Ordinary Time 2023

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Monday, 13 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 1 and 8, 16bc-17, 20-21

The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, He summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother’s son. Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.

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Monday, 13 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 4 : 1-15, 25

Adam had intercourse with Eve his wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. She named him Cain, for she said, “I have got a man with help from YHVH.” She later gave birth to Abel, his brother. Abel was a shepherd and kept flocks, and Cain tilled the soil.

It happened after a time that Cain brought fruits of the soil as an offering to YHVH. Abel for his part brought the firstborn of his flock, and some fat as well. Now YHVH was well pleased with Abel and his offering, but towards Cain and his offering He showed no pleasure. This made Cain very angry and downcast.

Then YHVH said to Cain, “Why are you angry and downcast? If you do right, why do you not look up? But if you are not doing what is right, sin is lurking at the door. It is striving to get you, but you must control it.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go to the fields.” Once there, Cain turned on his brother Abel and killed him. YHVH said to Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” He answered, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

YHVH asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now be cursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood that your hand had shed. When you till the soil, it will no longer yield you its produce. You will be a fugitive wandering on the earth.”

Cain said to YHVH, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today You drive me from this land. I must hide from You and be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will so happen that whoever meets me will kill me.” YHVH said to him, “Well then, whoever kills Cain, will suffer vengeance seven times.” And YHVH put a mark on Cain to prevent anyone who met him from killing him.

Adam again had intercourse with his wife and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth; for she said, “YHVH has given me another child in place of Abel since Cain killed him.”

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together in the Holy Presence of God in His House, each and every one of us are reminded to keep faithfully the Law and the commandments that He has bestowed upon us, all that He has given us in order to help us find our way to Him, to His salvation and grace. All of us as Christians are called to be good and faithful disciples of our Lord, to be good and exemplary role models in our way of life, in everything we say and do, so that everyone who hears us, sees and witnesses our actions and works, may all come to know the Lord and His truth more through us, and hopefully we may inspire more people to come to believe in the Lord as well. Whether we are to do good or to do evil is completely within our choice, and God has given us the freedom to choose our course of action in life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard the words of the prophet Sirach speaking to the people of God and reminding them all, including all of us that God has given us His Law and commandments, and it is really up to us to make the choice whether to do what is right and just in accordance to God’s Law and commandments, or whether we want to disobey Him and walk down the path of sin instead. The Lord has given us all the free will and the freedom to choose our paths, and He has also taught us and revealed to us what we all need to do if we want to be faithful and committed to Him. Unfortunately, more often than not we chose to walk down the path of rebellion and evil than to obey the Lord and His commandments, especially because we were unable to resist the temptations all around us, and because we see the path of disobedience and sin as the ‘easier’ path.

In our second reading today, we heard from the Apostle St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city of Corinth in which he spoke of the teaching and revelation of Divine wisdom, the Wisdom of God, the truth that the Lord Himself has revealed to His disciples and Church, and which He reaffirmed to us through His Holy Spirit. St. Paul compared this Wisdom and truth to the wisdom and ways of the world, which is finite and which leads us down the wrong path in life, while the Wisdom of God and all that He has revealed and taught to us will lead us down the path of righteousness and grace, and through that path, we shall enter into a new life blessed and truly worthy of God, a path that he has exhorted, encouraged and reminded all the faithful people of God to follow.

It is in our Gospel passage today then that we heard parts of what each and every one of us as Christians are expected to follow and obey, in being good and dedicated followers and disciples of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In that Gospel passage, we heard from the Lord Himself, speaking before all the people gathered to listen to Him, how He told them that He came into this world to fulfil the Law and the commandments of God, not to cancel or eradicate them. He came into this world to reveal the true meaning, purpose and intention of the Law, to purify the commandments and laws of the Lord from all the accumulated misinterpretations, misunderstandings and abuse from the people entrusted with their enforcement and preservation, those who had even appropriated the Law for their own selfish desires and benefits.

