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Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, all of us heard from the Sacred Scriptures an unmistakeable message with which the Church wants us to know just how much God loves us all His people, and how He, Who is ever faithful and ever loving, will bless us and reward us for the faith and dedication that we show to Him in our daily lives, in our actions, deeds and works.

In the first reading today, taken from the Second Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard how the prophet Elisha of Israel was well taken care of by the rich woman of the city of Shunem, who provided for him all that he needed, in all of his food and drink needs, in all of his lodging and supplies, providing him with the place to sleep and caring for all of his other needs.

The prophet Elisha noticed all that the woman and her husband had done for his sake, respecting his position as the prophet of God, and providing for all of his needs. Thus, Elisha granted the woman a special privilege, a blessing and reward for all that she had done for the sake of God’s servants. The woman was granted a child in her old age even though she had been barren her whole life.

Another servant of God had been faithful his whole life, and was thoroughly committed to God, that he was righteous and just in all of his actions. He was Abraham, the father of many nations and our father in faith. Abraham is one of God’s great servants, whom the Lord was pleased with, as he had been true in his faith and genuine in his love for Him. As a result, God established His Covenant with Abraham, blessing him and all of his descendants.

There are many other examples throughout the entire Scripture, as we saw the faith of David, the other good servant of God, whose steadfast faith and commitment to the Lord, his righteousness and justice, both as a person and later on as the king of all Israel, brought upon him great blessings and graces from God, and God made a Covenant with David, blessing him and all of his descendants, promising that his heir will be on the throne of Israel forever, a promise fulfilled to perfection in Jesus Christ, Son and Heir of David.

All of these are the proof that what Jesus our Lord had said to His disciples in today’s Gospel passage is indeed true. All those who have welcomed the Lord and His servants, obeyed Him and His laws, walked righteously in His path and did what He had commanded us all to do, will not be disappointed, for the Lord will remember us and graciously grant us His favour and blessings.

And He also said that whoever loves father or mother, daughter or son, or any other things more than they love Him, He will reject them and cast them out from His presence. We must be careful lest we misunderstood the true intention of the Lord as He said those words. He did not mean that we ought to leave behind our loved ones and reject them in exchange for the Lord. What He meant was instead that we must indeed love everyone, our family, friends, and even strangers, based on an even greater love which we have for the Lord our God.

That is how Abraham, our father in faith, and the rich woman of Shunem were blessed because of their great love for the Lord which far surpassed their love for money and possessions, both of which Abraham and the rich woman of Shunem possessed in abundance. They did not hesitate to make use of them to glorify the Lord and to serve Him to the best of their abilities.

Indeed, if we were to read on more, Abraham as we all should know, even brought his son Isaac, his most beloved son, to be sacrificed when the Lord set out to test his faith, without hesitation. And the king David, when he welcomed the Lord’s Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem, did not hesitate to dance before the Lord’s Ark, in the sight of all his people, even though he was by then king of all Israel.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now let us all ask ourselves, whether we are capable of showing such faith in the Lord? Are we able to walk in the footsteps of our holy and devout predecessors, Abraham, David, the rich woman of Shunem and many others, all those who have given much for the sake of the Lord? This is what we need to reflect on and indeed ask ourselves, if we have not been truly faithful in our way of life, in how we live our daily lives.

How many of us often find excuses, trying to keep the Lord at a distance from us? How many of us are always using the excuses that we are busy, and we have no time for Him, preferring instead to deal and take care of our worldly business and occupations, rather than serving the Lord and loving Him with all of our heart, mind, body and soul?

This is what many of us mankind had done in our lives, as we are distracted by many temptations in life, which caused us to drift further and further away from the Lord. And this is where all of us really need to remember that the Lord had warned in the Gospel today, that all who put the Lord as a lower priority than other worldly matters and things, will be rejected and cast out into oblivion.

We do not have to do magnificent and grand actions to do what the Lord wants us to do. Rather, we should begin from ourselves, with small and little steps, rediscovering that love and devotion which we should have for our Lord, Who loves us all and Who created us all out of His great love. Let us all take a step back in our lives, taking some time to be spent with God despite our busy schedules and commitments in life.

Are we able to give the Lord our love, much as He has loved us all first? God did not hold anything back when He loved us, even to the point of sending us His own Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that through His great suffering and death, all of us may share in His death, and together rise with Him in glory of the resurrection into new life blessed by God.

Let us henceforth renew our commitment to the Lord, to love Him and to serve Him to the best of our abilities, starting by us devoting our time and effort for Him, instead of ignoring and walking away from Him, and therefore, as we draw closer to Him, we may better appreciate just how much God has blessed us and loved us from the very beginning.

Let us then also show the same love to our brethren, that is to our families, to our friends and all others, even strangers who are in need of our love. Let us all not be distracted any longer by all the temptations and worldly concerns that had so far held us back from being able to be true disciples of our Lord. May the Lord help us with all our endeavours, so that we may become more and more like His faithful disciples and servants, that we may be worthy to receive the fruits of eternal life and joy with God. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 10 : 37-42

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

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Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 6 : 3-4, 8-11

Do you not know, that in baptism, which unites us to Christ, we are all baptised and plunged into His death? By this baptism in His death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we begin walking in a new life.

But, if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him. We know, that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again, and death has no more dominion over Him. For, by dying, He is dead to sin, once and for all, and, now, the life that He lives, is life with God.

So you, too, must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God, in Christ Jesus.

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Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 88 : 2-3, 16-17, 18-19

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

Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day, Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.

