Saturday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
2nd book of 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 Israelite camp.”
“Tell me what happened,” David bade him. He answered that 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!”

Psalms 80(79):2-3.5-7.
Shepherd of Israel, listen, guide of the flock of Joseph! From your throne upon the cherubim reveal yourself
to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Stir up your power, come to save us.
LORD of hosts, how long will you burn with anger while your people pray?
You have fed them the bread of tears, made them drink tears in abundance.
You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors; our enemies deride us.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:20-21.
He came home. 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.”
Commentary of the day : Saint Thomas Aquinas
Jesus gives himself wholly,  even to his body and blood

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 “