Liturgical Colour : White
Zechariah 2 : 14-17
Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”
The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates together the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, remembering Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who has kindly shown and given to us the gift of the Holy Rosary, the means of prayer and devotion which has been meant to help us in our journey towards the Lord through the guidance and help of His loving Mother, who is also our own mother as well. Mary, the Lady and Queen of the Holy Rosary, has always shown us all her love and kindness, her concern and compassionate care, desiring and hoping as always that each and every one of us as her children, we can find our way back to the Lord and to His salvation, through the genuine and interior conversion of our hearts, minds, souls and indeed, of our whole entire being, that our lives truly are worthy of the Lord.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles the account of the time when it was shortly after the Risen Lord Jesus had ascended into Heaven in glory, and the disciples who witnessed it were returning to Jerusalem just as the Lord had instructed them to do, to await for the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit from God that would come upon all of them to strengthen and to guide them all. The Lord gave them all His Holy Spirit so that they might be empowered and encouraged throughout their ministry and to remain strong and firm in faith despite the challenges and trials that they might have to face in life. And most prominently, we heard in that same passage, that Mary, the Mother of God was also present among them as well, praying with them together and strengthening one another.
This is important because it highlighted the prominence of Mary in our faith and the Church, as we must all remember that the Lord had entrusted to her all of us, to be our mother, guide and role model, and at the same time she has also been entrusted to us as our own mother. Mary has been the loving mother that has always shown us her care and concern, ever watching over us and praying for us, interceding for us from the side of her Son’s Throne in Heaven. The rosary is one of her many gifts to us, together with her many Apparitions throughout history, as part of her loving efforts to reach out to us and to help us in our journey to reach the Lord and His salvation. She certainly does not want any one of us to be lost to her and her Son because of our sins and the darkness all around us.
Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke, the account of what happened at the moment of the Annunciation, that is the moment when the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary in Nazareth to announce to her the Good News that all of us mankind had been awaiting for a very long time, that is the coming of God’s salvation. And the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she was to become the Mother of the Son of God Most High, and because the Son is indeed also the same God as the Father and the Holy Spirit, thus, Mary is also indeed the Mother of God. Mary accepted her role with great faith and committed herself wholeheartedly to the Lord with the words, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.’, showing us the kind of faith that all of us as Christians should also have in the Lord.
This passage further highlighted to us why we all revere and honour Mary as truly someone special and the greatest of all the saints, our great role model and inspiration in life, for us to follow in our own journey towards the Lord. For Mary is not revered just because she is the Mother of God, but also because of her own exemplary faith and life, which she has shown us great examples and faithfulness in all that she had done throughout her whole life. Her great faith in the Lord and her trust in Him, her dedication and her commitment to the mission which had been entrusted to her is among the many reasons why we honour her greatly and why so many of us have the devotion to her, our beloved and loving Mother, who has always loved us all and who has been very devoted to us all as well.
This Feast of our Lady of the Rosary itself has been instituted from the origin of the great victory of the forces of Christendom, the Church and God’s faithful people against the forces of those who sought the destruction of the Church and the Christian faith, and those who sought to dominate the world and oppress the ones who believe in the true path of the Lord, our God and Saviour. At that time, approximately four hundred and fifty years ago, the mighty and growing Ottoman Empire had been swallowing many Christian states and dominions, and has set its eyes to attack more of Christendom, threatening many Christian nations and even the city of Rome itself. Hence, the combined forces of Christendom was assembled by the Pope together with the cooperation of several Christian states in a great Holy League.
The mighty forces of the Ottoman Empire did not discourage the combined forces of Christendom from various countries and states then assembled at the site of Lepanto in what is today part of Greece. At that place, a great battle therefore took place, which forever changed the balance of power and marked a major turning point in the then constant warfare and struggle between the Ottomans and the forces of Christendom. According to eyewitness accounts of the battle, there were those who saw a great heavenly vision of Mary appearing on the skies, together with mighty host of Angels, fighting together with the forces of Christendom against the forces of the unbelievers, crushing them and destroying the mighty fleet of the Ottomans.