You give us glory and power; and Your favour gives us victory. Our king is in the hands of YHVH; the God of Israel is our Shield.

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Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Kings 4 : 8-11, 14-16a

One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a rich woman invited him to eat. Afterward, whenever he went to that town, he would go to her house to eat. The woman said to her husband, “See, this man who constantly passes by our house is a holy man of God. If you want, we can make a small upper room for him, and place a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest.”

One day when Elisha came, he went to the upper room and lay down. So Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” The young man answered, “She has no children and her husband is now old.” And so Elisha said to him, “Call her.” The young man called her; and as the woman stood by the door, Elisha said, “By this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Green

Offertory

Psalm 12 : 4-5

Illumina oculos meos, ne umquam obdormiam in morte : ne quando dicat inimicus meus : Praevalui adversus eum.

 

English translation

Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him.

 

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Oblationibus nostris, quaesumus, Domine, placare susceptis : et ad Te nostras etiam rebelles compelle propitius voluntates. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

Receiving our oblations, be appeased, we pray to You, o Lord, and in Your kindness constrain our wills toward You, even when resisting. 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.

 

Communion

Psalm 17 : 3

Dominus firmamentum meum, et refugium meum, et liberator meus : Deus meus, adjutor meus.

 

English translation

The Lord is my firmament, and my refuge, and my deliverer, my God is my helper.

 

Post-Communion Prayer

Mysteria nos, Domine, quaesumus, sumpta purificent : et suo munere tueantur. 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 mysteries we have received purify us, we beseech You, o Lord, and by their virtue protect us. 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) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

Luke 5 : 1-11

In illo tempore : Cum turbae irruerent in Jesum, ut audirent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genesareth. Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum : piscatores autem descenderant et lavabant retia. Ascendens autem in unam navim, quae erat Simonis, rogavit eum a terra reducere pusillum. Et sedens docebat de navicula turbas.

Ut cessavit autem loqui, dixit ad Simonem : Duc in altum, et laxate retia vestra in capturam. Et respondens Simon, dixit illi : Praeceptor, per totam noctem laborantes, nihil cepimus : in verbo autem tuo laxabo rete.

Et cum hoc fecissent, concluserunt piscium multitudinem copiosam : rumpebatur autem rete eorum. Et annuerunt sociis, qui erant in alia navi, ut venirent et adjuvarent eos. Et venerunt, et impleverunt ambas naviculas, ita ut paene mergerentur.

Quod cum videret Simon Petrus, procidit ad genua Jesu, dicens : Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum, Domine. Stupor enim circumdederat eum et omnes, qui cum illo erant, in captura piscium, quam ceperant : similiter autem Jacobum et Joannem, filios Zebedaei, qui erant socii Simonis. Et ait ad Simonem Jesus : Noli timere : ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. Et subductis ad terram navibus, relictis omnibus, secuti sunt eum.

 

English translation

At that time, when the multitude pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God. He stood by the lake of Gennesaret. And He saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets and going up into one of the ships that was Simon’s. He desired him to draw back a little from the land, and sitting down, He taught the multitudes out of the ship.

Now when He had ceased to speak, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon, answering, said to Him, “Master, we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing. But at Your word I will let down the net.”

And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke, and they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them; and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking.

Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, o Lord.” For he was wholly astonished, and all who were with Him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken, and so were also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from henceforth you shall catch men.” And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things they followed Him.

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(Usus Antiquior) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 78 : 9, 10 and Psalm 9 : 5, 10

Propitius esto, Domine, peccatis nostris : ne quando dicant gentes : Ubi est Deus eorum?

Response : Adjuva nos, Deus, salutaris noster : et propter hominem Nominis Tui, Domine libera nos.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Deus, qui sedes super thronum, et judicas aequitatem : esto refugium pauperum in tribulatione. Alleluja.

 

English translation

Forgive us our sins, o Lord, lest the Gentiles should at any time say, “Where is their God?”

Response : Help us, o God our Saviour, and for the honour of Your Name, o Lord, deliver us.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : O God, You who sits upon the throne, and judges justice, may You be the refuge of the poor in tribulation. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

Romans 8 : 18-23

Fratres : Existimo, quod non sunt condignae passionis hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis. Nam exspectatio creaturae revelationem filiorum Dei exspectat Vanitati enim creatura subjecta est, non volens, sed propter eum, qui subjecit eam in spe : quia et ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis, in libertatem gloriae filiorum Dei.

Scimus enim, quod omnis creatura ingemiscit et parturit usque adhuc. Non solum autem illa, sed et nos ipsi primitias spiritus habentes : et ipsi intra nos gemimus, adoptionem filiorum Dei exspectantes, redemptionem corporis nostri : in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro.

 

English translation

Brethren, I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. For the expectation of the creature waited for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him that made it subject in hope, because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that every creature groans and travails in pain, even till now, and not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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(Usus Antiquior) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 July 2017 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Green

Introit

Psalm 26 : 1, 2, 3

Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea, quem timebo? Dominus defensor vitae meae, a quo trepidabo? Qui tribulant me inimici mei, ipsi infirmati sunt, et ceciderunt.

Si consistant adversum me castra : non timebit cor meum.

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 is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life of whom shall I be afraid? My enemies that trouble me have themselves been weakened and have fallen.

If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not 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

Da nobis, quaesumus, Domine : ut et mundi cursus pacifice nobis Tuo ordine dirigatur; et Ecclesia Tua tranquilla devotione laetetur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

Grant us, we beseech You, o Lord, that the course of the world may be directed for us, and that Your Church may rejoice in peace. 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.