Ordinary Time 2023

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 June 2023 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 9 : 11-12, 13

Sperent in Te omnes, qui noverunt Nomen Tuum, Domine quoniam non derelinquis quaerentes Te : psallite Domino, qui habitat in Sion : quoniam non est oblitus orationem pauperum.

English translation

Let them trust in You, those who knows Your Name, o Lord, for You have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing all of you to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion, for He had not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Respice, Domine, munera supplicantis Ecclesiae : et saluti credentium perpetua sanctificatione sumenda concede. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Look upon the offerings of Your suppliant Church, we beseech You, o Lord, and grant that, by Your continual sanctification, that they may conduce to the salvation of those who partake of them with faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

Luke 15 : 10

Dico vobis : gaudium est Angelis Dei super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente.

English translation

I say to you : there is joy before the Angels of God upon one repentant sinner.

Post-Communion Prayer

Sancta Tua nos, Domine, sumpta vivificent : et misericordiae sempiternae praeparent expiatos. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May Your holy things which we have received, o Lord, fill us with life, and prepare for Your everlasting mercies, those whom You have purified. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 June 2023 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Luke 15 : 1-10

In illo tempore : Erant appropinquantes ad Jesum publicani et peccatores, ut audirent illum. Et murmurabant pharisaei et scribae, dicentes : Quia hic peccatores recipit et manducat cum illis. Et ait ad illos parabolam istam, dicens : Quis ex vobis homo, qui habet centum oves : et si perdiderit unam ex illis, nonne dimittit nonaginta novem in deserto, et vadit ad illam, quae perierat, donec inveniat eam?

Et cum invenerit eam, imponit in humeros suos gaudens : et veniens domum, convocat amicos et vicinos, dicens illis : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam, quae perierat? Dico vobis, quod ita gaudium erit in caelo super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente, quam super nonaginta novem justis, qui non indigent poenitentia.

Aut quae mulier habens drachmas decem, si perdiderit drachmam unam, nonne accendit lucernam, et everrit domum, et quaerit diligenter, donec inveniat? Et cum invenerit, convocat amicas et vicinas, dicens : Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni drachmam, quam perdideram? Ita dico vobis : gaudium erit coram Angelis Dei super uno peccatore poenitentiam agente.

English translation

At that time, the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This Man received sinners and ate with them.” And He spoke to them this parable, saying, “Which man among you who had a hundred sheep, and if he lost one of them, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after the one which was lost, until he finds it?”

“And when he had found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing, and coming home, calling together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.” I say to you, that this was even how there shall be joy in heaven upon the repentance of one sinner, more than upon the ninety-nine who do not need penance.”

“Or which woman having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachmas, would not light a candle, sweeping the house, and seeking diligently until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma I had lost.’? So I say to you, there shall be joy before the Angels of God upon the repentance of one sinner.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 June 2023 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 54 : 23, 17, 19 and Psalm 7 : 12

Jacta cogitatum Tuum in Domino : et ipse Te enutriet.

Response : Dum clamarem ad Dominum, exaudivit vocem meam ab his, qui appropinquant mihi.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Deus judex justus, fortis et patiens, numquid irascitur per singulos dies? Alleluja.

English translation

Cast your care upon the Lord and He shall sustain you.

Response : When I cried to the Lord He heard my voice, from those who draw near to me.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : God is a just Judge, strong and patient. Is He angry every day? Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 June 2023 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

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

1 Peter 5 : 6-11

Carissimi : Humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos exaltet in tempore visitationis : omnem sollicitudinem vestram projicientes in eum, quoniam ipsi cura est de vobis. Sobrii estote et vigilate : quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit, quaerens, quem devoret : cui resistite fortes in fide : scientes eandem passionem ei, quae in mundo est, vestrae fraternitati fieri, Deus autem omnes gratiae, qui vocavit nos in aeternam suam gloriam in Christo Jesu, modicum passos ipse perficiet, confirmabit solidabitque.

Ipsi gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Dearly beloved, may you be humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation, casting all your care upon Him, for He had cared for you. Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Who may resist You, those strong in faith, knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, Who had called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you and confirm you and establish you.

