salvation in God

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Friday, 28 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the readings are about what is to come at the end of time, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ as King and Master of all, and ultimately as the Judge of all creations. Our Lord Jesus Christ is going to come in triumph and glory, vanquishing and defeating evil once and for all, and cast them all into the utter darkness and the eternal lake of fire prepared for them.

In the first reading, it was told about the final defeat of Satan, who will be cast down and have his power forever broken. The authority which Satan once has over us, through sin, has been broken through the actions of our Lord Jesus, by His death and resurrection, and then the might and kingdom of Satan itself will be crushed when the Lord comes again.

That is because, brothers and sisters in Christ, as long as mankind still commit sin and evil in their actions, in their words and deeds, they will always come again under the rule and tyranny of Satan, who is the lord over evil and sin. As long as we sin and commit things evil and abhorrent in the eyes of God, Satan is our master and we are his thralls.

And as long as we remain in sin, and allow sin to affect our hearts and our lives, then death will also have power over us. This is the first death, and also will be the second death for us, if we do not change our ways. What is the first death and the second death, brothers and sisters? The second death was mentioned in the first reading today taken from the Book of Revelations. It is an eternal death and an eternal suffering, from which, all those who suffer that second death, will never be able to escape.

All of us mankind were not meant to suffer death or suffering, brethren, for our ancestor Adam, the first man, and his wife, Eve, the first woman, were created to enjoy the eternal bliss and happiness of the Lord’s creations in Eden. They were meant to enjoy for eternity the goodness of God and not to suffer death and suffering in this world. Alas, sin entered the hearts of men by the disobedience of men, who listened to the sweet lies of Satan, who charmed and twisted them away from true devotion to God.

Satan appeared to Eve as a snake, the most cunning and intelligent of all the creatures, and it is the same old snake that the angel of God will chain up at the end of times, Satan the deceiver, to be bound up so that all of us may be freed from his tyranny and control. Satan played on our desires and our curiosity, and those took the better of us, when he managed to persuade the first men to eat from the forbidden tree and thus sinned against God.

After mankind sinned against God, then we deserve to be punished, and that punishment, is to suffer in our life, whereas the original intention had been for us to enjoy our life in bliss and happiness, and then also to die, suffering from death, just as the words say that, ‘from dust you have come, and to dust you shall return’. This is the first death, the death because of men’s disobedience against God, and all of us mankind are subject to this.

Yes, one day we will all die, and all those who have gone before us have also tasted death, and those who are yet to be born, will one day also suffer death, the first death, but not a final death. For our Lord Jesus Christ had come as our Saviour, who offered a new hope and light amidst the darkened outlook of our future. By His death on the cross, He broke free the chains of sin that enslaved us to death, and by His resurrection, He brought us the offer of a new life everlasting.

And thus, we have no need to fear death, the first death. After all, all of us will go through it at one point of time or another. We will all die, but what matters is, if after that first death, whether we will suffer the second death or instead go into the eternal life promised by our God. This will depend on our actions and deeds in this life on earth, and will be judged upon us at the time of the Last Judgment.

Yes, the second part of our first reading today tells us about the Last Judgment, where the Lord will separate those who have done good and those who have failed to do so, or those who did what are wicked in the sight of God. The good ones He will give His promised reward of everlasting life, in the fullness of glory and happiness which He had always intended for His beloved men from the very beginning, but taken away from us because of the sins of our ancestors and also our own sins.

How about those who are found to be wicked and unworthy then? They will be judged and condemned for their actions, and the second death will be their portion. The second death is eternal, hell-like suffering of total and eternal separation from God and His love, and no hope is to be found there, for there is no escape, and those who are found wicked will be cast down there together with Satan and his fellow fallen angels, who also rebelled against God and brought mankind down with them.

Ultimately, the Gospel today reminds us of the fact that we need to do something, and that we can no longer be passive in our faith and in our lives. Jesus was talking about the signs of nature and the seasons, and how if the people of His time could tell of the coming of the season and time by observing the nature around them, then the coming of the Lord Jesus and the end of time can surely also be known by us, not in exact timing, but in the imminency of it.

