Solemnities

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(Usus Antiquior) Nativity of St. John the Baptist (I Classis) – Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 91 : 13

Justus ut palma florebit : sicut cedrus, quae in Libano est, multiplicabitur.

English translation

The just man shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow up like the cedar of Lebanon.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Tua, Domine, muneribus altaria cumulamus : illius nativitatem honore debito celebrantes, qui Salvatorem mundi et cecinit adfuturum et adesse monstravit, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum : Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

We heap Your altars with gifts, o Lord, celebrating with fitting honour the nativity of he who heralded the coming of the Saviour, and pointed Him out when He had come, 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

Luke 1 : 76

Tu, puer Propheta Altissimi vocaberis : praeibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus.

English translation

You, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest, for you shall go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways.

Post-Communion Prayer

Sumat Ecclesia Tua, Deus, beati Joannis Baptistae generatione laetitiam : per quem suae regenerationis cognovit auctorem, 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 Church, o God, be joyful at the birth of the Blessed John the Baptist, through whom she knew the Author of her regeneration, 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) Nativity of St. John the Baptist (I Classis) – Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Luke 1 : 57-68

Elisabeth impletum est tempus pariendi, et peperit filium. Et audierunt vicini et cognati ejus, quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum illa, et congratulabantur ei. Et factum est in die octavo, venerunt circumcidere puerum, et vocabant eum nomine patris sui Zachariam.

Et respondens mater ejus, dixit : Nequaquam, sed vocabitur Joannes. Et dixerunt ad illam : Quia nemo est in cognatione tua, qui vocatur hoc nomine. Innuebant autem patri ejus, quem vellet vocari eum. Et postulans pugillarem, scripsit, dicens : Joannes est nomen ejus. Et mirati sunt universi.

Apertum est autem illico os ejus et lingua ejus, et loquebatur benedicens Deum. Et factus est timor super omnes vicinos eorum : et super omnia montana Judaeae divulgabantur omnia verba haec : et posuerunt omnes, qui audierant in corde suo, dicentes : Quis, putas, puer iste erit? Etenim manus Domini erat cum illo.

Et Zacharias, pater ejus, repletus est Spiritu Sancto, et prophetavit, dicens : Benedictus Dominus, Deus Israel, quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebis suae.

English translation

Elizabeth’s full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had showed His great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father’s name, Zachary.

And his mother answering, said, “Not so, but he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “There is none of your kindred that is called by that name.” And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they all wondered.

And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosened, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all their neighbours, and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea, and all those who had heard them, laid them up in their heart, saying, “What a person, do you think, shall this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He had visited, and wrought the redemption of His people.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Nativity of St. John the Baptist (I Classis) – Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Jeremiah 1 : 5, 9 and Luke 1 : 76

Priusquam te formarem in utero, novi te : et antequam exires de ventre, sanctificavi te.

Response : Misit Dominus manum suam, et tetigit os meum, et dixit mihi.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Tu, puer, Propheta Altissimi vocaberis : praeibis ante Dominum parare vias ejus. Alleluja.

English translation

Before I formed you in the bowels of your mother, I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you.

Response : The Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth, and said to me.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : You, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest, you shall go before the Lord to prepare His ways. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Nativity of St. John the Baptist (I Classis) – Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Isaiae Prophetae – Lesson from Isaiah the Prophet

Isaiah 49 : 1-3, 5, 6-7

Audite, insular, et attendite, populi, de longe : Dominus ab utero vocavit me, de ventre matris meae recordatus est nominis mei. Et posuit os meum quasi gladium acutum : in umbra manus Suae protexit me, et posuit me sicut sagittam electam : in pharetra Sua abscondit me.

Et dixit mihi : Servus Meus es tu, Israel, quia in te gloriabor. Et nunc dicit Dominus, formans me ex utero servum sibi : Ecce, dedi te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque ad extremum terrae. Reges videbunt, et consurgent principes, et adorabunt propter Dominum et sanctum Israel, qui elegit te.

English translation

Give ear, you islands, and harken, you people from afar. The Lord had called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother He had been mindful of my name. And He had made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He had protected me, and had made me as a chosen arrow, in His quiver He had hidden me.

And He said to me, “You are My servant Israel, for in you will I glory.” And now says the Lord who formed me from the womb to be His servant, “Behold I have given uou to be light of the gentiles, that you may be My salvation even to the farthest part of the earth. Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord’s sake, and for the Holy One of Israel, Who had chosen you.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Nativity of St. John the Baptist (I Classis) – Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Isaiah 49 : 1, 2 and Psalm 91 : 2

De ventre matris meae vocavit me Dominus nomine meo : et posuit os meum ut gladium acutum : sub tegumento manus suae protexit me, et posuit me quasi sagittam electam.

