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Wednesday, 7 August 2019 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Companions, Martyrs and St. Cajetan, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Matthew 15 : 21-28

At that time, leaving that area, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”

But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”

The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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Wednesday, 7 August 2019 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Companions, Martyrs and St. Cajetan, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Psalm 105 : 6-7a, 13-14, 21-22, 23

We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When they were in Egypt, our ancestors had no regard for Your wondrous deeds.

But soon they forgot His works and did not wait for His counsel. They gave way to wanton craving and tempted God in the desert.

They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.

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Wednesday, 7 August 2019 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Companions, Martyrs and St. Cajetan, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Numbers 13 : 1-2, 25 – Numbers 14 : 1, 26-29, 34-35

YHVH then spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites; send one man from each of the ancestral tribes, all of them leaders.”

After forty days of exploration, they returned. They went and met Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They gave an account to them and the whole community and showed them the fruit of this land.

And they said, “We entered the land where you sent us, truly a land flowing with milk and honey and here is the fruit. But how strong are the people who inhabit the land! The cities are fortified with walls and bars, and we even saw there descendants of the Anakites. Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; the Canaanites are by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

Caleb then quieted the people who rose up against Moses and said, “We should go up and take over the land, for we shall surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot advance against these people for they are stronger than we are.”

And they spread an unfavourable report about the land that they had explored, saying to the Israelites, “The land we went through to explore is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people we saw there are men of great size. We even saw giants (these giants were the Anakites). We felt like grasshoppers before them, and to them we must have seemed the same.”

Then all the community broke out in loud cries and wept during the night. Then YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “How long will this wicked community grumble against Me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel against Me. Say to them : As truly as I live, it is YHVH Who speaks, I will do to you what you have said in My hearing.”

“All of you of twenty years and more, numbered in the census, who grumbled against Me, your corpses will fall in the desert. You will not enter the land where I swore to settle you, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh and Joshua, son of Nun. According to the number of days spent in exploring the land – forty days, for every day a year – for forty years you shall bear the guilt of your sins and you shall know what it is to oppose Me.”

“I, YHVH, have spoken. Surely this is what I will do to this wicked community that has conspired against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed and this is where they shall die.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Transfiguration of our Lord (Double II Classis) – Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 111 : 3

Gloria et divitiae in domo Ejus : et justitia Ejus manet in saeculum saeculi. Alleluja.

 

English translation

Glory and wealth are in His house, and His justice remains forever and ever. Alleluia.

 

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Oblata, quaesumus, Domine, munera gloriosi Unigeniti Tui Transfiguratione sanctifica : nosque a peccatorum maculis, splendoribus ipsius illustrationis emunda. 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

Sanctify, we beseech You, o Lord, the gifts offered on the glorious Transfiguration of Your only begotten Son, and by the splendours of that very illumination cleanse us from the stains of our sins. 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.

 

Alternative Secret Prayer of the Priest (Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs)

Munera Tibi, Domine, nostrae devotionis offerimus : quae et pro Tuorum tibi gratia sint honore justorum, et nobis salutaria, Te miserante, reddantur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

 

English translation

We offer You, o Lord, the gifts of our devotion. May they be rendered both pleasing unto You, for the honour of Your just ones, and to us through Your mercy, helpful to salvation. 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

Matthew 17 : 9

Visionem, quam vidistis, nemini dixeritis, donec a mortuis resurgat Filius hominis.

 

English translation

Tell the vision you have seen to no man, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.

 

Post-Communion Prayer

Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus : ut sacrosancta Filii Tui Transfigurationis mysteria, quae sollemni celebramus officio, purificata mentis intellegentia consequamur. 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

Grant, we beseech You, o Almighty God, that with the understanding of a purified mind we may follow those sacred mysteries of Your Son’s Transfiguration which we celebrate with our solemn office. 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.

 

Alternative Post-Communion Prayer (Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs)

Praesta nobis, quaesumus, Domine : intercedentibus sanctis Martyribus Tuis Xysto, Felicissimo et Agapito; ut, quod ore contingimus, pura mente capiamus. 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, by the intercession of Your holy Martyrs, Sixtus, Felicissimus and Agapitus, that what we touch with our lips we may receive with a pure heart. 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) Transfiguration of our Lord (Double II Classis) – Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

Matthew 17 : 1-9

In illo tempore : Assumpsit Jesus Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem fratrem ejus, et duxit illos in montem excelsum seorsum : et transfiguratus est ante eos. Et resplenduit facies Ejus sicut sol : vestimenta autem Ejus facta sunt alba sicut nix.

Et ecce, apparuerunt illis Moyses et Elias cum Eo loquentes. Respondens autem Petrus, dixit ad Jesum : Domine, bonum est nos hic esse : si vis, faciamus hic tria tabernacula, Tibi unum, Moysi unum et Eliae unum.

Adhuc eo loquente, ecce, nubes lucida obumbravit eos. Et ecce vox de nube, dicens : Hic est Filius Meus dilectus, in quo Mihi bene complacui : ipsum audite. Et audientes discipuli, ceciderunt in faciem suam, et timuerunt valde.