Jesus always told us that the coming of the kingdom of God will be like that of a thief, sudden and unannounced. And indeed, only God Himself knows the exact time of His coming. If we think that we still have time and remain idle, not doing things which may help us to secure our salvation, then we may be caught unaware and unprepared, and at that time, if we are judged to be among the wicked, then no amount of pleading or begging will help us anymore.

Therefore, what we need to do brothers and sisters in Christ? We have to be proactive in our faith, and practice it with full sincerity and genuinely show love, as what the Lord had taught us. We have many opportunities in this life, every single day, hour or even minute. Whenever we see that there are people being ostracised, treated badly against, hungry or lonely, are we courageous enough to show them our love? Or do we prefer to remain idle and ignore them?

The choice is clearly ours, to be loving and good, or to be selfish and wicked. The ball is in our court, and it is our choice whether to take up the opportunity and use them, or let them go to waste. May Almighty God awaken in us the courage as well as the sense of urgency to seek Him and do what He had taught us to do, so that at the end of the days, He may find us worthy and righteous, and worthy to enjoy the eternal graces and happiness which He had prepared for all of us. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/friday-28-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/friday-28-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/friday-28-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Thursday, 27 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we come ever closer to the end of our liturgical year this year and as we look forward to this Sunday, when we will celebrate the beginning of the next liturgical year, with the beginning of the season of Advent, we come together to listen to the usual heeding and warnings from the Scriptures, on the imminent and inevitable coming of the end times.

In the first reading from the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Evangelist, we hear about the downfall of the great city of Babylon, which is the representation of all the evils in the world, the power and authority of Satan over the nations and over all the worldly forces, resources and desires. The use of the name Babylon to represent the ultimate force of evil is linked to the fact that the first to destroy Jerusalem and its holy Temple, was the Babylonians, under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar.

The people of Israel at the time was humiliated, their cities destroyed, chief of which was Jerusalem and its Temple, and they were brought to exile and slavery in Babylon for many years. They suffered tremendously being away from their homeland, their country, and scattered among nations, having to go through the humiliation by the other nations who mock them in their exile.

Thus in the same way, the faithful people of God will suffer, as the ways of this world, under the control of Satan and his angels, are diametrically opposite to the ways of the Lord. If we follow the Lord and profess our faith in Him, then we are on a direct collision course with the ways of Satan, who will then send all of his might and forces to destroy us, to humiliate us, and to make us suffer, as the Israelites had in the past.

The tribulation of the faithful will continue and increase in intensity before the coming of the Lord, just as Jesus had mentioned in the Gospel today. Jesus was speaking about the downfall and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans which would happen a few decades after His death and resurrection. However, in the same way, He was in fact also referring to what will also happen at the end times, when He will come again.

The coming of the end of time is not known to us, and only the Lord Himself knows of when He will come again and judge this world. But those who know His ways and those who understand His teachings will know better rather than to fear or be worried of what will happen in the future. For fear and worry indeed do not bring anything beneficial to us, and instead they may prove to be our downfall.

How often is it that we heard, brothers and sisters, that there are those who are so paralysed with fear and worry that they were unable to do anything, and just sit there to await their fates? This is exactly what will also happen to us, if we let our fear or worry cloud our judgment and ability to live our faith with great sincerity, courage, and with proactive attitude. Just ask ourselves a question, if we are crossing a road, and a large truck is out of control and speeding rapidly towards us, what shall we do?

We have clear choices in that situation, brothers and sisters on Christ. It is either that we allow our fear, indecision and worry to overcome us, and therefore paralysing us in fear, unable to move or to decide any action. The truck will then surely hit us and we will perish. Instead, what we should indeed do, when presented with this dilemma, is for us to take immediate action, to wake up from our slumber and inaction, from indecisiveness and hesitation, and make a move.

