Special Mass

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(Easter Vigil) Saturday, 26 March 2016 : Easter Vigil of the Resurrection of the Lord, Holy Week (Psalm after First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 103 : 1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24 and 35

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; O Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment; You stretch out the heavens like a tent.

You set the earth on its foundations, and never will it be shaken. You covered it with the ocean like a garment, and waters spread over the mountains.

You make springs gush forth in valleys winding among mountains and hills.

Birds build their nests close by and sing among the branches of trees. You water the mountains from Your abode and fill the earth with the fruit of Your work. You make grass grow for cattle and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.

How varied o Lord, are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all – the earth full of Your creatures. May sinners vanish from the earth, and may the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, my soul!

 

Alternative Psalm

Psalm 32 : 4-7, 12-13, 20, 22

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

The heavens were created by His word, the breath of His mouth formed their starry host. He gathered the waters of the sea into a heap, and stored the deep in cellars.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.

In hope we wait for the Lord, for He is our help and our shield.

O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.

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(Easter Vigil) Saturday, 26 March 2016 : Easter Vigil of the Resurrection of the Lord, Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 1 : 1 – Genesis 2 : 2

In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘Day; and the darkness ‘Night’. There was evening and there was morning : the first day.

God said, “Let there be a firm ceiling between the waters and let it separate waters from waters.” So God made the ceiling and separated the waters below it from the waters above it. And so it was. God called the firm ceiling ‘Sky’. There was evening and there was morning : the second day.

God said, “Let the waters below the sky be gathered together in one place and let dry land appear.” And so it was. God called the dry land ‘Earth’ , and the waters gathered together He called ‘Seas’. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, fruittrees bearing fruit with seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And so it was. The earth produced vegetation : plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees producing fruit which has seed, according to their kind. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the ceiling of the sky to separate day from night and to serve as signs for the seasons, days, and years; and let these lights in the sky shine above the earth.” And so it was. God therefore made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the smaller light to govern the night; and God made the stars as well. God placed them in the ceiling of the sky to give light on the earth and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the fourth day.

God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth under the ceiling of the sky.” God created the great monsters of the sea and all living animals, those that teem in the waters, according to their kind, and every winged bird, according to its kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds increase on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning : the fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth produce living animals according to their kind : cattle, creatures that move along the ground, wild animals according to their kind.” So it was. God created the wild animals according to their kind, and everything that creeps along the ground according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let us make man in Our image, to Our likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over the wild animals, and over all creeping things that crawl along the ground.” So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God said, “I have given you every seed-bearing plant which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed. It will be for your food. To every wild animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give every green plant for food.” So it was.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning : the sixth day.

That was the way the sky and earth were created and all their vast array. By the seventh day the work God had done was completed, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 15 August 2014 : Offertory Prayer, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Postcommunion Prayer

Offertory Prayer

Inimicitias ponam inter te et Mulierem, et semen tuum et Semen illius.

English translation

I will put enmities between you and the Woman, and between your seed and her Seed.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Ascendat ad Te, Domine, nostrae devotionis oblatio, et, beatissima Virgine Maria in caelum assumpta intercedente, corda nostra, caritatis igne succensa, ad Te jugiter adspirent. Per Dominum…

English translation

May the offering of our devotion ascend to You, o Lord, and through the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up into heaven, may our hearts be inflamed with the fire of love, and continually long for You. Through our Lord…

Communion

Beatam me dicent omnes generationes, quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est.

English translation

All generations shall call me blessed, because He who is mighty had done great things to me.

Postcommunion Prayer

Sumptis, Domine, salutaribus sacramentis : da, quaesumus; ut, meritis et intercessione beatae Virginis Mariae in caelum assumptae, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per Dominum…

English translation

Now that we have received, o Lord, the Sacrament of salvation, grant, we beseech You, that through the merits and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up into heaven, we may be brought to the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord…

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 15 August 2014 : Holy Gospel

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 1 : 41-50

In illo tempore : Repleta est Spiritu Sancto Elisabeth et exclamavit voce magna, et dixit : Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus Fructus ventris tui. Et unde hoc mihi ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me? Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis, exsultavit in gaudio infans in utero meo.

Et beata, quae credidisti, quoniam perficientur ea, quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino.

Et ait Maria : Magnificat anima mea Dominum; et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo; quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae, ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum Nomen Ejus, et misericordiae Ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus Eum.

English translation

At that time, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb. And how is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy.”

“And blessed are you who had believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to you by the Lord.”

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because He had regarded the humility of His handmaid, for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”

“Because He who is mighty had done great things unto me, and Holy is His Name, and His mercy is from generation unto generations, to those who fear Him.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 15 August 2014 : Gradual and Alleluia

Psalm 44 : 11-12, 14 and Sacred Tradition

Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam, et concupiscit Rex decorem tuum.

Response : Omnis gloria ejus filiae Regis ab intus, in fimbriis aureis circumamicta varietatibus.

Alleluja, alleluja.

Response : Assumpta est Maria in caelum : gaudet exercitus Angelorum. Alleluja.

English translation

Listen, o daughter and see, incline your ear, and the King shall greatly desire your beauty.

