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(Usus Antiquior) Quinquagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Violet

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

Luke 18 : 31-43

In illo tempore : Assumpsit Jesus duodecim, et ait illis : Ecce, ascendimus Jerosolymam, et consummabuntur omnia, quae scripta sunt per Prophetas de Filio Hominis. Tradetur enim Gentibus, et illudetur, et flagellabitur, et conspuetur : et postquam flagellaverint, occident eum, et tertia die resurget.

Et ipsi nihil horum intellexerunt, et erat verbum istud absconditum ab eis, et non intellegebant quae dicebantur. Factum est autem, cum appropinquaret Jericho, caecus quidam sedebat secus viam, mendicans. Et cum audiret turbam praetereuntem, interrogabat, quid hoc esset. Dixerunt autem ei, quod Jesus Nazarenus transiret.

Et clamavit, dicens : Jesu, Fili David, miserere mei. Et qui praeibant, increpabant eum, ut taceret. Ipse vero multo magis clamabat : Fili David, miserere mei. Stans autem Jesus, jussit illum adduci ad se. Et cum appropinquasset, interrogavit illum, dicens : Quid tibi vis faciam?

At ille dixit : Domine, ut videam. Et Jesus dixit illi : Respice, fides tua te salvum fecit. Et confestim vidit, et sequebatur illum, magnificans Deum. Et omnis plebs ut vidit, dedit laudem Deo.

English translation

At that time, Jesus took unto Him the Twelve, and said to them, “Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. For He shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, scourged, and spat upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will put Him to death, and on the third day He shall rise again.”

And they understood none of these things, and this word was hidden from them, and they did not understand the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when He drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And they who went before, rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought to Him, and when he came near, He asked him saying, “What will you want that I do to you?”

But he said, “Lord, that I may see.” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith had made you whole.” And immediately, he could see, and followed Him, glorifying God, and all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.

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(Usus Antiquior) Quinquagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Gradual

Psalm 76 : 15, 16

Tu es Deus qui facis mirabilia solus : notam fecisti in gentibus virtutem Tuam.

Response : Liberasti in bracchio Tuo populum Tuum, filios Israel et Joseph.

English translation

You are the God Who alone does wonders. You have made Your power known among the nations.

Response : With Your arm You have redeemed Your people, the children of Israel and of Joseph.

Tract

Psalm 99 : 1-2

Jubilate Deo, omnis terra : servite Domino in laetitia.

Response : Intrate in conspectu Ejus in exsultatione : scitote, quod Dominus ipse est Deus.

Response : Ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos : nos autem populus Ejus, et oves pascuae Ejus.

English translation

Sing joyfully to God all the earth. Serve all of you the Lord with gladness.

Response : Come in before His presence with exceeding great joy. Know all of you that the Lord, He is God.

Response : He made us, and not we ourselves, but we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

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(Usus Antiquior) Quinquagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Violet

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

1 Corinthians 13 : 1-13

Fratres : Si linguis hominum loquar et Angelorum, caritatem autem non habeam, factus sum velut aes sonans aut cymbalum tinniens. Et si habuero prophetiam, et noverim mysteria omnia et omnem scientiam : et si habuero omnem fidem, ita ut montes transferam, caritatem autem non habuero, nihil sum.

Et si distribuero in cibos pauperum omnes facultates meas, et si tradidero corpus meum, ita ut ardeam, caritatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest. Caritas patiens est, benigna est : caritas non aemulatur, non agit perperam, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non quaerit quae sua sunt, non irritatur, non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet autem veritati : omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet.

Caritas numquam excidit : sive prophetiae evacuabuntur, sive linguae cessabunt, sive scientia destruetur. Ex parte enim cognoscimus, et ex parte prophetamus. Cum autem venerit quod perfectum est, evacuabitur quod ex parte est. Cum essem parvulus, loquebar ut parvulus, sapiebam ut parvulus, cogitabam ut parvulus. Quando autem factus sum vir, evacuavi quae erant parvuli.

Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate : tunc autem facie ad faciem. Nunc cognosco ex parte : tunc autem cognoscam, sicut et cognitus sum. Nunc autem manent fides, spes, caritas, tria haec : major autem horum est caritas.