And in the same way therefore, all of us who have put our trust in the Lord, shall gain our salvation. It is not by inaction or passivity that our faith has saved us, but through real and concrete action, which we need to take every single day of our lives, no matter in how small an action that is. Our faith must be a genuine and living faith, founded on actions filled with love, that is love for our neighbours and brethren around us, and ultimately, the love we must have for God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, first let us all be reminded of the future coming of our Lord and Saviour, and how we should be prepared for such an eventuality. And then we have to realise that we have been gifted with much blessings and graces, through which we can make a lot of difference, not just for ourselves but also for many others around us, helping them to resist and to overcome the temptations of the world and the lies of evil.

We have no need to fear, brethren, for our Lord will be triumphant and victorious. The final victory will be His, and everything shall bow before Him, even Satan and his allies in the works of evil. Thus the great Babylon will fall and never to rise again, and the faithful will claim their place in the great victory of the Lord and partake in His celebrations. For a race of people once thought lost to Him, will finally be reunited forever with Him.

Let us all thus reaffirm our faith in the Lord, not by mere words or passivity, but with real and concrete actions of love, whenever and wherever we can and whenever we are in the position to help each other, and to show our love to those around us who need it. Then, we will be justified in our faith and our Lord will reward us with life everlasting and to share with Him the glory of heaven. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/thursday-27-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/thursday-27-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/26/thursday-27-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 26 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings remind us of the truth of our Faith and how things will happen to us if we are to be the disciples of Christ, and if we remain faithful to Him. Suffering and difficulties will be our lot and part of our lives, but we do not need to worry, as our Lord is with us, and He will guide us to the final triumph and victory against evil, and into our eternal reward and glory.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus told His disciples and the people who heard His teachings, and from them to us. We clearly heard of what challenges the faithful will encounter for the sake of the Lord. The world, which is our world, with all of its forces and powers, with all of its influences and temptations, are against the Lord and all of His ways. The ways of this world are the opposite of the ways of the Lord.

And as such, the world will always stand against the Lord and His efforts to bring light into it. The darkness of this world, the powers of Satan and his angels want us to remain in darkness and lost to the Lord, that we may remain forever in sin and debauchery. But the Lord Jesus wants an end to all of these, as He loves us and He wants us to be rescued and brought into the light.

Thus He sent His messengers and servants into the world, and through His teachings, the Apostles and the saints went forth around to spread His Good News to all the nations and all the people. They persevered in their missions, accepted in some but rejected in many places. There were many persecutions against them, betrayal by those they have trusted, betrayal by those who professed the same faith to God but who failed to persevere and were tempted by the world, and many other sufferings.

Many including St. Paul were sent to prison and suffered grievously in incarceration, and they were betrayed by their own people, reported and punished by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Priesthood and council, which jealously watched after their actions and tried many times to bring them to court and kill them for what they stood up for. And what did these holy servants of God stand up for? None other than the truth, as the Lord Jesus had revealed to them, and now these truths have also been revealed to us.

But the works of the Apostles, the disciples and servants of the Lord are not yet done. This world is always covered in darkness and sin, just as it had been in the past. Many among the people of God are still longing for the light, and many had been misled by the lies of the devil, and to follow the ways of the world. And who will be there to give the light of our Lord to them? It is none other than all of us, brothers and sisters.

For through our baptism, when we were born anew in the Lord, we have been made one as the Church of God, and as its members, we too share the same mission which had been given to the Apostles, the disciples and the servants of our Lord, that is to evangelise and spread the Good News of the Gospel to the whole world, and thus to enlighten a people who still live in the darkness of this world, and bring them all into the light just as we are already in the light of Christ.