The great victory and triumph was celebrated by the whole Christendom, and the Pope ordered that all the church bells ought to toil and ring for the celebration of this great triumph, and he also instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, on this very date, which was the date of the Battle of Lepanto, and eventually this Feast of Our Lady of Victory is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, reminding us all of the constant intercession and help that Mary, our loving Mother has always provided for us, and also the power of the rosary and our prayers in our constant and daily struggles with sin and evil, with darkness and all the forces of the evil ones. Let us all not forget to spend the time to pray to the Lord, with the company of His loving Mother, Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, who is also our mother, and all the saints.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, doing our very best so that in everything that we say and do, in our every moments in our lives, we will always continue to do what is right and just in the sight of the Lord and His people, to be good examples and inspirations for one another in faith just as Mary, our loving Mother has been great example and inspiration for all of us. Through the holy rosary, let us deepen our relationship with the Lord through His loving Mother, so that we may continue to grow ever stronger in this relationship and be ever more worthy of God’s loving grace and Presence, now and always, in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.
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.
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.
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.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are told of the story of God’s enduring love and kindness for each and every one of us, while at the same time He also wants us to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the sins which we have committed in our respective lives. We must not easily be swayed and tempted by all the temptations and falsehoods present all around us in this world, which many of our predecessors had been tempted by, and led to them falling into the path of wickedness of sin, distancing themselves from God’s grace and love. We are all reminded that God has always loved each and every one of us, and He desired for all of us to be reunited and reconciled fully with Him, and that was why, He has reached out to us through His loving Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and also His Blessed Mother, Mary, whom we commemorate today.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which we heard of the moment when there was a confrontation between Jeremiah and one called Hananiah before the king of Judah, Zedekiah, who also happened to be the last king of Judah before its destruction. Hananiah was a false prophet because he was not sent by God and did not speak according to whatever He has willed and desired, but instead presented his own thoughts and false ideas to the king and people of Judah. There were also others like him, the other false prophets who had led Judah and its people astray ever further from God, even as the Lord had constantly reminded His people through Jeremiah and many of his predecessors. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s truth, telling them how Judah’s days were numbered and the kingdom would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians, the city and the Temple, the House of God would soon be destroyed as well.
On the other hand, Hananiah spoke to the king and to the people of Judah the message that they wanted to hear, the message of false comfort and consolation as he spoke of how the yoke of Babylon would be destroyed and that the kingdom and people of Judah would be freed from their enemies. Hananiah and the other false prophets were pandering to try to gain favours with the king and the people by telling them whatever they wanted to listen to, all the good things and happy things which were indeed nice to be listened to, but which could not be further from the truth. According to historical and Scriptural evidences, they were also aligned with many within the kingdom of Judah then who were trying to align the kingdom with the forces of the Egyptians, hoping that their politics and alliances would be able to regain Judah its independence and freedom from Babylon. Unfortunately, it was exactly this which led to the ultimate downfall and destruction of Judah, just as Jeremiah had told the people.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord Jesus showed God’s generous love for His people, as He Himself has manifested this love and kindness to them, through Himself in the flesh. He showed everyone how God ultimately loves every one of us, even as He chastised and punished His beloved ones for their sins. For example, as we have heard in our first reading today, on how He chastised the people of Judah and earlier on, those in the northern kingdom of Israel, for their many sins and wickedness, but He warned them many times before everything would come to happen, just as He had done through the prophet Jeremiah. This shows us all that God wants each and every one of us to embrace His love and to get rid from ourselves the taint of sin, evil and wickedness, all of which can lead us to our destruction and downfall.
This is because we must realise that while God is forever ever merciful and loving, kind and compassionate to us, but at the same time He is also a just and holy God, in Whose Presence, no sin and wickedness can exist and remain. He wants us all to be forgiven from our many sins, and showing us all that His love is greater than whatever this world can grant to us. He gave us all His Beloved Son, revealing to us the fullness of His love personified and made manifest, approachable and tangible for us. That is why as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord showed His care and love for the people who had come to Him in their many thousands upon thousands, as all of them came together and were miraculously fed with the five loaves and two fishes that the Lord had multiplied and gave to all of them to eat, to be satisfied and filled, just as He fed them spiritually with His words and teachings.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we are all reminded of is the need for us all to reorientate our lives back towards the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly once again and to reject all sorts of evil and sins. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the path of sin and wickedness, and we must not let the wickedness of this world to lead us astray in our path. Instead, we must allow God to come into our lives and to lead us to the path of righteousness and justice. Each and every one of us are therefore called and reminded to return to the Lord our most loving God, and to be truly faithful to Him in all things, to grow ever stronger in our love and dedication for Him. It is by doing all these that we can become true and genuine Christians, filled with God’s ever generous and wonderful love and grace, in everything that we say and do, in every moments of our lives.
Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four Papal Major Basilicas and it is the most important Marian church in the world. On this day, we remember the memory of the establishment of this great House of God, dedicated to His Blessed Mother by the original title of Our Lady of the Snows. According to the traditions of the Church, during the time when the Church and the faithful had just recently been emancipated from the relentless persecutions of the Roman state, about seventeen centuries ago, a Roman patrician or nobleman and his wife, both of whom were Christians, and who had no heirs, prayed to the Lord and made a vow to dedicate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. They asked the Lord to show them how they could properly dedicate their possessions, and the Lord answered with a great miracle.
On the fifth day of August, which henceforth became as is today, the day of the commemoration of this event, a miracle of snow happened, falling during the height of summer in the often hot Roman summer. The very site where the snow had fallen marked where the faithful couple dedicated their possessions to God, establishing the Basilica dedicated to the Mother of God herself, which would therefore become the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In this great House of God, through His mother, Mary, Holy Mother of God and all of us, many people had come seeking God, His love and forgiveness, one of which ways was through the popular Marian icon, Salus Populi Romani, which had protected the city and the people of Rome in many occasions, and inspired more Marian devotions elsewhere in the world, bringing even more people ever closer towards God through His loving Mother.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians have also been called to be the faithful bearers of our Christian faith and truth, and to lead others towards the Lord and His salvation. As we have heard from our Scripture passages today and discussed with this great event of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, let us all therefore first remind ourselves of God’s great love, and consider just how fortunate we are to have been loved in such a manner by the Lord. And then, let us all continue to propagate and showcase this great love of God in our world today, by living our own lives worthily in the path that God has shown and taught us. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, our every efforts, that we may continue to glorify Him at each and every moments of our lives. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Matthew 14 : 13-21
At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.
Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”
Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.
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.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Psalm 118 : 29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102
Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your Law.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth, for I would also lose my hope in Your word.
Let those who fear You, turn to me; they will understand Your statutes.
May my heart be blameless in Your decrees, that I may not be ashamed.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I look to Your word for salvation.
I have not departed from Your decrees, for You, Yourself, have instructed 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.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)
Jeremiah 28 : 1-17
Early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah spoke to me.
Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon proclaimed in YHVH’s house in the presence of the priests and the people, “This is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from YHVH’s house and carried to Babylon.”
“I will likewise bring back Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all who were taken from Judah and deported to Babylon. For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon – word of YHVH.”
Then Jeremiah replied to Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people, “So be it! May YHVH fulfil the words you have spoken and bring back from Babylon to this place the objects taken from the house of YHVH and all the exiles. Yet hear now what I say in your hearing and the hearing of all the people.”
“The prophets who came before you and me continually prophesied war, disaster and plague to many nations and great kingdoms. So the prophet who prophesies peace will not be recognised as truly sent by YHVH, until his predictions are fulfilled.”
Then Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah and broke it. Hananiah proclaimed in the presence of all the people, “YHVH says this : In the same manner, within two years, will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations.” Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.
Some time later, a word of YHVH came to Jeremiah, “Go and tell this to Hananiah : This is what YHVH says : You have broken a wooden yoke but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. For this is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I am placing a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.”
Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, you have not been sent by YHVH and yet you have deceived these people, giving them false hope with your lies. That is why YHVH says with regard to you : I am removing you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counselled rebellion against YHVH.”
And in the seventh month of that year Hananiah died.
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 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.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the moment when Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and God, visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was the mother of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, at the moment when Elizabeth was already heavily pregnant with her son, and when Mary herself was just visited by the Archangel Gabriel who told her of everything that God had entrusted to her, that she would become the Mother of the Son of God Most High, and hence becoming the Mother of God. Through what had happened at that time we are all reminded of the great love of God for us and all the things that He had done for our sake, just as He had done to Mary and Elizabeth.
