Friday, 22 January 2010

Friday of the Second week in Ordinary Time

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 22 January
Today the Church celebrates : St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (+ 304)

See commentary below or click here
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach”

1st book of Samuel 24:3-21.

Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel  and went in search of David and his men  in the direction of the wild goat crags. When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to ease nature. David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave. David’s servants said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘I will deliver your enemy into your grasp; do with him as you see fit.'” So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s mantle. Afterward, however, David regretted that he had cut off an end of Saul’s mantle. He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’S anointed, as to lay a hand on him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.” With these words David restrained his men and would not permit them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way. David also stepped out of the cave, calling to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked back, David bowed to the ground in homage and asked Saul: “Why do you listen to those who say, ‘David is trying to harm you’? You see for yourself today that the LORD just now delivered you into my grasp in the cave. I had some thought of killing you, but I took pity on you instead. I decided, ‘I will not raise a hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed and a father to me.’ Look here at this end of your mantle which I hold. Since I cut off an end of your mantle and did not kill you, see and be convinced that I plan no harm and no rebellion. I have done you no wrong, though you are hunting me down to take my life. The LORD will judge between me and you, and the LORD will exact justice from you in my case. I shall not touch you. The old proverb says, ‘From the wicked comes forth wickedness.’ So I will take no action against you. Against whom are you on campaign, O king of Israel? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, or a single flea! The LORD will be the judge; he will decide between me and you. May he see this, and take my part, and grant me justice beyond your reach!” When David finished saying these things to Saul, Saul answered, “Is that your voice, my son David?” And he wept aloud. Saul then said to David: “You are in the right rather than I; you have treated me generously, while I have done you harm. Great is the generosity you showed me today, when the LORD delivered me into your grasp and you did not kill me. For if a man meets his enemy, does he send him away unharmed? May the LORD reward you generously for what you have done this day. And now, since I know that you shall surely be king and that sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession,

Psalms 57:2.3-4.6.11.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me. In you I seek shelter. In the shadow of your wings I seek shelter till harm pass by.
I call to God Most High, to God who provides for me.
May God send help from heaven to save me, shame those who trample upon me. May God send fidelity and love. Selah
Show yourself over the heavens, God; may your glory appear above all the earth.
For your love towers to the heavens; your faithfulness, to the skies.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Catechism of the Catholic Church
§ 74 – 79

“He appointed twelve that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach”

God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”:29 that is, of Christ Jesus.30 Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth… “Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline.”

In keeping with the Lord’s command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways: orally “by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit”; in writing “by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing”. In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority.” Indeed, “the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time.”

This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, “the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.” “The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer.» The Father’s self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church.

(References : Vatican Council II : Dei Verbum, § 7 – 8)

Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
1st book of Samuel 18:6-9.19:1-7.
When David and Saul approached (on David’s return after slaying the Philistine),  women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.”
(And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.
Saul discussed his intention of killing David with his son Jonathan and with all his servants. But Saul’s son Jonathan, who was very fond of David,
told him: “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning; get out of sight and remain in hiding.
I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know.”
Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him: “Let not your majesty sin against his servant David, for he has committed no offense against you, but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel through him, you were glad to see it. Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood by killing David without cause?”
Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed.”
So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.

Psalms 56(55):2-3.9-13.
Have mercy on me, God, for I am treated harshly; attackers press me all the day.
My foes treat me harshly all the day; yes, many are my attackers. O Most High,
My wanderings you have noted; are my tears not stored in your vial, recorded in your book?
My foes turn back when I call on you. This I know: God is on my side.
God, I praise your promise;
in you I trust, I do not fear. What can mere mortals do to me?
I have made vows to you, God; with offerings I will fulfill them,

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:7-12.
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
Commentary of the day : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
“Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him “

Wednesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
1st book of Samuel 17:32-33.37.40-51.
David spoke to Saul: «Let your majesty not lose courage. I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine.»
But Saul answered David, “You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”
David continued: “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.” Saul answered David, “Go! the LORD will be with you.”
Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.
With his shield-bearer marching before him, the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David.
When he had sized David up, and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance, he held him in contempt.
The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods
and said to him, “Come here to me, and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”
David answered him: “You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.
Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will leave your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God.
All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves. For the battle is the LORD’S, and he shall deliver you into our hands.”
The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters, while David ran quickly toward the battle line in the direction of the Philistine.
David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone, hurled it with the sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone embedded itself in his brow, and he fell prostrate on the ground.
(Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone; he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword.)
Then David ran and stood over him; with the Philistine’s own sword (which he drew from its sheath) he dispatched him and cut off his head.When they saw that their hero was dead, the Philistines took to flight.

Psalms 144:1.2.9-10.
Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war;
My safe guard and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, My shield, in whom I trust, who subdues peoples under me.
O God, a new song I will sing to you; on a ten-stringed lyre I will play for you.
You give victory to kings; you delivered David your servant. From the menacing sword

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:1-6.
Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.”
Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
Commentary of the day : Melito of Sardis
“The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death”