English translation

Brethren, if I speak with the tongues of men, and of Angels, and does not have charity, I become like a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and does not have charity, I am nothing.

And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burnt, and does not have charity, it does not profit me anything.

Charity is patient, is kind, charity does not envy, it does not deal perversely, it is not puffed up, it is not ambitious, it does not seek her own, it is not provoked to anger, it does not think any evil, it does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoiced in the truth, bears all things, believes in all things, hopes in all things, and endures all things.

Charity never falls away, whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease or knowledge shall be destroyed. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away the things of a child.

We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known. And now there remain faith, hope and charity. These three, but the greatest of these is charity.

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(Usus Antiquior) Quinquagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 March 2025 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 30 : 3-4 and 2

Esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum refugii, ut salvum me facias : quoniam firmamentum meum et refugium meum es Tu : et propter Nomen Tuum dux mihi eris, et enutries me.

In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum : in justitia Tua libera me et eripe me.

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

English translation

Be You, unto me a God, a Protector, and a place of refuge, to save me. For You are my strength, and my refuge, and for Your Name’s sake You will be my Leader and will nourish me.

In You, o Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded. Deliver me in Your justice, and set me free.

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

Preces nostras, quaesumus, Domine, clementer exaudi : atque, a peccatorum vinculis absolutos, ab omni nos adversitate custodi. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Of Your clemency hearken to our prayers, o Lord, loosen us from the bonds of sin, and keep us from all adversity. 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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Saturday, 1 March 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the great love which the Lord our loving God and Father has for each and every one of us, His beloved children and creation, whom He had created out of His overflowing and most generous love. God has always loved each and every one of us and despite our sins and wickedness, all the evils and waywardness of our lives, but God never gave up on us, and His love still persisted and remained nonetheless throughout all the struggles that He had to go through in reaching out to us and loving us persistently. It is God’s ever enduring and persistent, most generous and genuine love that has given us this sure hope and the certainty of salvation, because it is through God alone that we can have the hope of salvation.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard of the prophet mentioning to the people of God about how God created all of them and all mankind, and all of creation, and how mankind, having been formed and made in the very image and appearance of God, had received the great gift of Wisdom and power from God, and how this gift of Wisdom has been granted to them so that they may all discern the ways of the world and the path towards righteousness and truth, to follow whatever it is that God has taught them and shown to them, and allowing them to obey Him as their Father, just as faithful and loving children obeying their parents, and walking in the path that God has led them through, so that they would not end up falling into the wrong path of evil and wickedness.

As I have mentioned before, the prophet Sirach lived and compiled his works about two centuries before the coming of Christ, at a time of great change and turbulence in the community of the people of God, at a point of time when the Jewish community in Judea, Galilee and elsewhere were facing pressures and challenges, in particular with regards to their way of life and their faith and belief in God. At that time, during the height of the Hellenistic Era, many among the Jewish people and other people in the region began to be strongly influenced by the ways and beliefs of the Greeks, which led to many people to begin abandoning the ways of their ancestors, and for the people of God, it led to them abandoning the Law and commandments of God for the pagan practices and beliefs of the Greeks.

And all of that had led to the conflict and disagreements among the people of God regarding which path they ought to be following and obeying, and hence, the prophet Sirach reminded them all that since God had created all of them good and wonderful, perfect and full of wisdom, therefore, all of them should continue to serve the Lord and following His path, dedicating themselves and their time, their efforts and works to glorify God by their lives, lived in obedience and commitment to the path of the Lord. We are reminded of the good that are in us, which although it has been marred and corrupted by sin, by the corruption of evil and darkness, the fact remains that there is still this good within us as God has given and blessed us with.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples, rebuking and chiding them from keeping the little children from coming towards Him. Those disciples had tried to stop the children from coming towards the Lord, and they tried to send them away, only for the Lord to rebuke them for what they had done, as He wanted all the children to come to Him. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because as the Lord Himself had said it, the future of the Kingdom of God belonged to those children, as those children would become the ones to continue the struggle and journey of the faith, and they also served as the good examples and role models for everyone else to follow in how they all ought to believe in the Lord, in the salvation which God has promised.

