31ST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) – NOVEMBER 01, 2015

Saturday, October 31, 2015

31st Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

ALL SAINTS DAY

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass

First Reading

REVELATION 7:2-4, 9-14

2 Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea,

3 'Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.'

4 And I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.

9 After that I saw that there was a huge number, impossible for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud voice,

10 'Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'

11 And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God

12 with these words: Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.

13 One of the elders then spoke and asked me, 'Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?'

14 I answered him, 'You can tell me, sir.' Then he said, 'These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

1 [Psalm Of David] To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live there;

2 it is he who laid its foundations on the seas, on the flowing waters fixed it firm.

3 Who shall go up to the mountain of Yahweh? Who shall take a stand in his holy place?

4 The clean of hands and pure of heart, whose heart is not set on vanities, who does not swear an oath in order to deceive.

5 Such a one will receive blessing from Yahweh, saving justice from the God of his salvation.

6 Such is the people that seeks him, that seeks your presence, God of Jacob.Pause

Second Reading

1 JOHN 3:1-3

1 You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God's children -- which is what we are! The reason why the world does not acknowledge us is that it did not acknowledge him.

2 My dear friends, we are already God's children, but what we shall be in the future has not yet been revealed. We are well aware that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.

3 Whoever treasures this hope of him purifies himself, to be as pure as he is.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 5:1-12

1 Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was seated his disciples came to him.

2 Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

3 How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

4 Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance.

5 Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill.

7 Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 'Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

30TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) – OCTOBER 25, 2015

Saturday, October 24, 2015

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass

First Reading

JEREMIAH 31:7-9

7 For Yahweh says this: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout, 'Yahweh has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!'

8 Watch, I shall bring them back from the land of the north and gather them in from the far ends of the earth. With them, the blind and the lame, women with child, women in labour, all together: a mighty throng will return here!

9 In tears they will return, in prayer I shall lead them. I shall guide them to streams of water, by a smooth path where they will not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born son.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

1 [Song of Ascents] When Yahweh brought back Zion's captives we lived in a dream;

2 then our mouths filled with laughter, and our lips with song. Then the nations kept saying, 'What great deeds Yahweh has done for them!'

3 Yes, Yahweh did great deeds for us, and we were overjoyed.

4 Bring back, Yahweh, our people from captivity like torrents in the Negeb!

5 Those who sow in tears sing as they reap.

6 He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing, bringing in his sheaves.

Second Reading

HEBREWS 5:1-6

1 Every high priest is taken from among human beings and is appointed to act on their behalf in relationships with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins;

2 he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or who have gone astray, because he too is subject to the limitations of weakness.

3 That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.

4 No one takes this honour on himself; it needs a call from God, as in Aaron's case.

5 And so it was not Christ who gave himself the glory of becoming high priest, but the one who said to him: You are my Son, today I have fathered you,

6 and in another text: You are a priest for ever, of the order of Melchizedek.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MARK 10:46-52

46 They reached Jericho; and as he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus -- that is, the son of Timaeus -- a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road.

47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.'

48 And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.'

49 Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So they called the blind man over. 'Courage,' they said, 'get up; he is calling you.'

50 So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.

51 Then Jesus spoke, 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'Rabbuni, let me see again.'

52 Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.' And at once his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

29TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) – OCTOBER 18, 2015

Saturday, October 17, 2015

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass Multilingual

CONFIRMATION to be graced by Bishop Paul Tan

First Reading

Isaiah 53:10-11

10 It was Yahweh's good pleasure to crush him with pain; if he gives his life as a sin offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his life, and through him Yahweh's good pleasure will be done.

11 After the ordeal he has endured, he will see the light and be content. By his knowledge, the upright one, my servant will justify many by taking their guilt on himself.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

4 The word of Yahweh is straightforward, all he does springs from his constancy.

5 He loves uprightness and justice; the faithful love of Yahweh fills the earth.

18 But see how Yahweh watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his faithful love,

19 to rescue them from death and keep them alive in famine.

20 We are waiting for Yahweh; he is our help and our shield,

22 Yahweh, let your faithful love rest on us, as our hope has rested in you.

Second Reading

Hebrews 4:14-16

14 Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith.

15 For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin.

16 Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace when we are in need of help.

Gospel Reading

Mark 10:35-45

35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. 'Master,' they said to him, 'We want you to do us a favour.'

36 He said to them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?'

37 They said to him, 'Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.'

38 But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?'

39 They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised,

40 but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.'

41 When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John,

42 so Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.

43 Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant,

44 and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.

45 For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”

28TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) – OCTOBER 11, 2015

Saturday, October 10, 2015

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Wisdom 7:7-11

7 And so I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

8 I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; compared with her, I held riches as nothing.

9 I reckoned no precious stone to be her equal, for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand, and beside her, silver ranks as mud.

10 I loved her more than health or beauty, preferred her to the light, since her radiance never sleeps.

11 In her company all good things came to me, and at her hands incalculable wealth.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

12 Teach us to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom.

13 Come back, Yahweh! How long must we wait? Take pity on your servants.

14 Each morning fill us with your faithful love, we shall sing and be happy all our days;

15 let our joy be as long as the time that you afflicted us, the years when we experienced disaster.

16 Show your servants the deeds you do, let their children enjoy your splendour!

17 May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us, to confirm the work we have done!

Second Reading

Hebrews 4:12-13

12 The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts more incisively than any two-edged sword: it can seek out the place where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow; it can pass judgement on secret emotions and thoughts.

13 No created thing is hidden from him; everything is uncovered and stretched fully open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Mark 10:17-30

17 He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

18 Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

19 You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'

20 And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.'

21 Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'

22 But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

23 Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'

24 The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.'

26 They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?'

27 Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.'

28 Peter took this up. 'Look,' he said to him, 'we have left everything and followed you.'

29 Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

30 who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land -- and persecutions too -- now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

“The Gospel of the Lord”