...And so, I missed
another opportunity to do a reflection last week. But being with my family is a
musch better way to enjoy the weekend, so I hope you don't mind.
To retrospect, last week the Ordinary Form readings focus on the Eucharist and how the Church is being known to celebrate the Sacrifice on Calvary through the breaking of the bread; thanks to the Lord who opened the eyes of the two disciples in Emmaus. The week that was also brought a very disturbing news: that some students of Harvard University will execute a "Black Mass", which is the Satanic perversion of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Archdiocese of Boston vehemently condemns this act of blasphemy.
To retrospect, last week the Ordinary Form readings focus on the Eucharist and how the Church is being known to celebrate the Sacrifice on Calvary through the breaking of the bread; thanks to the Lord who opened the eyes of the two disciples in Emmaus. The week that was also brought a very disturbing news: that some students of Harvard University will execute a "Black Mass", which is the Satanic perversion of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Archdiocese of Boston vehemently condemns this act of blasphemy.
Now for this week,
the Old Rite focuses on the last weeks of Christ before His glorious possession
of His heavenly throne at the right hand of His Father. Meanwhile, the Ordinary
Form dedicates the Fourth Sunday in Eastertide as "Good Shepherd Sunday"
as the Gospel for this particular week deals with Jesus being the Good Shepherd
of His flock, which was the focus of the celebration in the Extraordinary Form
last week.
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READINGS AND PROPERS
Extraordinary
Form (Third Sunday after Easter)
Third
Sunday after Easter (White, Semi-double)
INTROIT ¤ Ps. 65. 1,
2
Jubilate Deo, omnis
terra, alleluia: psalmum dicite nomini ejus, alleluia: date gloriam laudi ejus,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- Dicite Deo, quam terribilia sunt opera tua,
Domine. In multitudine virtutis tuae mentientur tibi inimici tui. V.: Gloria Patri
. . . -- Jubilate Deo, omnis terra . .
.
Shout with joy to
God, all the earth, alleluia: sing ye a psalm to His Name, alleluia: give glory
to His praise, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 65. 3). Say unto God: How
terrible are Thy works, O Lord! In the multitude of Thy strength Thine enemies
shall lie to Thee. V.: Glory be to the Father . . . -- Shout with joy to God .
. .
COLLECT.--O God, who
to those that go astray dost show the light of Thy truth, that they may return
to the path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian faith,
may both spurn all that is hostile to that name, and follow after what is fitting
to it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .
EPISTLE ¤ I. Peter
2. 11-19
Lesson from the
first Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle.
[We are as
strangers; Christians should reject the things which are hostile to their name,
and follow those which are becoming to it.]
Dearly beloved, I
beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires, which war against
the soul, having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they
speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall
behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject
therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as
excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and
for the praise of the good: for so is the will of God, that by doing well you
may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not as making
liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honor all men: love the
brotherhood: fear God: honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters
with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For
this is thankworthy before God: in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 110. 9
Alleluia, alleluia.
V.: Redemptionem misit Dominus populo suo. Alleluia. V.: Oportebat pati
Christum, et resurgere a mortuis: et ita intrare in gloriam suam.
Alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V.: The Lord hath sent redemption to His people. Alleluia. V.: (Luke 24. 46).
It behooved Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead, and so to enter
into His glory. Alleluia.
GOSPEL ¤ John 16.
16-22
† Continuation of
the holy Gospel according to St. John.
[The Church sees
Jesus in His triumphant entry into heaven.]
At that time Jesus
said to His disciples: A little while, and now you shall not see Me: and again
a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father. Then some of
His disciples said one to another: What is this that He saith to us: A little
while, and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see
Me, and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore: What is this that He
saith, A little while? We know not what He speaketh. And Jesus knew that they
had a mind to ask Him. And He said to them: Of this do you inquire among
yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me: and again
a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, i say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the
world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be
turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her
hour is come: but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no
more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now
indeed have sorrow: but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice: and
your joy no man shall take from you.
