Suggested Mass Line-up for January 8, 2012 (Epiphany)

Sunday, January 8, 2012
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord


What is the Epiphany?

The word "epiphany" comes from two Greek words, the preposition epi and the verb phainen, and can variously mean, "to shine upon," "to reveal," or "to appear, manifest." The verb epiphainen as well as the noun epiphaneia both occur in the Greek New Testament. For example, 2 Timothy 1:8-10 joyously declares,

God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing [epiphaneia] of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

At times the word is used to refer to the first appearing or revealing of Jesus (either His birth or the beginning of His Messianic ministry) as in the verse above, Titus 2:11, 3:4, and Luke 1:79. At other times it is the revealing and appearing of Jesus at the end of time which is in view as in 1 Timothy 6:14, 2 Timothy 4:1,8, and Titus 2:13.

Whereas most of the occurrences of epiphaneia or epiphaino carry the meaning "to reveal" or "to appear," in Luke 1:79 it means "to shine upon." In Luke 1, Zechariah prophesies that his newborn son John the Baptist will

give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on [epiphaino] those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace (Luke 1:77-79).

This passage is one of the reasons that light is so emphasized at Epiphany time, as is the case, for example, in the Orthodox Church's "Festival of Lights." It also partly explains why candles are so often used.

Here are my suggestions of songs for the mass... :)

Entrance:

1. Aleluya, Daygon ang Ginoo, swak for the Gospel
2. Atong Daygon ang Ginoo
3. Pagmamahal sa Panginoon (Hontiveros), "simula ng karunungan" in honor of the Three wise men
4. Magsiawit sa Panginoon (Isidro and Que)
5. Let Heaven Rejoice (Dufford), prioritize Stanza 5 and 6
6. Sing a New Song (Schutte) prioritize stanza 2 and 3

Kyrie:

1. Kyrie (Villanueva)
2. Maawa Ka (Francisco, Reyes)
3. Lord Have Mercy (Acts and Potencies)

Gloria:

1. Himaya sa Dios (Francisco)
2. Papuri sa Dios (Francisco-Reyes-Torres)
3. Give Glory to GOD

First Reading:

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise. Jerusalem, shine, for your light has come.

Responsorial Psalm:

Psalm 72:1-13

Lord, every nation on earth will adore You.

Second Reading:

Ephisians 3:2-3, 5-6

Gentiles are saved too.

Alleluia:

1. Aleluya Lamdag Ka, swak sa gospel
2. Salamat sa Dios (Hontiveros)
3. Sing Alleluia (Marcelo)

Gospel:

Matthew 2:1-12 relates:

1. The Wise Men wanted to pay homage to Jesus
2. King Herod meets with them and tries to trick them
3. The Wise Men finally see and visit the Christ Child
4. They gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh 
5. They avoided Herod after being told to do so in a dream.

Important Ideas: 
1. Jesus is savior to all, both Gentiles and Jew. 
2. The Magi represents the Gentiles. Gentiles too pay homage to JC. 
3. Jesus as the Light to all nations. 
4. Pro-Negritis Sunday: Attention is on the Missions to Africa. Actually, kahet saang mission.

My Personal Reflection of the Readings:

This Sunday we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. The word ‘epiphany’ comes from the Greek language 'epiphaneia' meaning 'appearance', ‘showing forth’ or ‘manifestation’. So we could say that we celebrate the manifestation of the Lord. The feast of the Epiphany originated in the third century to commemorate the first appearance of Christ (the infant King) to the entire world as Saviour. The first reading from Isaiah speaks about light shining through the darkness and the clouds—a wonderful image of describing what epiphany is trying to tell us about our Lord. Our own darkness and the clouds of our lack of understanding so often make it difficult for us to recognize the presence of God, in daily life, in the Lord Jesus, in the Church or in other people. Psalm 72 focuses on the nations coming adore the Lord. “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you” and then speaks of kings from foreign lands bringing gifts to the Lord. The Psalm in a sense introduces the Gospel of today that recounts the story of the three wise kings from the East (also called the Magi), who represent all the nations. These Magi come as seekers of the source of the light. The star is only a guide for them. On finding the source, the infant king, they are overjoyed, they confess, worship him and offer him gifts. In the preface of the Epiphany, we get a sense of the mystery we celebrate. "Today you revealed in Christ your eternal plan of salvation and showed in him as the light of all peoples". The mystery of Christ's birth, the mystery of the Incarnation, is therefore made known to all people all over the world without exception. St. Paul in the second reading speaks about the inclusive nature of salvation in God’s plan. 