The faith of the little children is also something that is pure and exemplary, as the faith that each and every one of them had, were truly free from the corruption of worldly desires, ambitions and pressures, all of which only grew to influence us as we grew up in age, and became no longer innocent and pure in our thoughts and ways. That is why the Lord used those little children as examples and reminders for all of His disciples and also for all of us that this purity and truth, they are all our true nature, the true nature of our humanity, that has been made all wonderful and perfect in the image of God, and meant to glorify Him by our lives and existence, and as His beloved children and people, we should always walk in His Presence, and remain loved and cared for by His loving kindness as always.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why the Lord has always been active in reaching out to us, His children, because He truly loves each and every one of us, without exception. He wants all of us to be reunited to Him and no longer be separated from Him because of our many sins and wickedness. He has provided us with the various means and methods through which we can truly find our way back to Him. But whether we want to follow Him or not, and whether we want to embrace God’s ever generous love and mercy or not, is entirely up to us, because God has also given us the free will and the freedom to choose our path in life. Yet, let us all realise that without God by our side, and if we continue to walk down the path of rebellion against Him, in the end, there will be nothing for us but an eternity of regret. It is in the Lord alone that we can have the sure hope of eternal happiness and joy, together with our Father Who loves us all.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, continue to love each and every one of us as His beloved children, and may He continue to strengthen and encourage us all in the respective journey that we encounter in this life so that in whatever challenges and trials, difficulties and all sorts of obstacles we may encounter, we will continue to remain faithful and true in our love for Him, and that we may be strong and resilient in resisting the various temptations and pressures all around us, trying to drag us away from the Lord, our loving Father, and bringing us into the path of darkness and sin. Let us all keep in mind that all of us should obey the Lord and His commandments, and strive to be truly good, holy and worthy of our loving God and Father, by doing our best to live a truly Christian life at all times. May God bless us in our every efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 1 March 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 10 : 13-16

At that time, people were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. When Jesus noticed it, He was very angry and said, “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Then He took the children in His arms and, laying His hands on them, blessed them.

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Saturday, 1 March 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 102 : 13-14, 15-16, 17-18a

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

The days of mortals are like grass; they bloom like a flower of the field; but the wind passes over it, and it is gone, his field will not see him again.

But the Lord’s kindness is forever with those who fear Him; so is His justice, for their children’s children, for those who keep His covenant and remember His commands.

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Saturday, 1 March 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Sirach 17 : 1-15

The Lord created man from the earth and let him return to earth. He settled a fixed time for them and a set number of days, giving them power over everything on earth. He endowed them with a strength like His own, making them in His own image.

He put fear of them in all living things, thus they had mastery over the animals and birds. He endowed them with knowledge; He gave them tongue and eyes, ears and a mind to think with. He filled them with wisdom and knowledge; He taught them good and evil. He put His own eye in their hearts so they would understand the greatness of His works. They will praise His holy Name and relate the magnificence of His creation.

He gave them revealed knowledge as well and handed over to them the Law of life. He established an everlasting covenant with them and let them know His judgments. Human eyes saw the splendour of the Glory of God; their ears heard the grandeur of His voice.

He said to them, “Keep yourselves from all wrongdoing,” and to each of them He gave commands regarding his neighbour. Their conduct is always before the Lord; they cannot escape His sight.

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Friday, 28 February 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded to live our lives with virtue and righteousness, to do what God has commanded and taught us to do, to be truly Christians not just in name or appearance, but also in our every actions, words and deeds, in our every moments in life. As Christians, all of us must be good role models, in being the good examples for everyone around us, touching their lives by our inspiring actions. We must show our Christian faith in all of our interactions with one another, in our love for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, and in our desire to carry out our activities in accordance with God’s will, following His Law and commandments at all times, in how we act towards our friends and even to strangers all around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard of the words of wisdom from the prophet Sirach to the people of God regarding the matter of friendships and relationships, and how one ought to manage these in our lives, so that we do not end up being disappointed by the friends we make, who may not be our true and lasting friends. The prophet Sirach presented the wisdom of God in highlighting the different kinds of friends that we may have and make in our lives’ journeys. He rightly mentioned how if we are not careful or vigilant, we may end up be making friends with those who just seek benefits from that friendship they were making with us, but one that do not truly last.

