Friday

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Friday, 12 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Matthew 19 : 3-12

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus. They wanted to test Him and asked, “Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read that in the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and He said : Man has now 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. Let no one separate what God has joined.”

They asked Him, “Then why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?” Jesus replied, “Moses knew the hardness of your hearts, so he allowed you to divorce your wives; but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore I say to you : whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for prostitution, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The disciples said, “If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry.” Jesus said to them, “Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. There are eunuchs born so from their mother’s womb. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it.”

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Friday, 12 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me. You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation.

Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.

Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

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Friday, 12 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Ezekiel 16 : 1-15, 60, 63

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Son of man, make known go Jerusalem its sins. You say on My behalf : Your beginning was in Canaan; there you were born. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.”

“On the day you were born your cord was not cut, you were not bathed in water to make you clean, you were not rubbed with salt nor were you wrapped in cloth. There was no one to look with pity on you or compassionate enough to give you any of these attentions. You were left exposed in the open fields because you were looked upon with disgust on the day you were born.”

“But I passed by and saw you immersed in your blood. I said to you in the midst of your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and became tall and were becoming of marriageable age. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown but you were naked and exposed. I passed by later and saw you were at the age of love and spread part of My garment over you to cover your nudity. I made a covenant with you with an oath – word of YHVH – and you were Mine.”

“Then I bathed you in water, I cleansed you of your blood and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth and put soft leather sandals on your feet. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with necklace around your neck and a ring in your nose. I gave you earrings and a magnificent crown for your head.”

“You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You were fed on finest flour, honey and oil; you became very beautiful and rose to be queen. Your beauty was perfect and your renown spread through the nations, because of the splendour I had given you – word of YHVH.”

“But you relied on your beauty; you trusted in your fame and you began to give yourself to every passerby like a prostitute. But I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and make in your favour an eternal covenant. So that you may remember, be ashamed and never open your mouth again because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

Alternative reading

Ezekiel 16 : 59-63

For thus says YHVH : “I will treat you as you deserve, you who despised the oath and broke the covenant. But I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and make in your favour an eternal covenant. You will be mindful of your ways and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both the elder and the younger, and give them to you as daughters, without prejudice to My covenant with you.”

“For I will uphold My covenant with you and you will know that I am YHVH, so that you may remember, be ashamed and never open your mouth again because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

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Friday, 5 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast in the memory of the dedication of one of the greatest churches of Christendom, one of the major Papal Basilicas in the holy city of Rome, one devoted to the Blessed Mother of the Lord, Mary herself, in her persona as the protector of the city of Rome, known also as St. Mary Major, Santa Maria Maggiore or as our Lady of the Snows.

It was told that one fine day at the time when Christianity was just tolerated by the Roman Empire, at the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, an elderly couple John and his wife vowed to donate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, having no heir of their own to inherit their properties. They prayed to the Blessed Virgin that she might show them the way how to properly dispose that property in her care.

And she showed it through the miracle of snows that fell during the height of summer, on this exact day, the fifth day of August, on one of the hills of Rome, where the elderly couple initiated the building of the great Basilica with the help and support of the Emperor, which had since then became a great church and a great place of contemplation, dedicated to the mother of our Lord and God, protector of God’s beloved people.

This is one of the example of how the mother of our Lord has always on the lookout for us the people loved by her own Son, Jesus Christ. She has watched over us and prayed for us, that we may find our way out of the darkness of this world and enter into the light of our Lord, forever to be granted the salvation and the eternal life that God bestows on His faithful ones alone.

She is a great ally to all of us, having shown us how to be faithful to the Lord in her own ways. She has been faithful to the Lord, obedient in all of her ways, devoting her entire life to serve the Lord, and faithfully stayed by the side of her Son, all the way from the time she conceived Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, and all the way through His life on earth until He ascended the hill of Calvary to His death.

And despite her doubts, fears and uncertainties, she persevered on and continued to help her Son in His works to save the whole world and all mankind. And thus, she became a the great beacon and guiding light, the example for all mankind to follow, the perfect role model on how to become a faithful servant and follower of our Lord.

And thus as we celebrate together this great feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, let us all learn to be more like Mary, the mother of our Lord, in how she had been ever faithful, in how she lived a life filled with dedication and commitment to the mission which had been entrusted to her. Indeed, hers was the special role that was greater than any other missions which we have, but each and every one of us also have that mission, to live our lives faithfully as Christians, as those who believe in the Lord and live according to His ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and renew our commitment to Him through not just words alone, but also through real action. And this means that we should love one another just as He has loved us in the first place. Let us all follow the example of Mary, His mother, who is our greatest intercessor and defender, the one who can help us to reach out to the salvation found in our Lord Jesus alone.

May our Blessed Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Lady of Snows, bless us all and may she be ever loving to us, keeping us all under her watchful care, that through her we may find that clear path to the eternal life which her Son has promised all those who are faithful to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 5 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Matthew 16 : 24-28

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for My sake will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world if he destroys his soul? There is nothing you can give to get back your soul.”