The central message of the Epiphany is that Jesus is revealed to us as a light to the nations. The Magi go in search of this light guided by a star until they find the source of the light in Bethlehem. With them we too seek and recognise the child who is born to be our Saviour. Like them, we too pay homage to Christ and accept the light that Christ brings into our hearts. Since we are led to discover Christ, we are therefore called to go out and share with others the Good News revealed to us. Through our daily witness, in loving others, in forgiving them, in our faith and compassion, in our courage and perseverance, may we be like the star that guides them in their journey of faith, to seek and to discover Christ in their lives. The message we take home is two-fold: 1) We are invited today to recognize God's light, God's presence in our lives, and to let our hearts rejoice and throb and overflow because we know that God is with us 2) Consequently, we are called to go out and share with others the Good News of Jesus Christ revealed to us; to share the light that Christ has given us.

Offertory:

1. Gasa sa Gugma (Koro Viannista), swak sa Gospel ang mga gasa nga gidala sa tulo ka hari
2. Ning Adlawa sa Kalipay
3. Pag-aalay ng Sarili (Villaldon)
4. Sumasamo Kami (Judan)
5. One Bread, One Body
6. Earthen Vessel (John Foley)

Sanctus:

1. Santos (R. Villanueva)
2. Santo, Santo, Santo (Francisco-Arboleda-Torres)
3. Holy, Holy, Holy (Dufford-Schutte)

Acclamation:

1. Si Kristo atong Handumon (Cebuano version of Si Kristo ay Gunitain)
2. Si Kristo ay gunitain (Ramirez)
3. Memorial Acclamation (Marcelo-Fenomeno)

Amen:

1. Amen Pagdaygon ang Dios 
2. Amen (Francisco-Arboleda-Reyes-Torres)
3. Amen Alleluia (Bayogos)

Pater Noster:

1. Amahan Namo
2. Ama Namin (Francisco-Arboleda-Torres)
3. Our Father (Pat-Martell)

Doxology:

1. Kay Imo Man
2. Sapagkat Sa’yo ang Kaharian (Francisco-Arboleda-Torres)
3. For The Kingdom

Agnus Dei:

1.  Kordero sa Dios (Pastorella version by Fr. Villanueva)
2.  Kordero ng Diyos (Hontiveros)
3. Lamb of God (Folk)

Communion:

1. Ako ang Kahayag, swak sa Gospel which is Jesus is the light of all the nations
2. Hiyas, sibo na sab sa ebanghelyo
3. Pagpanaw, actually i don't know how to sing this one. nakita lang nako siya sa songbook then akong gibasa iyang lyrics arang kasibo kaayo sa ebanghelyo the journey of the three kings
4. Magpuri sa Panginoon (Hontiveros)
5. Panginoon, Aking Tanglaw (Ramirez)
6. Liwanag ng Aming Puso (Tagle and Hontiveros)
7. Here I am Lord
8. Sing of Him (Dufford)
9. So the Love of GOD (Schutte)

Recessional:

1. Ang Atong Tulubagon
2. Pananagutan
3. The Work of Christmas (Arboleda)

Hope this will help... By the way those visitors outside from Philippines, please introduce yourself. I really want to know WHO YOU and WHERE YOU FROM... Hope you will spare a little time to post a comment :)

Suggested Song Mass Line-Up for January 1, 2012 (New Year)

SONG LINE UP SUGGESTIONS (by: JR Medina)

Sunday, 1 Jan 2012
Solemnity of Mary Mother of God 
& World Day of Prayer for Peace
Liturgical Color: White, but blue is also acceptable


Pasensya na po at hindi ako nakagawa ng Cebuano Guide for the Mass. Siguro from the songs suggested by Kuya JR Medina of Tagalog and English Mass ay makakakuha kayo ng idea kung ano 'yung mga pwede nating kantahin for Cebuano Mass... Happy New Year po :)

                                                                                                         Brian Gangca

Readings

1R: From Numbers 6:22-27: Moses, the acknowledged author of the Book of Numbers, is told by God to teach Aaron and his sons (who were chosen by God to become His priests) on how they ought to bless the Israelites: ‘Say, “May God bless you and keep you.” 

