The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 373, designates January 22 as a particular day of prayer and penance, called the "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children”: “In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.”
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| “The Last Supper” (detail) by Jacopo Bassano, c. 1546 |
Reading 1: Hebrews 8:6-13
Brothers and sisters:
Now our high priest has
obtained so much more excellent a ministry
as he is mediator of a better
covenant,
enacted on better promises.
For if that first covenant
had been faultless,
no place would have been
sought for a second one.
But he finds fault with them
and says:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their
fathers
the day I took them by the hand to lead
them forth from the land of Egypt
for they did not stand by my covenant
and I ignored them, says the Lord.
But this is the covenant I will establish with the
house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds
and I will write them upon their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen
and kin, saying,
“Know the Lord,”
for all shall know me, from least to greatest.
For I will forgive their evildoing
and remember their sins no more.
When he speaks of a “new”
covenant,
he declares the first one
obsolete.
And what has become obsolete
and has grown old is close to
disappearing.
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Commentary on Heb 8:6-13
In the prior verses (Hebrews 7:25—8:6) there
was a reminder that Jesus came as the new covenant, replacing the covenant and
promises of Moses. Here, the Letter to the Hebrews continues on this theme,
explaining why the new covenant forged by Jesus was required. In language taken
from the Old Testament prophets (Jeremiah 31:31-34), the
fact that a new covenant was needed showed the old covenant to be flawed.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:8 and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (11a) Kindness and truth shall meet.
Show us, O LORD, your mercy,
and grant us your salvation.
Near indeed is his salvation
to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Kindness and truth shall meet.
Kindness and truth shall
meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the
earth,
and justice shall look down
from heaven.
R. Kindness and truth shall meet.
The LORD himself will give
his benefits;
our land shall yield its
increase.
Justice shall walk before
him,
and salvation, along the way
of his steps.
R. Kindness and truth shall meet.
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Commentary on Ps 85:8 and 10, 11-12,
13-14
Psalm 85 is intended as a “…
national lament,” a plea of the people, “reminding God of past favors and
forgiveness and begging for forgiveness and grace. A
speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts: God will be
active on their behalf. The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during
the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar
to those of postexilic prophets (Haggai
1:5-11; 2:6-9).”[4]
This selection
begins as a plea for mercy and salvation.
It continues in expectation of God’s saving justice.
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Gospel: Mark 3:13-19
Jesus went up the mountain
and summoned those whom he wanted
and they came to him.
He appointed Twelve, whom he
also named Apostles,
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth
to preach
and to have authority to
drive out demons:
He appointed the Twelve:
Simon, whom he named Peter;
James, son of Zebedee,
and John the brother of
James, whom he named Boanerges,
that is, sons of thunder;
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the
son of Alphaeus;
Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,
and Judas Iscariot who
betrayed him.
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Commentary on Mk 3:13-19
The setting for this event is
placed on a “mountain” depicting the solemnity of the occasion, as is
done in other places in St. Mark’s Gospel (see also Mark 6:46; 9:2-8; 13:3). Having called certain people
to himself (unlike St. Matthew, in which the group is assumed to have been
known Matthew 10:1-15), Mark’s
Gospel now names the apostles. He also defines the faculties that Jesus gives
them, essentially giving them purpose:”… that
they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have
authority to drive out demons.”
CCC: Mk 3:13-19 551, 787; Mk
3:13-14 858; Mk
3:14-19 1577; Mk
3:14-15 765; Mk 3:15 1673; Mk 3:16 552
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Reflection:
Sacred scripture describes some
of the complex ways in which Jesus reveals the love of God. First we hear from the Letter to the Hebrews
why Christ’s coming was so necessary, that the old covenants were flawed and
the salvation of the people was incomplete.
We are told that, in order for the prophet’s testimony to be fulfilled,
a new covenant must be forged so that the forgiveness of God might be realized. Jesus not only made the promise that
fulfilled Jeremiah’s oracle, he was also the sacrifice that sealed it according
to Mosaic Law.
Jesus knew his time among us
would be very limited. It was necessary, since the Lord himself was preordained
to be the sacrifice of atonement, that he must leave the treasury of his
teaching with persons of faith. He
selected the Twelve to accomplish this task.
He even selected his betrayer as part of this group of students,
friends, and heirs to his authority.
This event is of extreme
importance to us, since it is through the selection of the Twelve that the
Apostles were consecrated to the great work that continues to this day, the
propagation of the faith, taking the Good News to the whole world. It was necessary for Jesus to do as he
did. There would be no other way the
faith could spread because God made his creation, endowing the human race with
free will. He created us in his own
image, not as a race of slaves, not forcing upon his cherished people faith and
adoration for himself. Instead, his Only
Begotten Son selected twelve very human disciples. He gave them the authority to cast out demons,
to refute the evil one who would bar the Kingdom of God on earth from coming
forth.
One in particular, Peter, Jesus
chose as the leader of this group. Peter, in his turn and when his formation
was completed, would be tested, fail, and be empowered with the Holy Spirit. He
would pass on his task and authority to his own successors. Since that time, the papacy has been handed
down. And with that transmission of
faith, the faith has been handed down to us, the adoption that makes us
co-heirs with the twelve.
Today we pray that our own
call might be clearly heard, and that we might find the strength to express
God’s love in a way worthy of that call.
We thank God for this eloquent reminder that we too are called, and we
too are sent.
Pax
[2]
The picture used today is “The Last Supper” (detail) by Jacopo Bassano, c. 1546
[3]
The readings are taken from the New
American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by
USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on Psalm 85
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