It is important for us to realise that each and every one of us have been entrusted with many gifts of the Lord, for the use in the benefit of those who are around us. All of us have the responsibility and obligation to help our brethren in need. For surely, if we have done nothing to help them, then they will be lost to the darkness forever in damnation, and our Lord will then judge us for our failure to help when we are able to do so.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue our day today, and from now on henceforth, let us all realise that we need to stay true to our faith in God, and in that therefore, we have to live our faith and commit ourselves completely to the Lord, and in order to do so, we have to be a witness of the Faith and our Lord through our actions, words and deeds that truly proclaim the Lord and that we are indeed His followers.

We do not have to worry or fear about what we will encounter. We will indeed encounter challenges and difficulties in this life, but we have to keep our spirit up, knowing that we will be triumphant in the end. There is nothing that Satan and his allies can do to harm us, as they have no power over us, as long as we stay true to the Faith and refrain from sinning.

At the end of days, when our Lord and Master comes again in His glory, we shall be united in His triumph and enjoy forever our rightful reward. His wrath, as born by the seven angels will not befall us. The seven plagues of the Book of revelations will only affect all those who have not walked in the way of the Lord but instead prefer to give in to the world’s desires and temptations.

May Almighty God help to keep us faithful to Him, and awaken in us the desire to help one another, to keep each other vigilant and devoted to the Lord, so that at the end of time, when our Lord comes again to make a reckoning with the world and all of His children, He may find us righteous and faithful to the end and thus worthy of His eternal promise of life everlasting. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/25/wednesday-26-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/25/wednesday-26-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/25/wednesday-26-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 26 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy before the Lord.

For He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/25/wednesday-26-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Tuesday, 25 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Holy Scriptures, which told us about when Jesus foretold the great destruction that was about to befall the city of Jerusalem and the Temple of God there, because of the wickedness of the people who lived there. Then in the psalm we heard of the songs of joy and exultation which came from all of creation to praise the Lord who is to come to save His people.

And in the first reading we heard about the warning and prophecy of what is about to come in the future, at the end of times, when the Lord deems it is time for the ending of the world as we knew it. When everything is at hand, what had been said in the Scriptures, will be completely fulfilled. There are two meanings of the reaping of the earth in the first reading today from the Book of the revelations of St. John.

The first one is related to the parable of the fig tree where the Lord rebuked the fig tree for having bore no fruit, and it withered, and also to the parable of the sower, where the seeds sown in a rich and fertile soil grew to such an extent that they bore a thirtyfold, or a sixtyfold, or a hundredfold return in bountiful fruits and products. Therefore, this means that at the time, when the Lord’s chosen ones had been completed in their fullness, and in the fullness of their faith, He will come again.

The time is not known to us, and only He who knows it all, has control over it. We who have been chosen and we who chose to put our faith in Him has therefore one task for ourselves, that is to live faithfully and genuinely in our love for Him, so that through our actions, we may be filled with such goodness and grace, so that we bear the fruits of love, that is the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

We are the grapes of the Lord, sown with love by our Lord Himself, the vineyard owner. The angels are His servants, who will go forth into the world to reap whatever can be reaped on the day of the harvest. If we do not bear fruit within us, then when the time of reckoning, that is the harvest time, comes, then the angels will find no fruit in us, and we will end up as useless plants.

What is our fate then if that is the case? Our fate will therefore be to share the fate of Satan and his angels, who had been the first ones to disobey the Lord and His will, bearing themselves no good fruit in them. And the same goes if the fruits we produce are rotten or no good at all in quality. No vineyard owner would like to have bad or rotten grapes as his harvest produce, and these will be thrown into the fire to be destroyed, lest they contaminate the good grapes. Hence, the same will happen to us, at the Last Judgment.

The second meaning of the reaping of the earth in the first reading today, is that the grapes when they are pressed, they produce rich liquid that if we look at the most commonly used grapes at the time, the red variant, produce a deep red grape juice, which if we look at it, does look like blood. And this is another meaning of the reaping of the earth at the end of time.