“Know that the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds. Truly, I tell you, there are some here who will not die, before they see the Son of Man coming as King.”
Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!” Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

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Friday, 5 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Deuteronomy 32 : 35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

Learn this now – that I alone am He; there is no god besides Me. It is I Who give both death and life; it is I Who wound and heal as well and out of My hand no one can deliver.

When I sharpen My glittering sword and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will deal out vengeance upon My foes and retribution upon those who hate Me.

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Judith 13 : 18bcde, 19

My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

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Friday, 5 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Nahum 2 : 1, 3 and Nahum 3 : 1-3, 6-7

See, there on the mountains, the feet of One Who brings Good News, One Who proclaims peace. Judah, celebrate your feasts and carry out your vows. For the wicked have been destroyed, they will not attack you any more. YHVH will now restore Jacob’s magnificence, like Israel’s splendour. For they had been plundered, laid waste as a ravaged vineyard.

Woe to the bloody city, city of lies and booty, o city of unending plunder! But what! Crack of whips, rumble of wheels and clatter of hoofs! See the frenzied chargers, the flashing swords and glittering spears, the heaps of the wounded, the dead and dying – we trip over corpses!

I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make of you a shameful show, so that all who look on you will turn their backs in disgust and say : Nineveh – a city of lust – is in ruins. Who will mourn for her? Where can we find one to comfort her?

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Revelations 21 : 1-5a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the Holy City coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.

A loud voice came from the Throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was has passed away.”

The One seated on the Throne said, “See, I make all things new.”

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Friday, 29 July 2016 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of St. Martha, one of the close friends of our Lord Jesus Christ, who went with Him and provided support to Him and His disciples. She was one of the holy women mentioned in the Gospels and in the Bible. But in the beginning, which story we heard today, she kind of lost her focus and attention on the Lord, when she welcomed the Lord for the first time into her house.

St. Martha was so busy with her chores, preparing everything for the benefit of her guests, while her sister Mary sat at the side of the Lord, listening to Him as He spoke and taught her and others there about the Lord. When St. Martha complained to the Lord that her sister was leaving her to do all the work and preparation alone, He rebuked her by saying that in her business, she had forgotten about the most important thing of all, as she was distracted by all the things she was doing.

It was not that St. Martha was doing something wrong or wicked in the sight of God, and neither was it that she intentionally ignored the Lord or refused to listen to His teachings, but rather, because of all the things that occupied her, all these things have distracted her, shut her off from the Lord, made her unable to appreciate and sense the importance of what the Lord is telling Mary and the other disciples.

Let us all ask ourselves, have we been like St. Martha? How many of us in our own lives have those occasions when the Lord called on us, and yet we ignored Him, tried to shut Him off, or trying to walk away from Him. God has been so kind to us so as to provide us with so many good things, including the best gift of all, the gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of all of our salvation and redemption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given us the best of everything, and He even provided us with all that we need. But we tend to surround ourselves, either intentionally or unintentionally with the many things and occupations in this world that distract us from our true goal in finding our way to the Lord. Be it money, pleasures of the flesh, the temptation of power and human praise, worldly fame and many other things, we are often distracted by them.

We are so busy in our pursuit for money, possessions and other things. Just think about it, brethren, how many times is it in our lives that we place our focus on the wrong things? We spend hours after many hours trying to get for ourselves ever more comfortable lives, and we desire many things, all the things that this world are pushing upon us, all the materialism weighing down upon us, and all the temptations that the devil is trying to drown us with.

Sometimes, it is good for us to take a step back and reflect. Yes, we should reflect about many things, not least of which is the actions we take in this life, and the choices which we made. Let us ask ourselves, do we choose what we want, or do we rather choose the Lord? Which one is more trustworthy, to put our trust in the Lord or to put our trust in our feeble human power?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we all live in this important time when all that we do and everything that we have are influenced heavily by how we choose our focus in life. We have to discern and be careful in thinking and deciding how we are to devote our time and attention. Do we want to put our trust in the untrustworthy and easily lost treasures of this world, or do we rather trust in the promise of salvation from the One Who is always forever faithful?

We should be like St. Martha, who was once so busied by the daily chores and routines, by worries and other things that she was not able to see the Lord and understand Him. But eventually, she became an ardent believer, that when her brother Lazarus died from an illness, she trusted that Jesus would heal him and bring him back even from death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord bless us and help us. May He keep us and strengthen our faith, so that we may draw ever closer to Him and find our way to His glory and presence. May we all receive worthily the promise of eternal salvation and life that God had promised all those who placed their trust in Him. Let the examples and lessons of St. Martha and the other holy saints of God be our guide and example. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 29 July 2016 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 11 : 19-27

At that time, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house.

And she said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He Who is coming into the world.”

Alternative reading

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Friday, 29 July 2016 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

The Lord’s Angel encamps and patrols to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

Revere the Lord, all You His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need, but those who seek the Lord lack nothing.