Welcome
to Saint Dominic’s Parish Church, on the first day of the New Year 2017, for
the Holy Mass celebration in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother
of God.
The
Church strongly believes and loudly professes the truth that Jesus Christ is at
the same time true God and true man.
Therefore, the Blessed Virgin Mary, when conceiving and bearing the
human nature of Jesus, conceived and bore the divine nature of Christ, too.
As
we celebrate the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we also announce
our faith in Christ, the Son of God and God Himself.
Kindly
all stand for the entrance hymn.
b)To the Readings
-First Reading: Nm 6:22-27
The Lord God
listens to the prayer of those who call upon His Holy Name and blesses them
with His gifts of protection and peace.
-Second Reading: Gal 4:4-7
God had a
plan from eternity that His Only Son would be born of the Blessed Virgin Mother
in order to save the human race from sin and death.
R. May God bless us in his mercy. R. Xin Thiên Chúa xót thương và ban phúc lành cho chúng con. May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. Xin Thiên Chúa xót thương và ban phúc lành cho chúng con; xin chiếu giãi trên chúng con ánh sáng tôn nhan Chúa, để trên địa cầu người ta nhìn biết đường lối của Ngài, cho chư dân thiên hạ được biết rõ ơn Ngài cứu độ.R. May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. Các dân tộc hãy vui mừng hoan hỉ, vì Ngài công bình cai trị chư dân, và Ngài cai quản các nước địa cầu.R. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. Chư dân, hãy ca tụng Ngài; thân lạy Chúa, hết thảy chư dân hãy ca tụng Ngài! Xin Thiên Chúa ban phúc lành cho chúng con, và cho khắp cùng bờ cõi trái đất kính sợ Ngài.R.
c/ Offertory: ES #49 –Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P. - The Holy Spirit Choir & Friends
Joy To The World - Happy Birthday To Jesus - Parishioners & The Holy Spirit Choir
After the Mass, we had a warm Christmas party with some foreigner friends.
Ms. Tuna and Ms. Helen come from Greece.
They sang Christmas song in Greek as a Christmas gift for everyone.
Mr. Romeo comes from Philippines.
Mrs. Ha - the old member of the Holy Spirit Choir.
Mr. Steven and his parent sang Christmas song in German.
Soeur Mai Huong sang a song as a gift for everyone and read a poem which wrote by herself as a special gift for Fr. Francis.
Fr. Francis said the blessing.
A VERY VERY PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS AND A VERY VERY BLESSED NEW YEAR 2017 TO ALL OF US BECAUSE CHRIST IS BORN TODAY FOR US. HOLD HIM WITH OUR FAITH KISS HIM WITH OUR HOPE THANK HIM WITH OUR LOVE
“And The Word Became
Flesh And Made His Dwelling Place Among Us” (Jn 1:14)
Dear Sisters
and Brothers in Christ,
Christmas
for generations has become a global event before the term “globalization” comes
into existence and enters all aspects of our modern life.
Christmas
has become the source of inspiration for musicians, writers, artists and
architects to compose countless beautiful and immortal masterpieces.
This can
happen because of the very essential and powerful strength of Christmas
itself. Christmas comes from old English
“Cristesmesse”, meaning Christian Mass, the celebration of Christ’s birthday,
popularly observed on December 25 every year.
Christian doctrine,
based on the Holy Bible, teaches the truth that Christ, the Son of God, the
Savior of the human race, was born into the world, in order to free us all from
the power of sin and death.
Christ’s
coming into the world put an end to all forms of suffering and evil caused by
sin. In fact, man was created by God in
His divine image and he lived in an intimate relationship with the Lord God,
the Creator. God gave man authority over
all the creation to cultivate and care for it in his behalf. Thus among God, man and nature was there a
life in great harmony, good order and lasting friendship: God often came to
visit man in the garden and man saw and talked to God face to face as a child
to his father. God even married man to
the woman whom He created from man’s flesh and bones.
Unfortunately,
because man sinned against God’s love, he broke his relationship with God, with
his neighbor, with nature and with himself.
The divisions and separations went beyond restoration. The history of humanity has witnessed
suffering of all kinds in place of suffering, before death, the most harmful
and destructive evil comes into the world.
