SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD – JANUARY 01, 2018

Monday, January 01, 2018

SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

8:00 pm  New Year’s Day Mass - Multilingual

First Reading

NUMBERS 6:22-27

22 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

23 'Speak to Aaron and his sons and say: "This is how you must bless the Israelites. You will say:

24 May Yahweh bless you and keep you.

25 May Yahweh let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

26 May Yahweh show you his face and bring you peace."

27 This is how they must call down my name on the Israelites, and then I shall bless them.'

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

2 Then the earth will acknowledge your ways, and all nations your power to save.

3 Let the nations praise you, God, let all the nations praise you.

4 Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy, for you judge the world with justice, you judge the peoples with fairness, you guide the nations on earth.

5 Let the nations praise you, God, let all the nations praise you.

6 The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God has blessed us.

7 May God continue to bless us, and be revered by the whole wide world.

Second Reading

GALATIANS 4:4-7

4 but when the completion of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law,

5 to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons.

6 As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son crying, 'Abba, Father';

7 and so you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir, by God's own act.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

LUKE 2:16-21

16 So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.

17 When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him,

18 and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds said to them.

19 As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

21 When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) – 31ST DECEMBER, 2017

Saturday, 30th December, 2017

1st Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

SIRACH 3:2-6, 12-14

2 for the Lord honours the father above his children and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.

3 Whoever respects a father expiates sins,

4 whoever honours a mother is like someone amassing a fortune.

5 Whoever respects a father will in turn be happy with children, the day he prays for help, he will be heard.

6 Long life comes to anyone who honours a father, whoever obeys the Lord makes a mother happy.

12 My child, support your father in his old age, do not grieve him during his life.

13 Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy, do not despise him in your health and strength;

14 for kindness to a father will not be forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

1 [Song of Ascents] How blessed are all who fear Yahweh, who walk in his ways!

2 Your own labours will yield you a living, happy and prosperous will you be.

3 Your wife a fruitful vine in the inner places of your house. Your children round your table like shoots of an olive tree.

4 Such are the blessings that fall on those who fear Yahweh.

5 May Yahweh bless you from Zion! May you see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life,

Second Reading

COLOSSIANS 3:12-21

12 As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience.

13 Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.

14 Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.

15 And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.

16 Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;

17 and whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.

18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as you should in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be sharp with them.

20 Children, be obedient to your parents always, because that is what will please the Lord.

21 Parents, do not irritate your children or they will lose heart.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

LUKE 2:22-40

22 And when the day came for them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord-

23 observing what is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord-

24 and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

25 Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him.

26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.

27 Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required,

28 he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

29 Now, Master, you are letting your servant go in peace as you promised;

30 for my eyes have seen the salvation

31 which you have made ready in the sight of the nations;

32 a light of revelation for the gentiles and glory for your people Israel.

33 As the child's father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him,

34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed-

35 and a sword will pierce your soul too -- so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.'

36 There was a prophetess, too, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years

37 before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.

38 She came up just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

39 When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

40 And as the child grew to maturity, he was filled with wisdom; and God's favour was with him.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

CHRISTMAS VIGIL AND CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

CHRISTMAS VIGIL

9:00 pm  Christmas Vigil Mass in Multilingual

Monday, December 25, 2017

CHRISTMAS DAY

10:00 am  Christmas Day Mass in Multilingual

First Reading

ISAIAH 52:7-10

7 How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of the messenger announcing peace, of the messenger of good news, who proclaims salvation and says to Zion, 'Your God is king!'

8 The voices of your watchmen! Now they raise their voices, shouting for joy together, for with their own eyes they have seen Yahweh returning to Zion.

9 Break into shouts together, shouts of joy, you ruins of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has consoled his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 Yahweh has bared his holy arm for all the nations to see, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6

1 [Psalm] Sing a new song to Yahweh, for he has performed wonders, his saving power is in his right hand and his holy arm.

2 Yahweh has made known his saving power, revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,

3 mindful of his faithful love and his constancy to the House of Israel. The whole wide world has seen the saving power of our God.

4 Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy!

5 Play to Yahweh on the harp, to the sound of instruments;

6 to the sound of trumpet and horn, acclaim the presence of the King.

Second Reading

HEBREWS 1:1-6

1 At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but

2 in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages.

