As we near the Feast
of the Ascension and the Solemnity of Pentecost, our Lord Jesus Christ promised
the Apostles the Holy Spirit. But He reminded them that they should ask for the
Spirit's advent to the individual soul and let Him dwell upon their hearts as
His throne and temple.
Such insight is what
we have heard today.
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READINGS AND PROPERS
Extraordinary Form (Fifth Sunday after Easter - White,
Semi-double)
INTROIT ¤ Isaias 68.
20
Vocem jucunditatis
annuntiate, et audiatur, alleluia: annuntiate usque ad extremum terrae:
liberavit Dominus populum suum, alleluia, alleluia. -- Jubilate Deo, omnis
terra, psalmum dicite Nomini ejus: date gloriam laudi ejus. V.: Gloria Patri .
. . -- Vocem jucunditatis . .
.
Declare it with the
voice of joy, and make it known, alleluia: declare it even to the ends of the earth: The Lord hath
delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 65. 1, 2). Shout with
joy to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His Name: give glory to His
praise. V.: Glory be to the Father . . . -- Declare it with the voice of joy .
. .
COLLECT.--O God,
from whom all good things do come, grant unto us, Thy suppliant people, that by
Thine inspiration, we may think what is right, and under Thy guidance perform
the same. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .
EPISTLE ¤ James 1.
22-27 Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle.
[Let us follow the
perfect law of liberty; the precepts of God and the Church; and God will bless
us in our deeds.]
Dearly beloved, Be ye doers of the word and not
hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the
word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own
countenance in a glass: for he beheld himself and went his way, and presently
forgot what manner of man he was. But he that hath looked into the perfect law
of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a
doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man think himself to be
religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's
religion is in vain. Religion clean and undefiled before God and Father is
this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep
one's self unspotted from this world.
GRADUAL
Alleluia, alleluia.
V.: Surrexit Christus, et illuxit nobis, quos redemit Sanguine suo. Alleluia.
V.: Exivi a Patre, et veni in mundum: iterum relinquo mundum, et vado ad
Patrem.
Alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V.: Christ is risen, and hath shone upon us, whom He redeemed with His blood.
Alleluia. V.: (John. 16. 28). I came forth from the Father, and am come into
the world: again I leave the world and go back to the Father. Alleluia.
GOSPEL ¤ John 16.
23-30
† Continuation of
the holy Gospel according to St. John.
[Let us ask of God,
from whom all good things come, by the merits of Jesus Christ our Redeemer,
spritual and temporal graces.]
At that time Jesus
saith to His disciples: Amen, Amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in My Name, He will
give it to you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in My Name: Ask,
and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to
you in proverbs. The hour cometh when I will no more speak to you in proverbs,
but will show you plainly of the Father. In that day you shall ask in My Name;
and I say not to you that I will ask the Father for you: for the Father Himself
loveth you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from
God. I came forth from the
Father and am come into the world; again I leave the world and I go to the
Father. His disciples say to Him: Behold, now Thou speakest plainly and
speakest no proverb. Now we
know that Thou knowest all things and Thou needest not that any man should ask
Thee: by this we believe that Thou camest forth from God.
OFFERTORY ¤ Ps. 65.
8, 9, 20
Benedicite, gentes,
Dominum Deum nostrum, et obaudite vocem laudis ejus: qui posuit animam meam ad
vitam, et non dedit commoveri pedes meos: benedictus Dominus, qui non amovit
deprecationem meam, et misericordiam suam a me, alleluia.
O bless the Lord our
God, ye peoples, and make the voice of His praise to be heard: Who hath set my
soul to live, and hath not suffered my feet to be moved. Blessed be the Lord,
who hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me, alleluia.
SECRET.--Accept, O
Lord, the prayers of Thy faithful, together with the gifts they offer: that by
these offices of loving devotion, we may enter into heavenly glory. Through our
Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth . . .
PREFACE
Preface for Easter
Vere dignum et
justum est, aequum et salutare, te quidem Domine omni tempore, sed in hoc
potissimum gloriosius praedicare, cum Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.