If we read in another part of the Book of the Revelation of St. John, we will see a passage on the Mother Harlot, the great Babylon, seated on the beast, which represent the evil forces and all the wickedness of this world and whoever it is that do not have faith in the Lord. The harlot was drunk with the blood of martyrs, and the anger of God was very great against the world because of that.

That means, when the wickedness of the world was such, and the persecution of the holy martyrs was such that their blood cries out to the Lord for justice, then the Lord will heed their call, and at His appointed time, come to judge and destroy all the wickedness in this world. This is therefore related to the first interpretation of the meaning of the reaping of the world by the angel. In what way is this so?

It means that, just as Jesus warned of a great tribulation would soon befall Jerusalem, its destruction and the mayhem it would cause, that would only be a precursor and a brief insight into what will happen when the Lord is about to come again, just as St. John has seen them all in his revelation. Nations will fight against nations, and many will be misled by the forces of evil, seeking to turn us away from the way of the Lord and to worship and serve the devil instead.

In this therefore, the temptation will be great for us to turn from being a good and faithful vine, producing good and sweet grapes, into one corrupted and sickened by diseases, namely the disease of sin, which cause us to produce bad and rotten fruits instead. And the persecution of those who believe in the Lord will be growing more and more, greater and greater, and at times, even our lives and our blood will be at stake.

It is therefore a reminder for us, that first, we have to be thoroughly and completely faithful to the Lord, without doubts or second thoughts. We cannot serve both the Lord and the devil, and if we are to serve the Lord, we have to take our clear stand with Him, regardless of what the world may do to us for doing so. Do not fear the world, for it can only harm our body temporarily, but they cannot touch even a single bit of our soul, which is eternal.

Then, it is also a reminder that if we follow the Lord and remain faithful to Him, everything will not be easy or happy all the time. Difficulties and challenges will surely come our way, but if we are resolute and dedicated in our faith, then be assured, brothers and sisters, that we will be well taken care of by the Lord, and our reward is very great in heaven.

Today, we remember the memory and celebrate the feast of a great martyr and saint, whose example may help us to strengthen our own faith and effort to defend it, in the face of the difficulties and challenges presented by this world. The saint of today is St. Catherine of Alexandria, a holy virgin and martyr of the faith, who died heroically defending her faith and the Lord, as well as her purity, from the corruptions of sin and the world during the last of the great persecutions of the Faith by the Roman Empire.

St. Catherine of Alexandria was born a noble lady, the daughter of the rulers or governors of Egypt, a wealthy and influential province of the Roman Empire. Her beauty, wisdom and skills were such that, many people were her suitors. However, St. Catherine, who was a convert to the faith in her youth, was to dedicate herself and her love only to One, and that One is the Lord.

St. Catherine devoted herself to perpetual and perfect virginity, maintaining her purity, by offering herself totally and completely to the Lord, as a spiritual bride of the Lord, rejecting all the offers of all those who pursued her, even though she was showered with gifts of wealth, riches, power, influence, fame and many others. Eventually, even the Emperor himself, Maxentius, who would later perish against the first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, was also taken in by her beauty, but he failed to persuade her as well.

It was told that St. Catherine tried to persuade Emperor Maxentius to stop the persecution of Christians and to make him to see the errors of his ways of idol worship and to embrace the true Faith. The Emperor was not persuaded and he tried to employ several pagan philosophers to debate with her, and instead, those philosophers were persuaded and some joined the Faith.

Eventually St. Catherine of Alexandria was martyred, suffering terribly for defending her Faith and the truth, but in doing so, she had stood up for her faith, and brought witness and testimony to the truth, that inspired even others and brought others to salvation. She is our role model, brothers and sisters, as her actions in life is the example of what we should do in this life, to gain righteousness in God’s sight.

Therefore, with the intercession of St. Catherine of Alexandria, let us all renew our commitment to the Faith, strengthening our resolve to love and serve the Lord in all things, so that we may be true disciples of the Lord, rejecting all the falsehoods of Satan and his allies. Their lies and temptations are plentiful, cunning and wicked.