3 He is the reflection of God's glory and bears the impress of God's own being, sustaining all things by his powerful command; and now that he has purged sins away, he has taken his seat at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high.

4 So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.

5 To which of the angels, then, has God ever said: You are my Son, today I have fathered you, or: I shall be a father to him and he a son to me?

6 Again, when he brings the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God pay him homage.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

JOHN 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men;

5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.

6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John.

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light.

9 The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him.

11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him.

12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name

13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself.

14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.'

16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -- one gift replacing another,

17 for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year A) – DECEMBER 24, 2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass

First Reading

Second Samuel 7:1-5, 8-11, 16

1 Once the king had settled into his palace and Yahweh had granted him rest from all the enemies surrounding him,

2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, 'Look, I am living in a cedar-wood palace, while the ark of God is under awnings.'

3 Nathan said to the king, 'Go and do whatever you have in mind, for Yahweh is with you.'

4 But that very night, the word of Yahweh came to Nathan:

5 'Go and tell my servant David, "Yahweh says this: Are you to build me a temple for me to live in?

8 This is what you must say to my servant David, "Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel;

9 I have been with you wherever you went; I have got rid of all your enemies for you. I am going to make your fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth.

10 I am going to provide a place for my people Israel; I shall plant them there, and there they will live and never be disturbed again; nor will they be oppressed by the wicked any more, as they were in former times

11 ever since the time when I instituted judges to govern my people Israel; and I shall grant you rest from all your enemies. Yahweh furthermore tells you that he will make you a dynasty.

16 Your dynasty and your sovereignty will ever stand firm before me and your throne be for ever secure." '

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS  89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29

2 for you have said: love is built to last for ever, you have fixed your constancy firm in the heavens.

3 'I have made a covenant with my Chosen One, sworn an oath to my servant David:

4 I have made your dynasty firm for ever, built your throne stable age after age.

5 The heavens praise your wonders, Yahweh, your constancy in the gathering of your faithful.

27 So I shall make him my first-born, the highest of earthly kings.

29 I have established his dynasty for ever, his throne to be as lasting as the heavens.

Second Reading

Romans 16:25-27

25 And now to him who can make you strong in accordance with the gospel that I preach and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, in accordance with that mystery which for endless ages was kept secret

26 but now (as the prophets wrote) is revealed, as the eternal God commanded, to be made known to all the nations, so that they obey in faith:

27 to him, the only wise God, give glory through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading

LUKE 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour! The Lord is with you.'

29 She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean,

30 but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour.

31 Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David;

33 he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.'

34 Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?'

35 The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.

36 And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month,

37 for nothing is impossible to God.'

38 Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angel left her.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year B) – DECEMBER 17, 2017

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass

First Reading

ISAIAH 61:1-2, 10-11

1 The spirit of Lord Yahweh is on me for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted,

2 to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh and a day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn

10 I exult for joy in Yahweh, my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me in garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a cloak of saving justice, like a bridegroom wearing his garland, like a bride adorned in her jewels.

11 For as the earth sends up its shoots and a garden makes seeds sprout, so Lord Yahweh makes saving justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54

46 And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;

48 because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name,

50 and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him.

53 He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty.

54 He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love

Second Reading

First Thessalonians 5:16-24

16 Always be joyful;

17 pray constantly;

18 and for all things give thanks; this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not stifle the Spirit

20 or despise the gift of prophecy with contempt;

21 test everything and hold on to what is good

22 and shun every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may your spirit, life and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 He who has called you is trustworthy and will carry it out.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28

6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John.

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light.

19 This was the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'

20 He declared, he did not deny but declared, 'I am not the Christ.'

21 So they asked, 'Then are you Elijah?' He replied, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' He answered, 'No.'

22 So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?'

23 So he said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight!'

24 Now those who had been sent were Pharisees,

25 and they put this question to him, 'Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?'

26 John answered them, 'I baptise with water; but standing among you -- unknown to you-

27 is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.'

28 This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year B) – DECEMBER 10, 2017

Saturday, December 09, 2017

Second Sunday of Advent – Year B

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass

First Reading

ISAIAH 40:1-5, 9-11

1 'Console my people, console them,' says your God.

2 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt has been atoned for, that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received double punishment for all her sins.'

3 A voice cries, 'Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make a straight highway for our God across the wastelands.

4 Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain;

5 then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.'

9 Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem! Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.'

