role models in bringing up Mary to be a faithful and most worthy woman, to be the one whom God has shown His great favour to, in becoming the Mother and Bearer of the Son of God Most High Himself, to be the worthy Mother of God, the one through whom salvation has been revealed to all of us in this world.
Not much was known about the lives and activities of St. Joachim and St. Anne as both of them were not recorded in the four canonical Gospels, but they were recorded in other extra-Biblical sources and in the Apostolic traditions, as belonging to the tribe of Judah and Levi both. St. Joachim, the father of Mary came from the Tribe of Judah, and in some Apostolic traditions, it was believed that Jesus our Lord got His legal status as the Heir of David from both St. Joseph and Mary herself, and the latter through St. Joachim. Meanwhile, Mary’s mother, St. Anne, came from the Tribe of Levi, the tribe dedicated to the Lord to provide the members of the priests serving Him, and therefore, Mary had close connections to the priestly caste at that time through her mother.
According to tradition and our Catholic Dogma, we believe that Mary was conceived without the taint of original sin, the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, and she was born to her and St. Joachim as the eldest daughter, and hence, according to the Law of Moses, she was presented to the Lord according to the sacred traditions, at the Temple of God. Mary henceforth remained as a truly faithful servant of God, living her life full of virtue and in the fullness of God’s grace, until the appointed time when the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her and telling her the role that she was to play as the Mother of the Son of God, the one to bear the Messiah within her. In that meantime, certainly she was brought up well by her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, whose memory we venerate today.
Let us all then look upon the readings of the Sacred Scriptures to reflect more carefully upon what the Lord has revealed to us, so that we can better appreciate today’s celebration and its relevance to our lives. In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when God established His Covenant with His people through Moses, the one that God had appointed to lead all of His people Israel to journey to the land promised for them. And there at Mount Sinai, the holy Mountain of God’s Presence, God made a pact with His people, that they all would be His people, His beloved ones, obeying His Law and commandments, rules and precepts as He would reveal to them through Moses, and that He would be their God, their loving Father and Master.
And Moses sealed that Covenant between God and His people at the Altar established there at Mount Sinai, with the blood of the sacrifices offered to God, and the blood sprinkled on the people as mark of the Covenant which God had made with all of them. This marked the solemn commitment between God and His people, which He had sealed and made clear before everyone, that Israel was indeed God’s beloved and chosen people, a people that He Himself had rescued and brought out from their slavery in the land of Egypt. That is what God had promised to His people and to their ancestors, and He showed His love and faithfulness through this commitment, showing how He will always take care of those whom He has loved so generously and wonderfully, without limits and ever patiently doing so at all times.
In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the teachings of the Lord to His disciples using the parable of the kingdom of Heaven, comparing the kingdom of Heaven to the works of a man who sowed good seeds in his field, and how an enemy came and sowed bad seeds of weeds in between those good seeds. Those good plants and crops ended up growing together with the unwanted weeds, but the truth is that, as the Lord used this comparison to highlight His ideas and teachings, He wanted to tell everyone that God is truly so good and loving that He allowed both the good and evil ones, the righteous and the wicked to grow along, side by side with each other.
At that time, and as it is still valid today, certain plants considered as weeds were actually related if not similar to the crop plants that were planted in the field. The reason why those plants were considered as weeds were simply because they did not provide the farmers with the products that they desired, and they were therefore competing for the important resources and nutrients needed by the crops desired by the farmers. Some of those weeds might even be the less productive variants of the crops planted by the farmers. Therefore, one interpretation of this parable is such that it shows how the Lord our God is so kind, loving and compassionate to all, that no one is truly beyond God’s love and redemption, that even the wicked and worst of sinners have been given chances and opportunities by the Lord to come back to Him and embrace His love once again.
That was precisely what He had done with those whom He had called and chosen, first the Israelites, and now all of us who have been called by Him to be His disciples and His followers. All of us are sinners and have disobeyed Him, sinning and doing things against His will, and yet, He has always been so patient in loving us and showing us all His compassion and His enduring attention and desire to care for us, regardless of everything that we have done. He has always made His love, mercy and forgiveness available to us, giving us all the means for us to reach out to Him, sending us help and assistance in many means and avenues so that as many as us as possible can be saved and reunited with Him, and not be lost to Him to eternal damnation. And we should all indeed appreciate the great and enduring love that God has for each one of us, and for the Covenant He had made with all of us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.
Today, in conjunction with this celebration of this Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, as the Grandparents of Our Lord and Saviour, we also celebrate the World Day of the Grandparents and the Elderly, which was instituted by the late Pope Francis so that we may remember and honour our grandparents who have taken care of us and shown us their great love even in their old age, and also other elderly people in general, all those who have lived their lives well and have shown us their wisdom and good examples. Let us all pray and take good care of them in their golden years, and make sure that they are not forgotten and abandoned, just as the Lord Himself never abandoned any one of us. Let our love for our elderly and our grandparents be the hallmark and good examples of our Christian love and identity, at all times.
May the Lord continue to help us all to be good and faithful Christians in all things, and inspired by the good and virtuous examples of St. Joachim and St. Anne, let us all show genuine love to everyone, and in particular to our grandparents and the elderly people around us. May God bless our every good and loving efforts, at all times, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 13 : 24-30
At that time, Jesus told the people another parable, “The kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a man, who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then, the servants of the owner came, and said to him, ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?'”
“He answered them, ‘This is the work of an enemy.’ They asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ He told them, ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them grow together, until harvest; and, at harvest time, I will say to the workers : Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn.'”
Alternative reading
Matthew 13 : 16-17
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 49 : 1-2, 5-6, 14-15
The God of gods, YHVH has spoken; He summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. God has shone from Zion, perfect in beauty.
Gather before Me, My faithful ones, who made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice. The heavens will proclaim His sentence, for God Himself is the Judge.
Yet, offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfil your vows to the Most High. Call on Me in time of calamity; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.
Alternative reading
Psalm 131 : 11, 13-14, 17-18
YHVH swore to David a promise, and He will remain true to it : “I will keep your descendants on your throne.”
For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”
From here, a Saviour shall come forth, a Son of David; here, shall shine forever, the lamp of My Anointed. In shame will I clothe His enemies, but upon His head a crown shall shine.
Liturgical Colour : White
Exodus 24 : 3-8
Moses came and told the people all the words of YHVH and all His laws. The people replied with one voice : “Everything that YHVH has said, we shall do.”
Moses wrote down all the words of YHVH, then rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve raised stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. He then sent young men from among the sons of Israel to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice bullocks as peace offerings to YHVH.
And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; and with the other half of the blood he sprinkled the altar. He then took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. They said, “All that YHVH said we shall do and obey.”
Moses then took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, “Here is the blood of the Covenant that YHVH has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Alternative reading
Sirach 44 : 1, 10-15
Let us now glorify illustrious men, the ancestors of our people. But now consider the godly men whose good deeds have not been forgotten. Those who came after them benefitted from the rich legacy they left; their race remained faithful to the Covenant, their children followed their example.
Their family will endure forever and never will its glory be tarnished. Their bodies will be buried in peace but their memory lives through generations. People will speak of their wisdom and the assembly will celebrate their praise.
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