This celebration takes place on the last day of the month of May, which is commemorated in the Church as a Marian month, celebrating the important role that Mary has played in the history of our salvation, by bearing within her the Saviour of the world Himself. Today as we conclude this Marian month of May, it is appropriate and fitting therefore that we commemorate it once again with this Feast of the Visitation, to remind ourselves ever more of the importance of Mary in our faith and even more importantly, of how Mary, the Mother of God and our loving Mother, can be the great inspiration and role model in how we all ought to live our own lives as Christians. Mary is indeed our surest and straightest path towards our Lord, her beloved Son, to Whom she always directed us to.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah and from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, in which the former spoke about the coming of God’s salvation to His people and how everyone ought to rejoice because God would lift up from them the shame of their predicament and sufferings, as He remembered His love for them, and how He would restore them to His fullness of grace and love through the salvation that He has promised to them. St. Paul echoed this hope and also reminded the faithful people of God to live worthily of the Lord and to do what God had taught and asked them to do, shunning all forms of wickedness and evils which had once sundered them from His love and grace.
Both of these readings spoke to us about living our lives faithfully as Christians in the manner that we have been shown by the Lord, and in how His disciples and followers have lived, full of love firstly for the Lord and then also love for one another, our fellow brothers and sisters. To be Christians is indeed a calling for us to embrace our Lord’s path, in being full of love and compassion for everyone, to be kind and compassionate for those who are around us and those whom we encounter in each and every moments of our lives. Love is the important characteristic in our faith, and one which Mary is also full with, as she loved us all her children, just as much as she has loved and devoted herself thoroughly to her Son, and in how she showed love for her relatives, like that of Elizabeth.
This moment of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth as described in our Gospel passage today also happened because Mary must have loved and cared for Elizabeth, her cousin, upon hearing from the Archangel Gabriel that she had been pregnant with a child even in her old age. Mary made the journey to where Elizabeth lived in, in the mountainous region of Judea, which was not exactly near the town of Nazareth that she lived in, to visit her and to show her solidarity with her. All these showed just the kind of loving woman that Mary was, who was willing to go all the way to reach out to those whom she has loved and cared for like Elizabeth, as well as for her own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom she had dedicated her whole life, from the womb to the cradle and to the Cross, where she even witnessed her Son dying before her very own eyes.
In all of these things, Mary has continued to be faithful to the Lord, devoting herself thoroughly to Him and allowing God to lead her in whatever He had entrusted to her to do. In that way therefore, the Lord had blessed her indeed to be greater than all other women, and all of the children of Adam and Eve. This was not just because she is the Mother of God and the Ark of the New Covenant, hallowed and blessed by God, Immaculate and free from the taint of original sin, but also because she is and remained full of grace throughout her whole life, committing herself out of perfect and pure love for her Son and to all those who have been entrusted to her loving care, namely all of us, whom she has been entrusted with as her own children.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we have all been reminded of the great faith and examples showed by Mary, Most Holy, Mother of God and our Mother, who have been our great role model in faith and our inspiration, let us all remember our calling and respective missions and vocations in life, to be a truly holy and loving people, filled with the holiness and love of God just as Mary our Mother herself has been filled with holiness and love that radiated from her. All of us are called to be loving to one another and to show care and compassion for our brethren, especially the less fortunate among us, and ultimately to love the Lord our God, with all of our strength and might at all times. We must truly be God’s holy and beloved people in all things.
May our lives continue to inspire everyone around us in the manner that Mary, our Mother and the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour has always inspired us. Let our lives be truly holy and worthy of God in all the things that we say and do, in our every efforts and endeavours, in our every works and interactions with everyone whom we encounter and meet in our lives. Let us all entrust ourselves anew to the Lord, and do our best to be the shining beacons of His light, hope and truth in our darkened world today, that the Light of Christ and the great love that He has shown us, as is the love that His Mother Mary has shown, her faith and devotion to God may dispel the darkness surrounding us all, and lead us all into the eternal life that has been promised to us. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 