Marian feasts

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Saturday, 13 August 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2

Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi, and the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.

David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name 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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Tuesday, 31 May 2016 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the moment when Mary, the Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, came to visit her cousin, Elizabeth in the mountain counties of Judea. It was the sixth month since Elizabeth has become pregnant by the grace of God, with the herald of the Messiah, John the Baptist in her womb, while Mary herself carried Jesus, the Lord and Messiah in her womb.

Today is a day of joy, since the same joy experienced by John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth his mother is also the same joy which all of us should experience. After all, we are all mortal and sinful men, all of whom have sinned and did not deserve the kindness, mercy, love and forgiveness from our Lord, and yet He generously extended His love, which He had shown us through none other than Jesus, His only Son.

Today we remember that God has loved us all mankind so much, and indeed so great is His love that He gave us His only Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour and Redeemer so that all of us who believe in Him may be saved and may receive eternal life through Him. He has willingly come down into this world so that through Him the world of men may have hope and light in the midst of all the darkness.

And in all these, Mary played a very central role indeed, as the one through whom the Saviour was to be born. Mary fulfilled perfectly the role to which she had been appointed to by the Lord, by obeying the commands which God had given her, faithfully carrying out the mission and believing and trusting in the providence of God, that whatever God’s will is for her, it shall be done.

Elizabeth too believed in the Lord, and she obeyed Him in all things, and God rewarded her with the very important role, to be the mother of the herald of the Messiah, the one to usher in the coming of the Lord Himself, even though she was already very old and long past child bearing age. Through her, and ultimately through Mary, God showed this world, that His divine protection, grace and blessings are with those who obey Him.

The song of Mary, the Magnificat which Mary sang, filled with the Holy Spirit is the great song of thanksgiving for all the great things which God had done for her, and ultimately, also for all those who have been faithful to God. And in that song, we too have the same hope, the same joy and the same gladness, knowing that God is also with us, and will also bless us in the same manner if we are faithful to Him.

Therefore today, it is imperative that all of us find a moment to reflect on the great occasion of Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth. The Lord has come upon us and showed us His mercy, and He is willing to forgive us, but are we all willing and ready to forgive ourselves? Are we all ready to commit ourselves to the Lord in the same manner as the Lord has committed Himself to us?

Let us all change ourselves, our ways and everything that we do, so that in all things, we may draw ever closer to God, and become ever more devoted servants and followers of our God. Let us become truly worthy of God, so that when He comes again in His glory, we may be welcomed into His eternal kingdom, and receive the glory of eternal life with Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 May 2016 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 39-56

At that time, 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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Tuesday, 31 May 2016 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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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Tuesday, 31 May 2016 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving Warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love. For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast.

I will drive away the evil I warned you about, and you will no longer be ashamed.
Alternative reading

Romans 12 : 9-16b

Let love be sincere. Hate what is evil and hold to whatever is good. Love one another and be considerate. Outdo one another in mutual respect. Be zealous in fulfilling your duties. Be fervent in the Spirit and serve God. Have hope and be cheerful. Be patient in trials and pray constantly. Share with other Christians in need. With those passing by, be ready to receive them.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not wish evil on anyone. Rejoice with those who are joyful, and weep with those who weep. Live in peace with one another. Do not dream of extraordinary things; be humble and do not hold yourselves as wise.

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Friday, 13 May 2016 : Seventh Week of Easter, Memorial of our Lady of Fatima (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate together the feast of our Lady of Fatima, commemorating that moment on this day, the thirteenth day of May, ninety-nine years ago in the year 1917, when during the height of the World War I and at the beginning of the time of great difficulty and persecution that would face Christian Russia, at the beginning of the Bolshevik Communist revolution, that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, appeared to three young children in the village of Fatima in Portugal.