OFFERTORY ¤ Ps. 145.
2
Lauda, anima mea,
Dominum: laudabo Dominum in vita mea: psallam Deo meo, quamdiu ero,
alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O
my soul: while I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God
while I have being, alleluia.
SECRET.--Grant, O
Lord, by these Mysteries, that checking our earthly longings, we may learn to
love heavenly things. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and
reigneth . . .
PREFACE
Preface for Easter
Vere dignum et
justum est, aequum et salutare, te quidem Domine omni tempore, sed in hac
potissimum gloriosis praedicare, cum Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.
Ipse enim verus est Angus 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.
16
Modicum, et non
videbitis me, alleluia: iterum modicum, et videbitis me, quia vado ad Patrem,
alleluia,
alleluia.
A little while, and
you shall not see Me, alleluia; and again a little while, and you shall see Me,
because I go to the Father, alleluia, alleluia.
POSTCOMMUNION.--May
the Sacraments which we have received, we beseech Thee, O Lord, renew us with
spiritual refreshment and defend us with bodily help. Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, who liveth . . .
Ordinary
Form (Sunday of the Good Shepherd)
Lesson:
Acts 2:14a, 36:41 (14-41)
In those days: Peter
standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them:
Let all the house of Israel know
most certainly that God hath made both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom
you have crucified. Now when they had heard these things, they had
compunction in their heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles:
What shall we do, men and brethren? But Peter said to them: Do penance: and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of
your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is
to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord
our God shall call. And with very many other words did he testify and exhort
them, saying: Save yourselves
from this perverse generation. They therefore that received his word
were baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.
Responsorial:
Ps. 23: 1-2a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R:
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord ruleth me:
and I shall want
nothing.
He hath set me
in a place of
pasture.
He hath led me on
the paths of justice,
for his own name's
sake.
For though I should
walk in the midst of the shadow of death,
I will fear no
evils, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy
staff, they have comforted me.
Thou hast prepared a
table before me
against them that
afflict me.
Thou hast anointed
my head with oil;
and my chalice which
inebreateth me, how goodly is it!
And thy mercy will
follow me
all the days of my
life.
And that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord
unto length of days.
Epistle:
I Pt. 2:20b-25
Brethren: If doing
well you suffer patiently: this is thankworthy before God. For unto this are
you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that
you should follow his steps. Who
did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did
not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not, but delivered himself to him
that judged him unjustly. Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the
tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you
were healed. For you were as sheep going astray: but you are now converted to
the shepherd and bishop of your souls.
Gospel: Jn. 10:1-10
At that time: Jesus
said to the Pharisees: Amen, amen, I say to you: He that entereth not by the
door into the sheepfold but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a
robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him
the porter openeth: and the
sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them
out. And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the
sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But a stranger they
follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.
This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke.
Jesus therefore said
to them again: Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All
others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them
not. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall
go in and go out, and shall find pastures. The thief cometh not, but for to
steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they may have life and may
have it more abundantly.
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REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS
The Psalmist declared: "The
Lord is my Shepherd..." (23:1). In return, the Lord affirmed: "I AM the Good
Shepherd." (Jn. 10:11)
We are now a few
weeks away from the end of the Easter Season, and we are reminded that as Jesus
is the God-with-us and He will be with us until the end of age (Is. 7:14; Mt.
28:20), He affirms to us that
He will indeed shepherd us through the Church He have built upon a fisherman
who became its Rock.
All the lessons and
epistle readings are taken from St. Peter's speaking parts in the Acts of the
Apostles and in his two Epistles in the New Testament. Being the visible shepherd of the Church, Peter exhorts
the first Christians to imitate his Master and Lord, as he is attempting in his
own lifetime (though in his martyrdom preferred to be crucified upside
down for he is unworthy to die on the way his Master died). We see Peter's role
here as the shepherd of the flock of Jesus which is the primary basis of Papal
Authority.
