Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

 
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 23^rd.

“St. Michael and Fallen Angels”
by Luca Giordano, 1690’s

 Readings for Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10
 
All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
“Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the children of Israel out and brought them back.
And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.’”
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the Lord,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king,
and he reigned for forty years:
seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah,
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem
over all Israel and Judah.
 
Then the king and his men set out for Jerusalem
against the Jebusites who inhabited the region.
David was told, “You cannot enter here:
the blind and the lame will drive you away!”
which was their way of saying, “David cannot enter here.”
But David did take the stronghold of Zion, which is the City of David.
 
David grew steadily more powerful,
for the Lord of hosts was with him.
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Commentary on 2 Sm 5:1-7, 10
 
David is anointed king, this time by the people of Judea (following the collapse of Saul’s line). He immediately launches a campaign against the Jebusites who hold Israel, specifically Jerusalem. In spite of their resistance, David was victorious, and God continued to bless his efforts to lead the people of Judea and Israel (for 40 more years).
 
"David reaches the summit of royal power to which God has called him.  No longer a charismatic leader of loyal militiamen (1 Samuel 22:1-2), or even the king of an entire tribe such as Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), he is now the uncontested ruler of all Israel. This is the true beginning of the united monarchy, the golden age of Old Testament history when all twelve tribes stand united under a single king of Israel. It will last less than 100 years, spanning the reigns of David and Solomon, after which the northern tribes will break away from the house of David and the turbulent days of the divided monarchy will begin (see 1 Kings 12).” [5]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 25-26
 
R. (25a) My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
 
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
 
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
 
“My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
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Commentary on Ps 89:20, 21-22, 25-26
 
Psalm 89 is a lament of the community. In these verses it celebrates the call of King David and recalls his anointing at Hebron (see 2 Samuel 5:1-4).
 
CCC: Ps 89 709
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Gospel: Mark 3:22-30
 
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
 
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:22-30
 
This passage takes up the story from Mark 3:20-21 when Jesus had taken his disciples to Matthew’s house for a meal but could not eat because of the crowd. The Lord’s mother and family came to get him, and the word passed on was that they thought he had lost his mind.
 
The conflict between Jesus and the scribes reveals itself completely. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons.” The Lord summons them and demonstrates with parables the foolishness of their claim. He first asks the ironic question that could be paraphrased: “If I, who destroy unclean spirits, am from the originator of those spirits; and if I were in league with him, he has destroyed himself.”  He continues an analogy about the strong man protecting his house. In this case he, Jesus, would represent the defender of the house (of Israel), and those attacking him, robbers attempting to tie him up.
 
The story concludes with an important theological understanding. The Son of God came into the world so that sins might be forgiven (“all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them”). Jesus then defines the Holy Spirit and himself as of the same essence by saying that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit (as the scribes had just done in calling Jesus an emissary of Satan) would be guilty of an everlasting sin (their sin would never be forgiven).
 
CCC: Mk 3:22 548, 574; Mk 3:27 539; Mk 3:29 1864
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Reflection:
 
The Holy Trinity is implicitly defined in today’s Gospel.  For those of us who have wondered where it is written in Sacred Scripture that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of the same essence, this is one of the most direct passages.
 
This selection also flies in the face of a more prevalent idea called in some circles “universalism.”  That term is defined as saying that when Jesus came all sins were forgiven and there could be no lasting stain on anyone.  It does not matter what translation is studied, verses 28 and 29 of the third chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel say clearly that anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has committed an unforgivable act.  In this specific case, Jesus is called evil and an instrument of Satan. This act, unrepented, earns the perpetrator a place of eternal damnation (there are moral absolutes).
 
This same sentiment is presented in the Gospel of St. Matthew (see Matthew 12:30ff).  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says of this action (interestingly it is presented in the discussion of the fallen angels):
 
“393 It is the irrevocable character of their [fallen angels] choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. ‘There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death.’ [6] ”
 
In our modern age, we sometimes fall into this kind of universalism trap, thinking that it does not matter what we do; the Divine Mercy so characteristic of God will keep us from that eternal anguish.  Here we see Satan’s trap revealed.  For, if we are weak and lash out at God in our pain, we risk taking a “dirt nap” with Satan himself.
 
Just as the Lord provides us a path to salvation that is sometimes very difficult to walk, Satan, eternally fallen, makes it very easy to fall into his kingdom.  We have seen it often enough.  It usually begins with an injured person becoming angry with God (usually for a choice either made by themselves or by the person they are mourning).  They say: “How could God have let this happen?”  It is an easy next step to say that God himself is evil because he did not create man incapable of sin or intervene when they renounce their belief in His Only Begotten Son.
 
We pray for those souls today who through their ignorance or through their fallen nature have committed this sin against God.  We also pray for those who have been misguided and all those who are still being perfected in purgatory.
 
Pax

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[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 “St. Michael and Fallen Angels” by Luca Giordano, 1690’s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, except for the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The First and Second Books of Samuel, © 2016, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 76.
[6] St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth. 2,4: pp. 94, 877.