Our Lady appeared to them and asking them to devote themselves and pray to the Holy Trinity daily, and pray the Rosary regularly for the sake of the peace of the world, the end of the war and the return of love, compassion and harmony into the world. She asked the children to spread the devotion to their fellow countrymen and all those that they had encountered, so that hopefully many people would walk in the path of repentance towards the redemption in God, and that they may seek Him through her help.

She also passed on words of advice, and many revelations to the children, including three secrets which would contain the things that were to come to the world and to the faithful people of God. She foretold of the great tribulations that would come upon the world, as we could see in the rise of Communism in Russia and in many other countries which engulfed much of the twentieth century and even until today, where those who refused to believe in God persecuted the faithful and the Church, making even many martyrs out of them.

Through the revelations of our Lady of Fatima, indeed all of us should be able to see and to feel just how much love God is showing us all His beloved ones. He has shown us His great love through His mother, who is also our mother, and that is why she is always busy at work both at the side of her Son in heaven, praying and interceding for our sake, or in the world, to stir the hearts of mankind that they may repent and turn away from their sins.

Each Marian apparitions, most famous of which were in Fatima and Lourdes spoke about the need for mankind to change their ways, repenting their sins through acts of faith and devotion, that our faith in God may be strengthened, and we may receive the grace, the strength and the courage to live our lives with faith, and to reject and resist whatever temptations that come our way, trying to pull us away from the path towards God.

And one of the advice which the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus gave us was that we should pray the Rosary often with devotion and pure intentions, to help us in this spiritual warfare that is happening daily about us. And if we think praying the Rosary is repetitive and meaningless, that means, first of all, we may not be praying it right, and we in fact may not have gotten what prayer is all about, and we may also not realise the gravity of the spiritual battle happening around us and involving us.

Many of us when we pray, we do not pray in right way. We tend to think, wrongly, that prayer is a way for us to get help from God, and it is like a request booth through which we can plea, beg, ask and even demand grace and blessings from God. And that is why our prayer becomes less of that crucial conversation and interaction which we have with God, and became instead the litany and long list of wishes, requests and demands that do not do justice to what a prayer is truly about.

Instead, all of us should come to realise that prayer is a very powerful tool indeed, and not for us to merely get gratification and to satisfy our desires by asking the Lord all that we wished and wanted. Prayer is not just a unidirectional conversation where we do all the talking and expect the Lord to listen to us and to our petitions, as sadly most of us often believed. But rather, prayer is the time for us to spend a quiet and precious moment together with God, that we may speak with Him through the silence of our hearts, and that He too may speak to us deep in our hearts and minds.

As we honour our Blessed mother, Mary, the Lady of Fatima, and as we rejoice together knowing that the Lord had given us His own mother to be our mother as well, caring and loving for us, let us heed therefore her advice, as she had reiterated many times through her many apparitions including at Fatima, of the need for us all to undergo that tremendous change that begins from the heart. And the best way to that is through prayer and discipline.

Praying the Rosary regularly and meaningfully is a great method for us to quieten down our hearts and minds, allowing us to condition ourselves and tune ourselves away from the busy things of this world, shutting out all the noise, the temptations and all the distractions that often kept us away from truly being able to realise the way that God is reaching out to us, by speaking in the silence of our hearts.

Rather, let us all, in this month of May, which we should know as the month of the Holy Rosary, devote ourselves ever more to pray and pray the Rosary in many occasions with zeal and devotion, so that we may grow ever spiritually stronger. Remember, brethren, the devil and his fellow angels are out there like lions prowling about waiting to prey on us and to devour us, the sheep of the flock of the Lord, especially when we are distracted and lost our focus in the midst pf our busy lives.

Let us ask our blessed mother to intercede for us all, so that she may ask her Son to send His Angels to us to guard us against the enemy, and that we may be able to realise the gravity and the dangers of our sins, and thus make the conscious effort to change ourselves, repent and seek God’s forgiveness for our sins. May our Lord Jesus Christ, with the help of His Blessed mother Mary, our Lady of Fatima lead and guide us on the way to salvation and eternal life. God bless us all. Amen.