Catholic Missal of the day: Friday, January 23 2026

Friday of the Second week in Ordinary Time

1st book of Samuel

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 ease nature. 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 he 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, since I know that you shall surely be king and that sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession."

Psalms

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me.
In you I seek shelter.
In the shadow of your wings I seek shelter
till harm pass by.
I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and love.
Be exalted over the heavens, O God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

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.

St. Marianne Cope(Religious (1838-1918))

St. Marianne CopeReligious (1838 - 1918) Though leprosy scared off most people from Molokai, Hawaii, Mother Marianne responded with heroic generosity. She helped the victims of leprosy in Hawaii: a territory annexed to the United States in 1898. Mother Marianne’s virtues were celebrated during her beatification on May 14, 2005. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love,” said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Her life was “a wonderful work of divine grace.” He also said about her special love for persons suffering from leprosy: “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.” She was born on January 23, 1838, to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. She was named after her mother. Two years later, the Cope family immigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862. She then joined the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After professing vows in November the following year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school. Sr. Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. She was a natural leader and was thrice elected as the superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. Her experiences proved invaluable during her years in Hawaii. Mother Marrianne was elected provincial in 1877 and unanimously re-elected in 1881. When the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy, more than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii, where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu. On the island of Maui, they opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls.” The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment. However, they underestimated Mother Marianne's courage and competency. On Molokai, she took charge of the home thatSt. Damien de Veuster [May 10, d. 1889] had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing medical best practices, pride and fun. Bright scarves and dresses for women were part of her approach. Mother Marianne was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai.In 2005, she was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.St. Marianne was declared a saint on October 21, 2012.

St. John the Almoner(Patriarch of Alexandria (+ c. 620))

SAINT JOHN THE ALMONERPatriarch of Alexandria(+ c. 620) St. John was married, but when his wife and two children passed away, he became a religious. He donated all his wealth and became known throughout the East as the Almoner. When he was consecrated patriarch of Alexandria, he told his disciples to go into the city and bring him a list of the poor. They told him there were seventy-five hundred, whom he undertook to feed every day. Every Wednesday and Friday, he sat on a bench in front of the church and heard the complaints of the needy and aggrieved. The awareness of death was ever before him, and he never spoke an idle word. He turned those out of church who bantered and forbade unrepentant sinners from entering his house. He left seventy churches in Alexandria where he had found but seven. St. John passed away in Cyprus, his native place, around the year 620. He rejoices in the presence of Jesus and Mary forever. He is the patron ssint of Hospitallers and receives prayers for intercession until the end of time.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2026 / Catholic Missal of january 2026