To Him be glory and empire forever and ever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 June 2023 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 24 : 16, 18 and 1-2

Respice in me et miserere mei, Domine : quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego : vide humilitatem meam et laborem meum : et dimitte omnia peccata mea, Deus meus.

Ad Te, Domine, levavi animam meam : Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam.

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

English translation

May You look upon me, o Lord, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor. See my abjection and my labour, and forgive me all my sins, o my God.

To You, o Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In You, my God, I put my trust. Do not let me be ashamed.

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

Protector in Te sperantium, Deus, sine quod nihil est validum, nihil sanctum : multiplica super nos misericordiam Tuam : ut, Te rectore, Te duce, sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Dei, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, the Protector of all who have hoped in You, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy upon us, that, with You for our Ruler and Leader, we may so pass through the good things of this life so as not to lose those which are eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 June 2023 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the day right after the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is why while Fridays and especially First Fridays are often associated with the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saturdays, and also especially First Saturdays are associated with the Blessed Mother of God, and when votive Masses of Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of God can be celebrated. On this day we remember the great love that Mary has for her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, reflecting that perfect love which His Son has shown us all through His Most Sacred Heart, ever filled with generous and overflowing, ever-patient love for each and every one of us, His beloved people in this world.

In Mary, the most holy and immaculate Mother of God, having been conceived without sin, as the Church believes in the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, therefore is found a heart that is truly holy and immaculate, a reflection of the perfection and the perfect love that her own Son has for us. This is what the Immaculate Heart of Mary is all about, that is a Heart filled with great love for God, first and foremost, for her Son, Whom she loved above all else in this world, and lastly, a Heart most Immaculate that is also filled with love for each and every one of us as Christians, and all others whom the Lord has entrusted to her to be her own adopted children. Therefore, just as the Lord has loved us so much and so generously, thus, our most loving Mother has also lovingly cared for us and showed her compassionate nature, from her Immaculate Heart.

As we heard in our Gospel passage today, Mary liked to keep everything in her Immaculate Heart, a Heart that is centred and focused on God alone. In that passage, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus in His young age of twelve, was with His mother and foster father St. Joseph in the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, in which He stayed behind discreetly at the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God, His Father’s House. We heard how Mary and St. Joseph came to look for the young Lord Jesus and found Him in great discussion with the teachers of the Law who were all astounded by His great wisdom and knowledge, the graces He had and the words of eloquence that He was speaking with. The Lord obeyed His mother and foster father when they brought Him back to their hometown of Nazareth, but as mentioned, Mary kept everything she experienced in her Immaculate Heart.

This is the same Heart that the prophet Simeon had prophesied at the moment when the Baby Jesus was brought to be presented at the Temple, as the Heart that would be pierced with swords of sorrow, a prefigurement and premonition of what would happen at the moment of the Lord’s Passion. For it was then that Mary herself had to witness the most grievous and painful sufferings endured by her Son, as He was betrayed, condemned to death, bearing His heavy Cross all the way to Calvary, as she was following and watching throughout the whole journey. This is the same Immaculate Heart that was indeed wounded at the sight of her persecuted Son, just as the Son’s Most Sacred Heart had also been pierced and wounded by our every sins and transgressions, our wickedness and evils.

That is why Mary has always set her sights upon us, her beloved children, ever showing us her care and compassion, in patiently guiding all of us towards her Son and to be saved in Him. That is why Mary has appeared many times to us throughout history, in her many Apparitions, both those that are well-known ones and the more obscure ones. That is because Mary in her Immaculate Heart loves her Son and through Him, she has also loved us much like she has loved her Son. Mary has never given up on us just as her own Son has not given up on us. She does not want any one of us to be forever lost to God because of our continued evil and wicked ways, our many sins and transgressions through which we have been made separated and sundered from God and His grace. Mary, His mother through her Immaculate Heart, has constantly reached out to us lovingly, in leading us back to her Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Now, on this day as we reflect upon the most loving and Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Mother of God and Our Saviour, let us all reflect upon the love which Mary has constantly and tirelessly shown us all, and her love for God, obedience for His commands and ways, that all of us as Christians have been called to emulate in our own lives. Let us ask ourselves if we have truly been genuine in our faith and obedience to God, and if we have done what the Lord has called and commanded us to do, in doing God’s will and in walking the path that He has shown us. If we have not done all these in our lives, then let us all commit ourselves anew to His path, reflecting upon our way of life and discerning of what each and every one of us can do in order to fulfil the Law and commandments of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore redirect our lives and focus, our attention and return towards the Lord with renewed zeal in life. All of us have been called and entrusted with the mission to proclaim the Good News, the Gospels of salvation, to call on the people all around us to come to the holy presence of God and to discover His truth, grace and love. All of us have been called to embrace the love of God which He has generously shown us, and which He has also shown us through His mother as well, as through Mary, many of our predecessors before us have been called and reminded to find our way to the Lord, and not few changed their hearts and way of life, abandoning the path of sin and evil thanks to the assistance and intercession from Mary, Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart.

