Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 5 : 7-9
Christ, in the days of His mortal life, offered His sacrifice with tears and cries. He prayed to Him who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His humble submission.
Although He was Son, He learnt through suffering what obedience was, and once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate yet another feast honouring the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, that is the Blessed Virgin Mary. And today we rejoice together in the honour of her Most Holy Name, at which even Satan and all his allies tremble, just as they tremble and cower in fear when the Name of her Son is mentioned.
We all first should understand why we all have names with us. The reason is so that we can be easily identified by others around us. Some people indeed can remember names better than they can remember the looks and faces. And remember, brethren, that in most cases, especially in the past, after we die and pass away from this world, only our names would be left behind as the memory for others to see and judge.
Yes, we mankind are most prominently and easily known and remembered through our names, be it in our deeds and actions, be these actions good or bad, or if we have done nothing in particular, in which our names will generally be quickly forgotten. But there are those names that upon which, when we utter it, even the demons and Satan would tremble in fear.
If we utter the name of the holy angels and saints, Satan and his allies fear them because these men and women, and the holy angels remained staunch despite the temptations of the world and the temptations of free will and desire, and they remained faithful servants of God, and in the end, they receive heavenly glory and be with the Lord, interceding for us all day and all night long. Satan knows that those holy saints and angels are interceding for us even now, and when we utter their names and ask for their intercession, Satan knows that God is with us, and he can do nought to crush us.
And even more fearsome therefore is the Holy Name of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who by that virtue and by the virtue of her perfect and upright behaviour, as well as total obedience to the will of God, is the greatest of all of God’s creations, the greatest among all the children of God and the foremost of all saints and rule even over the angels of God.
Satan flee in fear whenever he hears the Names of Jesus and Mary, because he knows that he has no power and no authority over them, and his doom is at hand. And if we refer to the Book of Genesis, just after mankind had sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God Himself prophesied the coming of salvation for mankind through a woman, who would be the descendant of men, and who would bear a Son, as we heard in the prophecy of Isaiah and the other prophets, and the snake, or Satan the deceiver would be crushed.
It is through Mary that the salvation of this world was made possible by her obedience to take part in God’s plan for salvation, and in her acceptance of the role as the Mother of our Lord and Saviour. This was evident later as Mary had to endure much physical and spiritual sufferings, as she followed on the life and works of her Son, who was met with such opposition and hostility, even unto death on the cross.
Truly, Mary agreed to be part of this very difficult and challenging task, but she did not even complain or resist when the news was brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel. She obeyed completely and fully, surrendering herself to the will of God and to His plans for her. From then on, Mary became the one who made the salvation of mankind possible, because through her, the Word of God was incarnate into flesh and blood, becoming our Lord Jesus, fully man through her mother Mary, and fully God, as He was conceived by the Holy spirit.
Satan, having been dealt a terrible and crushing defeat by Jesus through His triumphant sacrifice on the cross, rightly feared Mary, because she is the Mother of Jesus, who walked with Him and guided Him towards the triumph of the Lord and all that is good against evil and all its forces. In addition, Satan, whose goal is the corruption and destruction of all mankind rightly feared Mary, because in her we have a great and perfect example of a paragon of love and virtue, who obeyed the Lord in all things.
If we follow the example of Mary’s obedience, love and devotion to God, we cannot go wrong. That is why Satan feared Mary, because she is like a beacon of light that shine brightly on our path as we go towards her Son, Jesus Christ our. Lord. Thus we know the phrase, Ad Iesum per Mariam, or ‘To Jesus through Mary’. Following Mary and her examples are the best ways for us to be closer to God and to attain salvation in Jesus.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all whenever we are tempted to sin and to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, that we should utter the Most Holy Name of Mary, that Satan who tempts us when he hears that Name would flee in fear, and that our soul will remain pure and clean from his corruptions and evil. Satan knows that he is doomed, and the Name of the mother of the One who had defeated him will certainly remind him that, and make him flee in fear.
Let us not fear Satan and his darkness, for Mary is with us, this blessed one among all women and all creations of God is caring for us as our mother, who prays for us incessantly and constantly before the throne of her Son, our Lord in heaven. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Luke 6 : 39-42
And Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciples is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”
“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye.’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”
Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Luke 1 : 39-47
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!”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6, 12
My soul yearns, pines, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o Lord of hosts, my King and my God!
Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy the pilgrims whom You strengthen, to make the ascent to You.
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; He bestows favour and glory. The Lord withholds no good thing from those who walk in uprightness.
Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!
He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!
From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Liturgical Colour : 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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, that is our beloved Blessed Virgin Mary. Today we celebrate her birth into this world, or her nativity, much like we celebrate the birth occasion of her Son, Jesus Christ, at Christmas. We all know that the Blessed Virgin Mary had been chosen from among all mankind and from among all woman, prepared and ready for her role as the bearer of our Lord to come into the world.
This is what was meant when St. Paul mentioned in his letter to the Church in Rome, that God did have a predestined path for certain those whom He had chosen in their lives, and to those whom God had known, He would prepare them in the path of righteousness and gave them His Glory. And the best example of this would be Mary, who was prepared fully to be the Mother of God incarnate into flesh, and through whose actions, obedience and devotion allowed the Lord to exercise His work of salvation to mankind.
Mary was prepared such that out of all mankind, save for Jesus alone, who is fully God and fully man, Mary was exceptional in that she was conceived without sin, in what is known as the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and thus she was also born without the taint of sin into this world filled with sin and darkness. She was to lead a faithful, devoted and exemplary life, obeying the Lord in all of His commandments and laws.
Mary thus became like a light and a great beacon in the darkness of this world, lighting up the way for others, and for all mankind who desire to seek the Lord and yet they cannot find their way in the darkness. She was light and bright because firstly and primarily, she was the Mother of God, the one who bore the Lord and Saviour into the world, Jesus Christ, who is the One and True Light. Then, secondly, through her virtues and examples she also became a beacon and guiding light for all.
Thus this is why we honour Mary so much, not to the point as some alleged that we worship her, but instead what we do is we give her the honour and adoration even beyond that of any other saints or angels in heaven. She is after all the Mother of God and the Queen of All Saints and Angels, as we had just recently celebrated the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. She deserved all these not just because she is the Mother of Jesus our Lord, but also through her virtues.
Through her own birth, which we are celebrating together today, Mary foreshadowed her own Son’s birth, which marked the entry of our Saviour and Lord into this world. And yet, this occasion is no less grand, since we indeed celebrate the entry of the Mother of that Saviour, with whose cooperation, devotion and dedication to God and His plans made salvation possible for all of us.
That is why Mary is also often mentioned as even the co-Redemptrix and Mother of graces, in that as the mother of our Lord, she truly worked together with her Son our Lord as the mediator of our salvation. It is with the cooperation and the obedience of Mary that her Son, our Lord was able to fully accomplish His mission to save all of us, and it is with her gentle care and passionate dedication to Jesus that all was made possible.
And all of that was of course due to what God had planned for Mary, the special woman whom He had chosen to be part of the great plan of salvation which God had long planned for all of us His children. God also has His plans for each and every one of us, but it is also up to us, whether we want to obey Him or not. We can choose to follow Him, but we can also choose to go our own way, and more likely than not, into our own destruction.
Therefore, in this, we can model after our Blessed Mother Mary, who is truly exemplary in her life as a servant of God and as a devoted mother, who cared for the Child Jesus when He was young and who nurtured love in Him, that His love for us mankind would be even greater, the most beloved of all His creations. Thus, as we celebrate her birthday today, let us not just rejoice in her and with her, but also we should emulate her example and follow her ways.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be more like Mary, in both our faith, and in how we show our love to one another. May Almighty God who made Mary perfect and good in His image also make us all good and perfect, which is what we all should aspire to be, to be like Mary in how we devote ourselves to Him. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 1 : 1-16, 18-23
This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings : Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel as the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ – the Messiah.
This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet : “The virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means : God-with-us.”
Alternative reading (shorter version)
Matthew 1 : 18-23
This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet : “The virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means : God-with-us.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 12 : 6ab, 6cd
But I put my trust in Your unfailing love, my heart will rejoice on seeing Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me!
Liturgical Colour : White
Micah 5 : 1-4a
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the One who is to rule over Israel. For He comes forth from of old, from the ancient times.
YHVH, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of His deported brothers will return to the people of Israel.
He will stand and shepherd His flock with the strength of YHVH, in the glorious Name of YHVH, His God. They will live safely while He wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.
