Solemnities

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(Usus Antiquior) Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double I Classis) – Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : White

Gradual

Psalm 44 : 3, 5

Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis : propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum.

Response : Propter veritatem et mansuetudinem et justitiam : et deducet te mirabiliter dextera tua.

English translation

Grace is poured abroad in your lips, therefore God had blessed you forever.

Response : Because of truth, meekness and justice, and your right hand shall conduct you wonderfully.

Tract

Psalm 44 : 11, 12, 13, 10, 15, 16

Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam : quia concupivit Rex speciem tuam.

Response : Vultum tuum deprecabuntur omnes divites plebis : filiae regum in honore tuo.

Response : Adducentur Regi Virgines post eam : proximae ejus afferentur Tibi.

Response : Adducentur in laetitia et exsultatione : adducentur in templum Regis.

English translation

Harken, o daughter and see, and incline your ear, for the King had greatly increased your beauty.

Response : All the rich among the people shall entreat your countenance, the daughter of kings, your honour.

Response : After her shall virgins be brought to the King, her neighbours shall be brought to You.

Response : They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing. They shall be brought into the Temple of the King.

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(Usus Antiquior) Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double I Classis) – Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Isaiae Prophetae – Lesson from Isaiah the Prophet

Isaiah 7 : 10-15

In diebus illis : Locutus est Dominus ad Achaz, dicens : Pete tibi signum a Domino, Deo tuo, in profundum inferni, sive in excelsum supra. Et dixit Achaz : Non petam et non tentabo Dominum. Et dixit : Audite ergo, domus David : Numquid parum vobis est, molestos esse hominibus, quia molesti estis et Deo meo? Propter hoc dabit Dominus ipse vobis signum. Ecce, Virgo concipiet et patriet filium, et vocabitur Nomen Ejus Emmanuel. Butyrum et mel comedet, ut sciat reprobare malum et eligere bonum.

English translation

In those days, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for a sign of the Lord your God, either unto the depth of hell, or to the height above.” And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord.” And He said, “Hear therefore you, o house of David, is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are also grievous to My God also? Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and His Name shall be called Emmanuel. He shall eat butter and honey, that He may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Double I Classis) – Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 44 : 13, 15, 16 and 2

Vultum tuum deprecabuntur omnes divites plebis : adducentur Regi Virgines post eam : proximae ejus adducentur tibi in laetitia in exsultatione.

Alleluja, Alleluja

Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum : dico ego opera mea Regi.

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

English translation

All the rich among the people shall entreat your countenance, after her shall virgins be brought to the King. Her neighbours shall be brought to you in gladness and rejoicing.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

My heart had uttered a good word. I speak my works to the King.

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 de Beatae Mariae Virginis utero Verbum Tuum, Angelo nuntiate, carnem suscipere voluisti : praesta supplicibus Tuis, ut, qui vere eam Genetricem Dei credimus, ejus apud te intercessionibus adjuvemur. 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, Who had willed that at the message of an Angel, Your word should become flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Your suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with You. 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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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church marks the occasion of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the husband of the Mother of God, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Joseph therefore is the foster-father and legal guardian of the Lord, Who was born into his family. St. Joseph is the Protector and titular head of the Holy Family centred on Jesus, the Son of God and Saviour of all. On this day we honour this great figure of the story of our salvation, the one who has devoted himself thoroughly to the mission that has been entrusted to him, in protecting and guiding the Son of God which has been put in his guardianship. St. Joseph was this great example and role model for his foster and legal Son, and his righteousness and actions are themselves examples for us to follow.

In our first reading today, we heard from the second Book of the prophet Samuel in which the Lord told David, the then King of Israel, through His prophet Nathan regarding His response about the plan that King David had in wanting to build a great Temple and House of God in Jerusalem. The Lord told David that it would not be him that build the Temple and House for the Lord, but his son, the next king, King Solomon, who eventually built this great edifice and House of God. But more importantly in the same words of the Lord through the prophet Nathan, God assured David that He would bless him and his house forever, and his house would reign forever on the Throne of Israel. While this was seen immediately as the Lord’s promise of blessings for David’s son, Solomon, who would be the king after him, but it was in fact also the premonition of what God would do through David’s House.

This is because the kingdom that David and his son Solomon ruled in great glory did not in fact last long after their passing, and the kingdom of Israelites split into two barely moments after King Solomon passed away. And the descendants of David and Solomon were eventually bereft of kingship as the kingdom of Judah, on which throne the heirs of David ruled for another few hundred years, was destroyed and conquered by the Babylonians. But the descendants of King David remained and existed, and after many more generations, eventually it came to St. Joseph himself, who was the senior and rightful heir of David by descent. While keeping a low profile and was relatively unknown by the people of God at that time, by the legal rights and rules of the Law, it is right and just that St. Joseph was indeed the one to continue David’s legacy, and from him to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And therefore this passage from the Book of the prophet Samuel is highlighted today for us because it provides us with the link between what God had promised to David, His servant, and its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the Son and Heir of David through His foster and legal father, St. Joseph. Jesus our Lord is the perfect fulfilment of God’s promises and assurances for His people, and this was shown to us through the Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, which detailed to us the genealogy of Our Lord from that of the House of David. Thus, it was not without basis that the Lord Jesus came bearing forth the Good News of God’s salvation, as it was His right heritage as the Heir of David, the One Whom God has promised to both David himself and to the people of Israel, as the One to fulfil all of the prophecies that He had sent through His many prophets and messengers.

