Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I 1 Samuel 4:1-11
The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Alleluia See Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
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 15, 2026 // Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
Reflect on the Word //
I can still remember a season when I felt like I had to keep parts of myself hidden. I showed up to conversations smiling, doing fine on the outside, but inside I carried questions, grief, and doubts I wasn’t sure anyone could handle. What if I spoke honestly and people pulled away? What if my mess was too much? So I kept it in, and the silence grew heavier.
I felt both present and absent at the same time—surrounded by people, but unsure if anyone really saw me. It wasn’t that others had rejected me; it was that I had already decided my struggles weren’t worth bringing into the light.
In the Gospel of Mark today, a man with leprosy steps out of isolation and kneels before Jesus. With trembling honesty he says, “If you wish, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40). He risks exposure, ridicule, even rejection—what he receives instead is compassion. Jesus doesn’t recoil or shame him. He reaches out His hand, touches the untouchable, and restores him to wholeness.
That moment reveals something vital about God’s Heart. We don’t have to hide our wounds or pretend we’re cleaner than we are. The leper’s prayer is so simple—neither polished nor lengthy—and yet Jesus moves toward him. Healing begins not with perfection, but with honesty and trust. The God we meet in Christ is not repelled by our brokenness; He is moved with pity and eager to draw near.
We may not carry leprosy, but we all carry burdens—questions, struggles, regrets—that tempt us to stay silent. This passage invites us to bring them into the open before God, believing that His willingness is greater than our fear.
As a people, may we resist the urge to hide behind masks of strength. Instead, I pray this is an invitation to be a community where vulnerability is met with compassion, where no wound is too deep and no person too far gone to be touched by the healing mercy of Christ.
Relate to the Lord // Are you tempted to hide parts of yourself from others or from the Lord? Tell Jesus about that tendency and consider sharing those parts with Him.
Mary Peach lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. She works remotely as a resource specialist for Regnum Christi after recently finishing her Master’s in Psychology. She was born in Ethiopia and adopted when she was eleven years old. Mary fell in love with the Lord as a deep and personal friend and made it her mission to help others encounter Him the same way she did. She loves to share her adoption story and healing journey in hopes to help others embrace their journey of healing as well.
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