Et accesit Jesus, et tetigit eos, dixitque eis : Surgite, et nolite timere. Levantes autem oculos suos, neminem viderunt nisi solum Jesum. Et descendentibus illis de monte, praecepit eis Jesus, dicens : Nemini dixeritis visionem, donec Filius hominis a mortuis resurgat.

 

English translation

At that time, Jesus took Peter, James and John, his brother, and bringing them up into a high mountain apart, and He was transfigured before them. And His facecdod shine as the sun, and His garments became white as snow.

And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here, if You will, let us make here three tents, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and lo, a voice out of the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.” And the disciples hearing this, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid.

And Jesus came and touched them, and said to them, “Arise, and do not fear.” And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Transfiguration of our Lord (Double II Classis) – Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 44 : 3, 2 and Wisdom 7 : 26

Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum : diffusa est gratia in labiis Tuis.

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

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Candor est lucis aeternae, speculum sine macula, et imago bonitatis illius. Alleluja.

 

English translation

You are beautiful above the sons of men, grace is poured abroad in Your lips.

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

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : He is the brightness of eternal light, the unspotted mirror, and the image of His goodness. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Transfiguration of our Lord (Double II Classis) – Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : White

Lectio Epistolae Beati Petri Apostoli – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle

2 Peter 1 : 16-19

Carissimi : Non doctas fabulas secuti notam fecimus vobis Domini nostri Jesu Christi virtutem et praesentiam sed speculatores facti illius magnitudinis.

Accipiens enim a Deo Patre honorem et gloriam, voce delapsa ad eum hujuscemodi a magnifica gloria : Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui, ipsum audite.

Et hanc vocem nos audivimus de caelo allatam, cum essemus cum ipso in monte sancto. Et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem : cui bene facitis attendentes, quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso loco, donec dies elucescat, et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris.

 

English translation

Dearly beloved, we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but having been made eyewitnesses of His majesty.

For He received from God the Father honour and glory, this voice coming down to Him from the excellent glory. This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.

And this voice we heard from Heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have the firmer prophetical words, where unto you it does well to attend, as to a light that shines in the dark places, until the day dawn, and the morning star arise in your hearts.

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(Usus Antiquior) Transfiguration of our Lord (Double II Classis) – Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 76 : 19 and Psalm 83 : 2-3

Illuxerunt coruscationes Tuae orbi terrae : commota est et contremuit terra.

Quam dilecta tabernacula Tua, Domine virtutum! Conscupiscit, et deficit anime mea in atria Domini.

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

 

English translation

Your lightnings enlightened the world, the earth shook and trembled.

How lovely are Your tabernacles, o Lord of hosts! My soul longed and fainted for the courts of the Lord.

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 fidei sacramenta in Unigeniti Tui gloriosa Transfiguratione patrum testimonio roborasti, et adoptionem filiorum perfectam, voce delapsa in nube lucida, mirabiliter praesignasti : concede propitius; ut ipsius Regis gloriae nos coheredes efficias, et ejusdem gloriae tribuas esse consortes. 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, You Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Your only begotten Son had confirmed the sacraments of faith by the testimony of the fathers, and You Who had wonderfully foreshowed the perfect adoption of Your children by a voice coming down in a shining cloud, mercifully grant that we be made co-heirs of the King of glory Himself, and grant us to be sharers in that very glory. 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.

 

Alternative Collect (Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs)

Deus, qui nos concedis sanctorum in Martyrum Tuorum Xysti, Felicissimi, et Agapiti natalitia colere : da nobis in aeterna beatitudine de eorum societate gaudere. 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, You Who had permitted us to celebrate the birthday of Your holy martyrs, Sixtus, Felicissimus and Agapitus, grant us to enjoy their companionship in everlasting beatitude. 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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Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, recalling the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, was revealed in all of His divine and heavenly glory on Mount Tabor before three of His Apostles, St. Peter, St. James and St. John. At that moment, the two greatest among the Lord’s servants from the time of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah appeared at Mount Tabor and talked with the Lord Jesus.

This important moment of the Transfiguration is a very powerful and vivid revelation of the truth of God, in revealing before His people, albeit only the select few at first, what He was going to do to fulfil His Covenant and the promises He had made to His people throughout the ages. Through the Transfiguration, the three Apostles, as representatives of humanity, witnessed Who the Lord Jesus truly is, as a person fully God and fully Man united in His person.

At that moment, the Lord revealed a glimpse of His true heavenly glory, as the Divine Word of God, Incarnate in the flesh, fully and completely God as shown by the pure white and dazzling appearance of His Transfigured Self, while still remaining fully Man in the flesh. And through this same Person, through Jesus Christ, all of mankind were about to receive their salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin and bondage to death.

In the Transfiguration we see in fact a prefigurement and revelation of what will happen to us all in the end, when we remain faithful and committed to the Lord, as He will glorify us and our whole existence, in the body and spirit to be glorified and exalted just as Christ has been glorified and exalted at Mount Tabor. All of us through the fulfilment of the Covenant of God have received the assurance from Him that we shall receive the fullness of God’s glorious inheritance.

