Catholic Missal of the day: Thursday, January 8 2026

4th day after Epiphany

First Letter of John

Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.
If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves (also) the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.

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.
From fraud and violence he shall redeem them,
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for continually;
day by day shall they bless him.
May his name be blessed forever;
As long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
All the nations shall proclaim his happiness.  

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read
and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

St. Apollinaris(The Apologist, Bishop (2nd century))

SAINT APOLLINARIS, THE APOLOGIST Bishop(2nd century) Claudius Apollinaris was the bishop of Hierapolis, in the kingdom of Phrygia, modern Turkey. He was an apologist and civil rights activist. Besides encomiums from Eusebius, St. Jerome, Theodoret and others, little is known about Apollinaris. His writings, which were then held in great esteem, seem now to be lost. Apollinaris wrote many able treatises against heresies. He pointed out, as St. Jerome testifies, from what philosophical sect each heresy derived its errors. He also addressed an apologetic letter to Emperor Marcus Aurelius circa 175 A.D. Therein, he links the miraculous victory over the Quadi to the prayers of Christians. Apollinaris implored the emperor to protect Christians from persecution by pagans. Thus, Marcus Aurelius published an edict forbidding anyone, under pain of death, to accuse Christians for their religion. By a strange inconsistency, he lacked the courage to abolish the laws then in force. As a consequence, many Christians suffered martyrdom, though their accusers were also put to death. The date of Apollinaris' death is unknown. The Roman Martyrology mentions him on January 8. He lives now in the company of saints and beholds God forever.

St. Severin(Abbot (410-482))

St. SeverinAbbot(410-482) While the Roman Empire collapsed, St. Severin travelled to the most stricken, war-torn area to serve and minister to its people. He carried nothing more than the clothes on his back, and built refugee centers, schools and monasteries. He was like a prototype of St. Francis of Assisi. Austria honors St. Severin as its apostle for his selfless acts. Germanic tribes were invading Noricum, modern Austria, and Bavaria. The Roman Empire was collapsing and those on its fringes were acutely affected. St. Severin made the conscious decision to work amongst the inhabitants of that area, amidst Germanic tribes who invaded Rome. He only bore the weight of the enormous risks through faith and likely a strong devotion to Saints Mary and Joseph. He walked by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). In Noricum, St. Severin organized refugee centers and procured food. Germanic warlords like Odoacer permitted his activities on account of his absolute poverty and clear lack of political agenda. He arrived in Noricum not wearing shoes and sleeping in the open. He had no claim to wealth or status; hence the power of his faith was great. He worked without any material gain and at the expense of his own life. The sheer vulnerability and radical lifestyle must have caused others to think he was harmless or a lunatic. The immunity he gained allowed him to eventually establish schools and monasteries with Germanic consent. When St. Severin's monastery was razed by invading Huns, his body was carried to Lucullano, near Naples. He was then transferred to a monastery dedicated to him. The lasting impact he had on Austria and Bavaria have led those countries to venerate St. Severin as an apostle and father.

St. Thorfinn(Bishop († 1285))

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