intercession of Mary

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Saturday, 7 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, part of our celebration of the Marian month of October, when the daily recitation of the rosary is highly encouraged as part of our devotion to God through His mother, Mary. And we remember today, this loving mother, whom the Lord had entrusted to us as our own mother, through the rosary which she had granted us and revealed to us, as the means to help to achieve our salvation.

The origins of this feast came about from the historical moment of a great battle that raged over four centuries ago, at the time of great danger to the Christian world and the faithful, when the forces of the enemies of the Church and the unbelievers were arrayed against it, attacking the Church both from within and without. The Church was divided and assailed by the heresies and divisions that threatened to destroy the faithful.

But the greatest threat then came from the forces of the mighty Ottoman Empire, which armies and ships had risen up against Christian nations and states, overpowering them one by one. Christendom at that time came under very great threat, the threat of destruction and martyrdom. Yet, at the same time, salvation came as the Christian forces gathered together and met the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Lepanto in the year 1571.

While the Ottoman fleet outnumbered the Christian fleet, but through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who apparently according to some eyewitnesses, made her apparition among the clouds with many other saints of God, the Ottoman forces were driven back and vanquished. And in thanksgiving for the great battle, which occurred on the seventh day of the month of October that year, the Pope then, Pope St. Pius V declared that day as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Before the battle, the Pope called for all of Christendom to pray the rosary, and led a rosary procession through the city of Rome himself. The great victory and triumph of the forces of the faithful at Lepanto was therefore commemorated on this day, also as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in remembrance of the power of the holy rosary in calling upon the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary.

Now, back to our present day, there is still a great reason to celebrate this Feast of the Holy Rosary, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary herself. For there is always a great challenge and opposition facing the Church and all of us the faithful, by Satan our great enemy, and all of his forces of fallen angels and demons, arrayed against us. The devil is always active at work, trying to persuade, cajole, force and pressurise us to abandon our faith and commit sin instead, disobeying God’s laws and commandments.

Through the praying of the holy rosary, we reorientate ourselves to the Lord through the intercession of His Blessed Mother. The rosary is a great tool through which Mary desired to help all of us, whom God had entrusted to her as her own children. Surely, a mother who loves her children will not want any of them to be lost from her. For the price of sin is death and damnation in hell, as we are sundered forever from God’s grace and love.

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort once said that Mary is the surest, straightest and easiest path for us to reach out to God. And this cannot be further from the reality and the truth, as it is by imitating Mary that we will come closer to God, by following the examples of Mary, the mother of our God. Mary was faithful and obedient, and it was by the same obedience to God’s will that she accepted her role as the mother of God and Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The rosary when prayed with genuine devotion and faith is a constant reminder of the faith of Mary, through which she had devoted her entire life to the service of God. The rosary is the means through which mankind, fallen into sin, are able to climb their way back up to the light, from the darkness which had enveloped us through sin. And Mary is rightly feared by Satan and his allies, not just because of her great faith and commitment to God, her piety and holiness, but also because of the rosary.

Let us think of how many souls the devil has lost because of the rosary. Let us reflect on how many souls have gone to heaven instead of going to hell with the devil, just because they piously pray and recite the rosary prayers from their hearts, dedicating themselves to God through His mother Mary. Those who pray the rosary daily and with devotion, shall not fall into damnation, but instead go towards eternal life.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we do not yet have the habit of praying the rosary daily or at least regularly, let us begin praying it every day, especially during this month of October, the Marian month of the rosary. Let us all pray the rosary, believing that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will be able to find the surest and most straightforward path to our Lord, through her guidance.

May the Lord continue to bless us and guide each one of us, so that we may continue to draw closer and ever more towards His salvation. Let us pray, asking for the continued intercession from our Blessed Mother, that she will continue praying for the sake of us sinners, for the salvation of our souls, and through the rosary, may we find the way towards righteousness in God. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Saturday, 7 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

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.

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Saturday, 7 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

All of these, together, gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women, and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

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Saturday, 11 February 2017 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes)
Mark 8 : 1-10

At that time, soon afterwards Jesus was in the midst of another large crowd, that obviously had nothing to eat. So He called His disciples and said to them, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with Me for three days and now have nothing to eat. If I send them to their homes hungry, they will faint on the way; some of them have come a long way.”

