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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface of Christ the King, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Offertory

Psalm 2 : 8

Postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam, et possessionem tuam terminos terrae.

 

English translation

Ask of Me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession.

 

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Hostiam Tibi, Domine, humanae reconciliationis offerimus : praests, quaesumus; ut, quem sacrificiis praesentibus immolamus, ipse cunctis gentibus unitatis et pacis dona concedat, Jesus Christus Filius Tuus, Dominus noster : Qui Tecum…

 

English translation

O Lord, we offer You this host for the reconciliation of humanity, grant, we beseech You, that Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord, whom we immolate in this sacrifice, will bestow on all Gentiles the gifts of unity and peace. Who with You lives…

 

Preface of Christ the King

Vere dignum et justum est aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : Qui unigenitum Filius Tuum, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Sacerdotem aeternum et universorum Regem, oleo exsultationis unxisti : ut, seipsum in ara crucis hostiam immaculatam et pacificam offerens.

Redemptionis humanae sacramenta perageret : et suo subjectis imperio omnibus creaturis, aeternum et universale regnum, immensae Tuae traderet Majestati. Regnum veritatis et vitae : regnum sanctitatis et gratiae : regnum justitiae, amoris et pacis.

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, for us, at all times, and in all places, to give thanks to You, o Lord, the Holy One, the Father Almighty, the everlasting God. You who anointed with the oil of gladness Your only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, eternal Priest and King of the universe that, offering Himself as a stainless peace-offering on the altar of the cross.

He might fulfill the pledges of man’s redemption, and, having all creatures subject to His power, might deliver to Your sublime majesty an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

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

Psalm 28 : 10, 11

Sedebit Dominus Rex in aeternum : Dominus benedicet populo suo in pace.

 

English translation

The Lord shall sit as King forever. The Lord will bless His people with peace.

 

Post-Communion Prayer

Immortalitatis alimoniam consecuti, quaesumus, Domine : ut, qui sub Christi Regis vexillis militare gloriamur, cum ipso, in caelesti sede, jugiter regnae possimus : Qui Tecum…

 

English translation

Fed with this immortal nourishment, we beseech You, o Lord, that we who glory to fight under the standard of Christ the King, may forever reign with Him on the heavenly throne, who with You lives…

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Holy Gospel

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. John

John 18 : 33-37

In illo tempore : Dixit Pilatus ad Jesum : Tu es Rex Judaeorum? Respondit Jesus : A temetipso hoc dicis, an alii dixerunt tibi de me?

Respondit Pilatus : Numquid ego Judaeus sum? Gens tua et pontifices tradiderunt te mihi : quid fecisti? Respondit Jesus : Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo. Si ex hoc mundo esset regnum meum, ministri mei utique decertarent, ut non traderer Judaeis : nunc autem regnum meum non est hinc.

Dixit itaque ei Pilatus : Ergo Rex es Tu? Respondit Jesus : Tu dicis, quia Rex sum ego. Ego in hoc natus sum et ad hoc veni in mundum, ut testimonium perhibeam veritati : omnis, qui est ex veritate, audit vocem meam.

 

English translation

At that time, Pilate said to Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Did you say this thing of your own accord, or have others told it to you about Me?”

Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered You up to me, what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom is not from this world.”

Pilate therefore said to Him, “You are a King then?” Jesus answered, “You said that I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, hears My voice.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Gradual and Alleluia

Psalm 71 : 8, 11 and Daniel 7 : 14

Dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum.

Response : Et adorabunt eum omnes reges terrae : omnes gentes servient ei.

Alleluja, alleluja.

Response : Potestas ejus, potestas aeterna, quae non auferetur : et regnum ejus, quod non corrumpetur. Alleluja.

 

English translation

He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

Response : And all the kings of the earth shall adore Him, all nations shall serve Him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Response : His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom that shall not be destroyed. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Epistle

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

Colossians 1 : 12-20

Fratres : Gratias agimus Deo Patri, qui dignos nos fecit in partem sortis sanctorum in lumine : qui eripuit nos de potestate tenebrarum, et transtulit in regnum Filii dilectionis suae, in quo habemus redemptionem per sanguinem ejus, remissionem peccatorum.

Qui est imago Dei invisibilis, primogenitus omnis creatura : quoniam in ipso condita sunt universa in caelis et in terra, visibilia et invisibilia, sive Throni, sive Dominationes, sive Principatus, sive Potestates : omnia per ipsum, et in ipso creata sunt : et ipse est ante omnes, et omnia in ipso constant.

