DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JANUARY 23, 2023
MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
(DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN)
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT, DEACON AND MARTYR / SAINT MARIANNE COPE, VIRGIN)
FIRST READING
HEBREWS 9:15, 24-28 OR (ISAIAH 49:1-6 / 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-15)
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.24 For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own;26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.27 And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment,28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 97(98):1-6 OR (PSALMS 8:4-9 / PSALMS 34:2-9)
Response: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made known his victory,
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
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SECOND READING (DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN)
EPHESIANS 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL
Jesus frees us from Satan's power
MARK 3:22-30 OR (LUKE 1:39-56 / MATTHEW 10:17-22)
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." 23 And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" 30 for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The cross of Christ as victory, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"It is not difficult, therefore, to see how the devil was conquered when he, who was slain by him, rose again. But there is something greater and more profound of comprehension: to see how the devil was conquered precisely when he was thought to be conquering, namely, when Christ was crucified. For at that moment the blood of him who had no sin at all, was shed for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28, 1 John 3:5). The devil deservedly held those whom he had bound by sin to the condition of death. So it happened that One who was guilty of no sin freed them justly from this condemnation (Hebrews 2:14). The strong man was conquered by this paradoxical justice and bound by this chain, that his vessels [booty] might be taken away. Those vessels which had been vessels of wrath were turned into vessels of mercy (Romans 9:22-23)."
(excerpt ON THE TRINITY 13.15.19)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.