Man can by
no means escape from the evil consequences of sin, much less is he able to save
himself from death. So it can be said
that the exit door was shut up in front of a sinful humankind. Man and his children would have been
eternally condemned for having failed to keep God’s commandment had God not
decided to rescue them from all forms of evil by sending Jesus Christ into the
world.
True God
though He was, Christ took the human nature in order to stay among us human
beings, teaching us the truth on God’s secrets of which the most top secret is
that God loves us and wants us to enjoy everlasting life in his Kingdom
regardless of our failure in loving Him.
Not only did Christ tell us everything about God the Father’s plan of
salvation to set us free from sin and death, He Himself did show us His great
love by laying His own life on the cross as a sacrifice for sin in our behalf.
We all
sinners have been freed from the power of the forces of evil by Christ Jesus
with so high a cost, that of the blood of the Son of God Who so loved us that
He gave us His Son to die in our place and so obtain for us forgiveness of our
sins and life that never ends in His Kingdom.
This is the
reason why the birthday of Jesus Christ becomes the greatest event in the
history of humanity. We are so happy and
overwhelmed by the Good News of His coming and staying in our midst because we
owe Him a great sea of gratitude for saving our lives. We still need Him so much when we are caught
in a world torn by hatred, divisions, bloody conflicts, suffering, natural and
manmade disasters which all seem to be endless.
However, we
should not lose our hope in Christ Jesus Who told us “Do not be afraid because
I have conquered the world”[1] In fact, the Lord and Savior of the world has
come and made His home among us in order to share with us in our everyday
struggle for a better future. Let us
take into serious consideration His promise: “I am with you always until the
end of the age.”[2]
“And The Word Became Flesh And Made
His Dwelling Place Among Us” istherefore for us
the strong ground for our undying efforts to build a society filled with love,
peace and life for all peoples and countries as God has willed so from the
creation of the world.
Merry
Christmas and happy New Year!
Joyeux Noel
et Bonne Année!
Maligayang
Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon po sa inyong lahat!
Kính chúc Lễ
Chúa Giáng Sinh vui tươi và Năm Mới Bình An!
Welcome
to Saint Dominic’s Parish Church for the celebration of the Holy Mass on
Christmas Day, the birthday of Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Christmas
is the fulfillment of God’s promises because it made both God’s salvation plan
for man and man’s longing for God meet.
This
could happen because Jesus Christ has become the Mediator, the middleperson,
who has reconciled sinners to God.
Celebrating
Christmas is honoring God’s faithfulness and merciful love toward all of us.
We
have no reason to doubt that God really loves us and saves us from the evil
forces by giving up Christ, His Son, to be the Savior of the world.
Let
us all stand for the entrance hymn.
b)To the Readings
-First Reading: Is 52:7-10
Listening to
and waiting for the Good News of the coming of the Savior has been the greatest
hope campaign of generations of the Jews.
The role of the messenger, therefore, was highly praised.
-Second Reading: Heb 1:1-6
God finally
sent His Son, according to the promises which He made long ago, to accomplish
His salvation plan: freeing the human race from the power of sin and death.
-Note:Response to
every intention of the Prayer of the Faithful: “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth Peace to People of Good
Will”
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
R. Khắp nơi bờ cõi địa cầu đã nhìn thấy ơn cứu độ của Thiên Chúa chúng ta.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.R.
Hãy ca mừng Chúa một bài ca mới, vì Người đã làm nên những điều huyền diệu. Tay hữu Người đã tạo cho Người cuộc chiến thắng, cùng với cánh tay thánh thiện của Người.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.R.
Chúa đã công bố ơn cứu độ của Người; trước mặt chư dân, Người tỏ rõ đức công minh. Người đã nhớ lại lòng nhân hậu và trung thành để sủng ái nhà Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.R.
Khắp nơi bờ cõi địa cầu đã nhìn thấy ơn cứu độ của Thiên Chúa chúng ta. Toàn thể địa cầu hãy reo mừng Chúa, hãy hoan hỉ, mừng vui và đàn ca!
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.R.
Hãy ca mừng Chúa với cây đàn cầm, với cây đàn cầm với điệu nhạc du dương, cùng với tiếng kèn râm ran, tiếng tù và rúc, hãy hoan hô trước thiên nhan Chúa là Vua.
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