May the Lord, through His blessed Mother Mary, the Lady of the Immaculate Heart, continue to show us His love and compassionate kindness. May He empower each one of us so that we may truly be ever committed and dedicated to His path. Holy Mary, Mother of God, who has loved us most dearly through your Immaculate Heart, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 June 2023 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 41-51

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the Boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them. As for His mother, she kept all these things in her heart.

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Saturday, 17 June 2023 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Samuel 2 : 1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd

My heart exults in YHVH, I feel strong in my God. I rejoice and laugh at my enemies for You came with power to save me.

The bow of the mighty is broken, but the weak are girded with strength. The well-fed must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more. The childless wife has borne seven children, but the proud mother is left alone.

YHVH is Lord of life and death. He brings down to the grave and raises up. YHVH makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and He exalts.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust, and raises the poor from the ash heap; they will be called to the company of princes, and inherit a seat of honour.

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Saturday, 17 June 2023 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 61 : 9-11

Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed.

I rejoice greatly in YHVH, my soul exults for joy in my God, for He has clothed me in the garments of His salvation, He has covered me with the robe of His righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord YHVH make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.

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Friday, 16 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which we celebrate the great love of God that has been shown to us firstly through His Son, Who has come down into our midst in the flesh, as the perfect manifestation of the love of God, and then, the most loving and wonderful Heart filled with love that Christ has shown us. The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus shows us the greatest love that ever exists, the pure love that God has always had for us, that He has always had for each and every one of us without exception. This very popular devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is similar to the other popular devotion to the Divine Mercy, in which both of them showed unto us the loving Heart of the Lord, that has ever been shown and directed to us, in God’s desire to reach out to us, healing us and loving us most tenderly as He has always intended.

Today all of us are reminded that God has never abandoned or forgotten about us, despite us having done the same again and again, many times, in our constant and persistent rebellions against Him, and in our refusal of listening to His words and reminders for us, which He has done for us again and again. The Lord has always ever been patient towards us, and yet, we have always spurnt His love, rejected His kind and most compassionate approaches and efforts, hurting Him again and again, making His Most Sacred Heart to be wounded because of our many transgressions, sins and disobedience. This is what the Lord has shown to some of His servants, through whom the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus became popular from. It all began from the popular devotion to the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the devotion to the Sacred Wounds of the Lord, which became popular after the Crusades and after the efforts from the saints like St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Francis of Assisi in calling the people of God to deepen their spiritual lives.

As many of the people had great affinity and connection to the Sacred Wounds of the Lord, this devotion naturally develops into the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, that became concrete and in the form that we are familiar with the revelations which St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received a few centuries later. Beginning with St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who spoke of the piercing of the side of the Lord during the crucifixion, in which the Most Sacred Heart of the Lord was pierced, pouring out the love that He has always had for us, and the heart being always associated with love amongst us, it therefore deepened our appreciation and understanding of just how beloved and dear each and every one of us are by the Lord, ever patient and ever generous with His kindness and compassion towards us, desiring us all to be reconciled with Him, by turning away from our wicked and sinful ways.

