Solemnities

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Sequence

Liturgical Colour : White

Victimae Paschali laudes immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves :

Christus innocens Patri reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando :

Dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.

Dic nobis, Maria, quid vidisti in via?

Sepulcrum Christi viventis,

Et gloriam vidi resurgentis,

Angelicos testes, sudarium et vestes.

Surrexit Christus spes mea : praecedet vos in Galilaeam.

Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere :

Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere. Amen. Alleluja.

English translation

To the Paschal Victim, let Christians offer the sacrifice of praise.

The Lamb had redeemed the sheep.

Christ the Sinless One had reconciled sinners to His Father.

Death and Life contended in a wondrous encounter,

The Prince of Life died indeed, but now reigns living.

Tell us, Mary; what did you see on the way?

I saw the sepulchre of the Living Christ,

I saw the glory of Him Who had risen,

I saw the Angelic witnesses, the napkin and the linen cloths.

Christ, my hope, had risen. He shall go before you into Galilee.

We know in truth that Christ had risen from the dead.

You, o victorious King, have mercy on us. Amen. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 24, 1 and 1 Corinthians 5 : 7

Haec dies, quam fecit Dominus : exsultemus et laetemur in ea.

Response : Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus : quoniam in saeculum misericordia Ejus.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.

English translation

This is the day which the Lord had made, let us be glad and rejoice therein.

Response : Give praise to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : Christ, our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

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

1 Corinthians 5 : 7-8

Fratres : Expurgate vetus fermentum, ut sitis nova conspersio, sicut estis azymi. Etenim Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Itaque epulemur : non in fermento veteri, neque in fermento malitiae et nequitiae : sed in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis.

English translation

Brethren, purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened, for Christ our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 138 : 18, 5-6 and 1-2

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, Alleluja : posuisti super me manum Tuam, Alleluja : mirabilis facta est scientia Tua, Alleluja, Alleluja.

Domine, probasti me et cognovisti Me : Tu cognovisti sessionem Meam et resurrectionem Meam.

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

English translation

I arose and am still with You, Alleluia. You have laid Your hand upon Me, Alleluia. Your knowledge has been wonderful, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Lord, You have proved Me, and known Me, You have known My sitting down and My rising up.

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

Deus, qui hodierna die per Unigenitum Tuum aeternitatis nobis aditum, devicta morte, reserasti : vota nostra, quae praeveniendo aspiras, etiam adjuvando prosequere. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who this day by Your only begotten Son, vanquishing death, has unlocked for us the gate of eternity, help us to attain the desires to which You have led us by Your inspirations. Through the same 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) Mass of the Paschal Vigil (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface of Easter, Solemn Lauds of Easter, Canticle of Zechariah, and Postcommunion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Suscipe, quaesumus, Domine, preces populi Tui, cum oblationibus hostiarum : ut paschalibus initiata mysteriis, ad aeternitatis nobis medelam, Te operante, proficiant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Accept, we beseech You, o Lord, the prayers of Your people together with the sacrifice they offer, that what has been begun by the Paschal Mysteries, may by Your arrangement result in our eternal healing. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Preface of Easter

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare : Te quidem, Domine, omni tempore, sed in hac potissimum die (in hoc potissimum) gloriosus praedicare, cum Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Ipse enim verus est Agnus, qui abstulit peccata mundi. Qui mortem nostram moriendo destruxit et vitam resurgendo reparavit. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus hymnum gloriae Tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and profitable, to extol You indeed at all times, o Lord, but chiefly with highest praise to magnify You on this day (in these days) on which for us was sacrificed Christ, our Paschal Lamb. For He is the true Lamb Who had taken away the sins of the world, Who by dying Himself had destroyed our death, and by rising again had bestowed a new life on us. And therefore, with the Angels and Archangels, with the Thrones and Dominions, and with all the array of the heavenly host we sing a hymn to Your glory and unceasingly repeat :

Solemn Lauds of Easter Day

Psalm 150

Response: Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja

Laudate Dominum in sanctis Ejus : laudate Eum in firmamento virtutis Ejus.

