Catholic Missal of the day: Wednesday, January 7 2026

3rd day after Epiphany

First Letter of John

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

Psalms

O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
And the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
The lives of the poor he shall save.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were (completely) astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

St. Raymond of Peñafort(Priest (c. 1175-1275))

SAINT RAYMOND OF PEÑAFORTPriest(C. 1175-1275) Raymond was born circa 1175 to a noble Spanish family. Starting the age of 20, he taught philosophy in Barcelona with great success. Ten years later, he earned a doctorate at the University of Bologna. A tender devotion to our Blessed Lady, which he had nurtured since childhood, made him renounce all his honors in middle life and enter the Order of St. Dominic. He founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom for the Redemption of Captives, together with St. Peter Nolasco and King James of Aragon. The Holy Mother of God appeared to them in visions and bid them ransom Christian slaves from Islamic captors. Raymond ransomed countless Christians and preached a crusade against the Moors. Spain was liberated in the fifteenth century thanks to their efforts. Raymond bid King James of Aragon to extirpate the cause of his sins. When the king tarried, Raymond asked for leave to depart Majorca. However, the king refused and forbade Raymond's conveyance. Hence, Raymond spread his cloak upon the waters, tied one end to his staff as a sail, made the sign of the cross, stepped upon it, and was borne to Barcelona in six hours. He then gathered up his cloak dry and stole into his monastery. The king was overcome by this miracle and became a sincere penitent. Angels, who intercede until the end of time, likely bore Raymond's weight and conveyed him to Barcelona. In 1230, Gregory IX summoned Raymond to Rome, made him his confessor and grand penitentiary, and directed him to compile The Decretals: a collection of the scattered decisions of the popes and councils. When Raymond refused the archbishopric of Tarragona, he was elected as the third general of his Order in 1238. He resigned on account of his age and continued evangelizing the Moors. He lived to be 100 years old, and intercedes now in heaven.

St. Angela Foligno(Religious (1248 - 1309))

Saint Angela of Foligno(1248 – January 4, 1309) St. Angela of Foligno was a Christian mystic. She was a Franciscan tertiary who is known as the Teacher of Theologians. She also led a community that refused to accept enclosure in order to care for lepers and the sick. Some saints show marks of holiness very early, but not Angela! She was from a leading family in Foligno, Italy. Social status was her primary concern. As a wife and mother, she continued a life of distraction. Around the age of 40, she recognized the emptiness of her vain existence and sought God’s help in the Sacrament of Penance. Angela's Franciscan confessor helped her find God’s forgiveness and guided her to prayer and works of charity. Shortly after her conversion, her husband and children died. She then sold her possessions and entered the Secular Franciscan Order. She meditated on the crucified Christ, served the poor of Foligno as a nurse and begged for their needs. Other women later joined her and together they formed a religious community. At her confessor’s advice, Angela wrote her Book of Visions and Instructions. In it, she recalls some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion. She also expresses her thanks to God for the Incarnation of Jesus. She was beatified in 1693 and canonized in 2013.

St. Lucian(Priest and Martyr († 312))

SAINT LUCIANPriest and Martyr( 312) St. Lucian was born in Samosata, Syria. He distributed his considerable inheritance among the poor after his parents passed away. He then withdrew to Edessa and lived near a holy man named Macarius. The latter conferred his knowledge of Holy Scriptures and helped St. Lucian excercise supernatural virtues. When St. Lucian was ordained a priest, his time was divided between external duties, works of charity and studying sacred scriptures. He revised the books of the Old and New Testaments and expunged the errors of copyists and heretics. He prepared the way for St. Jerome, who produced the Latin translation known as the Vulgate. After being denounced as a Christian, St. Lucian was thrown into prison and tortured for 12 days. Some Christians visited him in prison on the feast day of Epiphany and brought bread and wine. While chained to the ground on his back, he consecrated the divine mysteries and communicated the faithful who were present. St. Lucian was soon martyredin prison and brought by Jesus Christ to Heaven.

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