Ipse enim verus est Agnus qui abstulit peccata mundi. Qui mortem nostram
moriendo destruxit, et vitam resurgendo reparavit. Et ideo cum Angelis et
Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omnia milita coelestis
exercitus, hymnum gloriae tuae canimus, sine fine
dicentes:
It is truly meet and
just, right and for our salvation, at all times to praise Thee, O Lord, but
more gloriously at this time above others when Christ our Pasch was sacrificed.
For He is the Lamb Who hath taken away the sins of the world: Who by dying hath
destroyed our death: and by rising again hath restored us to life. And
therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations, and with
all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of Thy glory, evermore
saying:
COMMUNION ¤ John 16.
8
Cantate Domino,
alleluia: cantate Domino, et benedicite nomen ejus: bene nuntiate de die in
diem salutare ejus, alleluia,
alleluia.
Sing unto the Lord,
alleluia; sing unto the Lord, and bless His name; show forth His salvation from
day to day, alleluia, alleluia.
POSTCOMMUNION.--Grant
to us, O Lord, that filled with strength from this heavenly table, we may both
desire what is right, and obtain that which we desire. Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, who liveth . . .
Ordinary Form
(Sixth Sunday of Easter)
Lesson: Acts 8:5-8;14-17 (5-17)
In those days:
Philip[1], going down to the city of Samaria, preached Christ unto them. And
the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by
Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did. For many of them who had
unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out. And many, taken with the
palsy, and that were lame, were healed.
There was therefore great joy in that city. Now there
was a certain man named Simon who before had been a magician in that city,
seducing the people of Samaria, giving out that he was some great one: To whom
they all gave ear, from the least to the greatest, saying: This man is the
power of God, which is called great. And they were attentive to him, because,
for a long time, he had bewitched them with his magical practices. But when they had believed Philip preaching of the
kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and
women. Then Simon himself believed also
and, being baptized, he adhered to Philip. And being astonished, wondered to
see the signs and exceeding great miracles which were done.
Now, when the apostles, who were in
Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto
them Peter and John. Who, when they were come, prayed for them that they might
receive the Holy Ghost. For he was not as yet come upon any of them: but they
were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands
upon them: and they received the Holy Ghost.
Responsorial: Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
R: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout with joy to
God, all the earth,
Sing ye a psalm to
his name; give glory to his praise.
Say unto God, How
terrible are thy works, O Lord!
in the multitude of
thy strength
thy enemies shall
lie to thee.
Let all the earth
adore thee, and sing to thee:
let it sing a psalm
to thy name.
Come and see the
works of God;
who is terrible in
his counsels over the sons of men.
Who turneth the sea
into dry land,
in the river they
shall pass on foot:
there shall we
rejoice in him.
Who by his power
ruleth for ever:
his eyes behold the
nations;
let not them that
provoke him be exalted in themselves.
I will offer up to
thee holocausts full of marrow,
with burnt offerings
of rams:
I will offer to thee
bullocks with goats.
Blessed be God, who
hath not turned away my prayer,
nor his mercy from
me.
Epistle: I Pt. 3:15-18
Dearly beloved:
Sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a
reason of that hope which is in you. But with modesty and fear, having a good
conscience: that whereas they speak evil of you, they may be ashamed who
falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better doing well (if such be the will of
God) to suffer than doing ill. Because Christ also died once for our
sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to
death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.
Gospel: Jn 14:15-21
At that time: Jesus
said to His disciples: If you
love me, keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father: and he shall give you another Paraclete,
that he may abide with you for ever: The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him.
But you shall know
him; because he shall abide
with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you. Yet a
little while and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live.
In that day you
shall know that I am in my
Father: and you in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments and
keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of
my Father: and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.
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[1] - Philip -
refers to St. Philip the Deacon, one of the Church's first deacons; ordained by
the Apostles themselves alongside St. Stephen (see Acts 6).
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RETROSPECT
Counting down the
days before the Glorious Ascension at the right-hand of God the Father, the
Lord--the Second Person of the Holy Trinity--promised to send the Holy
Spirit--the Third Person of that same Trinity--to the Apostles, and eventually,
to the world through the ministry of the Church.
