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.”
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.
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| “The Last Supper” (detail) by Jacopo Bassano, c. 1546 |
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:[3]
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.
CCC: Heb 8:6 1070; Heb 8:8-10 1965
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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 post-exilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of post-exilic 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.
CCC: Ps 85:11 214; Ps 85:12 2795
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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:
The Church in the United States dedicates this day, January 22nd, to our moral conviction that human life, which God in his infinite mercy placed on the earth, is sacred. It focuses us on the most vulnerable of his children, those who are, again through his creating hand, placed into the wombs of women who will, like our Blessed Mother, Mary, bear children. The USCCB has designated the next nine days as “9 Days for Life” and established a novena that starts today.
This year our participation is especially important. The federal elections just completed have installed leadership which politically supports making the taking of life in the womb, the slaughter of innocents as it is biblically called, a “human right” to be carried out on demand. The next four years will be very difficult for those of us who support the sanctity and dignity of human life from womb to old age. Please join in praying for an end to this terrible travesty against God’s creation. Like the Apostles, we too are called and sent.
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. 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
[1] 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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on Psalm 85.
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