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Friday, 8 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Friday, 8 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 1 : 3-6, 11-12

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven, with every spiritual blessing. God chose us, in Christ, before the creation of the world, to be holy, and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us, in love, to be His adopted sons and daughters, through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness, which He granted us in His beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

By a decree of Him, Who disposes all things, according to His own plan and decision, we, the Jews, have been chosen and called, and we were awaiting the Messiah, for the praise of His glory.

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Friday, 8 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

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Friday, 8 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 3 : 9-15, 20

YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

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(Usus Antiquior) Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 8 December 2023 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Luke 1 : 28

Ave, Maria, gratia plena; Dominus tecum : benedicta tu in mulieribus. Alleluja.

English translation

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you amongst women. Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Salutarem hostiam, quam in sollemnitate immaculatae Conceptionis beatae Virginis Mariae tibi, Domine, offerimus, suscipe et praesta : ut, sicut illam Tua gratia praeveniente ab omni labe immunem profitemur; ita ejus intercessione a culpis omnibus liberemur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Receive, o Lord, the saving oblation which we offer You on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grant that, as we confess her to have been preserved, by Your prevenient grace, from all taints of evil, so, through her intercession, we may be freed from all sins. 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 the Blessed Virgin Mary

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos Tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : Et Te in sollemnitate sacratissimi Rosarii de Beatae Mariae semper Virginis collaudare, benedicere et praedicare. Quae et Unigenitum Tuum Sancti Spiritus obumbratione concepit : et, virginitatis gloria permanente, lumen aeternum mundo effudit, Jesum Christum, Dominum nostrum.

Per quem majestatem Tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Caeli caelorumque Virtutes ac beata Seraphim socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti jubeas, deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, o Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God, and on the solemnity of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, should praise and bless and proclaim You. For she conceived Your only begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, and not losing the glory of her virginity, gave to the world the everlasting Light, Jesus Christ our Lord.

He through Whom the angels praise Your majesty, the Dominations worship it, and the Powers are in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, and the blessed Seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray to You joining also our voices, while we say with lowly praise :

Communion

Tradition of the Faith

Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, Maria : quia fecit tibi magna qui potens est.

English translation

Glorious things are spoken of you, o Mary, for He who is mighty has done great things unto you.

Post-Communion Prayer

Sacramenta quae sumpsimus, Domine, Deus noster : illius in nobis culpae vulnera reparent; a qua immaculatam Beatae Mariae Conceptionem singulariter praeservasti. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May the sacrament which we have received, o Lord, our God, heal in us the wounds of that sin from which by a singular privilege, You had preserved immaculate the conception of Blessed Mary. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 8 December 2023 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Luke 1 : 26-28

In illo tempore : Missus est Angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth, ad Virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen Virginis Maria. Et ingressus Angelus ad eam, dixit : Ave, gratia plena; Dominus tecum : benedicta tu in mulieribus.

English translation

At that time, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the Angel having come in, said unto her, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you amongst women.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 8 December 2023 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Judith 13 : 23 and Judith 15 : 10 and Canticles 4 : 7

Benedicta es tu, Virgo Maria, a Domino, Deo excelso, prae omnibus mulieribus super terram.

Response : Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Tota pulchra es, Maria : et macula originalis non est in te, Alleluja.

English translation

Blessed are you, o Virgin Mary, by the Lord, the Most High God, above all women, upon the earth.

Response : You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honour of our people.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : You are all fair, o Mary, and there is in you no stain of original sin. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 8 December 2023 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio libri Sapientiae – Lesson from the Book of Wisdom

Proverbs 8 : 22-35

Dominus possedit me in initio viarum suarum, antequam faceret a principio. Ab aeterno ordinata sum, et ex antiquis, antequam terra fieret. Nondum erant abyssi, et ego jam concepta eram : necdum fontes aquarum eruperant : necdum montes gravi mole constiterant : ante colles ego parturiebar : adhuc terram non fecerat et flumina et cardines orbis terrae.

Quando praeparabat caelos, aderam : quando certa lege et gyro vallabat abyssos : quando aethera firmabat sursum et librabat fontes aquarum : quando circumdabat mari terminum suum et legem ponebat aquis, ne transirent fines suos : quando appendebat fundamenta terrae.

