Jesus Appoints The Twelve

JANUARY 21, 2022, FRIDAY
Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (Red)
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 315

Reading I

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.        (2a)  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.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Like the apostles each of us is called by name or called into a profoundly personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. It is when we allow him to look on us in this way that we get a sense of our deepest significance and personal worth.

PRAYER:

I pray for my friends and acquaintances. We are, each of us, called by God. I pray that I may cherish each of them as God does.

The Twelve Disciples

September 07, 2021, Tuesday
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I 
Lectionary: 438

Reading I
Col 2:6-15

Brothers and sisters:
As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,
rooted in him and built upon him
and established in the faith as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,
and you share in this fullness in him,
who is the head of every principality and power.
In him you were also circumcised
with a circumcision not administered by hand,
by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead in transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross;
despoiling the principalities and the powers,
he made a public spectacle of them,
leading them away in triumph by it.

Responsorial Psalm
145:1b-2, 8-9, 10-11

R.    (9) The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

I will extol you, O my God and King,
    and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
    and I will praise your name forever and ever.

R.    The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
    and compassionate toward all his works.

R.    The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
    and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
    and speak of your might.

R.    The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Alleluia
See Jn 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I chose you from the world,
that you may go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Lk 6:12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people 
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

REFLECTION:

Jesus chose and called his disciples after some time of prayer. Consider what was in Jesus’ heart - the hope, trust and love that he had for his disciples as he chose them to be close to him. Allow Jesus to look on you with the same hope, trust and love. Hear yourself called; ask for grace to be able to respond fully from your heart.

PRAYER:

Lord, I come to you in this time of prayer to take your touch. Let me hear again your call to me. Let me sense your power at work in and through me.