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.”
Proper
Readings suggested for this Memorial for the Protection of Unborn Children [1]
Note: In the Dioceses of the United
States the Memorial of Saint Vincent,
Deacon and Martyr [USA] and the Memorial
of Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin [USA] are perpetually
transferred to January 23rd.
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading I: 2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
David returned from his
defeat of the Amalekites
and spent two days in Ziklag.
On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp,
with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.
David asked him, “Where do you come from?”
He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.”
“Tell me what happened,” David bade him.
He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle
and that many of them had fallen and were dead,
among them Saul and his son Jonathan.
David seized his garments and rent them,
and all the men who were with him did likewise.
They mourned and wept and fasted until evening
for Saul and his son Jonathan,
and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel,
because they had fallen by the sword.
“Alas! the glory of Israel,
Saul,
slain upon your heights;
how can the warriors have fallen!
“Saul and Jonathan, beloved
and cherished,
separated neither in life nor in death,
swifter than eagles, stronger than lions!
Women of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and in finery,
who decked your attire with ornaments of gold.
“How can the warriors have
fallen–
in the thick of the battle,
slain upon your heights!
“I grieve for you, Jonathan
my brother!
most dear have you been to me;
more precious have I held love for you than love for women.
“How can the warriors have
fallen,
the weapons of war have perished!”
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Commentary on 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
The Lord’s disapproval of Saul as King of the Israelites is shown as he
falls in battle along with his son Jonathan (Jonathan's death would also have
insured that there could be no familial succession). Although the selection
presented does not stipulate, the courier was the individual who actually
provided the final blow that killed Saul who had already been mortally wounded.
His testimony could not be doubted by David and his soldiers.
Following the news and mourning ritual (“David seized his garments
and rent them, and all the men who were with him did likewise. They mourned and
wept and fasted until evening”), David composed a ballad of lament to honor
“God’s anointed.”
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 5-7
R. (4b) Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be
saved.
O shepherd of Israel,
hearken,
O guide of the flock of Joseph!
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O LORD of hosts, how long
will you burn with anger
while your people pray?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in ample measure.
You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
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Commentary on Ps 80:2-3, 5-7
Psalm 80 is a
communal lament. Here the community exalts the king who shepherds Israel with
fidelity, and calls upon God to continue to protect his special creation, the
people he has called. The psalmist pleads that God’s support be given and that
their enemies might be defeated with His help.
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Gospel: Mark 3:20-21
Jesus came with his disciples
into the house.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:20-21
Jesus returns to his home and
is greeted with disbelief by some his own relatives. They likely believe,
because of his excessive focus on his mission and the claims made about his
actions, that he has become delusional.
This short passage provides a
sense of the challenges Jesus faces in his mission to proclaim the Kingdom of
God. His fame had clearly spread as a consequence of his teaching, his natural
charisma, and his miraculous healing power. The disbelief by even his relatives
is a barrier to be overcome.
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Reflection:
It must have been very
confusing for the friends and relatives of Jesus who had known him before he
began his public ministry. The Holy
Spirit unleashed the ability of the carpenter’s son to express the divinity
that was his very essence, and the results must have shocked his friends from
Nazareth.
But why, we ask, would they
have thought “He is out of his mind?” It would not have been because of the
miraculous cures. These were well
documented and given the crowds that were so thick that they prevented the Lord
from eating, accepted as genuine. Could
it have been because people were talking?
They would have expected a person with such incredible power to demand
special treatment, homage, and honor.
Could his friends and relatives have thought that Jesus himself was
demanding such treatment and thereby putting on airs?
The only explanation that
makes sense is that, never having heard him take up the power of the Holy
Spirit, they must have thought him delusional.
They were reacting to rumor and hearsay, and in doing so, they were
trying to do the same things the Pharisees would later accomplish when they
arrested him in the garden. With that
comparison, we see the moral of this short statement: that even
well-intentioned people make terrible mistakes when they react to rumors and
gossip.
With that lesson clearly
before us we consider our call to discipleship and what that means. The Lord himself would never have accepted
critical words about another person. He loves
every individual. If some slander or
derogatory remarks were made about an individual, he would have approached them
directly to determine the truth. Of
course with the Lord, a look would have sufficed, but still, even with the most
undeserving “tax collectors and sinners,” his intent was that of healer of
souls.
Today we pray that we may
never react to hearsay, rumor, or gossip, but will always seek the truth and
seek to love those we meet as Christ has taught us.
Pax
[1] These readings were taken from the Lectionary for Mass Supplement the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, nos. 947A-947E or the Lectionary for Mass (vol. IV) the Mass for Justice and Peace, nos. 887-891.
[2] The picture is “The Messenger who Slew Saul is Slain” by Bernard Picart and Abraham de Blois, Published 1728
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] 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.
 |
| “The Messenger who Slew Saul is Slain” by Bernard Picart and Abraham de Blois, Published 1728 |
and spent two days in Ziklag.
On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp,
with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.
David asked him, “Where do you come from?”
He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.”
“Tell me what happened,” David bade him.
He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle
and that many of them had fallen and were dead,
among them Saul and his son Jonathan.
David seized his garments and rent them,
and all the men who were with him did likewise.
They mourned and wept and fasted until evening
for Saul and his son Jonathan,
and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel,
because they had fallen by the sword.
slain upon your heights;
how can the warriors have fallen!
separated neither in life nor in death,
swifter than eagles, stronger than lions!
Women of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and in finery,
who decked your attire with ornaments of gold.
in the thick of the battle,
slain upon your heights!
most dear have you been to me;
more precious have I held love for you than love for women.
the weapons of war have perished!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 5-7
O guide of the flock of Joseph!
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
while your people pray?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in ample measure.
You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 80:2-3, 5-7
Gospel: Mark 3:20-21
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:20-21
Reflection:
[1] These readings were taken from the Lectionary for Mass Supplement the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, nos. 947A-947E or the Lectionary for Mass (vol. IV) the Mass for Justice and Peace, nos. 887-891.
[2] The picture is “The Messenger who Slew Saul is Slain” by Bernard Picart and Abraham de Blois, Published 1728
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] 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.
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