by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Mar 2, 2019 | Evangelium
EIGHT SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Psalter IV
ST KATHARINE DREXEL (1858 – 1955)
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 17: 19-20
The Lord became my protector. He brought me out to a place of freedom; he saved me because he delighted in me.
Collect
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and that your Church may rejoice, untroubled in her devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8
In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind, so too the defects of a man appear in his talk. The kiln tests the work of the potter, the test of a man is in his conversation. The orchard where a tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit, similarly a man’s words betray what he feels. Do not praise a man before he has spoken, since this is the test of men.
Psalm 91(92):2-3, 13-16
R) It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
1)It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.
2) The just will flourish like the palm tree and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
3) Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the courts of our God, still bearing fruit when they are old, still full of sap, still green, to proclaim that the Lord is just. In him, my rock, there is no wrong.
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Ac. 16:14
Alleluia, alleluia!Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 6:39-45
Jesus told a parable to his disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye. ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who provide gifts to be offered to your name and count our oblations as signs of our desire to serve you with devotion, we ask of your mercy that what you grant as the source of merit may also help us to attain merit’s reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 12: 6
I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me, sing psalms to the name of the Lord Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Nourished by your saving gifts, we beseech your mercy, Lord, that by this same Sacrament with which you feed us in the present age, you may make us partakers of life eternal. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
THIS SUNDAY, THE GOSPEL SITUATES US IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN (6:20-49), DURING WHICH JESUS ADDRESSES HIS DISCIPLES WITH HIS EYES FIXED ON THEM (6:20). PART OF THE SERMON IS ABOUT OUR HUMAN TENDENCY TO CRITICISE OTHERS WHEREAS WE WHO CRITICISE ARE ALSO AT FAULT. WE OFTEN SEE THE WEAKNESSES OF OTHERS AND FORGET THAT WE HAVE GREATER WEAKNESSES. WITH THIS PARABLE OF THE SPLINTER AND THE PLANK, JESUS IS CALLING US TO SELF-EVALUATION AND SERIOUS SELF-IMPROVEMENT IN ORDER TO OVERCOME OUR WEAKNESSES; IN THIS WAY, WE WILL BE IN THE RIGHT POSITION TO GUIDE OTHERS IN FOLLOWING HIM. IN THE OTHER PARABLE ABOUT A GOOD TREE PRODUCING BAD FRUITS, JESUS USES THE LAW OF NATURE TO TEACH US THAT IF WE ARE EVIL OR BAD, WE CANNOT IN ANY WAY LEAD OTHERS TO GOOD CONDUCT, FOR “EVERY TREE CAN BE TOLD BY ITS OWN FRUIT.”
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Mar 1, 2019 | Evangelium
St Chad (d. 672)
MEMORIAL OF THE BVM
Chad was born in Northumbria, one of four brothers, all of whom became priests. He was educated under St Aidan and partly in Ireland. Chad was outstanding for his humility and simplicity of life. He died of the plague on 2 March 672.
Green/White
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 17:1-13
The Lord fashioned man from the earth, to consign him back to it. He gave them so many days’ determined time, he gave them authority over everything on earth. He clothed them with strength like his own, and made them in his own image. He filled all living things with dread of man, making him master over beasts and birds. He shaped for them a mouth and tongue, eyes and ears, and gave them a heart to think with. He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and revealed to them good and evil. He put his own light in their hearts to show them the magnificence of his works. They will praise his holy name, as they tell of his magnificent works He set knowledge before them, he endowed them with the law of life. Their eyes saw his glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of his voice. He said to them, ‘Beware of all wrong-doing’; he gave each a commandment concerning his neighbour. Their ways are always under his eye, they cannot be hidden from his sight.
Psalm 102 (103):13-18
R) The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
1)As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him; for he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust.
2) As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind blows and he is gone and his place never sees him again.
3) But the love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear; his justice reaches out to children’s children when they keep his covenant in truth.
