January 31, 2026
Memorial of Saint John Bosco,
Priest
Lectionary: 322
Reading
I
The LORD sent
Nathan to David, and when he came to him,
Nathan said: “Judge this case for me!
In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.
The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers.
But the poor man had nothing at all
except one little ewe lamb that he had bought.
He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children.
She shared the little food he had
and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom.
She was like a daughter to him.
Now, the rich man received a visitor,
but he would not take from his own flocks and herds
to prepare a meal for the wayfarer who had come to him.
Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb
and made a meal of it for his visitor.”
David grew very angry with that man and said to him:
“As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!
He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold
because he has done this and has had no pity.”
Then Nathan said to David: “You are the man!
Thus says the LORD God of Israel:
‘The sword shall never depart from your house,
because you have despised me
and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.’
Thus says the LORD:
‘I will bring evil upon you out of your own house.
I will take your wives while you live to see it,
and will give them to your neighbor.
He shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.
You have done this deed in secret,
but I will bring it about in the presence of all Israel,
and with the sun looking down.’”
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan answered David: “The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.
But since you have utterly spurned the LORD by this deed,
the child born to you must surely die.”
Then Nathan returned to his house.
The LORD struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David,
and it became desperately ill.
David besought God for the child.
He kept a fast, retiring for the night
to lie on the ground clothed in sackcloth.
The elders of his house stood beside him
urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not,
nor would he take food with them.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (12a) Create
a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a
steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and
your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in
me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a
willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and
sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in
me, O God.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my
tongue shall revel in your justice.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my
mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Create a clean heart in
me, O God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
On that day, as
evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013126.cfm
Commentary on 2
Samuel 12:1-7,10-17
Today’s First Reading speaks to the consequences of the
terrible crimes of infidelity, deceit and murder that David committed when he
had Uriah killed in order to have Bathsheba as his own. If he thought he would
escape notice or punishment, he was deeply mistaken.
Hardly had Bathsheba given birth to the boy when David is
confronted by the prophet Nathan:
…and the Lord sent Nathan to David.
Prophets are primarily people who bring a message from God.
We met Nathan before when David complained to him about his discomfort of
living in a house of cedar while the Ark of the Covenant was still in a tent (2
Sam 7:2). Here the prophet comes to proclaim God’s judgement against the king
he had set over his own people.
The message is uttered through one of the most striking
parables to be found in the Old Testament. Nathan tells David about a rich man,
the owner of large herds, who takes for his own table, not one of his own many
sheep, but the single ewe lamb of a poor peasant in order to entertain a
visitor. Not only was this the only sheep the farmer owned, but “it was like a
daughter to him” and shared the little food that he had.
On hearing the story, David was filled with indignation and
declared that the rich man deserved to be executed:
As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to
die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because
he had no pity.
Repaying four times was a requirement of the Law (see Exod
22:1). It reminds us of what the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus, said to Jesus
after their encounter:
Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the
poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as
much. (Luke 19:8)
Nathan then quietly says to David:
You are the man!
Nothing more had to be said. What David had done was, in
fact, many times worse than taking a lamb from a poor man. He had stolen a
man’s wife and then cold-bloodedly had him killed.
Nathan then goes on (not part of our reading) to list some
of the things that David had received from the Lord, including the wives and
harem of his predecessor, Saul:
I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives
into your bosom and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah, and if that had
been too little, I would have added as much more. (2 Sam 12:8)
Yet, in spite of being surrounded by so many women and so
much power, he goes and steals another man’s wife and then has Uriah killed by
the Ammonites, the enemy they were fighting. Of course, it was really David who
had killed Uriah; he was no tragic victim of battle.
Speaking in God’s name, Nathan spells out David’s
punishment: violence and death will come to his own family: three of his sons,
Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah will all die violent deaths. As well, Nathan tells
David that God:
…will raise up trouble against you from within your own
house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your
neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. (2 Sam
12:11)
All this took place during the rebellion of David’s son
Absalom, when David was forced to flee his palace, but left behind ten
concubines. David’s wives would be taken just as he had taken the wife of
Uriah. Finally, what David thought he had done in secret becomes public
knowledge.
In a spirit of deep remorse and repentance, David totally
acknowledges his sin. His feelings are beautifully expressed in Psalm 51, part
of which forms today’s Responsorial Psalm:
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight… (Ps 51:3-4)
But Nathan tells David that his sin is forgiven. He will not
die for it (as the law demanded), but he will lose the child of his adultery.
The boy fell sick and David was devastated, refusing to eat and sleeping on the
ground wearing sackcloth—the sign of repentance. And despite the urging of his
courtiers, he refused to get up from the ground, nor would he eat. He was
heartbroken not just because of the death of his son, but because of the
circumstances in which the child had been born in the first place. This was the
price of his sin.