Bonum est confiteri Domino : et psallere Nomini Tuo, Altissime.

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

English translation

The Lord had called me by my name from the womb of my mother, and He had made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He had protected me, and had made me as a chosen arrow.

It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to Your Name, o Most High.

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 praesentem diem honorabilem nobis in beati Joannis nativitate fecisti : da populis Tuis spiritualium gratiam gaudiorum; et omnium fidelium menfes dirige in viam salutis aeternae. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, You Who had made this day honourable to us on account of the birth of blessed John, grant Your people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful in the way of everlasting salvation. 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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Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 5-17

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God, and lived blamelessly, in accordance with all the laws and commands of the Lord, but they had no child. Elizabeth could not have any and now they were both very old.

Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the time of offering incense, all the people were praying outside; it was then, that an Angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. On seeing the Angel, Zechariah was deeply troubled and fear took hold of him.

But the Angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will bring joy and gladness to you, and many will rejoice at his birth. This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Listen : he shall never drink wine or strong drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.”

“Through him, many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He, himself, will open the way to the Lord, with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children; and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

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Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 1 : 8-12

You have not, yet, seen Him, and, yet, you love Him; even without seeing Him, you believe in Him, and experience a heavenly joy beyond all words, for you are reaching the goal of your faith : the salvation of your souls.

This was the salvation for which the prophets so eagerly looked when, in days past, they foretold the favour of God, with regard to you. But they could only investigate when the Spirit of Christ present within them, pointed out the time and the circumstances, of this – the sufferings of Christ, and the glories which would follow.

It was revealed to them, that they were working, not for themselves, but for you. Thus, in these days, after the Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven, the Gospel’s preachers have taught you these mysteries, which even the Angels long to see.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17

In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!

Be my Rock of refuge, a Stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For You, o Lord, have been my Hope, my Trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.

My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Jeremiah 1 : 4-10

A word of YHVH came to me, “Even before I formed you in the womb I have known you; even before you were born I had set you apart, and appointed you a prophet to the nations!”

I said, “Ah, Lord YHVH! I do not know how to speak; I am still young!” But YHVH replied, “Do not say; ‘I am still young’, for now you will go, whatever be the mission I am entrusting to you, and you will speak of whatever I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you – it is YHVH Who speaks!”

Then YHVH stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now I have put My words in your mouth. See! Today I give you authority over nations and over kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very great occasion, a core tenet of our Christian faith, that is the belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord Himself in the Eucharist, in the bread and wine used during the Holy Mass, transformed by the will of the Father and the incarnation of the Son, and by the power and descent of the Holy Spirit, into the very substance and essence of Our Lord Himself, truly present in Body, Heart, Mind, Soul and Divinity before us all. This is the Dogma of the Transubstantiation, our firm belief that the bread and wine has been transformed completely into the Lord’s own Presence and Body and Blood, although in terms of appearance they may seem to still have the appearance, feel and taste of bread and wine.

On this day, we remember the same Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus had done at the Cross at Calvary, which is being celebrated at every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at every Masses celebrated everywhere in the world, from the time of the Apostles, throughout history and up to the present day, and which will continue to be in the future until the end of time. This Holy Sacrifice that the Lord Himself has offered constituted Him as the Eternal High Priest of all, the One True High Priest Who offered on our behalf the only perfect and worthy offering for the atonement of our sins, as it is only by the breaking of the Most Precious Body and the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, Our Paschal Lamb, that we can be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of Genesis in which the story of the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek, the King of Salem was highlighted to us. This happened as Abraham came to settle in the Promised Land of Canaan after he had followed the Lord Who called him to go to the land that He would show him and entrusted to him and his descendants. Abraham trusted in the Lord even though he was childless even until he was close to a hundred years old, and he followed the Lord to where He led him, and in the occasion mentioned in today’s reading, he was just triumphant in a battle against the Canaanite kings in a mission to protect and recover Lot, his cousin that had been captured by those kings.

This figure of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was indeed a mysterious one, as he was described as a high priest of the Lord Most High, and it was told that no one knew his origins or that he was even without a father. In this sense therefore, many saw Melchizedek as a prefigurement of Christ Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, Who would indeed eventually come into this world, to do exactly the same thing that Melchizedek had done in offering the sacrifices to God as the High Priest of all creation. Melchizedek received Abraham’s offerings which the latter made in thanksgiving to God, and offered it on his behalf to the Lord, and this city of Salem that Melchizedek was king of, was indeed likely to be the one and the same as the city of Jerusalem, the city and place where the Lord would accomplish His mission in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross.