And St. Joseph was a great role model indeed as a father and guide for the young Messiah, dedicating himself thoroughly to the role which had been entrusted to him. He obeyed the Lord when He told him through his Angels and the dream he had received, taking Mary as his wife, guiding and protecting her as they made their way to Bethlehem for the census of the Roman Emperor Augustus, and then after the Child has been born, he led the Holy Family to safety when the life of the Holy Child was in danger due to the actions of King Herod. He patiently guided and protected both Mary, his wife and the child Jesus, taking shelter in Egypt during the dangerous times, and then leading them back to Nazareth where he stayed, and brought up the Child faithfully and taught Him well all that he knew of the world, the Law and the ways of the Lord.

Through these actions and great faith, righteousness and virtues that St. Joseph have shown us, we are reminded of the words of the Apostle St. Paul in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle that he had written and intended for the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome. In that Epistle, St. Paul spoke of how Abraham had received righteousness and blessings, and also the assurance for his descendants through the Covenant that God had made with him, not because of his obedience to the Law of God, but more due to the faith and true love and commitment that he had in the Lord. And since the Lord knew this faith and great love that Abraham had for him, this is why He blessed him and his descendants. This was the same as well for St. Joseph, our great Patron whom we celebrate today. His righteousness, virtue and faith in the Lord is a major reason why we commemorate and honour him such, even more than the fact that he is the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore look upon the great faith, virtue and obedience shown by St. Joseph, his great perseverance and commitment to the missions entrusted to him by the Lord as great inspiration and model for all of us to follow in our own lives. Each and every one of us should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly temptations or fears, or any kind of worldly distractions from keeping us away from God. We have often fallen into those temptations and as a result, we became distracted, separated and distanced away from our Lord and His grace. And this is why the examples and inspiration shown by St. Joseph, his righteousness and love for those whom he had been entrusted with, his Spouse Mary, the Mother of God, and his foster-Son, our Lord Himself, in the Holy Family should be good examples to all of us, in our own families and among ourselves.

Let us all continue to walk in the path which the Lord has shown and taught us, and following the good role model and examples of St. Joseph, Holy Patron, the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour, the Spouse of Mary, the Blessed ever Virgin Mother of God, let us all be ever more faithful and committed to be good and worthy Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen from this world to be His own beloved and holy people. Let us all be good example and role models ourselves to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We are all called to be devoted to the Lord, to be righteous and just in all of our ways and actions, our every moments in life, and be the worthy bearers of God’s truth, now and always. May our Lenten observance continue to bear good and rich fruits, and may we draw ever closer to God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus Who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

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.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 4 : 13, 16-18, 22

If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.

For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.

Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written : I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him Who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in Whom he believed. Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told : See how many will be your descendants.

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

“He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’  I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Samuel 7 : 4-5a, 12-14a, 16

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for My Name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son.”

“Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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(Singapore) Friday, 14 February 2025 : Feast of the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, the fourteenth day of February marks the anniversary of the Dedication or Consecration of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Singapore, which was dedicated in the Year of Our Lord 1897, about five decades after it was originally built and established as the first church in the land of Singapore. This year, it has been a hundred and twenty-eight years since its original Consecration as mentioned, and also eight years since it has been rededicated in the Year of Our Lord 2017 after the latest round of major restoration and renovation, bringing back the glory and the glamour in this great House of God, restored and renovated for the glory of God and for the good of the flock of the Lord in Singapore.

Now, as we all rejoice in the anniversary of the dedication of our Mother Church in Singapore, let us all spend some time to reflect upon the messages of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received today, which reminds us all of the significance of this Dedication of the Cathedral, as with the dedication of any other churches, the places which had been set aside for the purpose of sacred use and the worship of the Divine. All of us have to be aware that the celebration of the Holy Mass has to be done in a place that has been blessed and also dedicated to God, upon the Altar that had been dedicated and reserved for the sole use of Sacred and Divine Worship, which happened during the Dedication of this great House of God.

In our first reading today, we heard the customary reading from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel used for the dedication of churches, detailing the heavenly vision of the prophet Ezekiel who saw the great Temple in Heaven, the Temple of the Lord’s Holy Presence, from which came forth the spring of life-giving water, and the figure of a Son of Man Who guided him throughout the Temple, which was a prefigurement of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man. This Holy and great Temple of God in Heaven is the model upon which all of our churches, God’s House in this world have been modelled upon, all consecrated and dedicated to the Lord, to be the same representation of the perfect Temple of God’s Holy Presence in Heaven, which has come into our midst, as God came to dwell among us.