RP: 67

May God bless us in His mercy.

2R: From Galatians 4:4-7. Consequential Ideas: 
1. God sent His Son Who was born of a woman.
2. He lived among us to free us who are enslaved.
3. We thus become adopted children of God.
4. We may thus call God father.
5. As God’s children, we are no longer slaves.

G: Luke 2:16-21

1. Shepherds visit the Savior.
2. After leaving, the shepherds make the message about the arrival of the promised Savior known to others.
3. Mary kept all these, reflecting on them in her heart.
4. The baby was circumicised and named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 

Important Ideas:
1. Chosenness 
2. God’s blessings 
3. Jesus as sent by the Father for our salvation in fulfillment of His promise 
4. As He is now with us and like us, we are adopted children of the father, 
5. The shepherds and the news about the baby Jesus
6. Mary’s pondering
7. Mary Mother of God
8. January 1 is also World Day of Prayer for Peace

Filipino:

E: 
1. Bayan Magsiawit na! (Aquino) “Dakilang biyayang pangako Niya, sumilay na” is to Important Idea (II) 3. 
2. Bayan umawit (Borres, Baltazar, Francisco) “Iika’y pinili” is to II 1.


PERSONAL REFLECTION OF BRIAN GANGCA:

The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the new year ahead of us. How did I spend this one year of my life that has just passed? Did I use it to advance my goals and objectives in life? Did I use it to enhance the purpose of my existence? Could I have done better last year in the way I invested my time between the demands of work, family, friends and society, and the demands of my spiritual life? What things did I achieve last year and what did I fail to achieve? How can I consolidate the achievements of last year while reversing the failures and losses in this new year? Through soul searching questions like these we find that a review of the past year naturally leads to setting goals and resolutions for the new year.

There are people who tell you that there is no point making new year resolutions. Do not believe them. We must set goals and make resolutions as a necessary conclusion to our review of the past year. And we do need to review our lives from year to year because, as Socrates says, the unexamined life is not worth living.

Today's newspapers are full of individual and collective new year resolutions. Most of those, however, are not resolutions at all but only wishes. What is the difference between a resolution and a wish? A wish identifies a goal one wants to reach, a resolution specifies the steps one will take to reach it. A wish says this is where I want to be, a resolution says this is the road I will take, this is what I will do to get there. The wishful person says "I want to pass my exams this year" and the resolved person says "I will devote an extra hour to my studies everyday in order to pass my exams." The wishful person says "I will have more peace and love in my family this year" and the resolved person says "I will spend more time with my family at table instead of rushing off to the TV, so that we get to know and understand ourselves better." The wishful person says "I will live a life of union with God this year" and the resolved person says "I will set aside this time everyday to pray and hear God's word." The difference between wishing and resolving is: are we prepared to do what it takes to make our dreams come true, are we prepared to pay the price?

The gospel today presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the new year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. It is true that the holiness of Mary is attributed to the grace of God, but this should not make us forget that she needed to make an effort in order to cooperate with the grace of God. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God.

The two examples above of Mary pondering the word of God, namely, after the visit of the shepherds and after the finding in the temple, show that Mary found the word of God both in divine revelation (the angels' words to the shepherds) and in her own experiences (her encounter with her son in the temple). Similarly God speaks to us today through divine revelation (e.g. the Bible, the teaching and preaching of the Church) as well as through our personal experiences, if only we made time to reflect on them as Mary did.

Whatever the situation in which we find ourselves - a hardship, a disappointment, a decision to make - God has a solution, an answer that is right for us. We tell God about it in prayer but we also listen to what God has to tell us about it. Prayer is a conversation with God but sometimes all we do is pick up the phone, read out the list of our problems to God and drop the phone without listening to hear what God has to say to us. Let us today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure God's word and ponder it in our hearts. Then shall we be able to realize our new year resolution of a new life in union with God.