Laudate Eum in virtutibus Ejus : laudate Eum secundum multitudinem magnitudinis Ejus.

Laudate Eum in sono tubae : laudate Eum in psalterio, et cithara.

Laudate Eum in tympano, et choro : laudate Eum in chordis, et organo.

Laudate Eum in cymbalis benesonantibus : laudate Eum in cymbalis jubilationis : omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.

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

English translation

Response: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

All of you praise the Lord in His holy places, praise Him all of you in the firmament of His power.

All of you praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him all of you according to the multitudes of His greatness.

All of you praise Him with sound of trumpets, praise Him with psaltery and harp.

All of you praise Him with timbrel and choir, praise Him with strings and organs.

All of you praise Him on high sounding cymbals, praise Him on cymbals of joy. Let every spirit praise the Lord.

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.

Canticle of Zechariah

Mark 16 : 2 and Luke 1 : 68-79

Et valde mane una sabbatorum, veniunt ad monumentum, orto jam sole, Alleluja.

Benedictus Dominus, Deus Israel : quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suae :

Et erexit cornu salutis nobis : in domo David, pueri sui.

Sicut locutus est per os sanctorum, qui a saeculo sunt, prophetarum Ejus :

Salutem ex inimicis nostris, et de manu omnium, qui oderunt nos.

Ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris : et memorari testamenti sui sancti.

Jusjurandum, quod juravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum, daturum se nobis :

Ut sine timore, de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati, serviamus illi.

In sanctitate, et justitia coram ipso, omnibus diebus nostris.

Et tu, puer, Propheta Altissimi vocaberis : praeibis enim ante faciem Domini, parare vias Ejus :

Ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi Ejus : in remissionem peccatorum eorum :

Per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri : in quibus visitavit nos, oriens ex alto :

Illuminare his, qui in tenebris, et in umbra mortis sedent : ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis.

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

English translation

And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came to the sepulchre, the sun has now risen. Alleluia.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He had visited and wrought the redemption of His people.

And He had raised up a horn of salvation to us, in the house of David, His servant.

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy Prophets, who are from the beginning.

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all those who hate us.

To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember His holy testament,

The oath, which He swore to Abraham our father, that He would grant to us,

That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve Him without fear,

In holiness and justice before Him, all our days.

And you, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Most High, for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.

To give knowledge of salvation to His people, unto the remission of their sins.

Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high had visited us.

To enlighten those who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.

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.

Postcommunion Prayer

Spiritum nobis, Domine, Tuae caritate infunde : ut, quos sacramentis Paschalibus satiasti Tua facias pietate concordes. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Ejusdem Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Pour forth upon us, o Lord, the Spirit of Your love, to make us of one heart, who by Your tender mercy, You have filled with Your Paschal sacrament. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Mass of the Paschal Vigil (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

Matthew 28 : 1-7

Vespere autem Sabbati, quae lucescit in prima Sabbati, venit Maria Magdalene, et altera Maria videre sepulchrum. Et ecce terraemotus factus est magnus. Angelus enim Domini descendit de Caelo : et accedens revolvit lapidem, et sedebat super eum : erat autem aspectus ejus sicut fulgur : et vestimentum ejus sicut nix.

Prae timore autem ejus exterriti sunt custodes, et facti sunt velut mortui. Respondens autem Angelus, dixit mulieribus : Nolite timere vos : scio enim, quod Jesum, qui crucifixus est, quaeritis : non est hic : surrexit enim, sicut dixit.

Venite, et videte locum, ubi positus erat Dominus. Et cito euntes, dicite discipulis Ejus, quia surrexit : et ecce praecedit vos in Galilaeam : ibi eum videbitis. Ecce praedixi vobis.

English translation

And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake, for an Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and coming, he rolled back the stone and sat upon it, his countenance was as lightning and his raiment as snow.

And for fear of him the guards were struck with terror and became as dead men. And the Angel answered and said to the women, “Do not fear, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.”