Why is that so? That is because some people are friends with us just because there are things that they can benefit from us, and this is the reality of how the world works. And there will be those who stay by our side only during the good and prosperous times, while when things go against us, they will likely abandon us. Only true and faithful friends will stay by our side, and not leave us even when things are difficult for us. That is exactly what the prophet Sirach told us, that we should treasure any of these good and faithful friends if we have them with us, and take good care of such friends and the friendships that we should nurture and maintain with them. This is something that we should be doing in our lives, in living our lives faithfully as good Christian brothers and sisters to one another, to be faithful and committed to our relationships and friendships with each other.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by some Pharisees as He was out teaching the people, asking and testing Him about the matter of divorce, on whether divorce is allowed or not as according to the Law of God revealed through Moses, divorce had been allowed as long as certain requirements were fulfilled. Thus, those Pharisees tried to test the Lord with this difficult dilemma and case, hoping to trap Him in His own words and discredit Him before the people. But the Lord showed forth His Wisdom and authority, and proclaimed the truth of God, His intentions for His people and the true meaning of the Law plainly through His words.

The Lord made it clear that divorce was not in fact meant to be possible, as the Lord Himself said that this concession was made by Moses because the Israelites back then were so stubborn and hardened in their hearts that he allowed this concession for divorce to happen. The Lord reminded the people and all of us that the sanctity of marriage as God had intended it, is not supposed to be easily overridden by man’s desires and whim, or by certain agreements and arrangements, as how the divorce laws and rules were practiced by the Pharisees and the people of God at that time. In fact, by the time of the Lord’s ministry and works, many of these rules and laws were further amended to make it easier for people to divorce their spouses, but this led them to commit adultery and sins against God.

Linking what we heard in our Gospel passage today to the first reading from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we are essentially reminded that in our establishment of relationships, particularly in the Holy Matrimony or Marriage between man and woman, it is very important that we develop good and healthy relationship before rushing into marriage, which is in fact one of the main reasons why marriages failed in the past, as it had been throughout history and up to this very day. Many people did not prepare themselves well for the married life, or did not know their spouses well enough before committing themselves to the sacred union blessed by God, and hence, later on committing sin by adulterous relationships in cheating on their spouses with other people.

It is also important to take note that strong and good Christian families are the important foundations and pillars of the Church, as it is through good and faithful Christian families, filled with love and faith in God, and also with love and devotion to one another that we can raise generations of young Christians that are steeped in God’s love and grace, and by showing them how we all ought to live as Christians, as God’s holy people, His disciples and followers, that we can lead new generations of the faithful of God, showing them the path to follow in our journey of faith as Christians, as we navigate through the difficulties, challenges and temptations found all around us in this world. If we are not careful, and let the evil one to strike at our families, then it will harm the Church and countless young Christians and ourselves as well.

That is why as Christians, we are exhorted to be careful in how we live our lives, so that we may avoid committing acts and ways in our lives that are contrary to our Christian faith and beliefs. We must not do things that may constitute a scandal to our faith, to the Church and the Holy Name of the Lord. Unfortunately many amongst our predecessors who are Christians, were themselves bad examples of this, as many among them did not remain faithful to the commitments that they had made in their marriage, leading to adulterous relationships, broken families, neglected children and spouses, among other things that are truly inappropriate and improper for us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people.

Let us all remind ourselves that as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us ought to reflect the same kind of love that God has for us, the love that is totally generous, unconditional and genuine, in how we treat one another, be it as friends or relatives, and be it as spouses in our families, in our other forms of relationships and friendships in this life we have. Let us all strive to be good and worthy examples of our Christian living, modelling our every actions, words and deeds, our whole lives on the examples that our Lord Himself has shown us, and which many of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs had inspired us all with as well. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us all to His path, to His salvation and eterrnal life. Amen.

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Friday, 28 February 2025 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 10 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus then left that place and went to the province of Judea, beyond the Jordan River. Once more crowds gathered around Him and once more He taught them as He always did. Some (Pharisees came and) put Him to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”