His disciples replied, “Where, in a deserted place like this, could we get enough bread to feed these people?” He asked them, “How many loaves have you?” And they answered, “Seven.” Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, He broke them, and handed them to His disciples to distribute. And they distributed them among the people. They also had some small fish, so Jesus said a blessing, and asked that these be shared as well.

The people ate and were satisfied. The broken pieces were collected, seven wicker baskets full of leftovers. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand in number. Jesus sent them away, and immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Lourdes)
John 2 : 1-11

At that time, three days after Jesus called Nathanael, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with His disciples. When all the wine provided for the celebration had been served, and they had run out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that to you and Me? My hour has not yet come.” However His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Nearby were six stone water jars, set there for ritual washing as practiced by the Jews; each jar could hold twenty or thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said, “Now draw some out and take it to the steward.” So they did. The steward tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing from where it had come; for only the servants who had drawn the water knew. So, he called the bridegroom to tell him, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and when people have drunk enough, he serves that which is ordinary. Instead you have kept the best wine until the end.”

This miraculous sign was the first, and Jesus performed it at Cana in Galilee. In this way He let His glory appear, and His disciples believed in Him.

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Wednesday, 11 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (our Lady of Lourdes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast day of Mary, the mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, who had appeared to her people, that is all of us, through the intermediary of St. Bernadette Soubirous just over a hundred and fifty years ago, in the quiet village and area of Lourdes in southern France. Today is the feast of our Lady of Lourdes, also known as the day of universal prayer for the sick and those afflicted with diseases both of body and soul.

We heard in the Gospel today of the creation of mankind, good and wonderful and perfect, filled with all the goodness of God, and made in the image of God. All of us were destined for a life filled with bliss and great happiness. Sickness and death were never meant for us, for these are the things of darkness, and we are the children of the Light, that is God.

Yet, it was because of our disobedience that we have sinned before the Lord and before all men, and therefore, in our disobedience and lack of faith, we brought the sickness unto ourselves, and sickness as well as corruption become a part of us. And that is what our Lord wants us to overcome and be freed from. He came into the world and through His teachings and works, He made whole a people that had been claimed by the darkness.

In the psalms, we heard about the praise upon Judith, the brave and courageous daughter of Israel and a holy woman, who despite of the great threat that faced her people, in the great force of the Babylonians under the leadership of the mighty general Holofernes, she went forth by herself to the camp of the enemy and in full faith of the Lord’s providence, she gained a great victory, triumph and salvation for her people by slaying the general when he was drunk with wine in his sleep.

Thus a great disaster was averted for the people of God, a people that had been subjected to the might and power of the conquering nation, expecting nothing else other than annihilation and slavery. It was because of the faith of one woman, who put her trust in the Lord, that salvation came for the people of God, and God heard the sincere prayers of the woman, Judith, which she made before she ventured into the enemy’s camp.

In the Gospel today, we hear something similar, and of an even greater significance for us all, as we heard about the Wedding at Cana, a story that we are surely all familiar with. In that wedding, the wedding couple who are the hosts of the wedding went into great trouble for their wine supply had run out. This is a great taboo in the Jewish society, and had the guests and the steward knew about it, the couple would be shamed and reviled for the rest of their lives.

That is when we know that Mary knew about the problem which the couple had, and she performed something that would set a great precedent. She requested for her Son to help the couple and get them out of trouble. Indeed, Jesus seemingly refused this when He remarked to her that it was not His time just yet. But, what Mary told the servants would be indeed amazing, as she said that whatever He would tell them, they have to listen to Him.

And indeed, Jesus performed His very first miracle right there and then. He turned the water into wine, and the reputation of the wedding couple was saved. But what is the true significance of this, brothers and sisters? It is that our beloved mother and the mother of our Lord Jesus, that is Mary, never forgets us when we are in trouble. Just as she was very observant of the problem faced by the couple, she too from heaven can see our troubles and the obstacles that lay in our path.

