King Herod the Great

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 28 December 2014 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 44 : 3, 2 and Psalm 92 : 1

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

Response : Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, dico ego opera mea Regi : lingua mea calamus scribae, velociter scribentis.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Dominus regnavit, decorem indult : induit Dominus fortitudinem, et praecinxit se virtute. 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. My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that wrote swiftly.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : The Lord had reigned. He is clothed with beauty, the Lord is clothed with strength, and had girded Himself with power. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 28 December 2014 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Red

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

Galatians 4 : 1-7

Fratres : Quanto tempore heres parvulus est, nihil differt a servo, cum sit dominus omnium : sed sub tutoribus et actoribus est usque ad praefinitum tempus a patre : ita et nos, cum essemus parvuli, sub elementis mundi eramus servientes.

At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos, qui sub lege erant, redimeret, ut adoptionem filiorum recipieremus. Quoniam autem estis filii, misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda vestra, clamantem : Abba, Pater.

Itaque jam non est servus, sed filius quod si filius, et heres per Deum.

 

English translation

Brethren, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ from a servant, though he is lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father, so we also, when we were children, were serving under the elements of the world.

But when the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law : that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God had sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying : Abba, Father.

Therefore now he is not a servant, but a son, and if a son, an heir also through God.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-double-ii-classis-sunday-28-december-2014-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 28 December 2014 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Red

Introit

Wisdom 18 : 14-15 and Psalm 92 : 1

Dum medium silentium tenerent omnia, et nox in suo cursu medium iter haberet, omnipotens Sermo Tuus, Domine, de caelis a regalibus sedibus venit.

Dominus regnavit, decorem indutus est : indutus est Dominus fortitudinem, et praecinxit se.

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

English translation

While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Your Almighty Word, o Lord, came from heaven, from Your royal throne.

The Lord had reigned. He is clothed with beauty, the Lord is clothed with strength, and had girded Himself.

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, dirige actus nostros in beneplacito Tuo : ut in Nomine dilecti Filii Tui mereamur bonis operibus abundare : Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus. Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O Almighty and eternal God, direct our actions in conformity with Your good pleasure, that in the Name of Your beloved Son we may be worthy to abound in good works. Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 August 2014 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests or Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Matthew 14 : 1-12

At that time the news about Jesus reached king Herod. And he said to his servants, “This Man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in John.”

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to Herod, “It is not right for you to have her as your wife.” Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced among the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked for. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but because he had made this promise under oath in the presence of his guests, he ordered it to be given to her. So he had John beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother.

Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went away to bring the news to Jesus.

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Saturday, 28 December 2013 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Jealousy and greed for power, as well as the fear of losing it, are just a few of the evil afflictions that affect mankind, and which many of us had succumbed to, many, many times. These evil afflictions affect us, because we have been made vulnerable to them, ever since our ancestors opened the way to sin through their disobedience to the Lord.

Today, as we continue into the Christmas season, and continue with the festivities and revelries, and all the joy and happiness that we have among us, all the gift exchanges and partying, we must not remember a great tragedy which we all remember on this day, that is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, a great tragedy that is filled with sorrow and wickedness of mankind.

On this day, we remember the great and merciless slaughter of the innocent infants of Bethlehem, the city of David, where our Lord Jesus was born. King Herod the Great, the then Roman appointed King of Israel and Judea, was so fearful and jealous of the authority and power of the promised King of Israel, the true King of kings, Jesus the Messiah, that he resolved to kill this Messiah, before the kingdom that was his is usurped from him.

You can clearly see this king’s hubris, jealousy and arrogance, that even though he knew about the coming of the Messiah, he was unwilling to part with his own authority and power and give it to the coming King. He was foolish and short-sighted, one which certainly brought him down to the deepest depth of hell. You see what desperation, fear, and wickedness can bring to men.

Yes, they brought downfall to man, and they bring nothing but death and destruction. And it is often that the innocent ones are the ones to suffer, such as what happened in Bethlehem. One may ask why God did not intervene in the case of what has happened, but indeed, if we look at it again, God gave everyone a free will to follow what he thinks is best to be done. One can choose to follow the Lord and be righteous, or give in to their human vulnerabilities and embrace what is evil and wicked.

And those infants were innocent, and Herod massacred them in order to ensure the continuation of his own power and authority. He took the quick way out of problems, and did not regard even the sanctity of human lives. Those innocent infants also deserved to live. They therefore, were holy martyrs of the faith by the virtue of their innocence. They were the victims of humanity’s disdain for the sanctity of life.

Today we all remember these Holy Innocents, whose massacre is a reality amidst the joy and the festivities surrounding Christmas. And that is why we have to always remember that Christmas is about life. Yes, the sanctity of life, which is also often under attack in today’s society, especially by those championing for the culture of death.

That is right, on this day, on this era, thousands of even unborn infants or more are being killed on daily basis. You all know about the controversy, and the voices crying out for and against the practice of abortion. It is sad indeed, that even among us who believe in the Lord, the source of life, even some of us agree, or participate in the killing of the innocents, either by our actions or by our silence.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate Christmas, never forget that we have to celebrate life, and we cannot forget about the massacre of the innocents that had happened, and what is happening even now. Life is sacred, brethren, as is it not Jesus who came into this world that we may have life eternal. We cannot profess to be Christians and yet treat life as something trivial. It is a gift from God to all of us.

May the Lord therefore continue to inflame in us, the love for Him, as well as the love for all of God’s creations, treating with honour everyone, even to the least of all, the poorest of all, and the weakest of all, to the smallest of infants. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 28 December 2013 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 2 : 13-18

After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the Child in order to kill Him.”

Joseph got up, took the child and His mother, and left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled : ‘I called My son out of Egypt.”

When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learnt from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.

In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled : ‘A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation : Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.’

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Saturday, 28 December 2013 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 123 : 2-3, 4-5, 7b-8

Had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

The snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

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Saturday, 28 December 2013 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 John 1 : 5 – 1 John 2 : 2

We heard His message from Him and announce it to you : God is Light and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we are in fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth.

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness.

If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, His word is not in us. My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.