P of the G: 
1. Narito Ako (San Andres) “Pakikinggan at itatago sa sulok ng puso” is to G3.
2. Sumasamo kami (Judan) Prioritize Stanza 3: “Sundin ang ‘Yong kalooban” is reminiscent of Mary’s “Let it be done unto me according to Your word.”
3. Kay Gandang Alay in A Time to Fly By Ateneo Boys Choir 


C: Pwede pagpilian:
1. Liwnagan Mo, Jesus (Aquino) “Daigdig ginawang tahanan ng Diyos nating mahal” is to II 4.
2. Pagsibol (Aquino) is good for New Years Day. 
3. Ang Diyos na Sanggol (Hontiveros) is to II 3.
4. Isang Sanggol (Ramirez) 
5. Villancico is to G 1
6. Kapayapaan (Aquino) is to II 8.
8. Villancico Flamenco (See, Hontiveros, Mehlemans). Stanza 2 is parallel to G 4.

2nd Communion songs just in case mahaba ang pila for Communion:
1. Ang Puso Ko’y Nagpupuri (Honti)
2. Noong Paskong Una (Pagsanghan & Francisco) “Si Maria ang ina”
3. Mariang Ina Ko (Pagsanghan & Francisco)
4. Shallom by JMM in Sumibol by Dulaang Sibol

R: 
1. Ito ang Bagong Araw (Isidro and Ramirez)
2. Pagmamahal sa Panginoon (Hontiveros)
3. Aba Ginoong Maria “Ina ng Diyos”
4. Pananagutan (Honti) Prioritize Stanza 3. “Tayo’y tinuring ng Panginoon bilang mga anak” is reminiscent of II 4.
5. Try natin ang Kahit na Abril ay parang Pasko pa rin.


English:

E: 
1. All the Ends of the Earth (Dufford) “For the Lord of the earth... has come) is to II 
2. City of God (Schutte)
3. Glory and Praise to Our God (Schutte) Prioritize Stanza 3. It is reminiscent of II 4.
4. Lover of us all (also Schutte) “the children of Your loving”
5. The Lord bless you and keep you is reminiscent of 1R.
6. Sing a New Song (also Schutte) Prioritize Stanza 2.
7. Sing to the Mountains (Dufford)
8. Throughout all time (Haas)
9. A Christmas Praise (Aquino & Agatep)
10. Angels we have heard on high. But start from Stanza 2. “Shepherds why this jubilee?”

P of the G: 
1. Dwelling Place (Foley) Prioritize Stanza 3.
2. Earthen Vessels (Foley)
3. Prayer of Rupert Mayer (Francisco) This song may be viewed also as a song of Mary.
4. Take and Receive “Do what Thou wilt command and I obey” is almost similar to Mary’s fiat.
5. Take, Lord, Receive (Foley) Prioritize Stanza 3. “Dispose of it, wholly according to Your will.”

C: Pwedeng pagpilian:
1. Magnificat (Haas) 
2. One more Gift (Francisco) is to II 8
3. Prayer for Peace (Haas)
4. Shelter Me O God (Hurd & Kingsbury) Prioritize Stanza 2. “As a mother gathers her young beneath her care”
5. Sing of Him (Dufford) Prioritize Stanza 2 “Ponder it deeply”
6. The First Noel. But reserve Stanza 3 for the occasion of the Lord’s Epiphany.
7. So the Love of God (D Schutte) "We are God's children, family forever" is parallel to 2R Nos. 3 & 4

2nd Communion Song just in case mahaba ang pila
1. God rest ye merry Gentlemen
2. God with us
3. Have yourself a merry little Christmas
4. Peace Prayer (Hangad). I don’t understand the lyrics, este the syllables, but I’m fascinated by it. Besides, hindi na Advent, so pwede na ang instrumental solos.
5. Lovely Lady dressed in blue (JMM in Sumibol by Dulaang Sibol) “God was just your little boy”

R:
1. I will sing forever (Francisco) “And a song of gentle mercy and of peace.”
2. Let there be peace on earth (Miller & Jackson)
3. The Work of Christmas (Arboleda)
4. Mother Mary in Ateneo Boys’ Choir A Time to Fly
5. Hail Mary “Mother of God”
6. Mary Immaculate “Mother of God”
7. Auld Lang Syne (but ask permission from your PP and Music Ministry first)