Mary is the greatest of all saints, not just because of her piety and her faithful life, which she spent in total and complete dedication to the will of God, mirroring what Judith had done even to a much greater scale, but she is also the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ our Saviour and King. And she sits the closest to her Son’s throne in heaven, at His right hand, giving Him advice, prayers and petitions from all of us.

And she is also our mother, for remember that before His death on the cross, Jesus entrusted His own mother to His disciple John, just as He entrusted John to her. In this manner, He therefore entrusted all of us to the care of Mary, His mother. And that is how significant this feast day is for us. As we know with the other famous Marian apparitions, Mary appeared to many people, calling for them to repent and change from their sinful ways. She asked the people to devote themselves more and more to her Son, our Lord.

And in Lourdes, it was no different, for Mary also mentioned to St. Bernadette Soubirous, the need for the world to be converted for the sake of Christ, that everyone may receive the grace of salvation and liberation from their sins. And through her intercession for our sake, many had received miraculous healing at the Lourdes site ever since the apparition.

The water of the spring at Lourdes appeared since the time when Mary appeared to St. Bernadette, and those who bathed and immersed themselves in the water had been healed from their afflictions. This is why today we also pray for the sake of all those who are sick, as a reminder of this great grace of God. But we have to remember that, it is not that the water has any magical properties, or that Mary is the one who performed the miracle for us.

Rather, just like at the wedding at Cana, she is our intercessor, bringing our prayers directly to her Son, Jesus our Lord. Through her prayers, we are all made whole again by the grace of her Son, Jesus, who performed the healing and the miracle for us. What is the key? None other than our faith and our effort in living up to that faith. It is our faith in the power of our Lord, and the effort we have done to seek Him, which healed us from our afflictions, both of the body, and also of the soul, that is sin.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this great feast day of our Lady of Lourdes, let us all renew our commitment to our loving God, and let us all be ever more devoted to His mother, Mary, who is also our mother, and who like a mother is always concerned about us and daily pray for our sake, bringing our petitions and plight before her Son in heaven. Mary, our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us sinners that your Son may bring us to a new life everlasting freed from the afflictions of our body and soul. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (our Lady of Lourdes)

Mark 7 : 14-23

At that time, Jesus then called the people to Him again and said to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen.”

When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about this saying, and He replied, “So even you are dull? Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean, since it enters not the heart but the stomach, and is finally passed out?”

Thus Jesus declared that all foods are clean. And He went on, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him, for evil designs come out of the heart : theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Lourdes)

John 2 : 1-11

At that time, three days after Jesus had called Nathanael to be His disciple, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with His disciples. When all the wine provided for the celebration had been served, and they had run out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that to you and Me? My hour has not yet come.” However His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Nearby were six stone water jars, set there for ritual washing as practiced by the Jews, each jar could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said, “Now draw some out and take it to the steward.” So they did.

The steward tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing from where it had come; for only the servants who had drawn the water knew. So, he called the bridegroom to tell him, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and when people have drunk enough, he serves that which is ordinary. Instead, you have kept the best wine until the end.”

This miraculous sign was the first, and Jesus performed it at Cana in Galilee. In this way He let His glory appear, and His disciples believed in Him.

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Wednesday, 11 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (our Lady of Lourdes)

Psalm 103 : 1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; o Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment.

They all look to You for their food in due time. You give it to them, and they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.

You take away their breath, they expire and return to dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Lourdes)

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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Wednesday, 11 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (our Lady of Lourdes)

Genesis 2 : 4b-9, 15-17

On the day that YHVH God made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on the earth any shrub of the fields, nor had any plant yet sprung up, for YHVH God had not made it rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.

Then YHVH God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive with breath. God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there He placed Man whom He had created. YHVH God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat, also the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

YHVH God took Man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and take care of it. Then YHVH God gave an order to Man saying, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die.”

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Lourdes)

Isaiah 66 : 10-14c

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what YHVH says : “I will send her peace, overflowing like a river; and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so willI I comfort you. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Second Sunday after Epiphany, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome, Feast of St. Paul the Apostle, and Feast of St. Prisca, Virgin and Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 January 2015 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Second Sunday after Epiphany, the beginning of the Sundays after Epiphany and we are still in the middle of the season of Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. And as we proceed towards the upcoming season of the Lent, Holy Week and Easter, we move on from the birth and youth of Christ, and we began to hear His works and ministry in the readings which we heard today.

