Second Week in Ordinary Time
January 22—Penance & Reparation
In the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, “…penitential observances outside of Lent are to be observed in the Dioceses of the United States of America at times to be designated by the Diocesan Bishop. In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer of the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion” (GIRM, n. 373).
In ascetical theology, an Act of Reparation is a prayer or devotional practice that is done to make amends for a wrong done or sin against God by means of self-imposed penance. Writing about reparation in the Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, Anthony Andreassi writes, “Reparation is the act of making amends to another for a damage inflicted or crime perpetrated. In moral theology, reparation denotes restitution given to one against whom some wrong has been committed. For certain crimes (such as murder or calumny) there can be no ‘exact’ restitution; however, there are compensations, some of which are detailed in the OT. In devotional theology, reparation refers to the means (prayers, penances, good works) by which a person tries to make amends to God for the sins committed against God, whether personally or by others. Reparation plays a particularly important role in the cult of the Sacred Heart, in which a person seeks recourse to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for sins which reject the perfect love of Jesus which finds its fulfillment in the Eucharist.”
In addition, reparation, according to the archival material of Jesuit priest Father John Hardon is described like this, “The very word, ‘reparation’, has meaning only for a believing Christian. As followers of the Christ, we believe that God became man precisely to redeem us from sin by suffering and dying on the cross for our salvation….We believe that these graces necessary for salvation have to be obtained from God, through Christ, in the way that Christ has determined to confer blessings on sinful children of Adam and Eve.
“Among all the conditions determined by our Lord, none is more effective for obtaining divine mercy than the Sacrifice of the Mass. This is only to be expected. In the Mass, it is the same identical Jesus who died on Calvary, who is now offering Himself for us in an un-bloody manner. Every Mass is a re-enactment of Calvary. Jesus is really and truly on the altar, made really present by the words of consecration of the priest. In the double consecration, Jesus tells us He is ready to die for us, if He could. On the Cross His blood separated from His body causing His death. In the Mass, the separate consecration symbolizes His willingness to shed His blood for our salvation. But He is now immortal and can no longer die. Yet, what an important ‘YET’, He would die if He could. So much did He love us on Calvary, so much does He love us now in our day.
“As defined by the Council of Trent, the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, “For sins, for punishment for sins, and for reparation.” The Sacrifice of the Mass does not remove the guilt of sins immediately by conferring the grace of repentance, as happens in the Sacrament of Baptism and Penance. Rather, the Mass obtains for sinners the grace of repentance. They are enlightened to recognize their sinful state, and inspired to return to the God from whom they had strayed.”
PRAYER OF REPARATION FOR JANUARY 22
God our Creator, Lord and Redeemer of mankind, we give thanks to you, who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; you alone have the power to forgive sins against human life, and to heal the wounds caused by these sins; grant the prayers we have placed before you, and grant that we, your children, will place all our trust in your Divine Mercy so that the world and all its inhabitants may be saved. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Nature and dignity 