Churches of the Day

Monday of Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

FIRST READING

A reading from the first book of Samuel              15: 16-23
Obedience is better than sacrifice. The Lord has rejected you as king.

Samuel said to Saul, 'Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.' Saul said, 'Tell me'.
Samuel continued, 'Small as you may be in your own eyes, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a mission and said to you,
"Go, put these sinners, the Amalekites, under the ban and make war on them until they are exterminated". Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you fall on the booty and do what is displeasing to the Lord ?'
Saul replied to Samuel,
'But I did obey the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission which the Lord gave me; I brought back Agag king of the Amalekites; I put the Amalekites under the ban. From the booty the people took the best sheep and oxen of what was under the ban to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.'
But Samuel replied:
 'Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices or in obedience to the voice of the Lord ?
Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice, submissiveness better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is a sin of sorcery, presumption a crime of teraphim 'Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.'

The Word of the Lord.              Thanks be to God.


Responsorial Psalm            Ps 49:8-9, 16-17,  21, 23, R/v 23
Response                                I will show God's salvation to the upright.

1. 'I find no fault with your sacrifices, your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms, nor goats from among your herds.               Response

2. 'But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds.                                                   Response

3. 'You do this, and should I keep silence? Do you think that I am like you?
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me and I will show God's salvation to the upright.'  Response

Gospel  Acclamation             1 Thess 2:13
Alleluia,  alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word,
which has been planted in you and can save your souls.
Alleluia!

or                                                 Heb 4: 12
Alleluia,   alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark         2: 18-22      Glory to you, O Lord
The bridegroom is with them.

One day when John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came and said to Jesus,
'Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?'
Jesus replied,
'Surely the bridegroom's attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast.

No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!

The Gospel of the Lord.              Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.


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Gospel Reflection     Monday       Second Week in Ordinary Time      Mark 2:18-22

There are many changes happening across our parishes at present, as we try to move together towards becoming larger (and fewer) parishes. There is a great deal of loss in that movement, that journey, for all of us. There is a sense in which things will never be the same as they were. Something new is coming to birth and it can leave us feeling unsettled. The gospel reading suggests that many of Jesus’ contemporaries found his way of giving expression to the Jewish faith quite disturbing and unsettling. It gave rise to all sorts of questions, such as the question we find at the beginning of the gospel reading, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus seemed to be showing little respect for the ancient Jewish practice of fasting. Indeed, he was criticized by some as a glutton and a drunkard. In response to that criticism, Jesus spoke of his ministry as like a wedding feast.

There was something celebratory about Jesus’ ministry, because, through him, God was working to renew his marriage, his loving relationship, with his people and all humanity. In the time of Jesus, weddings engaged the whole community, the whole village, and they could go on for days. No one would dream of fasting at such a time. Jesus was saying that some of the old venerable traditions had to give way because God was working through Jesus in a new way. Jesus was offering new wine, and the old wineskins simply couldn’t contain it. New wineskins were needed. The Lord continues to do a new work among us. He is always moving us to work together with him in new ways, so that the gospel can be heard afresh in our time. This will often mean letting go of structures that have served us well in the past but no longer serve the new work that the Lord is doing today. This letting go is painful, especially when we are not sure of the shape of the new structures, the new wineskins. Yet, we try to remain open to what the Lord is doing among us, trusting that he is furthering his mission as the good shepherd who came that we may have life to the full.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/


The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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-  25th Jan 2026 -
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time: Year A ; St Matthew
Sunday of the Word of God
Catholic Schools Week begins today.

The semi-continuous reading of  St Matthew's Gospel begins this Sunday and deals with the call of the first disciples  by Jesus. The scriptures are fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. His call  to repentance is urgent because the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand.

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah          8:23-9:3
In Galilee of the nations the people have seen a great light.

In days past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in days to come he will confer glory on the Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, province of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 26:1, 4, 13-14. R/v 1
Response                               The Lord is my light and my help.

1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?         Response

2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.                       Response

3. I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!                        Response

SECOND READING 

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to Corinthians         1:10-13. 17
Make up the difference between you instead of disagreeing among yourselves.

I appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe's people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: 'I am for Paul,' 'I am for Apollos,' 'I am for Cephas,' 'I am for Christ'. Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

The Word of the Lord               Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation           Mt 4:23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom,
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!

or                                                 Jn 1:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven  and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!


GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.              And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew  4:12-23      Glory to you, O Lord
Jesus went and settled in Capernaum: in this way the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled.

Hearing that John had been arrested Jesus went back to Galilee,  and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.  In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled: 'Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.'

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message,
'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.'

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogue proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds diseases and sickness among the people.

The Gospel of the Lord           Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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Shorter form of the GOSPEL     

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew         4:12-23
Theme: Jesus went and settled in Capernaum: in this way the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled

Hearing that John had been arrested Jesus went back to Galilee,  and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.  In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
'Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.'

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand'.

The Gospel of the Lord      Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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The scripture readings are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with permission of the publishers.

For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/
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