Our Lord Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan and that baptism marked the beginning of His ministry in this world. He called His disciples, the Apostles, and they followed Him. But He had not immediately started His works and miracles yet as He would later show to the world. He was tempted by Satan during His forty days sojourn in the desert and triumphed, and after He had called His first disciples, He likely returned to His home and His mother, Mary in Nazareth.

And it was to the wedding in Cana that His mother brought Him along, together with His disciples, and there He performed His first miracle, even though He did not intend to do it in the beginning. The couple met a big trouble on their wedding day, as they ran out of wine in the midst of that important occasion. This is truly a potentially very embarrassing event for the wedding couple, one that could have brought them shame forever.

For we have to understand that a wedding ceremony was a very important event and celebration in the society of the people of God, and it was written in the laws and the customs of the people, that such an event should be properly and thoroughly prepared. Many guests were to be invited and many people usually took part in such celebrations. Therefore, it is very important that the host, that is the couple celebrating their wedding, to provide as best as they could for their guests.

And wine is central to the celebrations of the wedding, just as it is central to the feasts and celebrations of the people of God. Wine is a symbol of joy, of celebration and of happiness, which also symbolise the happiness and joy the couple would have in their wedded life as husband and wife. To run out of wine on such an important occasion would be indeed the ultimate embarrassment and taboo as it would be seen as a very bad omen and a shame on the couple and their families.

Fortunately, as we heard in the Gospel, Mary intervened for their sake, and asking for the help of her Son, she sought to alleviate their problem. And even though Jesus was reluctant to help, as it was not yet His time to come to reveal His divinity to the people, but He listened to His mother’s request nonetheless. And we know the rest of the story. The water was turned into wine, and from having no wine at all, the couple received great praise and accolades for keeping the best quality wine until the end, the water turned to wine by Jesus.

From all these, we have two main things that we should learn and treasure from. The first one is the value and importance of marriage between man and woman. This is an institution and indeed the holy Sacrament that had been under constant attack and defilement in the recent years and decades, and as a result, our community and society begin to also lose their faith, because marriage is no longer viewed as sacred and as a result, the institution of the family is weakening too.

The wedding at Cana is a reminder for us all, that as Jesus chose to do His first miracle there, that we have to treasure married life for those of us who are already married, and we have to stay faithful to one another. We cannot overlook the importance of the family, and thus, all of us the faithful have to preserve the fullness of truth, our faith in our families, and this is the foundation of the strong faith we ought to have in all of us.

And secondly, that we have our Mother Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, and the mother of us all as the guide, helper, and protector for us all. She is the mother of God, for she is the mother of Jesus, God made Man, and thus she sits now closest to the throne of her Son in heaven, the Almighty God and King of kings. And as she is the closest to our Lord, just as at Cana, whatever she requests to her Son is likely to be heard.

Therefore, it is good for us to deepen our devotion to Mary our mother, and through that the devotion we should have for our Lord Jesus Himself. We should ask for the protection and the prayers from our Blessed Mother, for if we, who like the wedding couple, encounter problems in this world, and if we ask her with the fullness of faith in God, then surely Mary will not hesitate to seek the help of Jesus her Son, and intercede for our sake on our behalf.

May Almighty God therefore bless all of us, and through Mary His mother, may He show us the path to salvation in Him. Let us all strengthen and renew our commitment to Him, and renew the love and faith in our families, treasuring the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony we have among us, and keeping our families ever strong and faithful, under the watchful eyes of our mother Mary and her Son, our Lord and God. Amen.

 

Epistle :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/17/usus-antiquior-second-sunday-after-epiphany-feast-of-the-chair-of-st-peter-at-rome-feast-of-st-paul-the-apostle-and-feast-of-st-prisca-virgin-and-martyr-ii-classis-sunday-18-january-2015-2/

 

Gospel :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/17/usus-antiquior-second-sunday-after-epiphany-feast-of-the-chair-of-st-peter-at-rome-feast-of-st-paul-the-apostle-and-feast-of-st-prisca-virgin-and-martyr-ii-classis-sunday-18-january-2015-4/