Remember what our Lord said in the Gospel today, that there will be lots of false prophets and false leads, and if we are not careful, we may fall into the traps of the devil. Let us therefore be courageous to live fully in the Lord, and at the same time, be vigilant and careful in all the things we do, so as to avoid committing sin and falling into damnation. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/24/tuesday-25-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-catherine-of-alexandria-virgin-and-martyr-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/24/tuesday-25-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-catherine-of-alexandria-virgin-and-martyr-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/24/tuesday-25-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-catherine-of-alexandria-virgin-and-martyr-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 24 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 21 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury of the Temple. He also saw a poor widow, who dropped in two small coins.

And He said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. For all of them gave an offering from their plenty; but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/23/monday-24-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-andrew-dung-lac-priest-and-companions-martyrs-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Monday, 24 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Revelations 14 : 1-3, 4b-5

I was given another vision : The Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, surrounded by one hundred and forty-four thousand people who had His Name and His Father’s Name written on their foreheads. A sound reverberated in heaven like the sound of roaring of waves or deafening thunder; it was like a chorus of singers, accompanied by their harps.

They sing a new song before the throne, in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a song which no one can learn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who have been taken from the earth. These are given to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are the first taken from humankind who are already of God and the Lamb.

No deceit has been found in them; they are faultless.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/23/monday-24-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-andrew-dung-lac-priest-and-companions-martyrs-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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(Usus Antiquior) Twenty-Fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 23 November 2014 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Offertory

Psalm 129 : 1-2

De profundis clamavi ad Te, Domine : Domine, exaudi orationem meam : de profundis clamavi ad Te, Domine.

English translation

From the depths I have cried out to You, o Lord. Lord, hear my prayer, from the depths I have cried out to You, o Lord.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Propitius esto, Domine, supplicationibus nostris : et, populi Tui oblationibus precibusque susceptis, omnium nostrum ad Te corda converte; ut, a terrenis cupiditatibus liberati, ad caelestia desideria transeamus. Per Dominum…

English translation

Be propitius, o Lord, to our supplications, and accept the offerings and prayers of Your people. Turn all our hearts unto You, that, being delivered from earthly desires, we may pass on to the enjoyments of heaven. Through our Lord…

Communion

Mark 11 : 24

Amen, dico vobis, quidquid orantes petitis, credite, quia accipietis, et fiet vobis.

English translation

Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and it shall be done unto you.

Post-Communion Prayer

Concede nobis, quaesumus, Domine : ut per haec sacramenta quae sumpsimus, quidquid in nostra mente vitiosum est, ipsorum medicationis dono curetur. Per Dominum…

English translation

Grant us, we beseech You, o Lord, that, through this sacrament which we have received, whatever is evil in our hearts may be restored by its gift of healing. Through our Lord…

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(Usus Antiquior) Twenty-Fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 23 November 2014 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Jeremiah 29 : 11, 12, 14 and Psalm 84 : 2

Dicit Dominus : Ego cogito cogitationes pacis, et non afflictionis : invocabitis me, et ego exaudiam vos : et reducam captivitatem vestram de cunctis locis.

Benedixisti, Domine, terram Tuam : avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

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

English translation

The Lord said, “I think thoughts of peace, and not of affliction. You shall call upon Me and I will hear you, and I will bring back your captivity from all places.

Lord, You have blessed Your land. You have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

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

Excita, quaesumus. Domine, Tuorum fidelium voluntates : ut, divini operis fructum propensius exsequentes; pietatis Tuae remedia majora percipiant. Per Dominum…

English translation

Stir up, we beseech You, o Lord, the wills of Your faithful, that, by more earnestly following after the fruit of the divine work, they may the more abundantly partake of Your mercies. Through our Lord…

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Friday, 21 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of the presentation of the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is Mary, Theotokos or Mother of God. She was chosen by God from among many of the children of mankind, to be the one who was destined to be the vessel to bear the coming of the Saviour into this world, and in that, to bear the Lord and Master of all the creations Himself, when He was incarnate into flesh.

