Friday after Epiphany
Reading I 1 John 5:5-13
Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia See Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Luke 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
January 9, 2026 // Friday After Epiphany
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 5:12-16
Reflect on the Word //
I don’t like to ask for help. There’s a long list of reasons for this, including being the oldest daughter, adhering strongly to the personal motto of “I am a strong, capable, adult woman!” and, most commonly, wanting things done my way. I run my life most of the time by these beliefs, but what they fundamentally boil down to is plain old pride.
When I hear the words of the man with leprosy, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12), what rings loudest in my ears is this man placing the desires and wishes of Christ ahead of his own, even ahead of his own suffering! This man who was suffering so profoundly was willing to let go of his desire to be healed because he knew the desires of Christ for him to be more important.
Unfortunately, in my own prayer life I so often fall into only praying for what I want, or what I have anxiety about, begging the Lord for my will and my way to be done. As I pour out my problems to Jesus in prayer I easily give Him my laundry list of problems, but also I tell Him the exact way I would like these problems solved. I am not asking Jesus if He desires the solutions I’m offering, or to ponder and ask Him what it is He wishes for the problems I face daily.
Perhaps you, friend, do the same. Today’s Gospel prompts us to consider: How can we hear the voice of God if we spend all our time in prayer telling Him what to do? But even more importantly, how can we grow closer to God if we view our desires as more important than His?
We are reminded by the suffering man in the Gospel to seek what Christ wishes for us today. The first step is to ask for our will to be transformed by His will for us. It may seem like a simple thing, but switching our perspective from asking Jesus for what we want to asking what He wants is an essential step toward being fully united to Him.
Relate to the Lord // Where do you need help? Who can you ask for help today?
Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie and blogs about beauty and life. She is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. She is the author of Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments. Find out more about her here.
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