THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

Daily Mass Readings

Memorial of Saint Agnes

Virgin and Martyr

Antiphon

 Ps 66 (65): 4

 

All the earth shall bow down before you, O God,

and shall sing to you,

shall sing to your name, O Most High!

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,

who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong,

mercifully grant,

that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes,

may follow her constancy in the faith.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

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

God, forever and ever.

Amen.

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

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.

Alleluia

2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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 21

Saint Agnes

(d.c. 258)

Almost nothing is known of this saint except that she was very young—12 or 13—

when she was martyred in the last half of the third century. Various modes of death have been suggested—beheading, burning, strangling.

Legend has it that Agnes was a beautiful girl whom many young men wanted to marry. Among those she refused, one reported her to the authorities for being a Christian. 

She was arrested and confined to a house of prostitution. The legend continues that a man who looked upon her lustfully lost his sight and had it restored by her prayer. 

Agnes was condemned, executed, and buried near Rome in a catacomb that eventually was named after her. The daughter of Constantine built a basilica in her honor.

THE LITURGY OF HOURS

The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office or the Work of God
(Opus Dei), is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.  The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer.  At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world.  The Divine Office "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father." (SC 84)  The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God.  Each of the five canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation.  The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle:  the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). The Gospel canticle acts as a kind of meditative extension of the scriptural proclamation in light of the Christ event.  Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.

In the Hours, the royal priesthood of the baptized is exercised, and this sacrifice of praise is thus connected to the sacrifice of the Eucharist, 

both preparing for and flowing from the Mass.

"The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer." (CCC 1177)

OFFICE OF READINGS

"The office of readings seeks to provide God's people, and in particular those consecrated to God in a special way, with a wider selection of passages from sacred Scripture for meditation, together with the finest excerpts from spiritual writers. Even though the cycle of scriptural readings at daily Mass is now richer, the treasures of revelation and tradition to be found in the office of readings will also contribute greatly to the spiritual life" (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours [GILH], no. 55).

https://www.universalis.com/0/readings.htm

LAUDS - Morning Prayer

"As is clear from many of the elements that make it up, morning prayer is intended and arranged to sanctify the morning. St. Basil the Great gives an excellent description of this character in these words: "It is said in the morning in order that the first stirrings of our mind and will may be consecrated to God and that we may take nothing in hand until we have been gladdened by the thought of God, as it is written: 'I was mindful of God and was glad' (Ps 77:4 [Jerome's translation from Hebrew]), or set our bodies to any task before we do what has been said: 'I will pray to you, Lord, you will hear my voice in the morning; I will stand before you in the morning and gaze on you' 

(Ps 5:4-5)."

"Celebrated as it is as the light of a new day is dawning, this hour also recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the true light enlightening all people (see Jn 1:9) and "the sun of justice" (Mal 4:2), "rising from on high" (Lk 1:78). Hence, we can well understand the advice of St. Cyprian: "There should be prayer in the morning so that the resurrection of the Lord may thus be celebrated" (GILH, no. 38).

https://www.universalis.com/0/lauds.htm

TERCE - Mid-Morning Prayer

"Following a very ancient tradition Christians have made a practice of praying out of private devotion at various times of the day, even in the course of their work, in imitation of the Church in apostolic times. In different ways with the passage of time this tradition has taken the form of a liturgical celebration.

"Liturgical custom in both East and West has retained midmorning, midday, and midafternoon prayer, mainly because these hours were linked to a commemoration of the events of the Lord's passion and of the first preaching of the Gospel" 

(GILH, no. 74-75).

https://www.universalis.com/0/terce.htm

SEXT - Mid-Day Prayer

 https://www.universalis.com/0/sext.htm

NONE - Afternoon Prayer

 https://www.universalis.com/0/none.htm

VESPERS - Evening Prayer

"When evening approaches and the day is already far spent, evening prayer is celebrated in order that 'we may give thanks for what has been given us, or what we have done well, during the day.' We also recall the redemption through the prayer we send up 'like incense in the Lord's sight,' and in which 'the raising up of our hands' becomes 'an evening sacrifice' (see Ps 141:2). This sacrifice 'may also be interpreted more spiritually as the true evening sacrifice that our Savior the Lord entrusted to the apostles at supper on the evening when he instituted the sacred mysteries of the Church or of the evening sacrifice of the next day, the sacrifice, that is, which, raising his hands, he offered to the Father at the end of the ages for the salvation of the whole world.' Again, in order to fix our hope on the light that knows no setting, 'we pray and make petition for the light to come down on us anew; we implore the coming of Christ who will bring the grace of eternal light.' Finally, at this hour we join with the Churches of the East in calling upon the 'joy-giving light of that holy glory, born of the immortal, heavenly Father, the holy and blessed Jesus Christ; now that we have come to the setting of the sun and have seen the evening star, we sing in praise of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…'" 

(GILH, no. 39).

https://www.universalis.com/0/vespers.htm

COMPLINE - Night Prayer

"Night prayer is the last prayer of the day, said before retiring, even if that is after midnight" (GILH, no. 84).The Psalms that are chosen for Night Prayer are full of confidence in the Lord.

https://www.universalis.com/0/compline.htm

ABOUT TODAY

https://www.universalis.com/0/today.htm