Friday

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 15 August 2014 : Epistle

Lectio libri Judith – Lesson from the book of Judith

Judith 13 : 22-25 and Judith 15 : 10

Benedixit te Dominus in virtute sua, quia per te ad nihilum redegit inimicos nostros. Benedicta es tu, filia, a Domino Deo excelso, prae omnibus mulieribus super terram.

Benedictus Dominus, qui creavit caelum et terram, qui te direxit in vulnera capitis principis inimicorum nostrorum; quia hodie nomen tuum ita magnificavit, ut non recedat laus tua de ore hominum, qui memores fuerint virtutis Domini in aeternum, pro quibus non pepercisti animae tuae propter angustias et tribulationem generis tui, sed subvenisti ruinae ante conspectum Dei nostri.

Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.

English translation

The Lord had blessed you by His power, because through you He had brought our enemies to nought. Blessed are you, o daughter, by the Lord the Most High God, above all women upon the earth.

Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who had directed you to cut off the head of the prince of our enemies, because He had so magnified your name this day, that your praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord, forever. For that you had not spared your life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of your people, but had prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.

You are the glory of Jerusalem. You are the joy of Israel. You are the honour of our people.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) -Friday, 15 August 2014 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Apocalypse 12 : 1, Psalm 97 : 1

Signum magnum apparuit in caelo : mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus ejus, et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim.

Cantate Domino canticum novum : quia mirabilia fecit.

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

English translation

A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Sing all of you to the Lord a new canticle, for He had done wonderful things.

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 Immaculatam Virginem Mariam, Filii Tui genetricem, corpore et anima ad caelestem gloriam assumpsisti : concede, quaesumus; ut, ad superna semper intenti, ipsius gloriae mereamur esse consortes. Per eumdem Dominum…

English translation

Almighty, everlasting God, who had taken up the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of Your Son, with body and soul into heavenly glory, grant we beseech You, that we may always be intent on higher things, and deserve to be partakers of her glory. Through the same…

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Friday, 15 August 2014 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 39-56

Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour! He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed.”

“The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name! From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence.”

“He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.”

“He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and His descendants forever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

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Friday, 15 August 2014 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 20-26

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep. A human being brought death; a Human Being also brings resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. However, each one in his own time : first Christ, then Christ’s people, when He comes.

Then the end will come, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power. For He must reign and put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.

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Friday, 15 August 2014 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 44 : 10bc, 11, 12ab, 16

At Your right hand, in the gold of Ophir, stands the queen.

Listen, o daughter, pay attention; forget your father’s house and your nation.

And your beauty will charm the King, for He is your Lord.

Amid cheers and general rejoicing, they enter the palace of the King.

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Friday, 15 August 2014 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 11 : 19a and Revelations 12 : 1-6a, 10ab

Then the sanctuary of God in the heavens was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant of God could be seen inside the sanctuary.

A great sign appeared in heaven : a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain, looking to her time of delivery.

Then another sign appeared : a huge, red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and wearing seven crowns on its heads. It had just swept along a third of the stars of heaven with its tail, throwing them down to the earth.

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour the Child as soon as He was born. She gave birth to a male Child, the One who is to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre; then her Child was seized and taken up to God and to His throne while the woman fled to the desert where God had prepared a place for her.

Then I heard a loud voice from heaven : “Now has salvation come, with the power and the kingdom of our God.”

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Friday, 8 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast day of St. Dominic, or also known by his full name of St. Dominic de Guzman, the famous founder of the Dominican order, named after him, known officially as the Order of Preachers or O.P.. The Dominican order had been renowned as a religious order that was often at the forefront of evangelisation and the spreading of the Good News, in perfect accordance to their names as the Order of Preachers.

St. Dominic himself was born in Medieval Spain, a time of much changes and difficulties, and he was a truly devoted and faithful son of the Lord, who eventually joined a holy order and devoted himself fully to God and His people. St. Dominic became a beacon of light to many of those who remain in the darkness, as had been foretold even since before his birth.

His mother, Joan of Aza, received a vision which showed a dog that carried a lit torch that spread light brightly throughout a darkened place, and little that she knew, that this vision would become a reality in her son, St. Dominic de Guzman, who through his actions, and the actions of his compatriots and successors, became a great source of light for those who still dwelled in the darkness of the world.

St. Dominic is an example to all of us, and we all should be inspired by his actions and deeds. We too should follow his footsteps in bringing many more people, our brethren closer to the Lord, just as St. Dominic himself had done before. And that was exactly what the Lord wants from us, to be wholly and completely transformed in our lives that we may glorify and proclaim Him in our actions and deeds.

In the Gospel today, Jesus told His disciples that if they want to follow Him, they need to carry their crosses and follow Him. And that is the reality of life, in which we have to face difficulties in life, if we are to follow the Lord and adhere to His will. It will be different if we choose to conform to the ways of the world, where we will be welcomed by the forces of this world and face less persecution and opposition, but at what cost? Nothing less than the fate and salvation of our very souls.

God had mentioned it clearly at the passage we heard today taken from the Book of the prophet Nahum, who wrote how God would restore those who had been faithful to Him and bless them with greatness, but for those who did not obey Him and walked the path of evil, He would cast out from His path and into the greatest darkness, into an eternal suffering that is without end.

God is merciful and loving, but only to those who repent their ways of evil and abandon their sinfulness will receive grace and eternal rest from the Lord and be saved in eternal grace. He does not desire our destruction or for us to perish as a consequence of our sins, but He gave us a freedom of choice, of whether we want to reject Satan and together then reject sin or whether we embrace sin in our actions, submitting to the temptations of Satan.

What St. Dominic did was that by preaching courageously and strongly against any forms of debauchery and corruptions of sin, he brought many people away from their sinful ways and into the kingdom of God. Many people remained in the darkness because they did not have the opportunity to hear, to see and to feel the light, which St. Dominic and his order of preachers, the Dominicans rectified by bringing the word of God and His truth closer to mankind, especially those who are in darkness.

We too have our parts to play, brothers and sisters, and that is to also bring the word of God to those around us who had fallen along the way on their way towards God and His salvation. And also to those who had yet to listen and know the truth about God, let us all bring His light unto them. This is done not just by words alone, but also through actions and deeds, that in all the things we do, we should do it according to God and His ways, and show that we truly belong to the Lord, and not to Satan and his evil forces instead.

May Almighty God therefore guide us on our ways, that we may be the bearers of the light and the truth, so that in all the things we do and we say, we may truly proclaim the Lord as our Lord and God, and rebuke Satan and his lies, designed to deter us and prevent us from ever reaching our loving God. Let us also ask for the intercession of St. Dominic, that we may be faithful and courageous in showing our faith to others just as he had once been faithful. God be with us all. Amen.

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Friday, 8 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 16 : 24-28

Then 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.”

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Friday, 8 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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.

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Friday, 8 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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?