As mentioned
earlier, the theme of the Gospel today in the Ordinary Form is last week's
theme in the Extraordinary. And in both instances, we can say that it is a good practice to pray for
holy vocations today; that we are invited, nay, compelled to pray for young men
(Yours Truly included) to
choose to be brave by choosing the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ according to
the order of Melchisedech.
(Seriously. Pray for
me since I am still discerning what vocation to take.)
Today, the secular
world celebrates "Mothers' Day" in honor to the woman of the hearth.
The Christian adaptation (or should I say "perspective") of this day
is that it is dedicated primarily to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord
and Mother of the Church. It is, indeed, a great coincidence that
"Mothers' Day" is always celebrated every second Sunday of May, and
that May is the month dedicated to Mary.
We have to take into
context why the Mother of Jesus is highly exalted above all creatures. We take
the example of Solomon, the ancestor of Jesus and successor of David as King of
Israel, when he bowed to his mother Bethsabee as she entered the throne room.
And "Bethsabee came to king Solomon...: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat
down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat
on his right hand. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee; do
not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother ask, for I must
not turn away thy face." (I Kings 2:19-20).
We all know that
Jesus has divine wisdom, and that He is God, and that God is charity. But maybe
we can also say that Mary taught Jesus of one thing that inspired Him to say
that He is the Good Shepherd: and that is charity.
The character of the Good Shepherd is personified in Jesus
Christ. The Good Shepherd is wiling to lose his life for all his sheep and to
leave the ninety-nine in his flock to find the lost one. Jesus, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world, redeemed us through death. Jesus , the
Good Shepherd, is eager to find lost souls and incorporate him to the flock.
Thanks to His willingness to belong to His flock, as well as
heeding the motherly advice of Mary, Jesus is our Good Shepherd.
In a personal note,
aside from the motherly image of Mary carrying the Infant Jesus, I am also at
awe whenever I see the image of Jesus being the Good Shepherd. The care that a
shepherd has compels me to go to confession every time I fall from the state of
grace. This is because the Good Shepherd is a very providing one, even to the
point that He feeds His own flock with Himself through the Holy Eucharist!
So the bottom line
is this: We are compelled to
be the sheep of the Lord's flock since it is He who shepherds us that gave us
the opportunity to live, even if we do not deserve to. We must bravely and
joyfully follow our Good Shepherd, then, as we walk in the valley of death. We
must bravely walk with Mary as she guides us to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in
these trying times where this perverse generation rule the world.
And so we ask: Will I choose to be
brave by following Jesus through a vocation? Will I bravely profess my devotion to Mary as this month is
dedicated to her?
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PRAYING THE COLLECT
O God, who to those
that go astray dost show the light of Thy truth, that they may return to the
path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian faith, may
both spurn all that is hostile to that name, and follow after what is fitting
to it. Lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may
reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
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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GREETING
A year
ago, in one of my defunct blogs, I have made a statement; and it is worth
reposting here today:
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Some heroes,
leaders, and ordinary people of the Catholic faith expressed their love for
Mary that they can be considered as "Mama's boys". St. Louis de
Montfort, Fr. James Reuter, [St.] John Paul II, and even Pope Francis have
extraordinary devotions to the Blessed Mother, so it can be said that they are
"Mama's boys".
And even the Lord
Jesus can be considered as the true Mama's Boy. Well, we all know the story
why.
I can also say I am
one of them. The reason? For all my life, and in eternity, I would always have
a mother. I have a mom who supported my college education, and continued to
support my search for a career or a vocation. Patriotic as I would like to be, I
consider the land of my youth as my Motherland. I am also a Catholic who
dedicated myself for the glory of God through Holy Mother Church, and,
hopefully, when this sinner would be in the state of grace when he dies, he
would have Mary for his Mother for eternity.
To the Blessed
Virgin Mary, to Holy Mother Church, to Inang Bayan, to the countless mothers
out there, and in a special way, to my mom, HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!
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