18 January 2026 (Sunday) / 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time / Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

18 January 2026 (Sunday)

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time / Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling”(Ephesians 4:4)

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU) is pleased to publish the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026. In the northern hemisphere, the Week of Prayer traditionally takes place from 18 to 25 January, while in the southern hemisphere, where January is frequently a holiday period, churches often celebrate the Week of Prayer around Pentecost.

The theme of the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from the Letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Eph 4:4). The prayers and reflections were prepared by an ecumenical group coordinated by the Inter-Church Relations’ Department of the Armenian Apostolic Church As usual, an international team appointed jointly by the DPCU and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches worked with the drafters to finalise the materials at a meeting held from 13 to 18 October 2024 at the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

The materials draw upon centuries-old traditions of prayer used by the Armenian people, along with hymns that originated in the ancient monasteries and churches of Armenia, some of which date as far back as the fourth century. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 therefore offers an invitation to draw upon this shared Christian heritage and to delve more deeply into our fellowship in Christ, which unites Christians worldwide.

The materials include an introduction to the theme, an ecumenical worship service and a selection of short readings and prayers for each day of the week. The resources can be drawn upon in many ways, and are intended for use not only during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but also throughout 2026.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40: 2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
Second Reading: First Corinthians 1: 1-3
Alleluia: John 1: 14, 12
Gospel: John 1: 29-34

First Reading : Isaiah 49:3,5‐6

The Lord said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel,
in whom I shall be glorified’;
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 39(40):2,4,7‐10

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord
  and he stooped down to me;
  he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth,
  praise of our God.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
  but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
  Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
  that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
  in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
  in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
  you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Second Reading : 1 Corinthians 1:1‐3

I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.

Alleluia: John 1: 14, 12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
14, 12 The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : John 1:29‐34

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

For our reflection today:

The Baptist cannot hold back the urgent desire to bear witness to Jesus and declares: “I have seen and have borne witness” (v. 34). John saw something shocking, that is, the beloved Son of God in solidarity with sinners; and the Holy Spirit made him understand this unheard-of novelty, a true reversal. In fact, while in all religions it is man who offers and sacrifices something to God, in the event Jesus is God Who offers His Son for the salvation of humanity. John manifests his astonishment and his consent to this newness brought by Jesus, through a meaningful expression that we repeat each time in the Mass: “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). The testimony of John the Baptist invites us to start out again and again on our journey of faith: to start afresh from Jesus Christ, the Lamb full of mercy that the Father gave for us. Let us be surprised once again by God’s choice to be on our side, to show solidarity with us sinners, and to save the world from evil by taking it on fully. Let us learn from John the Baptist not to assume that we already know Jesus, that we already know everything about Him (cf. v. 31). This is not so. Let us pause with the Gospel, perhaps even contemplating an icon of Christ, a “Holy face”. Let us contemplate with our eyes and yet more with our hearts; and let us allow ourselves to be instructed by the Holy Spirit, Who tells us inside: It is He! (Pope Francis - Angelus, 19 January 2020)

Key dates in the historyof the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
 
c. 1740In Scotland a Pentecostal movement arose, with North American links, whose revivalist message included prayers for and with all churches.
1820   The Rev. James Haldane Stewart publishes “Hints for the General Union of Christians for the Outpouring of the Spirit”.
1840    The Rev. Ignatius Spencer, a convert to Roman Catholicism, suggests a “Union of Prayer for Unity”.
1867  The First Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops emphasizes prayer for unity in the Preamble to its Resolutions.
1894   Pope Leo XIII encourages the practice of a Prayer Octave for Unity in the context of Pentecost.
1908 First observance of the “Church Unity Octave” initiated by the Rev. Paul Wattson.
1926The Faith and Order movement begins publishing “Suggestions for an Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity”.
1935    Abbé Paul Couturier of France advocates the “Universal Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” on the inclusive basis of prayer for “the unity Christ wills by the means he wills”.
1958    Unité Chrétienne (Lyon, France) and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches begin co-operative preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer.
1964   In Jerusalem, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I prayed together Jesus’ prayer “that they all may be one” (John 17).
1964   The Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II emphasizes that prayer is the soul of the ecumenical movement and encourages observance of the Week of Prayer.
1966    The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity [now known as the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity] begin official joint preparation of the Week of Prayer material.
1968   First official use of Week of Prayer material prepared jointly by Faith and Order and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity.
1975   First use of Week of Prayer material based on a draft text prepared by a local ecumenical group. An Australian group was the first to take up this plan in preparing the 1975 initial draft.
1988   Week of Prayer materials were used in the inaugural worship for The Christian Federation of Malaysia, which links the major Christian groupings in that country.
1994   International group preparing text for 1996 included representatives from YMCA and YWCA.
2004    Agreement reached that resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity be jointly published and produced in the same format by Faith and Order (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Catholic Church).
2008   Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (Its predecessor, the Church Unity Octave, was first observed in 1908).
2017 Marking  the  commemoration  of  the  500th anniversary  of  the  Reformation,  the  materials  for the Week of Prayer in 2017 were prepared by Christians in Germany.
2025 Marking  the  commemoration  of  the  1700th  anniversary  of  the  first  Ecumenical  Council  of  the  Church,  held  in  Nicaea,  near  Constantinopl in  325  AD,  the  materials  were
prepared  by  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  monastic  community  of  Bose  in  northern
Italy.

Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

Via della Conciliazione, 5 - 00193 Rome

 Vatican City State

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)