Just as the Lord Jesus revealed His divinity that is united to His humanity, through the Transfiguration the Lord unites our humanity to His own humanity, and all of us who share in His humanity now receive the glory of our future existence with God. Essentially, we see in Christ the reflection of our own future glorious self, the true calling for us all mankind who have not been intended to live in sin and darkness, but in the fullness of light as God’s beloved children.

By our sins we have been made dirty, corrupted and unworthy, and sin is caused by our conscious rejection and refusal of God’s generous love. Sin has caused us to lose that glory which should have been ours from the beginning, the true nature of ourselves, and not the sinful and wicked selves we have now. But the Lord, through His Transfiguration, has shown us all that through Him, we can once again be wholesome as we have been intended to.

At the same time, through what happened in the Transfiguration, when the Lord Jesus met and talked with Moses and Elijah, the Lord also willingly revealed to His people about the mission which He has been sent into this world for, as the Saviour of all. Moses and Elijah were among two of the most important persona in the whole of the Old Testament and were counted among the ones closest to God, as His faithful servants.

Moses represented the Law which God had first revealed through him in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the collection of which made up the entirety of the Mosaic laws of Israel that were preserved through the many centuries after, centred on the Ten Commandments that God has also given at the same time. And Moses was also symbolic of God’s saving help and grace for His people, as He led His people out of Egypt from their slavery into freedom.

Meanwhile, Elijah was among the greatest of the many prophets of the Old Testament era, and he performed many good works and miracles for the Lord before His people, struggling against numerous challenges and obstacles in his prophetic ministry and journey. He proclaimed the truth of God and called the people to repent and turn away from their sins, to reject the pagan idols of Baal and other Canaanite false gods and embrace the Lord YHVH, their one and only true God.

He had to endure a lot of difficulties, on the run from his enemies that included the king and especially Jezebel the queen and many of the powerful men in the kingdom of Israel and the priesthood of Baal among many others. He had to strive alone against the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal as they contested at the Mount Carmel who the true God is, whether it was YHVH or Baal.

That these two servants of God appeared before the Lord Jesus at the moment of His Transfiguration served to reveal before us the mission of Our Lord and Saviour, Who like Moses has been sent to all of us, God’s people, to deliver us. But while the Israelites were delivered from the slavery under the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, through Christ all of us mankind have been delivered from the slavery under sin.

And like Elijah, the Lord proclaimed the salvation of God to His people, performing wonderful miracles and power to show the true extent of God’s love and mercy for His beloved people, calling on them to turn away from sin and to embrace God’s love fully, through the Law of God, first revealed through Moses and now, explained in its fullness by Christ Himself, to bring all of us closer to God.

Therefore, God has revealed before us today, through His glorious Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, what we all can become if we truly believe in Him and put our complete faith and trust in Him. He has come into this world to reveal His truth and wisdom to us, and to show us how we can find our way to reach the promised glory, true happiness and inheritance He has promised us in the Covenant He had made with us.

But we must then take note of the action of the Lord Jesus and that of His disciples in the latter part of today’s Gospel passage. The three disciples wanted to stay on in that place as it must indeed have felt so wonderful to be present in the plain view and experience of the Lord’s glory on that mountain. They wanted to make three tents for the Lord, Moses and Elijah each precisely because they wanted that blissful experience to remain with them.

However, the Lord reminded them to obey the will of God, and the Lord Jesus led them down the mountain, leaving the glorious moment of His Transfiguration and soon after, embracing the moment of His Passion, suffering and death, where He would lay down His life and perform the ultimate loving sacrifice on the Cross for our salvation. And this is a reminder to each and every one of us that we should be aware that being Christians, as followers of Our Lord, more often than not we will encounter sufferings and challenges as part of our lives.

But we must always keep up hope in the Lord, remembering that despite the challenges and sufferings we may have to endure, at the end, the ever loving and faithful God will glorify us and give us the fullness of our promised inheritance, and the Transfigured Body of Christ will also be ours as we who are worthy will be transfigured and glorified in the same way to enjoy forever God’s loving grace.

May the Lord continue to guide us on our journey and may He continue to bless us and our good works in our daily living so that each and every one of us may strive to be ever faithful despite the challenges and obstacles we may encounter in our daily living. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2019 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 28b-36

At that time, Jesus took Peter, John and James, and went up the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the aspect of His face was changed, and His clothing became dazzling white. Two men were taking with Jesus : Moses and Elijah. Appearing in the glory of heaven, Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about His departure from this life, which was to take place in Jerusalem.

Peter and His companions had fallen asleep; but they awoke suddenly, and they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. As Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter – not knowing what to say – said to Jesus, “Master, how good it is for us to be here! Let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

And no sooner had he spoken, than a cloud appeared and covered them; and the disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then these words came from the cloud, “This is My Son, My Beloved, listen to Him.” And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was there alone. The disciples kept this to themselves at the time, telling no one of anything they had seen.