PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer to Saint Anthony the Abbott

Lord God,

You gave Saint Anthony the Abbott the grace of serving in

the desert in prayer with You.

Aided by his intercession,

may we practice self-denial and hece always love You

above all things.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

1 Sm 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 relieve himself.

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 Saul 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, I know that you shall surely be king

and that sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 57:2, 3-4, 6 And 11

R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God; have mercy on me,

for in you I take refuge.

In the shadow of your wings I take refuge,

till harm pass by.

R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

I call to God the Most High,

to God, my benefactor.

May he send from heaven and save me;

may he make those a reproach who trample upon me;

may God send his mercy and his faithfulness.

R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

above all the earth be your glory!

For your mercy towers to the heavens,

and your faithfulness to the skies.

R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Gospel

Mk 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.

SAINT OF THE DAY

January 27

St. Angela Merici (1470?-1540)

Angela has the double distinction of founding the first teaching congregation of women in the Church and what is now called a “secular institute” of religious women.

As a young woman she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (now known as the Secular Franciscan Order), and lived a life of great austerity, wishing, like St. Francis, to own nothing, not even a bed. Early in life she was appalled at the ignorance among poorer children, whose parents could not or would not teach them the elements of religion. Angela’s charming manner and good looks complemented her natural qualities of leadership. Others joined her in giving regular instruction to the little girls of their neighborhood.

She was invited to live with a family in Brescia (where, she had been told in a vision, she would one day found a religious community). Her work continued and became well known. She became the center of a group of people with similar ideals.

She eagerly took the opportunity for a trip to the Holy Land. When they had gotten as far as Crete, she was struck with blindness. Her friends wanted to return home, but she insisted on going through with the pilgrimage, and visited the sacred shrines with as much devotion and enthusiasm as if she had her sight. On the way back, while praying before a crucifix, her sight was restored at the same place where it had been lost.

At 57, she organized a group of 12 girls to help her in catechetical work. Four years later the group had increased to 28. She formed them into the Company of St. Ursula (patroness of medieval universities and venerated as a leader of women) for the purpose of re-Christianizing family life through solid Christian education of future wives and mothers. The members continued to live at home, had no special habit and took no formal vows, though the early Rule prescribed the practice of virginity, poverty and obedience. The idea of a teaching congregation of women was new and took time to develop. The community thus existed as a “secular institute” until some years after Angela’s death.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

– Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

– Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

– Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

– Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

– Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy lasts for ever.

Hymn

O Three in One, and One in Three,

Who rulest all things mightily,

Bow down to hear the songs of praise

Which, freed from bonds of sleep, we raise.

While lingers yet the peace of night,

We rouse us from our slumbers light;

That might of instant prayer may win

The healing balm for wounds of sin.

If, by the wiles of Satan caught,

This night-time we have sinned in aught,

That sin thy glorious power today,

From heaven descending, cleanse away.

Let naught impure our bodies stain,

No laggard sloth our souls detain,

No taint of sin our spirits know,

To chill the fervour of their glow.

Wherefore, Redeemer, grant that we

Fulfilled with thine own light may be:

That, in our course, from day to day,

By no misdeed we fall away.

Grant this, O Father ever One

With Christ, thy sole-begotten Son,

And Holy Ghost, whom all adore,

Reigning and blest for evermore.

Psalm 68 (69)

I am consumed with zeal for your house

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I am stuck in bottomless mud;

I am adrift in deep waters

and the flood is sweeping me away.

I am exhausted with crying out, my throat is parched,

my eyes are failing as I look out for my God.

Those who hate me for no reason

are more than the hairs of my head.

They are strong, my persecutors, my lying enemies:

they make me give back things I never took.

God, you know my weakness:

my crimes are not hidden from you.

Let my fate not put to shame those who trust in you,

Lord, Lord of hosts.

Let them not be dismayed on my account,

those who seek you, God of Israel.

For it is for your sake that I am taunted

and covered in confusion:

I have become a stranger to my own brothers,

a wanderer in the eyes of my mother’s children –

because zeal for your house is consuming me,

and the taunts of those who hate you

fall upon my head.

I have humbled my soul with fasting

and they reproach me for it.

I have made sackcloth my clothing

and they make me a byword.

The idlers at the gates speak against me;

for drinkers of wine, I am the butt of their songs.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Psalm 68 (69)

For food they gave me poison, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

But I turn my prayer to you, Lord,

at the acceptable time, my God.

In your great kindness, hear me,

and rescue me with your faithful help.

Tear me from the mire, before I become stuck;

tear me from those who hate me;

tear me from the depths of the waters.

Do not let the waves overwhelm me;

do not let the deep waters swallow me;

do not let the well’s mouth engulf me.

Hear me, Lord, for you are kind and good.

In your abundant mercy, look upon me.

Do not turn your face from your servant:

I am suffering, so hurry to answer me.

