TUESDAY OF WEEK 1 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2026

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking. 1 THES 2:13

1 SAMUEL 1:9-20

My Soul's Beloved, 

It is greatly comforting to know that You, O Lord, are always present with us and ready to come to our aid in our sorrows. You hear all our prayers. You know when grief tears us apart, and we cry out to You, pouring out all our troubles, everything that distresses us, makes us anxious, and renders us helpless and fearful. In times like this, You are an ever-present help. Your Word sustains and consoles, gives hope and courage. You are Truth, and Your Word is Truth, and we can rest assured that all You have said You will do.

Hannah is a great example of God's faithfulness, and there are many women in the Bible who have experienced His goodness and mercy when they cried out to Him in their distress and anguish. These examples are not for us just to read and move on, but to know that what God has done for them He continues to do for us right here and now through You, His beloved Son who abides in Him and in us.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, once we hear Your Word, listen to it, and believe it, we too, like Hannah, will be dejected no longer because we know that Your Word is true and You always keep Your promises.  Thank You, Lord.

After they had eaten in the hall, Hannah rose and took her stand before the Lord, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In the bitterness of her soul she prayed to the Lord with many tears and made a vow, saying, ‘O Lord of Hosts! If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.’
While she prayed before the Lord which she did for some time, Eli was watching her mouth, for she was speaking under her breath; her lips were moving but her voice could not be heard. He therefore supposed that she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long are you going to be in this drunken state? Rid yourself of your wine.’ ‘No, my lord,’ Hannah replied ‘I am a woman in great trouble; I have taken neither wine nor strong drink – I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; all this time I have been speaking from the depth of my grief and my resentment.’ Then Eli answered her: ‘Go in peace,’ he said ‘and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.’ And she said, ‘May your maidservant find favour in your sight’; and with that the woman went away; she returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.
They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and then set out and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with Hannah his wife and the Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’

PSALM - 1 SAMUEL 2:1,4-8

My heart exults in the Lord.

My heart exults in the Lord.
I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
as I rejoice in your saving help.

The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now
but the fruitful wife bears no more.

It is the Lord who gives life and death,
he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.
He brings men low and raises them on high.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.

My heart exults in the Lord.

MARK 1:21-28

My Soul's Beloved, 

You command, and it is done. No power in heaven, on earth, or under the earth obeys Your Word, for all things are under Your authority. Your Father has made You King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You speak, and mighty miracles occur. The demons know who You are, but not we, O Lord, who, despite everything we know about You, offer resistance. We do this because we know that if we say we believe, then we must change.  The old man in us must die, and we must rise to new life in You. A life that is directed by the Holy Spirit and strives after holiness and purity always.

We are in love with concupiscence. With the broad road. The easy way. But these will eventually lead us to total separation from You, and if we reject You, Lord, we banish ourselves eternally to hell. 

Today, the Church invites us in the Gospel passage to reflect on the evil spirits that had taken possession of a man. You silenced them with one word and commanded them to get out of him, and they did. The people who witnessed the miracle were astonished. We ought not to be, though, Beloved, for we know that You are God and the Word of the Father, and with You all things are possible. Thank You, Lord, for the confidence that we have in Your Word and for the faith that is God's free and precious gift to us.

Jesus and his disciples went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.