Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-8a
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.
One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.
Hear my voice when I call, o Lord, have mercy on me and answer. My heart says to You, “I seek Your face, o Lord.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 1 : 12-14
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.
All of these, together, gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women, and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
Liturgical Colour : White
Offertory
Psalm 46 : 6
Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, et Dominus in voce tubae, Alleluja.
English translation
God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet, Alleluia.
Secret Prayer of the Priest
Sacrificia nos, Domine, immaculata purificent : et mentibus nostris supernae gratiae dent vigorem. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Let this immaculate sacrifice purify us, o Lord, and impart to our souls the vigour of supernal grace. 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 Ascension
Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Qui post resurrectionem suam omnibus discipulis suis manifestus apparuit et, ipsis cernentibus, est elevatus in caelum, ut nos divinitatis suae tribueret esse participes. 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 available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to You, o holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. He who after His resurrection very openly showed Himself to all His disciples, and in their sight was raised up to heaven, in order to give to us to be partakers of His Godhead. And therefore, with the angels and archangels, with the thrones and dominations, and with all the array of the heavenly host, we sing a hymn to Your glory and unceasingly repeat :
Communion
John 17 : 12-13, 15
Pater, cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos, quos dedisti mihi, Alleluja : nunc autem ad te venio : non rogo, ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo, Alleluja, Alleluja.
English translation
Father, while I was with them, I kept those who You gave Me, Alleluia. But now that I come to You, I pray that You should not take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from evil, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Post-Communion Prayer
Repleti, Domine, muneribus sacris : da, quaesumus; ut in gratiarum semper actione maneamus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
As we have been filled with heavenly gifts, o Lord, grant, we beseech You, that we may constantly persevere in thanksgiving. 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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. John
John 15 : 26-27 and John 16 : 1-4
In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis : Cum venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me : et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia ab initio mecum estis.
Haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Absque synagogis facient vos : sed venit hora, ut omnis, qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se prestare Deo. Et haec facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem neque me. Sed haec locutus sum vobis : ut, cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini, quia ego dixi vobis.
English translation
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me, and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning.”
“These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalised. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the hour comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 9 and John 14 : 18
Alleluja, Alleluja.
Response : Regnavit Dominus super omnes gentes : Deus sedet super sedem sanctam Suam.
Alleluja.
Response : Non vos relinquam orphanos : vado, et venio ad vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum. Alleluja.
English translation
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Response : The Lord had reigned over all the nations. God sits on His holy throne.
Alleluia.
Response : I will not leave you orphans. I go and I come to you, and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.
Liturgical Colour : White
Lectio Epistolae Beati Petri Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle
1 Peter 4 : 7-11
Carissimi : Estote prudentes et vigilate in orationibus. Ante omnia autem mutuam in vobismetipsis caritatem continuam habentes : quia caritas operit multitudinem peccatorum. Hospitales invicem sine murmuratione : unusquisque, sicut accepit gratiam, in alterutrum illam administrantes, sicut boni dispensatores multiformis gratiae Dei.
Si quis loquitur, quasi sermones Dei : si quis ministrat, tamquam ex virtute, quam administrat Deus : ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum, Dominum nostrum.
English translation
Dearly beloved, be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covered a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one toward another without murmuring. As every man had received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man ministers, let him do it as of the power which God administers, that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Liturgical Colour : White
Introit
Psalm 26 : 7-9, 1
Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad Te, Alleluja : Tibi dixit cor meum, quaesivi vultum Tuum, vultum Tuum, Domine, requiram : ne avertas faciem Tuam a me, Alleluja, Alleluja.
Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea : quem timebo?
Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Hear, o Lord, my voice with which I have cried to You, Alleluia. My heart had said to You, I have sought Your face, Your face, o Lord, I will seek. Do not turn away Your face from me, Alleluia, Alleluia.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
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
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus : fac nos Tibi semper et devotam gerere voluntatem; et majestati Tuae sincero corde servire. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation
Almighty and eternal God, make us ever bear a devout affection towards You, and with sincere heart to serve Your majesty. 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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are called and reminded to live our lives worthily of the Lord as Christians, whom God had called and chosen from this world. Through our shared Christian baptism, all of us have become parts and members of the Church of God, the one Body of Christ where all those who profess to be faithful in Christ are part of this Communion of unity, united as one people, living a new and blessed life with the grace of God as a community. All of us have been reminded of the life of the early Christian communities so that we may be inspired to pursue the same life filled with holiness and devotion to God, and that we may no longer be obsessed with all sorts of worldly temptations and evils, desires and attachments. We are reminded that we should always show God’s love in all things, in all that we say and do.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, the account of how the Apostles worked to proclaim the Good News and the words of the Lord, His salvation and grace to all the people in various places. St. Philip, commonly known as the Evangelist, one of the seven Deacons, although others associated him with St. Philip the Apostle, went to the region of Samaria, proclaiming the word of God likely to the Samaritans who lived in that area, who had earlier on responded favourably to the Lord and his teachings and truth. There were many great signs and wonders that happened, as the Apostle carried out his ministry, performing miracles and wonders, and many among the people listened attentively to the words of truth as proclaimed by St. Philip. And then we heard how St. Peter and St. John came to the Samaritans, who had been baptised, and sent the Holy Spirit to come down upon them as well.