“Come and see the place where the Lord was laid. And go quickly, tell His disciples that He is risen, and behold He will go before you to Galilee. There you shall see Him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Mass of the Paschal Vigil (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Alleluja (3x)
Alleluia (3x)

Psalm 117 : 1 and Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus : quoniam in saeculum misericordia Ejus.

Laudate Dominum omnes gentes : et collaudate Eum, omnes populi. Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia Ejus : et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.

English translation

Give praise to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

O praise the Lord, all you nations, and praise Him, all you people. For His mercy is confirmed upon us, and the truth of the Lord remains forever.

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(Usus Antiquior) Mass of the Paschal Vigil (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Colossians 3 : 1-4

Fratres : si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens : quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram. Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra est abscondita cum Christo in Deo. Cum Christus apparuerit, vita vestra : tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria.

English translation

Brethren, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are from above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, He Who is your life, then you shall also appear with Him in glory.

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(Usus Antiquior) Mass of the Paschal Vigil (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 17 April 2022 : Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Deus qui hanc sacratissimam noctem gloria Dominicae Resurrectionis illustras : conserva in nova familiae Tuae progenie adoptionis spiritum, quem dedisti; ut, corpore et mente renovati, puram Tibi exhibeant servitutem. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who had illuminated this most sacred night with the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, preserve in the new offsprings of Your family the spirit which You have given that, being renewed in body and mind, they may render to You pure service. Through the same 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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Friday, 25 March 2022 : Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, marking the moment when the Archangel Gabriel came to the little town of Nazareth before Mary, the one God had chosen to be the bearer of His Messiah, and revealed to her the Good News that all of us mankind had awaited for a very long time. The word Annunciation itself has the same meaning as the word ‘announce’ as the Good News was announced and revealed in this world at long last, that God’s salvation was finally at hand.

The Lord has promised His salvation to all of us from the very beginning of time. In our first reading today, when we heard the account from the Book of the prophet Isaiah regarding the sign from God which Isaiah prophesied would come despite the lack of faith from the king, as when Isaiah told king Ahaz of Judah to ask for a sign from God, he refused to do so, and the prophet chastised the king for his refusal as that refusal was made not so much so by humility but rather by his lack of faith and trust in the Lord. Ahaz was one of the kings of Judah who was considered to be one of the unfaithful and wicked kings, whose actions further misled the people away from God.

Isaiah mentioned how God would show His sign in due time to all the people, that a woman would bear a Child, and that woman is a Virgin, who bears the Child with a most peculiar name, that is Emmanuel, or God-is-with-us. That was in fact an early revelation of what God would do for His people, that He Himself would come upon us through the Virgin, the Woman whom He had in fact spoken about right from the beginning of time, when mankind first fell into sin. In the Book of Genesis, we heard of how Adam and Eve, our first ancestors sinned against God, and how they ate of the forbidden tree’s fruits, and Satan deceived Eve in order to do that.

God sent Adam and Eve to wander on earth, into this world to endure the sufferings as the just consequences of our sins. However, at the same time, He still reassured us all of His love, and while we have to suffer the consequences of those disobedience and wickedness we had committed, but He still loved us no matter what, and He proclaimed before Satan, Adam and Eve, that while Satan might strike at the children of man, implying how he would come to drag more and more of the children of man into sin and therefore into damnation, but through the Woman He spoke of, God reassured and promised us all of the deliverance that would come, and that Saviour would crush the head of Satan.

Thus, the words of the prophet Isaiah was in fact yet another reassurance from God of the truth behind all that He would do for the sake of His people. God would come Himself upon us, by willingly taking up on our human existence and flesh, becoming incarnate through Mary, His mother, that He became tangible and approachable to us, conceived by the Holy Spirit and then born into this world, the Saviour Who had been long awaited for by the whole world. He is Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God Most High and the Son of Man. Mary’s acceptance of her role in the bringing forth of God’s salvation into this world made all these possible.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, Mary had listened to the words of the Archangel Gabriel, revealing to her how she was to become the Mother of the Son of God Most High, and her acceptance of the role that the Lord had entrusted to her, sealed her role in the history of our salvation. That is why the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is exactly nine months before Christmas, as it was at the very moment that Mary answered the Archangel Gabriel with total submission to the will of God, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said,’ that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Our Lord was conceived in the womb of Mary, the Virgin who was to bear a Child, the Saviour of the world.