Two simple things
can be substantiated in these Readings and Propers:
The Extraordinary
Form readings call upon all Christians to "be doers of the word" and
ask for the Holy Spirit to dwell upon them so that they may bravely and boldly
say "...We believe that Thou camest forth from God...that Thou art Christ,
the Son of the living God" (cf. Jn. 16:30, Matt. 16:16).
Meanwhile, the
Ordinary Form tackles on three sub-points:
First, the gift of
the Holy Spirit. He who sanctifies the Church came down to the Apostles as
tongues of fire as He extends His reign to all mankind, as the Lesson from the
Acts stated. In particular, we recall that the Apostles received the fullness
of the virtues, gifts, and fruits of the Paraclete--which was passed down to
worthy men who would succeed them; and in this regard, we see the specific
function of the three Holy Orders of diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate.
Philip the Deacon can baptise in the name of the Blessed Trinity, but only the
Apostles Peter and John, who came to the Samaritans to greet the newly-baptised
brethren, can dispense the virtues, gifts, and fruits of the Holy Spirit by
anointing them and by laying their hands on them.
Sounds familiar? It
is because these are one of the passages that pertain to the Sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation.
Secondly, the result
of the Holy Spirit's benefits. The Epistle of St. Peter read today contains in
part the primary verse why Catholics are to be involved in the propagation of
the faith through social advocacies, the experience of the sense of the sacred,
and apologetics. However, in the latter category, I personally am disappointed
with the attitude of some of those who are "apologists" and their
fans and followers, especially in social media. Although I understand that they
were harshly treated by those who disagree with us in specific matters of the
faith, it seems some have gone overboard because of how they retaliate to these
situations. But if you think at this point that I am singling out apologetics
and the people behind it who are Filipinos, you are entirely wrong. In fact,
there are also defects in the strategies, attitude, and lifestyle of some of
those who are involved in the work of the Church in the other two major
categories. It just so happened that the Epistle today tackles with
apologetics.
For all three, it
seems to me (and I hope I am wrong) that they forgot to read the following
verses which centered on how we can relate our suffering in the propagation of
the faith. It is high time that this should be considered. I cannot give you
all the details about this topic, but I would surely compose an open letter
come Pentecost regarding this fiasco.
Finally, Jesus
promised the Holy Spirit. Of course, it was first promised to the Apostles so
that they may be the inspiration and example of all who would subsequently
adhere to their teachings regarding their Master and Lord. But as time passed
by, the Holy Spirit continually sanctifies Holy Mother Church, Christ's Bride,
through the presence of the Sacraments. These are not just the holiest of
benefits a Christian must avail in his lifetime, but, in themselves, the
Sacraments also serve as benefits from the Holy Spirit.
In a personal note,
the Year of the Laity is something that must be taken seriously by us lay
Catholics. Not only does it highlight our crucial role for the glory of God and
for the good of His holy Church, but the theme "Choose to be brave"
is a challenge for us to be such: To visit the fatherless and widows in their
tribulation and to boldly prepare to satisfy everyone who asks about the hope
which is in us with modesty and fear of the Lord.
In summary, this is
the bottom line: When we pray, we do not merely advance our own interests. In
fact, we must advance first the interests of God by glorifying Him and the
interests of other people of good will by supporting them, then we can ask for
our own intentions. In fact, there is an acronym which perfectly summarizes
this thought: JOY (Jesus, Others, You, in that order). Heck, maybe this thought
should be something Christians should dearly rememeber every time we pray. But,
we also have to do our part in order to obtain what we ask for. This is the
reason why the Benedictines have a motto in their monastic life: "Ora et
labora." Pray and work.
It is also the same
if we would like to ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of all faithful
as His temples.
And so we ask: Will
I choose to be brave by being a doer of the word by giving witness to the hope
that is within me, which is the Resurrected Christ? Am I brave enough to cry
out "Come Holy Spirit" and trust Jesus who promised His advent in us?
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PRAYING THE COLLECT
O God, from whom all
good things do come, grant unto us, Thy suppliant people, that by Thine
inspiration, we may think what is right, and under Thy guidance perform the
same.
Through our Lord
Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost: One God, world without end. Amen.
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