As we all come to the churches, to come to worship and glorify the Lord, it reminds us all to come forth to God’s Holy Presence, seeking His love, kindness and mercy, while distancing ourselves from all sorts of wickedness and evils, keeping ourselves holy and worthy in all things. That is why each and every one of us are reminded to keep the sanctity of God’s House, to be at our best whenever we come to the Holy Mass and any other celebrations and liturgical events taking place in our churches, including in this Cathedral which dedication anniversary we are celebrating today. If we profane the sanctity of the Lord’s Holy Temple, then we will be made accountable for this act, and we will be judged and found wanting for this action that is unbecoming of us all as Christians.

Then, in our second reading passage today, we listened to the words of St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth where he spoke of the nature of all of us, the faithful people of God, as God’s Holy Temples, how our bodies and our whole beings are truly the Temples of His Holy Presence, the Temples of His Holy Spirit, and therefore all of us must always strive to keep ourselves holy and free from sin, or else, again, the sin of us having defiled the sanctity of this Temple of God, that is our own body, heart, mind and soul, our whole beings, will eventually fall upon us and we will have to account for our failure to keep this sanctity and purity of our bodies, our minds, hearts and souls, which God had graced upon and dwelled within.

Each and every one of us have received God Himself in the flesh, first of all through the life that God has given to each and every one of us, the Holy Spirit that He has given to us, dwelling within us, and the gift of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were affirmed in us, and through which we have been strengthened by God’s Spirit and Presence. And then, not only that, but through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and as we all believe firmly that the Lord is truly and really present in the Eucharist, in our faith in the Real Presence and the Dogma of Transubstantiation, we believe that the Lord Himself, Who has made Himself available in His Most Precious Body and Blood, has come into us, through the Holy Eucharist that we have received and partaken at the Holy Mass.

Therefore, it is important that each and every one of us as Christians must realise that we have to keep ourselves truly holy and worthy in everything that we say and do, or else, we have to account for our failures to do so. In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus showed this by example, as He angrily cast out all those merchants, money changers and others peddling their businesses at the courtyard of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. First of all, the context of this event and the presence of those businesses were made necessary due to the many Jewish people which at that time had been living far away from the land of Israel, and since they would come to visit Jerusalem during festivals like the Passover, they would have to exchange the money and coins they brought from the lands they dwelled in for the coins issued by the local Temple authority, as foreign coins were considered unclean. And they would have to use those good and worthy Temple coins to buy the sacrifices to be offered to God.

However, what the Lord Jesus found issue with was the rampant practice of corruption and overcharging, where the pilgrims and many others coming to the Temple were overcharged for the services that those money changers and merchants did, and those people earned a lot from this practice. It was those immoral actions and behaviours, which were not allowed even according to the Law of God revealed through Moses, that led to the Lord Jesus to drive away all those merchants and money changers. The Temple officials and the chief priests had been turning a blind eye to those wicked actions because they themselves likely profitted from such activities as well, and therefore, the Lord also told them all as we heard, that the magnificent Temple which they had at that time, none of that would remain standing in just another few decades, as it would be destroyed by the Romans approximately four decades later.

What the Lord also wanted us all to remember is that this Temple of God is truly not just limited to any particular building. Yes, we designate and honour certain places and also this Cathedral of the Good Shepherd as God’s Holy House in this world, but even more importantly, the whole Church itself, the Body of Christ, the unity of all Christian believers are also where God is present and where He dwells in amongst us. Hence, as Christians, it is important that all of us strive to continue living our lives worthily and to continue to do our best in being the ‘living stones’ of God’s Holy Temple, to be good and faithful stewards and caretakers of this world that God has entrusted to us. Let us all also be active in our participation in the Holy Mass and in other events of the Church, and maintain always the sanctity of our churches and also our bodies, hearts, minds and souls as God’s Holy Temple in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore as God’s faithful people in the Archdiocese of Singapore continue to do our best in all the things that we do in our everyday living, so that we may truly be evangelistic, missionary and faithful disciples of the Lord at every moments, doing our best to proclaim the Lord and His truth in everything that we say and do in our lives. Let us all be good examples and inspirations for the brothers and sisters in our midst so that together we may build the Living Church of God with Jesus Christ our Lord as its Head and founded upon the faith of the Apostles, and also our faith, which are the stones making up this Living Church of God. May God be with us always, and may He bless us all and all the churches in the world, particularly the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the great Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Singapore. Amen.

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(Singapore) Friday, 14 February 2025 : Feast of the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 2 : 13-22

At that time, as the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple court He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money-changers seated at their tables.

Making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple court, together with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the money-changers, scattering the coins, and ordered the people selling doves, “Take all this away, and stop making a marketplace of My Father’s house!” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture : Zeal for Your house devours me like fire.

The Jews then questioned Jesus, “Where are the miraculous signs which give You the right to do this?” And Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then replied, “The building of this Temple has already taken forty-six years, and will You raise it up in three days?”

Actually, Jesus was referring to the Temple of His Body. Only when He had risen from the dead did His disciples remember these words; then they believed both the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.