Cum eo eram cuncta componens : et delectabar per singulos dies, ludens coram eo omni tempore : ludens in orbe terrarum : et deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum. Nunc ergo, filii, audite me : Beati, qui custodiunt vias meas. Audite disciplinam, et estote sapientes, et nolite abjicere eam.

Beatus homo, qui audit me et qui vigilat ad fores meas cotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei. Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam et hauriet salutem a Domino.

English translation

The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything, from the beginning, I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived, neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out, the mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established, before the hills I was brought forth. He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world.

When He prepared the Heavens, I was there, when with a certain law and compass, He enclosed the depths, when He established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters, when He compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits, when He balanced the foundations of the earth.

I was with Him, forming all things, and was delighted every day, playing before Him at all times, playing in the world, and My delight is to be with the children of men. Now therefore, you children, hear Me : Blessed are those who keep My ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and do not refuse it.

Blessed is the man who hears Me, and who watches daily at My gates, and waits at the posts of My doors. He who shall find Me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 8 December 2023 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Isaiah 61 : 10 and Psalm 29 : 2

Gaudens gaudebo in Domino, et exsultabit anima mea in Deo meo : quia induit me vestimentis salutis : et indumento justitiae circumdedit me, quasi sponsam ornatam monilibus suis.

Exaltabo Te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me : nec delectasti inimicos meos super me.

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

English translation

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God, for He had clothed me with the garments of salvation, and with the robe of justice He had covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels.

I will extol You, o Lord, for You have upheld me, and have not made my enemies to rejoice over me.

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 per immaculatam Virginis Conceptionem dignum Filio Tuo habitaculum praeparasti : quaesumus; ut, qui ex morte ejusdem Filii Tui praevisa eam ab omni labe praeservasti, nos quoque mundos ejus intercessione ad Te pervenire concedas. Per eumdem 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 by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, had prepared a worthy dwelling for Your Son, we beseech You, that You, Who, by the death, foreseen by You, of the same Son, Your Son, had preserved her from all stain, will grant us also, by her intercession, to come to You pure in heart. 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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Sunday, 26 November 2023 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the last Sunday in our current liturgical year, which therefore marks the occasion of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. On this day, we celebrate the Kingship of Jesus Christ, Who is the Son of God and Our Lord, and hence, is also our King. He is the Lord and Master of all Creation, of the whole Universe and everything that we can see and perceive, and even things that are supernatural and beyond our comprehension. He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and no one is greater than Him. On this day, we celebrate and rejoice in the Lord Jesus, our Lord and King, and we honour Him greatly today, as we remind ourselves of what our Lord and King has done for us, and how we should therefore live our lives to be truly worthy of Him, for all the love and kindness that He has always shown us.

In our first reading passage today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the Lord told all of His people, the Israelites and their descendants that He is their Lord and Shepherd, and He would guide and lead them all through to the right path, gathering all of them, scattered throughout the world, finding out and reaching to the lost ones, so that every one of them would once again be gathered in His loving presence. These words came to the people of God at the time when many of them were indeed scattered, away from the lands promised to them and their ancestors. At that time, many of the people of the former northern kingdom of Israel had been uprooted from their homeland and exiled to the far regions of Assyria and Mesopotamia, when the Assyrians destroyed that kingdom and their cities.

Similarly for the people of the former southern kingdom of Judah, which was destroyed just around the time of the ministry of Ezekiel, many of them had been exiled to Babylon and other places too. Some of them fled to Egypt, while others went to other areas, beginning the period of the extensive diaspora of the Jewish people and their relatives. All of these words that the Lord sent to them through His prophet, Ezekiel, were reminders to all of them that ultimately, He is their Lord and King, the One true Master that they all had, and not the lords and kings that had once ruled over them and misled them into the path of corruption and downfall, destruction and humiliation. He is a just and loving God and Master to all of His beloved people, not a tyrant or autocrat who oppressed and extorted the weak and the feeble for His own benefits.