Historically, there had been a rather tense and hostile relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans due to conflicting claims on the heritage of the people of Israel, and for their differing viewpoints with regards to faith practices and customs, with each side often blaming the other side for having become wayward in their way of living their faith, and each one of them claimed that their way was the right one while the other one was wrong and heretical. The Jewish people, particularly the Pharisees back then took great pride on their status as God’s people, inheriting the claim of the Israelites as God’s first called and chosen people. However, the problem was that this ended up with them being condescending, elitist and uncharitable in their attitudes and interactions with others, as exemplified by how the Pharisees considered that all those who did not follow their ways and beliefs would be doomed and damned.
This is in tandem with what we have heard from the readings we have listened to in the past few weekdays, which focused on the divisions and disagreements within the early Church where those who belonged to the group of the hardline Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were against those who sought to help and make it easier for the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles to become a member of the Church. The former demanded that all of the faithful people of God must embrace and obey the full entire range of extensive rules, laws, precepts, practices and customs of the Jewish Law, which the Jewish people themselves had found it hard to be followed and obeyed, which would have pushed many of the non-Jewish people away from the Church and the Christian faith, should they have succeeded in having their way done.
Instead, the Lord guided His Church through the hands of the Apostles and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in moderating the extreme demands of those who had their preconceived ideals and thoughts that were incompatible with what the Lord had taught us all. He has shown them what His disciples and followers should all do, and how His Church should be like. The Church is One and Universal, as contained within its character as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Therefore, as one community of the faithful people of God, all called to a holy life and existence, just as our Lord and God is Holy, there cannot be prejudices, bias and all other things that bring about division and disunity within the community of the faithful, and that is why the Church is Catholic, which means Universal in nature. There is no favouritism or preference for a certain custom or practice within the Church, as everyone is truly equal before the Lord.
Then, we must also remember that the Church is also Apostolic in nature, which is reflected in the works and mission of the Apostles and the other missionaries of the faith. The word ‘Apostle’ itself came from the Ancient Greek word ‘Apostolos’ which means the ‘one who is sent off’, highlighting that the Church is also missionary in nature, all of us are sent out to proclaim the truth and Good News to more and more people out there who have not yet known about the Lord yet. The actions of the Apostles St. Philip, St. Peter and St. John who went to the Samaritans to work amongst them, proclaiming the Good News and giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit were just some of the examples of how our Church is truly Apostolic or missionary in nature. The Church always extends it hands to reach out to more and more of the people, not enclosing ourselves within a bubble of self-righteousness and intolerance of differences.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, hopefully all these serve to remind us all of our important calling and mission as Christians, for each and every one of us to do our part in living our lives faithfully and worthily as Christians at all times. Unless we carry out what the Lord had told us to do, and practice our faith with genuine and sincere desire to love Him and to walk in His path, doing what is right and just according to His Law and commandments, how can we convince others to believe in God as well? If our own actions contradict our faith and beliefs, then are we not just like hypocrites and unbelievers? If our actions, works and deeds, our words and interactions contradict what we believe in, then we may even end up driving others further from the faith, and causing divisions within the Church like how some of our predecessors had done.
Therefore, let us all discern carefully our path as we reflect upon the words of the Scriptures this Sunday, so that we may be inspired to live our lives more worthily and be able to commit ourselves more to the path that the Lord has shown us. Let us all continue to do our best, to live our lives to the best we can, so that our every actions, our every words and deeds, our interactions may be the best means through which we may introduce the Lord, His truth and Good News to all the people all around us. Let our lives be the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love in our world today, and may the Holy Apostles, the saints and all the holy people of God continue to intercede for us, and may the Lord continue to guide us all and His Church, and bless our good works and labours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 14 : 15-21
Jesus said to His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He is with you and will be in you.”
“I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. A little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me, because I live and you will also live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. If he loves Me, he will also be loved by My Father; I too shall love him and show Myself clearly to him.”
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Peter 3 : 15-18
But bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience clear so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living. Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God’s will, than for doing wrong.
Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the Just One, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. In the Body He was put to death, in the Spirit He was raised to life.
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