Response : The daughter of the King comes in, all beautiful. Her robes are of golden cloth.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Response : Mary has been taken up into heaven, the choirs of angels rejoice. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) – Friday, 15 August 2014 : Epistle

Lectio libri Judith – Lesson from the book of Judith

Judith 13 : 22-25 and Judith 15 : 10

Benedixit te Dominus in virtute sua, quia per te ad nihilum redegit inimicos nostros. Benedicta es tu, filia, a Domino Deo excelso, prae omnibus mulieribus super terram.

Benedictus Dominus, qui creavit caelum et terram, qui te direxit in vulnera capitis principis inimicorum nostrorum; quia hodie nomen tuum ita magnificavit, ut non recedat laus tua de ore hominum, qui memores fuerint virtutis Domini in aeternum, pro quibus non pepercisti animae tuae propter angustias et tribulationem generis tui, sed subvenisti ruinae ante conspectum Dei nostri.

Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.

English translation

The Lord had blessed you by His power, because through you He had brought our enemies to nought. Blessed are you, o daughter, by the Lord the Most High God, above all women upon the earth.

Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who had directed you to cut off the head of the prince of our enemies, because He had so magnified your name this day, that your praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord, forever. For that you had not spared your life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of your people, but had prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.

You are the glory of Jerusalem. You are the joy of Israel. You are the honour of our people.

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Classis) -Friday, 15 August 2014 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Apocalypse 12 : 1, Psalm 97 : 1

Signum magnum apparuit in caelo : mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus ejus, et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim.

Cantate Domino canticum novum : quia mirabilia fecit.

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

English translation

A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Sing all of you to the Lord a new canticle, for He had done wonderful things.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Immaculatam Virginem Mariam, Filii Tui genetricem, corpore et anima ad caelestem gloriam assumpsisti : concede, quaesumus; ut, ad superna semper intenti, ipsius gloriae mereamur esse consortes. Per eumdem Dominum…

English translation

Almighty, everlasting God, who had taken up the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of Your Son, with body and soul into heavenly glory, grant we beseech You, that we may always be intent on higher things, and deserve to be partakers of her glory. Through the same…

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the solemnity of the nativity, or the birth of St. John the Baptist, the herald and messenger of the Messiah, the Holy One, Jesus Christ. Today we celebrate this saint whose works had preceded the Lord, and who prepared Him for His eventual coming into the world, that the works of the Lord might be made ever more wonderful and glorious.

St. John the Baptist was the herald of the Messiah, and he acted as His spokesperson before the whole world, and we all certainly remember what he said to his own disciples, as he encouraged them to follow the Messiah, with the words ‘There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!’, as a proclamation of truth, that the Messiah has come, and He was in Jesus Christ, identifying Him to the world, and yet many still refused to believe and listen to St. John the Baptist.

The same thing had happened before during the time of the prophets in Israel, when Elijah walked the land, calling for the land and the people to repent their sins and follow the Lord once again, after having indulged for so long in their sinfulness. He was rejected, pursued and hunted by the king, and he was always under the threat of death.

Elijah nevertheless persevered in his works and he continued with his devotion to his mission, calling more and more people to repentance and to a renewed faith in God. He did these all the way until he was called into heaven by the Lord, who sent him away through the flaming chariot. It was well known by the people of Israel that Elijah would one day come again to declare the coming of the Messiah. However, many failed to realise that Elijah had in fact come again into the world.

Yes, St. John the Baptist is Elijah sent again into the world to be the herald and messenger of the Lord, to bring the word of salvation into mankind. St. John the Baptist yet, sadly, encountered a people not much different from the time when he was Elijah, when he laboured hard for the sake of the Lord and His people. Wickedness remained rampant, and there were much evil in the world.

Yet St. John the Baptist did not give up and continued to work hard, often against difficulties and persecutions that were laid up on his path. He was born for that purpose, to deliver the message of God to mankind, to turn their hearts to the Lord, even though eventually not all of them would believe, as the Pharisees and the elders of the people would show.

St. John the Baptist was truly exemplary in his life and in his faith. He had the opportunity to gain glory and fame through his works and missions. And yet he did not indulge in the glory of the world, but he remained true to his mission. He humbly let go of his fame when the Lord Jesus came and began His own work in the world, and his works as the herald completed, he withdrew quietly into the background.

Can we be like him, brothers and sisters? It is not easy, but if we have the will, we can certainly do it. Temptations are great, and in this world, it is especially difficult for us to overcome the temptations of glory and power. This world is in the stage where more and more temptations are growing to prevent our way to the Lord, and the path is increasingly becoming more and more arduous.

But if we never take any action, we will never be able to proceed further, and we will forever be trapped in the trap of glory and power, as well as any other obstacles we have in life. We must be proactive and be confident, and remember the Lord is always on our side, just as He had been with St. John the Baptist. Let St. John the Baptist be an inspiration for us as we live our faith.

Let us all pray, that the Lord will continue to guide us in our lives, so that our lives may be plentiful and happy, filled with love and the Holy Spirit, and that we may practice our faith openly and in a concrete manner in our own lives. Let us help one another to seek the Lord that together we may glorify Him and bring more and more of our brethren into salvation in His hands. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 57-66, 80

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her.

When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him.

Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God. A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert until the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 22-26

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.”

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : “I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.