10 Here is Lord Yahweh coming with power, his arm maintains his authority, his reward is with him and his prize precedes him.

11 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

9 His saving help is near for those who fear him, his glory will dwell in our land.

10 Faithful Love and Loyalty join together, Saving Justice and Peace embrace.

11 Loyalty will spring up from the earth, and Justice will lean down from heaven.

12 Yahweh will himself give prosperity, and our soil will yield its harvest.

13 Justice will walk before him, treading out a path.

Second Reading

Second PETER 3:8-14

8 But there is one thing, my dear friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance.

10 The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then with a roar the sky will vanish, the elements will catch fire and melt away, the earth and all that it contains will be burned up.

11 Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living

12 while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat.

13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, where uprightness will be at home.

14 So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live blameless and unsullied lives so that he will find you at peace.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MARK 1:1-8

1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 It is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you.

3 A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 John the Baptist was in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5 All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.

6 John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey.

7 In the course of his preaching he said, 'After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.

8 I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”

Homily from Father James Gilhooley

2 Advent

Second Sunday of Advent - B Cycle - Mark 1:1-8

A theologian had a painting of the crucifixion in his study. It showed John the Baptist with a long bony finger pointing to Jesus. One day a visitor asked, "What is your job?" The theologian walked over to the painting and said, "I am that finger." Do our lives point people to Christ? Or do they turn them away from Him? Before you answer, remember what Gandhi said, "I would have become a Christian if ever I had met one." In a recent year, Joseph Donders writes, "One third of all the books in the United States were written on Jesus." Given that remarkable fact, can you fault the Church setting up the training camp season that is Advent at the opening of a new Liturgical year? The Church gives us four weeks to burn off ten pounds of ugly spiritual fat.

Thus we will be properly ready to greet the Nazarene on His annual Christmas visit. St Mark today in 1:1 heralds Him without any hesitation as "Jesus Christ the Son of God." He shows no doubt, no hesitation. Talk about clearing the decks for action. Plato wrote, "To find the maker and father of this universe is a hard task; and when you have found him, it is impossible to speak of him before all people." I do not know whether the Evangelist Mark ever read that line while working in Rome with St Peter. But one point is certain. Mark tells us in in this Gospel he disagrees with Plato. Elizabeth Vanek catches the spirit of this season: "Advent is the season of the pilgrim God...We often speak of our journey towards God, but, in reality, it is God who does most of the traveling."

The last four miles you might say He leaves to us. The ideal would be to cover one mile in each of these Advent weeks. The first mile should already be behind us. The slowest of us can walk a mile weekly in even the oldest sneakers. Instead of selling out, a bishop suggests that our challenge is to stand out. This Advent abstain from food one day each week to better understand what hunger is. And why not give 10% of your income to a charity? Stand out. Advent is designed to bring out Abraham Lincoln's better angel in us. We should be advancing toward the peace this season promises. And, as Donders says, "peace is the opposite of pieces; to be at peace means to be of one piece." We should all make this verse quoted by William Barclay the capstone of this Advent: "In youth, because I could not be a singer, I did not even write a song. I set no little trees along the roadside because I knew their growth would take so long.

But now from the wisdom that the years have brought me, I know that it may be a blessed thing to plant a tree for someone else to water or make a song for someone else to sing." John the Baptizer's message can be summed up in that one word, "Repent." In Mark 1:5, the Master Himself also went on the record, "Repent and believe in the Gospel." What better way to turn over that famous new leaf than arranging a prime time rendezvous with the Teacher in confession. St Augustine wrote, "The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works." Barclay notes that it is only when we say, "I am a sinner" that Jesus can say, "I forgive." CS Lewis writes that though God made us without our consent, He will not save us without our permission.

And, as we walk away from that encounter with the Master, dwell on the story that says that Christ takes all our confessed sins and hurls them to the bottom of a deep lake. Then on the lake shores, He nails a large sign that reads "NO FISHING." George Eliot reminds us, "It's but little good you'll do watering last year's crops."       A woman had a vision of Jesus. She went and told her priest. He said, "I will not believe unless your Christ tells you my sins. The woman returned. The priest asked what his sins were. She replied, "Jesus said He has forgotten them." It is well said that if you want God to be pleased with you, then you must please God. Confession would be a good start. The monk says that this Christmas, instead of dreaming of and unhappy. Become a Christian that Gandhi would admire.