Et ipse est Caput Corporis Ecclesiae, qui est principium, primogenitus ex mortuis : ut sit in omnibus ipse primatum tenens; quia in ipso complacuit omnem plenitudinem inhabitare; et per eum reconciliare omnia in ipsum, pacificans per sanguinem crucis ejus, sive quae in terris, sive quae in caelis sunt, in Christo Jesu Domino nostro.

 

English translation

Brethren, we give thanks to God the Father, who had made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light. He who had delivered us from the power of darkness, and had translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. He in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.

He who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature, for in Him were all things created in Heaven and on earth visible and invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers, all things were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things consist.

And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, He who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may hold the primacy, because in Him it had well pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, and through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the Blood of His cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in Heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Apocalypse 5 : 12, Apocalypse 1 : 6 and Psalm 71 : 1

Dignus est Agnus, qui occisus est, accipere virtutem, et divinitatem, et sapientiam, et fortitudinem, et honorem. Ipsi gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum.

Deus, judicium Tuum Regi da : et justitiam Tuam Filio Regis.

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

 

English translation

The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive the power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honour. To Him be glory and empire forever and ever.

Give to the King Your judgment, o God, and to the King’s Son Your justice.

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, qui in dilecto Filio Tuo, universorum Rege, omnia instaurare voluisti : concede propitius; ut cunctae familiae gentium, peccati vulnere disgregatae, ejus suavissimo subdantur imperio : Qui Tecum…

 

English translation

Almighty and eternal God, who has wished to restore all things through Your beloved Son, the King of the universe, graciously grant that all the families of the Gentiles separated by the wound of sin, may be subjected to His most loving dominion, who with You…

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the Scripture passages we have heard, we are reminded by God to be righteous and to grow in faith and be fruitful in all of our actions. The Lord used the parable of the fig tree to highlight this to His disciples and to all of us, how each and every one of us must be living faithfully in accordance to the way of the Lord.

The Lord used the examples of a fig tree in the parable because many of the people living at the time of Jesus’ ministry were farmers, or if not, they were quite aware and knowledgeable of what a fig tree looks like, how they grow and behave in life. And figs are frequently consumed in the region, being highly prized for their sweetness and many uses in food. Therefore, figs that are not sweet or good in quality were useless.

And knowing how plants and trees work, if the fig tree produces a bad quality fig, it is likely that many more of its fruits will be of bad quality as well. But this is not necessarily true, as the fruits will have variations in its quality, although it will still reflect the quality of the parent plant. Nonetheless, from the perspective of a farmer, having a tree that does not produce fruit or produce bad fruits did not make sense.

That is why, the owner of the fig tree wanted to cut down the tree as having the tree to remain growing did not serve well the purpose of its growth, only being a burden to the farm and does not bring benefit to the owner. That is how a farmer thinks, and that is how this world is usually thinking as well, because something that is of no value should not be kept or maintained, and instead should be replaced.

But the Lord used this example because He wants us all to understand first of all that His ways are not like the ways of this world. He does not treat us like a commodity or a possession, for each and every single one of us are precious to Him and are dearly beloved, and that was how the Lord represented this in the gardener, who pleaded for the fig tree to be spared and be given a second chance to grow and bear good fruits.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us are represented by those fig trees and God is the master and the gardener both. And why is that so? That is because God is both our Judge and our loving Father. As God loves us all as mentioned, He wants us all to have a chance and to be reconciled with Him as much as possible. If we have been living our lives wickedly all these while, like those fig trees producing the bad and rotten fruits, or having no fruits at all, then He wants us to be transformed into those who can bear good fruits of faith, being righteous and just in all things.

But at the same time, we cannot and should not delay in accepting God’s generous offer of love and mercy, as many of us took for granted the love and mercy that God had been showing us all these while. If we keep on rejecting Him and continue to live in sin, the time of reckoning will eventually come to us and catch up with us, at the time that we are most unprepared for. And at that time, no matter how much regret we have, it will be meaningless and too late for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture passages point out to us how God wants us to be faithful to Him and therefore to follow Him and His path. And He is calling on us to turn to Him and to be righteous in life. St. Paul in our first reading today in his Epistle to the Romans also spoke of this as he exhorted the faithful to live by the way of the Spirit and not by the way of the flesh.