Then, from our second reading today, we heard from the account made by St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth regarding the events that happened at the moment when the Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, this perfect gift from God, the Most Holy Sacrament, the manifestation of His Real Presence in the bread and wine which the priests and the other celebrants of the Mass offer to the Lord on our behalf, much like Melchizedek had done for Abraham, and this is done ‘in persona Christi’, as the priests celebrate the Mass in representing Christ Himself, our One and True Eternal High Priest. They do not offer the Mass on their own accord and their own strength, but representing the Lord Who has given us all most generously His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us.

When the Lord told the disciples at the moment of the Last Supper which St. Paul recounted to us, He truly meant every single words that He said, and He truly meant it when He said that the bread He had broken, blessed and shared with the disciples was indeed His Body, and the wine that He has also blessed and passed to be shared with the disciples was indeed His Blood. The Lord did not say that those were merely symbolic or representative, or a memorial or any of those sorts, replicating or resembling His Body and Blood. What He said, as affirmed further by St. Paul the Apostle and by the teaching of the early Church fathers, is that the bread and wine truly became the very Real Presence of the Lord, and are indeed the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, through the actions of the priest, in invoking the power of God to enact this.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord feeding all of the multitudes of the five thousand people in the famous miracle that I am sure we are all well familiar with. Through this miracle we can see how the Lord is so loving and compassionate towards us, realising our physical needs just as much as we have our spiritual needs as well. He blessed the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were presented to Him, breaking them and sharing them, and we heard how miraculously those small amount of food was enough to feed the whole multitude of five thousand people, with plenty of leftovers collected, amounting to twelve whole full baskets worth of food. Many people were happy and satisfied, fully filled by their experience with this miracle.

And after this event, chronologically in the events of the Lord’s ministry, many people came seeking Him and wanting Him to be their King, and the Lord told them that they desired this because they were happy to get the food from all those miraculous multiplication of the loaves of bread and fish, the food that satisfied the physical self and the body. However, the Lord told them then that what is more important is the food that lasts forever, and the true and real Food which He would share to them which would bring them all to the promise of eternal life and true happiness with Him. This was highlighted in the discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of St. John the Apostle, where the Lord Jesus clearly stated to all those who followed Him that He is that Bread of Life which has come down from Heaven.

The Lord also stated, just as He had done in the Last Supper, that His Body is real Food and His Blood is real Drink, and they were to be given to everyone to partake and share, so that all those who partake in the Body and Blood of the Son of God and Son of Man would have eternal life in them. Again, all these highlighted the undeniable and clear fact that what the Lord Himself has instituted at the Last Supper was truly His Most Precious Body and Blood manifested in the bread and wine which He had transformed into the very Essence and Reality of His Body and Blood, His own Presence with them, which we therefore partake and therefore God Himself dwell within us all. And should we wonder if this is possible, we do not have to look far but the miracle that He Himself performed in feeding the five thousand people. What seems impossible for us mankind, is possible for God, as there is nothing impossible for God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all consider carefully how we have believed in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. The sad truth and reality facing our Church today is the ever dwindling faith that many Catholics are exhibiting towards the Real Presence in many parts around the world, especially in the places in Europe and the Americas where the Christian faith used to be predominant and strongly embraced by the people. This is then also linked to the ever rapidly dwindling attendance and participation in the Masses and other liturgical events and activities of the Church. If we start losing our faith and belief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, then sooner or later, we will also grow detached and be easily distracted by the many temptations and pressures around us in this world.

And in the manner of how we treat the Lord in His Real Presence in the Eucharist is also alarming, as many of us no longer have that faith in this important and core tenet of our faith, in the manner how we act nonchalantly in receiving the Holy Eucharist and even in how we are usually so impatient and cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end so that we can continue with our activities and other busy way of living in the world outside there. This is something that we are constantly being reminded of, especially on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, that there is a need for all of us as Christians to return once again to the root of our faith in the Holy Eucharist, a faith that is truly centred on the Lord truly present in our midst, with sure hope in His Providence and with a heart full of love for Him and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to renew our commitment to the Lord our God, our most loving Saviour and King, He Who has made Himself available to us all through the Eucharist, His perfect gift of love to all of us, ever tied and linked to the ultimate and most loving Sacrifice that He has performed at the Cross at Calvary. Therefore, every time we come and participate at the Holy Mass, let us all renew our faith and commitment to the Lord in what He has shown and given us through the Most Holy Eucharist from now on, and be the worthy bearers of His truth and love by living our lives in the manner that He has taught us to do, now and always. Amen.