Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I 1 Samuel 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”
Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
Alleluia See Ephesians 1:17-18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mark 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
- Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr
- Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, Martyr
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 20, 2026 // Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr // Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, Martyr
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Reflect on the Word //
Cleaning out my garage, I unearthed a relic from my past: a dusty high school trophy. Was it for volleyball? Track? Softball? Maybe the sport all my kids have excelled at—basketball?
Nope. My single skill back then (and arguably now) was creative writing.
What’s interesting is that for a long time after high school, that gift remained dormant. Sure, I wrote papers in college. I journaled and dabbled in poetry as a young mom. But writing with intention, for others, in obedience to what I began to realize was a calling? That came much later. And when I stepped fully into that vocation of writer, I found the fulfillment of what had been hinted at years before.
Sometimes, the anointing comes before the appointing.
It was that way for David in today’s First Reading: “Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David” (1 Samuel 16:13).
David was just a teenager when Samuel’s anointing set him apart for God’s sacred purpose. But what did he do after Samuel left that day?
He went back to tending sheep.
It would be a full fifteen years before he became king of all of Israel. In that time, he would mature as a leader, be tested and trained, and step into the role of king, ready to lead a newly unified kingdom.
I still marvel when I read that story—how God lavishly anoints us with a full “horn of oil” even when the appointment isn’t ready. Our gifts and charisms emerge fully only when the opportunity is right. Before then, they glimmer and flicker beneath the surface, dropping hints about our future place in the courts of Christ.
Sometimes we grow impatient, wanting to grasp at an appointment before our time. The problem is, whatever we try to possess—especially when it is not ours to have—ends up possessing us.
Sister, let’s allow God to choose the timing for the fullness of our personal calling. Until then, we’ll be obedient to the moment at hand, whether it be laundry, dinner—or herding sheep.
Relate to the Lord // Where have you been anointed by God? Ask for the grace to step into your calling.
Claire Dwyer writes with the desire that all women see the sacredness of their stories in light of Salvation History. Speaker, Retreat Leader, Author of This Present Paradise, senior copywriter and content editor for Avila Foundation / Spiritualdirection.com, and co-founder of the PraiseWriters community, she knows firsthand the power of words to set a fire on the earth. She lives in Phoenix with her family. Find out more about her here.
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