This is a reminder for us to turn away from our sins and from our past disobedience against God’s will. Are we able to commit ourselves to God and to His will from now on? Are we able to make the effort to walk in His path regardless of the challenges and difficulties we may face along this journey? Let us be more faithful and bear good fruits from now on, and be ever closer to God. May God be with us always and bless us in our good endeavours. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 13 : 1-9

At that time, one day, some people told Jesus what had occurred in the Temple : Pilate had had Galileans killed, and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this? No, I tell you. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish, as they did.”

“And those eighteen persons in Siloah, who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you : no. But unless you change your ways, you will perish as they did.” And Jesus continued, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree, and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it continue to deplete the soil?’”

“The gardener replied, ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertiliser; perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it does not, you can cut it down.’”

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Romans 8 : 1-11

This contradiction is no longer exists for those who are in Jesus Christ. For, in Jesus Christ, the Law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The Law was without effect, because the flesh was not responding. Then God, planning to destroy sin, sent His own Son, in the likeness of those subject to the sinful human condition; by doing this, He condemned the sin, in this human condition.

Since then, the perfection intended by the Law would be fulfilled, in those not walking in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit. Those walking according to the flesh tend toward what is flesh; those led by the Spirit, to what is Spirit. Flesh tends toward death, while Spirit aims at life and peace. What the flesh seeks is against God : it does not agree, it cannot even submit to the Law of God.

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He Who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit Who dwells within you.

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Friday, 25 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture through which we are reminded that we must do our best to resist the temptation to sin in this world because by our human nature, we are always exposed and easily tempted by sin, because as the Lord said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Therefore, unless we make the conscious effort to resist those temptations, it is likely that we will fall again and again into sin.

In our first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome spoke of how sin truly is a very dangerous enemy that we have in us, and because of that, we must always be vigilant lest these sins mislead us further and even deeper into the trap of sin. Sin brings us into more sins because sin by nature itself is disobedience against God, and the more we disobey God, the more we are disconnected from Him and become more vulnerable against even more temptation.

But St. Paul also reminded us all that while we are easily tempted to sin because of the weakness of our flesh, but in truth, this was not how it was all supposed to be. When God created us man in the beginning, as well as all creation as described in the Book of Genesis, He intended everything to be good and perfect, unblemished and pure, and indeed He created everything to be all good.

Unfortunately, because of our desire and pride, our preference to listen to the lies of the devil rather than to obey the words of our Lord and Creator, sin entered into our hearts, into our minds and into our whole beings, corrupting us and making us filled with this sin, the original sin. And this sin made us enslaved to it, making us vulnerable even more to the temptations of Satan and his wicked forces.

And in our Gospel passage today, the Lord is reminding us all of what we need to do before it is too late for us, as He spoke of signs and wonders that led to the coming of the time of reckoning, as all of us ultimately have to give account of our own respective lives. We have to own up on all things we have done in our lives, whether we have been faithful or whether we have been disobedient and sinful in our way of life.

He reminds us all that the coming of the end of times is a certainty, while we ourselves completely do not know of the time of that precise occurrence. And in addition, all of us will also encounter death in our life sooner or later, as our earthly and mortal existence is limited and temporary. No one can lengthen their lives beyond what God has willed it. And when the time comes, we have to face the Judge of all, God Himself, and give an account of our lives.

If we have allowed ourselves to be swayed by sin and continue to sin without repentance or regret of the wicked things we have done in disobedience to God, then the outcome for us will not be good. And as long as we allow ourselves to be enslaved by sin and reject God’s rich offering of mercy and forgiveness, there will be no place for us in God. For God is all good and perfect, and the sins in us will be obstacles for us in our reconciliation with Him.

But as I have mentioned, and which all of us should be aware of is the fact that God loves us all regardless of our sins. And He is always patient and ready to welcome us back to His embrace should we be willing to accept His offer of mercy and strive to be forgiven from our sins by sincere and complete repentance. Indeed, this is not something that can just easily be done, as we all know that sin is very powerful in its allure and power, and we have ended up falling again and again into sin despite our best efforts.

Yet, we should not give up, as God Himself is by our side, guiding us and encouraging us on our struggle and journey. We must trust in Him and let Him to guide us on our journey, and not allow our desires and pride to lead us even further into sin. This is why it is important for us to deepen our relationships with God by having a healthy and regular prayer life, as well as by practicing our faith sincerely in our respective lives and capacities.

Let us all draw closer to God and strive to stay true to God’s path, dedicating our time and effort, our whole lives from now on to God’s greater glory. Let us all turn our backs towards our sinful past and allow God to forgive us our sins that we may be welcome into the kingdom of His eternal glory and receive true joy and happiness forevermore. Amen.