It is not our sins which condemn us in God’s eyes, but our
refusal to repent and change our ways. Once we genuinely express our sorrow and
show it by a ‘conversion’, God’s mercy is there and waiting. Jesus spelt this
out so clearly in the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son. God does
not desire the death of a sinner, but that he should have life:
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to
condemn the world…[He] came that they may have life and have it
abundantly. (John 3:17; 10:10)
Let us look at our own lives. First, let us openly
acknowledge our sinful acts, especially those where we have hurt others, and
take full responsibility for them. Then let us turn to our God and ask for his
healing, that we may be made whole again.
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Commentary on Mark
4:35-41
After the passage on the parables, Mark continues by
narrating four miracle stories, two of them put together in an
‘inclusion’. There are two messages in today’s story of the calming of the
storm at sea.
The first is that the calming of the sea indicates the true
identity of Jesus; he has the power of God himself. This question of
Jesus’ identity is a major theme of Mark’s Gospel.
He speaks to the sea as if it were a living thing, an
instrument of the devil, an evil thing. No wonder that the disciples are filled
with awe. Their question contains its own answer:
Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey
him?
This is clear from passages in the Old Testament, especially
in the Psalms:
- You
silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves… (Ps 65:7) - You
rule the raging of the sea…
when its waves rise, you still them. (Ps 89:9) - More
majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea… (Ps 93:4) - …he
made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed. (Ps 107:29)
The second message lies in the symbolism underlying the
whole story. It is a story of the early Church. The boat represents a
church community (our Church is a community of churches). The surrounding sea
is the world. Jesus gets into the boat “just as he was”, that is, a man
looking no different from his disciples. There were other boats
too. That is, other church communities. Then a violent storm arises
and waves threaten to swamp the boat and sink it. This is just what was
happening to so many little communities surrounded by hostile elements bent on
wiping out the Christian faith.
Where was Jesus during all this? Asleep! Not in
the least worried. The disciples scold him:
Teacher [not yet Lord], do you not care that
we are perishing?
How often that complaint must have risen from those tiny,
battered communities wondering where their Lord was in all their
troubles! Jesus wakes up and:
…he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be
still!”
And calm returns.
Now his disciples are scolded:
Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?
That is, why do they not trust in Jesus’ caring for
them. Of course, the real calm is not so much in the sea as it is in
their hearts when they realise that Jesus is not far away, not asleep or absent,
but is with them all the time.
Let us pray for that inner peace that comes from knowing
Jesus is always very close to us, no matter what may be going on in our lives.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2037g/
Saturday, January 31,
2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
All-powerful and ever-living God, direct Your love that is
within us,
that our efforts in the name of
Your Son may bring the human race to unity and peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mark 4: 35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said
to his disciples: "Let us cross to the other side." Leaving the
crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats
were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are
perishing?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
"Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he
asked them, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" They
were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom
even wind and sea obey?"
Reflection
•
The Gospel describes the storm on the lake and
Jesus who sleeps in the boat. Sometimes our communities feel like a small boat
lost in the sea of life, without much hope of arriving at the port. Jesus seems
to be sleeping in our boat, since no divine power seems to appear to save us
from difficulties and persecution. In view of this desperate situation, Mark
puts together several episodes which reveal how Jesus is present in the midst
of the community. In these parables, the mystery of the Kingdom is revealed,
which is present in the things of daily life (Mk 4: 1-34). Now He begins to
reveal the mystery of the Kingdom present in the power which Jesus exercises in
favor of the disciples, in favor of the people, and above all, in favor of the
excluded and marginalized. Jesus overcomes, dominates the sea, a symbol of
chaos (Mk 4: 35-41) and something man cannot control by himself. A creative
power acts in Him! Jesus conquers and drives out the devil (Mk 5: 1-20). The
power of life acts in Him! He is the victorious Jesus! There is no reason for
the communities to have fear (Mk 5: 21-43). This is the reason for this passage
about the storm being calmed by Jesus, which we are meditating on in today’s
Gospel.
•
Mark 4: 35-36: The starting point: “Let us cross
over to the other side”. It had been a heavy day with much work. Once the
discourse on the parables was finished (Mk 4: 1- 34), Jesus said, “Let us cross
over to the other side!” They take Him on the boat just as He is in the boat in
which He had made the discourse on the parables. Because He was extremely
tired, He went to sleep in the stern with His head on a cushion. This is the
first picture or image which Mark presents: a beautiful painting, but very
human!
Jesus asks us to “cross to the other side” too. He
asks us to separate from the crowd who is preoccupied with consumerism and
gossip and earthly desires.
•
Mark 4: 37-38: The desperate situation: “Do You
not care? We are lost!” The Lake of Galilee is surrounded by mountains.
