Daily Mass . March 19
from St. Thomas Aquinas Church
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Prepare an altar with a candle lit to help set the tone. Dispose yourself properly before beginning. Take three mindful breaths.
- Dress up properly even if you are just at home.
- Remove distractions (silence phones and gadgets)
- Instead of actual communion, pray the act of spiritual communion from the heart, dwell on what the words mean.
- Pray the Oratio Imperata, within the Mass if it is part of it or soon after if not part. Pray for our Mother Mary’s intercession. Pray also for our frontliners.
- Reflect on how God is teaching us to love ‘in this time of corona’and how we may have fallen short because of our own selfishness.
Oftentimes, we realize the value of something only when we are deprived of it. May this also help us cultivate the yearning to actually receive Jesus in physical communion soon. (excerpted from CoolCatholics.org)
- Our goal will be to have each Mass posted by 10am or sooner each day. The weekend Mass will be posted by 5pm on Saturday so it is available to you for Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
- Remember that Adoration in Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel is available from 9am-9pm. Fr. Ken and Fr. Joel will also be available for confession at our scheduled times.
- Please share this information with all those you know who will want to celebrate along with us.
From Fr. Joel . . .
Amidst all fears and anxieties remember what Jesus said, “Do not be afraid” - “Huwag kang mangamba”. Pray with me as we ask dear Lord to vanish the fear in our hearts and replace it with PEACE.
Reading 1 (2 SM 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16)
The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David,
‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
Responsorial Psalm (89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29)
R. The son of David will live for ever.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. The son of David will live for ever.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. The son of David will live for ever.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. The son of David will live for ever.
Reading 2 (ROM 4:13, 16-18, 22)
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
Verse Before The Gospel (PS 84:5)
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;
they never cease to praise you.
Gospel (Lk 2:41-51a)
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.
An Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.