Mary’s obedience to the Lord and her total commitment to Him marks her as the New Eve as opposed to the first and old Eve of the Book of Genesis. While the old Eve disobeyed the Lord and gave in to her desires and listened to the lies of Satan tempting her with the allures of wisdom and knowledge, Mary as the New Eve remained faithful to the Lord and committed herself to Him, despite all the challenges and trials she might have to face for the path that she was led into. As an unmarried woman, to have a Child outside the bond of marriage it was very risky for her as she could have been stoned to death for her supposed adultery, and naturally Mary must have some hesitation in her heart, knowing all that. But she trusted wholeheartedly in the Lord and gave herself to what the Lord entrusted her with.

Mary has indeed been specially prepared by the Lord as we all know, conceived immaculate as the Immaculate Conception, set aside to be the worthy vessel to bear the Lord, as she is not just the New Eve but also the Ark of the New Covenant, the Covenant to be made and established by Jesus, her Son, Who resided in her womb for nine months. However, although she was made immaculate and free from the taint of original sin, to prepare her for her role, this did not strip from her the free will to choose. She chose consciously to follow God, to obey Him and to listen to Him instead of following the path of the evil one.

And that is not all, brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as we heard from our second reading passage today, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of that Epistle spoke of the worthy offering offered to the Lord, and highlighted how the offerings of blood and animals of old cannot fully satisfy these offerings and requirements to the Lord. But the perfect and most worthy offering has then been made by none other than Christ Himself, the perfect offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, offered willingly and out of perfect and total obedience to the will of God, His heavenly Father.

In that way, Christ has become the New Adam much as His mother Mary is the New Eve. As the old Adam disobeyed the Lord and refused to follow His commands, and instead listened to the lies of Satan to satisfy his own desires and in seeking worldly achievements, thus Christ has rebuked and rejected Satan, showing us that we can break free from the power and domination of evil, from his lies and falsehoods, from all of his temptations and the pressures that he had placed on us in trying to mislead us and to distract us to fall into the path of sin. And not only that, but Christ also showed His perfect obedience to the will of His Father as a model for us all to follow.

Today, as we celebrate this great Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, all of us are reminded of the assurances that God has given to us all these time, all that He had done for our sake and everything He has promised to us. If we are faithful to Him, we truly have nothing to fear. For He has shown us the path forward to eternal life, true happiness and joy with Him. Unfortunately, more often than not it is we who have faltered, stubbornly refusing to follow the Lord and all that He has shown us. The Lord has always patiently led us to Himself, and He wants us to know that all of us are beloved to Him, and He loves us all dearly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remind ourselves today not to succumb to the temptations to sin, but instead be inspired by Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, and Our Lord Himself, who as the New Eve and New Adam respectively have shown us all the path out of the darkness of sin and evil, into the light of righteousness and faith. They have shown us that sin and death do not have the final say or power over us, as long as we have faith in God, walk in His path and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him.

The question is, are we all willing to walk down this path that God has shown us? Are we willing to walk down the path with God Who has always been with us, reassured us again and again, and Who has come down into our midst, to live with us and to be Emmanuel, God Who is with us, tangible and approachable? He has shown us all His light, the path and hope amidst the darkness of this world. Are we all willing to follow Him? Or are we still stuck in living in the darkness of this world and in following the temptations and pressures to disobey Him and to sin?

On this great Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord therefore, let us all reflect on these and discern carefully our path forward in life. Let us all follow the obedience showed by Mary, the Mother of God as she obeyed the will of God so perfectly, entrusting herself to the care of her Lord, and followed Him in all things. And let us all also follow the example of her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in His faith and total obedience to the will of His heavenly Father. May all of us draw ever closer to God and may He strengthen us all to live ever more worthily in His presence, now and always. Amen.