Sometimes, through the cracks in the rocks, the wind blows on top of the lake
and provokes sudden storms. The disciples were experienced fishermen. If they
think that they are going to sink, then the situation is really dangerous.
Jesus does not even wake up. He continues to sleep. This profound sleep is not
only a sign of great fatigue, it is also the expression of a calm peaceful
trust which He has in God. The contrast between the attitude of Jesus and that
of the disciples is very great!
Today, mankind has a belief that it has mastered
everything, and when things go wrong, people blame God for not caring. Faith
provides the calm peaceful trust Jesus had rather than the anxiety that the disciples
had.
•
Mark 4: 39-40: The reaction of Jesus: “Have you
still no faith?” Jesus wakes up, not because of the waves, but because of the
desperate cries of the disciples. First, He addresses Himself to the sea and
says, “Quiet now!” And the wind dropped and there followed a great calm. Then
He spoke to the disciples and said, “Why are you so frightened? Have you still
no faith?” The impression that one has is that it is not necessary to calm down
the sea, since there is no danger. It is like going to a house and seeing the
dog at the side of his master, who begins to bark. One should not be afraid
because the dog is with the master who controls the situation. The episode of
the storm which was calmed recalls Exodus, when the people, without fear, passed
through the water of the sea (Ex 14: 22). It recalls the Prophet Isaiah who
told the people, “If you go across the water I will be with you!” (Is 43: 2)
Jesus does the exodus again and carries out the prophecy announced by Psalm
107(106):25-30. • Mark 4: 41: The disciples
did not know. “Who can this be?” Jesus calms the sea and says, “Have you still
have no faith?” The disciples do not know what to respond and they ask
themselves, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey Him”. Jesus
appears as a stranger to them! In spite of having been with Him for such a long
time, they do not really know who He is. “Who can this be?” With this question
in mind, the communities follow the reading of
the Gospel. Even today, the same
question leads us to continue reading the Gospel. It is the desire to better
know the significance of Jesus in our life.
Knowing and
trusting Jesus more moves us from being like the disciples at this point.
Greater faith brings greater peace in the presence of storms in our life..
•
Who is Jesus? Mark begins his Gospel saying,
“The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk 1: 1). At
the moment of His death, the soldier declared, “Truly this man was the Son of
God!” (Mk 15: 39). At the beginning and at the end of the Gospel, Jesus is
called the Son of God. Between the beginning and the end, there are many other
names of Jesus which appear. The following is the list: Messiah or Christ (Mk
1: 1; 8: 29; 14: 61; 15: 32); Lord (Mk 1: 3; 5: 19; 11: 3); Beloved Son (Mk 1:
11; 9: 7); the Holy One of God (Mk
1: 24); Nazarene (Mk 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6); Son of Man
(Mk 2: 10, 28; 8: 31, 3 8; 9: 9, 12, 31; 10: 33, 45; 13: 26; 14: 21, 41, 62);
bridegroom (Mk 2: 19); Son of God (Mk 3: 11); Son of the Highest God (Mk 5:7);
carpenter (Mk 6: 3); Son of Mary (Mk 6: 3); Prophet (Mk 6: 4, 15; 8: 28);
Teacher (frequent); Son of David (Mk 10: 47-48; 12:
35-37);
Blessed (Mk 11: 9); Son (Mk 13: 32); Shepherd (Mk 14: 27); Son of the
Blessed One (Mk 14: 61); King of the Jews (Mk 15: 2, 9, 18,
26); King of Israel (Mk 15: 32),
Each name, title, or attribute is an attempt to express what
Jesus signifies for people. But a name, no matter how beautiful it is, never
reveals the mystery of a person, much less the person of Jesus. Some of these
names given to Jesus, including the more important ones and the more
traditional, are questioned by Mark the Evangelist as being satisfactory. Thus,
as we advance in the reading of the Gospel, Mark obliges us to revise our ideas
and to ask ourselves, once again, “In last instance, who is Jesus for me and
for us?” The more we advance in the reading of the Gospel of Mark, the more
these titles and criteria fall. Jesus does not fit into any one of these names,
or schema, or titles. He is the greatest! Little by little, the reader gives up
and ceases to want to frame Jesus in a known concept or in an idea made up
beforehand, and accepts Him as He is presented.
Personal Questions
• Have
the waters of the sea of life threatened you sometimes? Who saved you? • What was the agitated sea
(of the community) at the time of Jesus? What was the agitated sea (for the
community) at the time when Mark wrote his Gospel? What is the agitated sea for
us today?
Concluding Prayer
God, create in me a clean heart,
renew within me a resolute spirit, do not thrust me away from Your presence, do
not take away from me Your spirit of holiness.
(Ps 51: 10-11)
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