Alternative reading
Romans 8 : 28-30
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him, whom He has called according to His plan. Those whom He knew beforehand, He has also predestined to be like His Son, similar to Him, so that He may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And so, those whom God predestined He called, and those whom He called He makes righteous, and to those whom He makes righteous He will give His Glory.
Liturgical Colour : White
Brothers and sisters in Christ, if last week we celebrated an important feast and part of our faith, that is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, brought body and soul into the glory of heaven, then today, exactly a week after that day, after the completion of the Octave of the Assumption, today we celebrate the great honours given to Mary herself, as a Queen, by the virtue of her being the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore as the Mother of God or Theotokos.
Yes, Mary is a Queen, and she has been blessed with many titles that many had attributed to her over the ages. Indeed, she is truly blessed as the greatest among all that God had created, as the most beautiful jewel amongst God’s creation, conceived and born without the taint of sin, prepared special for the accommodation of the coming of the Saviour of the world, to be the very Mother of God herself, by virtue of herself as the mother of the living Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ.
Through her, what had been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading today came true, that a people in darkness has truly seen a great light, and this light brought new hope to countless peoples who had long lived in the darkness of sin and evil. Through the actions of Mary, this salvation of God came to mankind, a liberation that many had long sought for.
Mary is Queen, not by the virtue of her birth or her status in life. She was born to St. Joachim and St. Anne, her parents who were simple people, not having status or wealth, but they had faith and devotion to the Lord. It was under their care that Mary grew both in body and spirit, and she eventually came to be the one, the young virgin whom the Archangel Gabriel, God’s messenger, came to visit on that one day in the quiet village of Nazareth.
Mary’s faith in God was truly remarkable, because even though the Archangel revealed to her something too great for her understanding and too good to be true, she entrusted herself completely to the will of God, and allowed herself to be used for the works of the Lord, through which God exercised His greatest work ever, that is the accomplishment of the long awaited salvation of mankind, God’s most beloved creation.
Any other woman or person would have doubted such message and plan that the Lord has for them. But not Mary, and she was truly suited for her role, and the Lord had groomed her since her very conception to be the one who would bear the Christ within her, to be the physical vessel of our Lord Himself, to bring the Saviour into this world.
And as I had mentioned during the Assumption celebration, this is why death has no power over her, as she was truly without sin, and as the Mother of God, the one who bore Christ within her, she was truly the new Ark of the new Covenant in Christ, and therefore, the Lord raised her body and soul into heaven, as it is not fitting for someone as pure and great as her to suffer the consequence of sin that is death.
Mary is the greatest and the foremost of all the saints, because in all of her ways in life, she was exemplary, pure and immaculate in all things. She represented all the things that are expected by God from us in life, and she is our role model in faith, as when we follow how she lived her faith, we will certainly realise how truly faithful she was to her mission and calling to live her life in fully attuned manner to the will of God.
Mary is the greatest of all mankind, and according to the tradition of our faith, by virtue of her faith and devotion to God, which was so complete, the Lord rewarded her not just by bringing her body and soul into heaven, but also, as the Mother of God or Theotokos, she was crowned by the angels in heaven as the Queen of heaven, because indeed, her Son, Jesus our Lord is King of all kings. As such, that is why we celebrate Mary’s queenship on this day, in honour of this holy woman and virgin who had dedicated it all to the Lord.
Mary is known by many titles, some of which include Queen of All Saints, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, and many others, as in her role both when she still walked on this world and in the heavenly glory of her queenship, she is our greatest help and intercessor before her own Son, our Lord. Yes, Mary is the closest person to Jesus, as she is His mother after all. In her position as the Queen of heaven, she helps and advises her Son in many things, and certainly she prays for us sinners who still roam this world.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, the Mother of our God, let us all reflect on our own lives, and strive to be able to follow in the footsteps of Mary, whose faith and total devotion was plain for all to see, and for whose part to play in the plan of salvation, God had brought His salvation to all through Jesus.
Let us all ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, our Queen and our role model. Let us ask her to beseech on our behalf before the throne of her Son in heaven, that He may take pity on us sinners, and provided that we change our ways and seek Him, may we all be reunited with Him and His mother Mary, in the glory of heaven promised to all of us. Mary, our Mother, bring us to your beloved Son, our Lord! Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 