Many other saints like St. Bonaventure and St. Gertrude the Great also alluded to the Most Sacred Heart of the Lord Jesus, and spoke of His love, with the latter having received vision of the Lord’s loving Heart. But it was only after St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received series of visions from the Lord that the current form of the devotion became finalised, and as we recognise it today. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received the vision of the Lord and His Most Sacred Heart, in which He spoke of His Heart that had loved mankind so much, His bleeding and wounded Heart that had been rejected and abandoned by mankind again and again, and of all the sufferings, pain and persecutions that He had endured and faced in the midst of His desire to heal us and to be reconciled with us. Through all these visions and all that the faithful had received in revelation from the Lord, all of us gained greater knowledge of the love of God that had been made manifest to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from our Scripture passages today, all of us as Christians, as the beloved children of God are all expected to embrace God’s love, obey His will and to love Him most sincerely and genuinely. The Lord has always waited for us, and endlessly reached out for us in His efforts to call us to return to Him. In our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard the words of the Lord delivered to His people through His servant Moses, reminding all of them that they have all been chosen and consecrated to God as His holy and beloved people, and how they have received His Law and commandments, through which the Lord wanted all of them to follow Him and the path that He has led them all into, the path of righteousness and justice, the path of goodness and love, by obeying those Law and commandments.

And it was also there that God told us how His love was truly wholesome and patient, pure and sincere, and He is truly caring towards us, ever concerned of our overall well-being. It is also where we are reminded that God’s love for us, His mercy and compassion is always comprised of not just His generosity and kindness towards us, but also His desire for us to turn away from our wickedness, evil and sins. That is why God has always chastised and punished those who have committed rebellions, sins and wrongdoings, as mentioned, and as He has shown us all from time to time, again and again. That is because He truly cared for us, and He does not want us to continue to walk down the path of evil and wickedness. That is because if all of us keep on doing those wicked things, we will end up being separated forever from the Lord forever, and fall into eternal damnation, something that the Lord certainly does not want to happen to us.

In our second reading today, the Apostle St. John in one of his Epistles reminded all of us of how God made His perfect love manifested to us through His Son, the Divine Word Incarnate. Just as mentioned, the love that God has shown for us is so wonderful, magnificent and wholesome that all of us really ought to realise that we have received the most wonderful and amazing love of God through Christ, and all of us have been shown and taught what Love is truly all about, and therefore, we should do our best to show that same love in our own respective lives, by loving one another, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way, and of course in loving God just how He has loved us all first. All of us have received God’s love and known the boundless grace and compassion of God, just as we have also heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus told His disciples, of Him calling all of His beloved ones, to come to Him, because through Him alone there is hope and true joy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard and been reminded of the great and most generous love that God has always shown us, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect upon our lives and how we have lived them. Have we truly been committed to the Lord and His love for us? Have we taken His love for us for granted? Have we been so stubborn and unreasonable in continuing to disobey Him and in committing whatever is evil and wicked in His sight? That is what many of us have often done, in rejecting His ever generous offer of kindness and compassion, in having betrayed Him and chosen to follow the path of sin and evil instead. Then, we must truly remember and realise that for every sins and wicked things that we have committed, each one of these are the cause of the many wounds, hurt and pain that made His Most Sacred Heart to bleed and to be wounded, all for our sake.

That is why all of us should remind ourselves to turn away from sinful and wicked ways, and we should strive from now on to do what is right and just in our lives, remembering as always God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, His love and mercy that has always been given to us. Let us all look upon the Lord, at His Most Sacred Heart, full of wounds and hurt because of our every transgressions and sins. Let us all look at Him Who has been crucified for us, and ask ourselves, if we have deserved all that He had done for us, to the point of enduring the worst sufferings, humiliations and pain for our sake? The Lord has patiently loved us all these while, and what many of us had done to Him, is to keep on inflicting hurt upon Him whenever we continue to sin, disobey and disregard His love and kindness towards us, and whenever we also cause hurt and suffering upon others around us by our selfish actions.

May the Lord in His Most Sacred Heart, continue to love us and care for us, as He has always done, and may all of us then continue to do what is right and just, worthy and appropriate for us all as Christians, as all those who have been called and chosen by the Lord, and all beloved by the Lord all the same, with the love overflowing from His Most Sacred Heart. Let us all turn towards Him with renewed faith and commitment, with love and dedication from now on, so that we may truly be good and faithful disciples worthy of His love. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless all of our good works and efforts, our every endeavours, now and always. Amen.