Gospel Acclamation: Mt 11:25
Alleluia, alleluia!Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing little children to Jesus, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
One would wonder if the children of today can be compared with the children of the time of Jesus in many aspects. In antiquity, children had no control, no claim and no status; they could welcome whatever came their way with open arms, not necessarily because they were innocent and trusting, but because they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Likewise, a disciple is the one who comes and follows Jesus with no claim or status, the one who has renounced everything in order to gain ‘everything’ – Jesus the Saviour. Such are the primary citizens of God’s realm; they come to him like children, and they enjoy the warm embrace of the Master and his blessing forever.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 28, 2019 | Evangelium
St David (520 – 589)
The earliest account of the life of St David dates from five centuries after his death in 589. He became abbot and bishop at Mynyw. He is credited with a monastic rule and also with a Penitentiary.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17
A kindly turn of speech multiplies a man’s friends, and a courteous way of speaking invites many a friendly reply. Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisers one in a thousand. If you want to make a friend, take him on trial, and be in no hurry to trust him; for one kind of friend is only so when it suits him but will not stand by you in your day of trouble. Another kind of friend will fall out with you and to your dismay make the quarrel public, and a third kind of friend will share your table, but not stand by you in your day of trouble: when you are doing well he will be your second self, ordering your servants about; but if ever you are brought low he will turn against you and will hide himself from you. Keep well clear of your enemies, and be wary of your friends. A faithful friend is a sure shelter, whoever finds one has found a rare treasure. A faithful friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth. A faithful friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will find one. Whoever fears the Lord makes true friends, for as a man is, so is his friend.
Psalm 118 (119):12, 16, 18, 27, 34-35
R) Guide me, Lord, in the path of your commands.
1)Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes. I take delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
2) Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your law. Make me grasp the way of your precepts and I will muse on your wonders.
3) Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart. Guide me in the path of your commands; for there is my delight.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 110:7, 8
Alleluia, alleluia! Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure; they stand firm for ever and ever. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 10:1-12
Jesus came to the district of Judaea and the far side of the Jordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
There are many individuals today who would go to Jesus to pose the same question, some genuinely because they don’t know the nature of marriage, others only to test him as the Pharisees did. In any case, Jesus gives a theological response: “What God has united, man must not divide,” This answer is a combination of two texts, Gen 1:27 and 2:24, and it shows that in creating humankind male and female, God intended a permanent union between husband and wife. Unfortunately, there are people who are still “unteachable” on this subject and who think that marriage is about political or economical alliances. Jesus asserts emphatically that marriage is a call, or better still a vocation, to realise and fulfil the perfect design of the Creator.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 27, 2019 | Evangelium
ST OSWALD (D. 992)
In 972 he became Archbishop of York. He had a special love of the poor; in Lent he would wash the feet of twelve poor men every day. He died at Worcester on 28 February 992.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 5:1-8
Do not give your heart to your money, or say, ‘With this I am self-sufficient.’ Do not be led by your appetites and energy to follow the passions of your heart. And do not say, ‘Who has authority over me?’ for the Lord will certainly be avenged on you. Do not say, ‘I sinned, and what happened to me?’ for the Lord’s forbearance is long. Do not be so sure of forgiveness that you add sin to sin. And do not say, ‘His compassion is great, he will forgive me my many sins’; for with him are both mercy and wrath, and his rage bears heavy on sinners. Do not delay your return to the Lord, do not put it off day after day; for suddenly the Lord’s wrath will blaze out, and at the time of vengeance you will be utterly destroyed. Do not set your heart on ill-gotten gains, they will be of no use to you on the day of disaster.
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
R) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
1)Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.
2) He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.
3) Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind. for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk 8:15
Alleluia, alleluia!Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
On scandals. The Lord speaks strongly against scandal. He says: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin [whoever “scandalises” them], it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” The “inconsistent Christian” does great harm to the Church. The life of a Christian is found on the way of consistency, and so we have to steer clear of the temptation to be inconsistent. Inconsistency can cause great scandal, and scandal kills! Today’s readings help us to pray for Christian consistency, in order that we may act, feel and think as Christians. We need to pray in order to live a consistent Christian life, for Christian consistency is a gift of God. It is a gift we should strive to ask for, saying: “Lord, may I be consistent! Lord, may I never cause scandal! May I be a person who thinks like a Christian, who feels like a Christian, who acts like a Christian!.” This is a prayer for all of us today; we need to be consistent!
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 26, 2019 | Evangelium
ST. LEANDER OF SEVILLE
(534 – C. 600)
Leander was born in the year 534 in Carthage. Leander became a Benedictine monk and in 579 was made Bishop of Seville. Leander is responsible for introducing the Nicene Creed at Mass. Leander died around the year 600 and was succeeded by his brother, Isidore.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 4:12-22
Wisdom brings up her own sons, and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her loves life, those who wait on her early will be filled with happiness. Whoever holds her close will inherit honour, and wherever he walks the Lord will bless him. Those who serve her minister to the Holy One, and the Lord loves those who love her. Whoever obeys her judges aright, and whoever pays attention to her dwells secure. If he trusts himself to her he will inherit her, and his descendants will remain in possession of her; for though she takes him at first through winding ways, bringing fear and faintness on him, plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him, and testing him with her ordeals, in the end she will lead him back to the straight road and reveal her secrets to him. If he wanders away she will abandon him, and hand him over to his fate.
Psalm 118 (119):165, 168, 171-172, 174-175
R/ The lovers of your law have great peace, O Lord.
1)The lovers of your law have great peace; they never stumble. I obey your precepts and your will; all that I do is before you.
2) Let my lips proclaim your praise because you teach me your statutes. Let my tongue sing your promise for your commands are just..
3) Lord, I long for your saving help and your law is my delight. Give life to my soul that I may praise you. Let your decrees give me help.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn 14:6
Alleluia, alleluia!I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 9:38-40
John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Hatred or collaboration? John brings to Jesus the news that he had seen someone else driving out demons in Jesus’ name, yet he “does not travel with us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” John’s response is as one we make many times. It happens when we are involved in some “good work” with a group perhaps, and we hear about another community group with similar and just as effective outcomes, which is not attached to ours. Do we collaborate graciously or compete aggressively with them? Or a person we have labeled as belonging to a different church group, might say or do something vastly different than our expectations – wiser, more compassionate, or more akin to our belief. Do we praise him or bring out our stereotypes?
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 25, 2019 | Evangelium
ST ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA (250 – 328)
Alexander played an important role in the growth of the catechetical school at Alexandria. He fought against the heretical teachings of Arius. He died in 328.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11
My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal. Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Cling to him and do not leave him, so that you may be honoured at the end of your days. Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire, and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust him and he will uphold you, follow a straight path and hope in him. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; do not turn aside in case you fall. You who fear the Lord, trust him, and you will not be baulked of your reward. You who fear the Lord hope for good things, for everlasting happiness and mercy. Look at the generations of old and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken? Or who ever called out to him, and was ignored? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful, he forgives sins, and saves in days of distress.
Psalm 36 (37):3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act.
1)If you trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire.
2) He protects the lives of the upright, their heritage will last for ever. They shall not be put to shame in evil days, in time of famine their food shall not fail..
3) Then turn away from evil and do good and you shall have a home for ever; for the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his friends.
4) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn. 14:23
Alleluia, alleluia!If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
There can be no share in God’s glory without the cross. When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do. How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest! But aren’t we like the disciples? We compare ourselves with others and desire their praise. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. However, Jesus made a gesture by embracing a child to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God. What is the significance of Jesus’ gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honour. Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart, who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child. Jesus himself is our model. He came not to be served, but to serve. Paul the Apostle states that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant.