Come to my soul and deliver it,

rescue me from my enemies’ attacks.

You know how I am taunted and ashamed;

how I am thrown into confusion.

You can see all those who are troubling me.

Reproach has shattered my heart – I am sick.

I looked for sympathy, but none came;

I looked for a consoler but did not find one.

They gave me bitterness to eat;

when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

For food they gave me poison, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 68 (69)

Seek the Lord, and he will give life to your soul.

I am weak and I suffer,

but your help, O God, will sustain me.

I will praise the name of God in song

and proclaim his greatness with praises.

This will please the Lord more than oxen,

than cattle with their horns and hooves.

Let the humble see and rejoice.

Seek the Lord, and your heart shall live,

for the Lord has heard the needy

and has not despised his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that swims in them.

For the Lord will make Zion safe

and build up the cities of Judah:

there they will live, the land will be theirs.

The seed of his servants will inherit the land,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Seek the Lord, and he will give life to your soul.

The Lord will teach us his ways

– and we shall walk in his paths.

Reading

Deuteronomy 31:1-15,23

The last words of Moses

Moses proceeded to address these words to the whole of Israel, ‘I am one hundred and twenty years old now, and can no longer come and go as I will. The Lord has said to me, “You shall not cross this Jordan.” It is the Lord your God who will cross it at your head to destroy these nations facing you and dispossess them; and Joshua too shall cross at your head, as the Lord has said. The Lord will treat them as he treated Sihon and Og the Amorite kings and their land, destroying them. The Lord will hand them over to you, and you will deal with them in exact accordance with the commandments I have enjoined on you. Be strong, stand firm, have no fear of them, no terror, for the Lord your God is going with you; he will not fail you or desert you.’

Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, ‘Be strong, stand firm; you are going with this people into the land the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you are to give it into their possession. The Lord himself will lead you; he will be with you; he will not fail you or desert you. Have no fear, do not be disheartened by anything.’

Moses committed this Law to writing and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses gave them this command: ‘At the end of every seven years, at the time fixed for the year of remission, at the feast of Tabernacles, when the whole of Israel comes to look on the face of the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must proclaim this Law in the hearing of all Israel. Call the people together, men, women, children, and the stranger who lives with you, for them to hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God and keep and observe all the words of this Law. Their children, who as yet do not know it, shall hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.’

The Lord said to Moses, ‘And now the time draws near when you must die. Summon Joshua and take your stand at the Tent of Meeting, that I may give him his orders.’ And Moses and Joshua came and took their stand at the Tent of Meeting. And the Lord showed himself at the Tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the Tent.

He gave Joshua son of Nun this order: ‘Be strong and stand firm, for you are to bring the sons of Israel to the land I swore I would give them, and I myself will be with you.’

Responsory

Be strong and stand firm, for the Lord your God is going with you. He will be with you, have no fear.

The Lord will be at your side, he will keep your steps from the snare. He will be with you, have no fear.

Reading

A commentary on Psalm 101 by St John Fisher

The wonders of God

First of all God freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, with many signs and wonders. Then he let them cross the Red Sea dry-shod; in the desert he fed them with food from heaven in the form of manna and quails; when they were thirsty he gave them an inexhaustible spring of water, bubbling from the rock. He gave them victory over enemies that attacked them; he made the Jordan flow backwards for them; he took the land he had promised them and divided it between them according to their tribes and clans. Although he had dealt with them so lovingly and generously, the ungrateful people abandoned the worship of God, as if they had utterly forgotten everything, and shackled themselves with the crime of idol-worship – not once but many times.

Then God took us, although we were pagans, and irresistibly drawn towards dumb idols, if anything. He cut us off from the wild olive tree of our gentile nature and grafted us on to the true olive tree of the Jewish people, pruning away its existing branches and making us sharers in its grace, its richness, and the nourishment that came from its roots. Finally God did not spare his own Son but gave him up to benefit us all, a victim and fragrant offering to God to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own.

All these things are not mere arguments but genuine signs of God’s love and God’s generosity. We men, on the other hand, are supremely ungrateful: we have gone far beyond the boundaries of all previous ingratitude. We pay no attention to God’s love, we do not recognise the scale of his generosity, but we spurn the source and giver of all these good things and practically hold him in contempt. Not even the outstanding mercy he shows to sinners moves us to order our lives and actions according to his holy law.

Clearly these acts of God deserve to be written down in the next generation, so that they are remembered for ever. Thus all who in future bear the name of Christians will recognise God’s goodness to us and will never at any time cease from offering praise to him.

Responsory

In festive gatherings, bless the Lord. Bless God, you who are Israel’s sons.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord, all the earth. Bless God, you who are Israel’s sons.

Let us pray.

All-powerful, ever-living God,

direct our steps in the way of your love,

so that our whole life may be fragrant

with all we do in the name of Jesus, your beloved Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.