That is why, He presented Himself as a loving Shepherd to all of them, which is why, the famous Psalm of David, Psalm 22 that is used today, is a reminder for us of the Lord our God, Who is our Good Shepherd. He is always loving towards each and every one of us, caring for us and providing for us all of our needs, just like that of a shepherd who loves all of his sheep. He will not spare any efforts to try to find any of the sheep that has been lost to Him, and that was exactly what the Lord had done for our sake. God has always been insistent in sending His guidance, help and providence to us, and in patiently leading and guiding us down the right path. He has sent numerous prophets, messengers, servants and guides in order to help His beloved people, His flock, to come back to Him.

Now, then as we heard from our Gospel passage today, we heard about the Lord Jesus explained and detailing to His disciples about the Last Judgment, the moment when the Lord, as the King of Kings and the Lord and Master of all will judge all the living and the dead, and everyone shall be judged based on their actions and deeds, with those who are righteous and good rewarded and blessed, as those who are considered worthy to be enjoying forever the fullness of God’s grace and love. We also heard of how the wicked and those who have committed evil deeds, or failed to do what the Lord had told them to do, will be condemned and punished for their wickedness and failures. It is a reminder therefore for all of us that just as the Lord is loving and kind towards us, but He is also a God Who is just and expecting.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that while our Lord and King loves each and every one of us and while He has done everything that He could in order to reach out to us and to be reconciled with us, there are also many obligations and requirements that we have to fulfil as the subjects and parts of this Kingdom ruled by our Lord and King. Just as how the states and kingdoms of this world work, we cannot be good and worthy citizens unless we obey the laws and the rules of the realm, and do what we are supposed to do in obeying those rules and following the demands and expectations that are required of us to be good and law-abiding citizens of our respective states and countries. Thus, the same logic applies to how we live our lives in following our Lord and King, Jesus Christ, as well.

To be true and genuine Christians, and to be good, worthy and beloved flock of our Lord, our Good Shepherd and our King, each and every one of us must always remind ourselves to do what the Lord has commanded us to do, in fulfilling our Christian obligations and in living our lives in the manner that truly shows our true and genuine faith in God. We cannot be true and genuine Christians unless we follow the Law of God and obey the rules and the ways which His Church has set before us. But even more importantly, we also cannot just merely be blind followers of the Law and commandments of God, as it is indeed possible for us to do what is required of us by the Church and the Law of God, but we do not truly and genuinely do them because of the faith and love we have for God.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we approach the end of this current liturgical year with this glorious and most joyful celebration of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and King, King of the whole Universe, let us all remind ourselves of what we can and should do in our lives, in each and every moments to glorify Him by our good, worthy and exemplary lives. Then we must also truly enthrone the Lord as the King over our lives, over our families and our whole existence. This means that He should be at the centre and as the focus of our lives, and not our many preoccupations in life, our career, ambitions, desire for worldly glory and fame, worldly pleasures and possessions, and other things that we often put as our focus instead of the Lord, our God and King.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we therefore able to commit ourselves anew to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our Good Shepherd and our King? Are we able to do our best in doing what is right and just in our lives, in accordance with what He Himself had told us in our Gospel passage today? That in His own words He told us to feed those who are hungry, serve those who are thirsty and seeking for a drink, in welcoming strangers and those who need our help, love and attention into our care, for those who are sick and ostracised by the society, and those who have been neglected and oppressed, among others. Are we able to do what the Lord had told and taught us to do, and in following His own examples, and the examples of the many other holy men and women that had gone before us? Let us be loving, compassionate and merciful, just as the Lord Himself has shown us such great love, compassion and mercy, all these while.

Let us all therefore do our best, in every way we can, to do what the Lord has told and commanded us to do, so that we may truly be faithful and worthy followers and disciples of His, in all circumstances and opportunities that He has provided us with. Let us all renew our commitment to do our best in being exemplary and faithful Christians, in everything that we say and do, and strive to be the inspirations and role models for our fellow Christians, and even also to any others, strangers and acquaintances, all those whom we encounter and interact with, at each and every moments of our lives. May the Lord continue to bless us all in our every good efforts and deeds, and may He, Our Lord and King, the King of all Creation and Universe, be with us always throughout this journey of life, so that in the end, when our lives in this world are over, we may come to Him worthily, to enjoy forever the fullness of His love and grace. Amen.