First Reading II Samuel 5:1-7 Gospel Mark 3:22-39

(For the Day of Penance, any readings from Volume IV of the Lectionary, “Mass for Peace and Justice, #887-891.)
Before the Second Vatican Council, there were many days of penitence throughout the Church Year. These were days of fast and abstinence. There were the “Ember Days.” These were a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in four seasons of the year. There were the vigils of certain feast days, including Christmas, which were days of fast and abstinence. Every Friday of the year was a day of total abstinence. And every Lenten weekday was a day of fasting.
All of these have been eliminated. But the same Second Vatican Council empowered the bishops of a country to designate new days for penitence. The bishops of the United States have designated this day as a special day of fasting and abstinence and other works of penance. It is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision which permitted women to seek an abortion for any reason. Since that decision, millions of the unborn have been destroyed. Recently, today’s date has been titled “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
The Mass today is celebrated in the violet of penance. Each Catholic should make it a special day of repentance and reparation.