What the Lord presented before the people as we heard in our Gospel passage today, was the call to everyone to be truly faithful to God and to be devoted to Him out of genuine love and devotion, and not because one is just merely fulfilling the obligations or doing things out of fear or in desiring to maintain good and favourable appearances, or merely as a formality to be fulfilled and completed. In essence, the Lord told all of the people and hence all of us that being Christians means that we all have to be sincere in doing God’s will and in obeying His Law and commandments, and most importantly, we must always be centred and focused on God as the focus, emphasis and the main reason of our lives and existence in this world. Each and every one of us are called to be truly righteous, good and just in the manner that our Lord Himself is all good and righteous.

The Lord made His comments and spoke before the people with the context that the people had been making excuses and trying to find and exploit loopholes in the Law, and not truly believing in the Lord or not truly having faith in Him, and not loving Him as they should have. They were focused more on themselves and their selfish desires and wants, their ambitions, pride, ego and worldly achievements, and as such, while they may outwardly appear to be faithful, but inside, their faith are truly found wanting and lacking. Unless they are more faithful than just being superficial and outwardly faithful, and truly develop a strong and dynamic faith in God, then it may be hard for one to come closer to the Lord and to be worthy to receive His grace and salvation. This is why the Lord reminded all of us this Sunday through these readings, so that all of us may develop the right attitude in life, and nurture in our lives the love that we ought to have for the Lord, as well as for our fellow brothers and sisters, just as the Lord has taught us.

Essentially, as Christians we cannot be idle in our lives, and we must make good use of whatever we have been blessed and given, so that our lives may be fruitful and filled with love for both God and for our fellow men, and that we resist the temptations to sin and to disobey the Lord. When the Lord mentioned in our Gospel passage today, the rather intriguing advice to the people to cut off their hands and to pluck out their eyes if those things led them all to sin, what He actually meant was that, first of all, sin is harmful and dangerous, and if we are not careful and if we do not take the necessary steps to resist the temptations to sin, those sins may end up leading us down the path towards damnation, out of which there is no hope and escape for us, if we realise it too late that we have allowed sin to jeopardise and destroy us.

We should not be complacent and remain vigilant against the temptations all around us, and against the vile efforts and works of Satan and all of his wicked allies, the fallen angels, demons and evil spirits, all of whom are always hard and busy at work in trying to destroy us and to mislead us all down the path towards damnation and destruction. We must also remember again, just as I had mentioned in the beginning of this Sunday’s discourse, that God has given us the free will and the freedom to choose our path in life. At the same time, we have also been given the means and the opportunities to do either what is good and just in the sight of God and man alike, or instead to do what is wicked and evil. The choice is ours, and God has given us that choice to make. And now, can we discern well our path so that we will make the right choice?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence listen to the Lord calling on us to follow Him, and let us all commit ourselves to live our lives henceforth in a most Christian manner, doing wholeheartedly all that the Lord has shown and taught us to do, in loving Him and in loving our fellow brothers and sisters, generously offering ourselves and our love for the glory of God and for the wellbeing of our fellow brethren all around us. May God continue to guide us all in our every actions and efforts in life, and may He bless us all in out every endeavours and good works, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 17-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

“So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.”

“I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister, ‘Fool!’ deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

“You have heard that it was said : Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this : anyone who looks at a woman too lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart. So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.”

“It was also said : Anyone who divorces his wife, must give her a written notice of divorce. But what I tell you is this : if a man divorces his wife, except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

“You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes, and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Matthew 5 : 20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“You have heard that it was said : Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this : anyone who looks at a woman too lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart. You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Say yes when you mean yes, and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.”

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 2 : 6-10

In fact, we do speak of wisdom to the mature in faith, although it is not a wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who are doomed to perish. We teach the mystery and secret plan of divine wisdom, which God destined from the beginning to bring us to Glory.

No ruler of this world ever knew this; otherwise they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But as Scripture says : Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned on the mind what God has prepared for those who love Him. God has revealed it to us, through His Spirit, because the Spirit probes everything, even the depth of God.

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

You have laid down precepts to be obeyed. O, that my ways were steadfast in observing Your statutes!

Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word. Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.

Explain to me, o Lord, Your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law with all my heart.

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 15 : 16-21 (Greek Septuagint – Sirach 15 : 15-20)

If you wish, you can keep the commandments and it is in your power to remain faithful. He has set fire and water before you; you stretch out your hand to whichever you prefer.