As our Lord is perfect and perfectly good, without sin and any taint of evil, thus His blessed mother, Mary, was also therefore conceived without the taint of sin, of the original sin of Adam and Eve, the first ancestors of mankind. She was conceived free from sin, immaculate and pure, worthy to be the Mother of our Lord and Saviour, as decreed by God. And today, we celebrate the memory of her presentation at the Temple of the Lord.

In the Jewish custom, as according to the Law of God revealed through Moses, the firstborns of Israel are dedicated to the Lord, through a presentation ceremony, as ceremonially belonging to the Lord. This is a strong reminder of what they had encountered in Egypt, during the time of their liberation from slavery. At that time, God sent ten great plagues to pressure the Pharaoh to liberate the people of Israel and allow them to go back to the land of their ancestors in freedom.

The last of the ten plagues, and the most terrifying of them all, is the death of all the firstborns of the Egyptians, including the firstborn of the Pharaoh himself. No firstborn was spared, and the firstborn of humans and animals of the Egyptians alike were destroyed, for the sins of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The firstborn of the people of Israel however, were spared, because of the Lord’s promise to them, and His instruction, that they be presented and offered to Him, and they ever since belonged to the Lord who spared them from the power of the angel of death.

Thus, Mary, who was the firstborn of the couple, Joachim and Anne, whom we know now as St. Joachim and St. Anne, was offered at the Temple of God, according to the Law. Thus from that day of the presentation onwards, Mary was entrusted completely to God, and she remained pure and blameless, as God had intended her to be, as the new Ark of the new Covenant, which was made through Jesus her Son.

Jesus too was presented at the Temple when He was eight days old, in the same manner of His mother Mary, as her firstborn Son. And from this offering of the blameless and pure sacrifice, Christ, who is the Lamb of God, offered Himself to be the One to bear the burdens of the sins of the world, and thus purify us from our sins and allow us to escape the claws of death, which is caused by sin.

The festival of the Jewish Passover, which commemorated the ‘passing over’ of the angel of death over the faithful people of God, who sacrificed a lamb and shed its blood on their doors’ lintels and surfaces, is therefore completed in its perfection through Jesus, the One and True Lamb, whose Blood is shed over all mankind, and therefore those of us who believe and receive His Body and Blood had been marked to be saved, and to be passed over by death, which is the lot of those who are wicked and unfaithful.

Thus, this feast of the presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is a reminder for us all, that we who believe in Him and faithfully receive His Body and Blood, had also received grace and salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord. However, this does not mean that this alone is enough for us to be saved.

When we present something to the Lord, certainly we do not offer something that is wicked, evil, tainted and filled with sin. We ought to offer something that is pure, filled with love and righteousness, with genuine faith and understanding of what that faith is about. Thus, let this day’s celebration be a wake-up call to all of us, so that we may look deep into ourselves and see where we have been faithful, and more importantly, where we have fallen short and where we have failed in our faith.

Let us all follow the example of Mary, the mother of our Lord, whose life is completely and totally devoted to the Lord and His ways, and in all that she did in her life, she did them with complete and full faith in God, knowing that God knows best for His servants and handmaids, and she also acted with love, justice and in accordance with all that the Lord had taught His people.

Mary is our role model, and we should follow her examples. Let us not wait any longer, lest the Lord comes again in surprise, and catch us unprepared. Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is at stake, is the salvation of our souls, and whether, on the day of judgment, we will be ‘passed over’ by eternal death and then proceed into eternal life and bliss, or whether we will suffer the penalty of death for sins we have been unrepentant from.

Mary, mother of us all, pray for us all sinners, that we may learn to change our ways, to follow your examples, and therefore we will be able to offer ourselves anew and refreshed, pure and freed from the taints of sin. Pray for us that we may do our best to distance ourselves from sin and all things wicked in the sight of God. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bring us to eternal life. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-gospel-reading/