Roman Asia

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(Usus Antiquior) Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 19 October 2014 : Epistle

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

Ephesians 4 : 23-28

Fratres : Renovamini spiritu mentis vestrae, et induite novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in justitia et sanctitate veritatis. Propter quod deponentes mendacium, loquimini veritatem unusquisque cum proximo suo : quoniam sumus invicem membra.

Irascimini, et nolite peccare : sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram. Nolite locum dare diabolo : qui furabatur, jam non furetur; magis autem laboret, operando manibus suis, quod bonum est, ut habeat, unde tribuat necessitatem patienti.

English translation

Brethren, may you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth. Wherefore, putting away lies, may you speak the truth to every man with his neighbour, for we are members to one another.

Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun to go down upon your anger. Do not give place to the devil. He who stole, let him now steal no more; but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have something to give to him that all who suffered need.

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Thursday, 16 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

Ephesians 1 : 1-10

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, to you who share Christian faith : receive grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing. God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us in love to be His adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His Blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of His grace, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us His mysterious design, in accordance with His loving kindness in Christ.

In Him and under Him God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.

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Wednesday, 15 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Galatians 5 : 18-25

But when you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law. You know what comes from the flesh : fornication, impurity and shamelessness, idol worship and sorcery, hatred, jealousy and violence, anger, ambition, division, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I again say to you what I have already said : those who do these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy and peace, patience, understanding of others, kindness and fidelity, gentleness and self-control. For such things there is no Law or punishment. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its vices and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us live in a spiritual way.

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Thursday, 9 October 2014 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 3 : 1-5

How foolish you are, Galatians! How could they bewitch you after Jesus Christ has been presented to you as crucified? I shall ask you only this : Did you receive the Spirit by the practice of the Law, or by believing the message? How can you be such fools : you begin with the Spirit and end up with the flesh!

So you have experienced all this in vain! Would that it were not so! Did God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you, because of your observance of the Law or because you believed in His message?

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Wednesday, 8 October 2014 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 2 : 1-2, 7-14

After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. Following a revelation, I went to lay before them the Gospel that I am preaching to the pagans, I had a private meeting with the leaders – lest I should be working or have worked in a wrong way.

They recognised that I have been entrusted to give the Good News to the pagan nations, just as Peter has been entrusted to give it to the Jews. In the same way that God made Peter the Apostle of the Jews, He made me the Apostle of the pagans.

James, Cephas and John acknowledged the graces God gave me. Those men who were regarded as the pillars of the Church stretched out their hand to me and Barnabas as a sign of fellowship; we would go to the pagans and they to the Jews. We should only keep in mind the poor among them. I have taken care to do this.

When later Cephas came to Antioch, I confronted him since he deserved to be blamed. Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group.

The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas publicly : ‘If you who are Jewish agreed to live like the non-Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you now compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?’

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Monday, 6 October 2014 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Galatians 1 : 6-12

I am surprised at how quickly you have abandoned God who called you according to the grace of Christ, and have gone to another gospel.

Indeed, there is no other gospel but some people who are sowing confusion among you want to turn the Gospel of Christ upside down. But even if we ourselves were giving you another gospel different from the one we preached to you, or of it were an angel from heaven, I would say : let God’s curse be on him!

As I have said I now say again : if anyone preaches the Gospel in a way other than you received it, fire that one. Are we to please humans or obey God? Do you think that I try to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it but it came to me as a revelation from Christ Jesus.

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Memorial of St. Placidus and Companions, Martyrs (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 October 2014 : Epistle

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

Ephesians 4 : 1-6

Fratres : Obsecro vos ego vinctus in Domino, ut digne ambuletis vocatione, qua vocati estis, cum omni humilitate et mansuetudine, cum patientia, supportantes invicem in caritate, solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis.

Unum corpus et unus spiritus, sicut vocati estis in una spe vocationis vestrae. Unus Dominus, una fides, unum baptisma. Unus Deus et Pater omnium, qui est super omnes et per omnia et in omnibus nobis. Qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Brethren, I, a prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called. With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity, be careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 28 September 2014 : Epistle

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

Ephesians 3 : 13-21

Fratres : Obsecro vos, ne deficiatis in tribulationibus meis pro vobis : quae est gloria vestra. Hujus rei gratia flecto genua mea ad Patrem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ex quo omnis paternitas in caelis et in terra nominatur, ut det vobis secundum divitias gloriae suae, virtute corroborari per Spiritum ejus in interiorem hominem.

Christum habitare per fidem in cordibus vestris : in caritate radicati et fundati, ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis, quae sit latitudo et longitudo et sublimitas et profundum : scire etiam supereminentem scientiae caritatem Christi, ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei.

Ei autem, qui potens est omnia facere superabundanter, quam petimus aut intellegimus, secundum virtutem, quae operatur in nobis : ipsi gloria in Ecclesia et in Christo Jesu, in omnes generationes saeculi saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Brethren, I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity, in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened by His Spirit which might unto the inward man.

That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth. To know also the charity of Christ, which surpassed all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worked in us. To Him be glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 21 September 2014 : Epistle

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

Galatians 5 : 25-26 and Galatians 6 : 1-10

Fratres : Si spiritu vivimus, spiritu et ambulemus. Non efficiamur inanis gloriae cupidi, invicem provocantes, invicem invidentes. Fratres, et si praeoccupatus fuerit homo in aliquo delicto, vos, qui spiritales estis, hujusmodi instruite in spiritu lenitatis, considerans teipsum, ne et tu tenteris.

Alter alterius onera portate, et sic adimplebitis legem Christi. Nam si quis existimat se aliquid esse, cum nihil sit, ipse se seducit. Opus autem suum probet unusquisque, et sic in semetipso tantum gloriam habebit, et non in altero. Unusquisque enim onus suum portabit.

Communicet autem is, qui catechizatur verbo, ei, qui se catechizat, in omnibus bonis. Nolite errare : Deus non irridetur. Quae enim seminaverit homo, haec et metet. Quoniam qui seminat in carne sua, de carne et metet corruptionem : qui autem seminat in spiritu, de spiritu metet vitam aeternam.

Bonum autem facientes, non deficiamus : tempore enim suo metemus, non deficientes. Ergo, dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos Fidei.

English translation

Brethren, if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not be made desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another. Brethren, and if a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.

May you bear one another’s burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ. For if any man think of himself to be something, whereas he is nothing, he deceived himself. But let every one prove his own work, and so he shall have glory in himself only, and not in another. For every one shall bear his own burden.

And let him that is instructed in the word, communicate to he who instructed him, in all good things. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for what things a man shall sow, those also he shall reap. For he who sowed in his flesh, of the flesh he shall also reap corruption. But he who sowed in the spirit, of the spirit he shall reap life everlasting.

And in doing good, let us not fail, for in due time we shall reap, not failing. Therefore, while we still have time, let us work good things to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the Faith.

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Friday, 12 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will.

How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel. So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number.

So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it. Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run knowing where I go. I box but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Galatians 4 : 4-7

But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son. He came born of woman and subject to the Law, in order to redeem the subjects of the Law, that we might receive adoption as children of God.

And because you are children, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of His Son which cries out : ‘Abba!’ that is ‘Father!’. You yourself are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and yours is the inheritance by God’s grace.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Ephesians 1 : 3-6, 11-12

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing. God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us in love to be His adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

By a decree of Him who disposes all things according to His own plan and decision, we, the Jews, have been chosen and called, and we were awaiting the Messiah, for the praise of His glory.