MONDAY OF WEEK 1 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15

1 SAMUEL 1:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

The love of man can never be enough; it cannot satisfy, we crave more because we are created for more, infinitely more. Human love can never fill the hungry heart for all it longs for except God alone.

Hannah had the love of a good husband, and even though she was barren, he loved her more than he loved his other wife, Penninah, who had given him several children. But his obvious preferential love for her over his other wife was of no comfort to her. She longed for a child, and he could not understand why his love for her could never be enough. 

Our hearts were made for You, my God, and there is a restlessness in them that nothing the world can offer will ever give them the tranquility and serenity they hunger and thirst for but You alone, O Lord. 

There was a man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the highlands of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives, one called Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Every year this man used to go up from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there as priests of the Lord.
One day Elkanah offered sacrifice. He used to give portions to Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; to Hannah, however, he would give only one portion, although he loved her more, since the Lord had made her barren. Her rival would taunt her to annoy her, because the Lord had made her barren. And this went on year after year; every time they went up to the temple of the Lord she used to taunt her. And so Hannah wept and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Hannah, why are you crying and why are you not eating? Why so sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’

PSALM 115(116):12-19

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

MARK 1:14-20

My Soul's Beloved, 

This day marks the beginning of ordinary time, which helps to prepare us for each of the great liturgical events that follow in the Church calendar. It is a time of becoming grounded in the life of the Church, in the Word, in our service for God and neighbor. It is a time of reflection, contemplation, prayer, and metanoia, so we are ready to enter into the next phase of the Church's life. Before we know it, the beautiful season of Lent will be upon us, and if we use these days of preparation in ordinary time well, we will be blessed with a more profound understanding of the Father's great love for us in sending You into the world to stoop low so You can raise us up. 

The Gospel recalls the call of the first disciples to follow You. Simon, his brother Andrew, James, and his brother John. Their response was immediate, the invitation irresistible, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ The Word of God tells us, 'And at once they left their nets and followed him.'

Beloved, we receive Your invitation daily to live in close intimacy with You, but the siren call of the world, the flesh, and the devil pulls us in the opposite direction. We are dazzled by the tinsel of the world and the deafening noise that stops our ears from the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit until eventually His voice is drowned off completely. To each one of us, You say, ' The time has come, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe in the Good News. But we are too busy living in the world and being one with it to heed Your call. Concupiscence is the enemy within, and we are too weak to fight it because we have offered no resistance for too long.

Loving Jesus, Bridegroom of my soul, take pity on us, break into our hardened hearts, and shower Your graces upon us so we may realize that true and lasting joy is only possible if we have an authentic relationship with You.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’
As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.