Life and death are set before man : whichever a man prefers will be given him. How magnificent is the wisdom of the Lord! He is powerful and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear Him. He knows all the works of man.

He has commanded no one to be godless and has given no one permission to sin.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Offertory

Psalm 16 : 5, 6-7

Perfice gressus meos in semitis Tuis, ut non moveantur vestigia mea : inclina aurem Tuam, et exaudi verba mea : mirifica misericordias Tuas, qui salvos facis sperantes in Te, Domine.

English translation

May You perfect my goings in Your paths, that my footsteps be not moved. Incline Your ear, and hear my words, show forth Your wonderful mercies. You Who saved those who trust in You, o Lord.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Oblatum Tibi, Domine, sacrificium, vivificet nos semper et muniat. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May the sacrifice we offer You, o Lord, ever vivify and defend us. 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 42 : 4

Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum, qui laetificat juventutem meam.

English translation

I will go to the altar of God, to God Who gave joy to my youth.

Post-Communion Prayer

Supplices Te rogamus, omnipotens Deus : ut, quos Tuis reficis sacramentis, Tibi etiam placitis moribus dignanter deservire concedas. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Grant, we humbly beseech You, Almighty God, that those whom You refreshed with Your sacraments may serve You worthily by a life well pleasing to You. 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) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 8 : 4-15

In illo tempore : Cum turba plurima convenirent, et de civitatibus properarent ad Jesum, dixit per similitudinem : Exiit, qui seminat, seminare semen suum : et dum seminat, aliud cecidit secus viam, et conculcatum est, et volucres caeli comederunt illud.

Et aliud cecidit supra petram : et natum aruit, quia non habebat humorem. Et aliud cecidit inter spinas, et simul exortae spinae suffocaverunt illud. Et aliud cecidit in terram bonam : et ortum fecit fructum centuplum : Haec dicens, clamabat : Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.

Interrogabant autem eum discipuli Ejus, quae esset haec parabola. Quibus ipse dixit : Vobis datum est nosse mysterium regni Dei, ceteris autem in parabolis : ut videntes non videant, et audientes non intellegant.

Est autem haec parabola : Semen est verbum Dei. Qui autem secum viam, hi sunt qui audiunt : deinde venit diabolus, et tollit verbum de corde eorum, ne credentes salvi fiant. Nam qui supra petram : qui cum audierint, cum gaudio suscipiunt verbum : et hi radices non habent : qui ad tempus credunt, et in tempore tentationis recedunt.

Quod autem in spinas cecidit : hi sunt, qui audierunt, et a sollicitudinibus et divitiis et voluptatibus vitae euntes, suffocantur, et non referunt fructum. Quod autem in bonam terram : hi sunt, qui in corde bono et optimo audientes verbum retinent, et fructum afferunt in patientia.

English translation

At that time, when a very great multitude was gathered together and hastened out of the cities unto Him, He spoke by a parable, “The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.”

“And some others fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some others fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it, choked it. And some others fell upon good ground, and being sprung up, yielded fruits a hundredfold.” Saying these things, He cried out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And His disciples asked Him what this parable might be. To whom He said, “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”

“Now the parable is this : The seed is the word of God. And those by the wayside are those who hear, then the devil came, and took the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now those upon the rock are those who when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no roots, for they believe for a while, and in time of temptation they fall away.”

“And those who fell among thorns are those who have heard, and going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit. But those on the good ground are those who in a good and very good heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Gradual

Psalm 82 : 19, 14

Sciant gentes, quoniam Nomen Tibi Deus : Tu solus Altissimus super omnem terram.

Response : Deus meus, pone illos ut rotam, et sicut stipulam ante faciem venti.

English translation

Let the Gentiles know that God is Your Name. You alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Response : O my God, make them like a wheel, and as stubble before the face of the wind.

Tract

Psalm 59 : 4, 6

Commovisti, Domine, terram, et conturbasti eam.

Response : Sana contritiones ejus, qui mota est.

Response : Ut fugiant a facie arcus : ut liberentur electi Tui.

English translation

You have moved the earth, o Lord, and had troubled it.

Response : May You heal the breaches thereof, for it had been moved.

Response : That Your elect may flee from before the bow, that they may be delivered.