22 January 2026 (Thursday) / Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Thursday of week 2 in Ordinary Time / Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time. Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Obligatory Memorial

22 January 2026 (Thursday)

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Thursday of week 2 in Ordinary Time.

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time.
Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Obligatory Memorial.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: First Samuel 18: 6-9; 19: 1-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 56: 2-3, 9-10a, 10b-12, 13-14
Alleluia: Second Timothy 1: 10
Gospel: Mark 3: 7-12

First Reading : 1 Samuel 18:6‐9,19:1‐7

On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
  Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
  So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 55(56):2‐3,9‐14

In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
  they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
  for many fight proudly against me.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
  you have kept a record of my tears;
  (are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
  on the day that I call to you.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
This I know, that God is on my side.
  In God, whose word I praise,
  in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
  what can mortal man do to me?
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
  O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
  you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
  and enjoy the light of the living.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.

Alleluia: Second Timothy 1: 10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
10 Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Mark 3:7‐12

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.

For our reflection today:

Jesus, who goes towards wounded humanity, shows us the face of the Father. It may be that within us there is still the idea of a distant, cold God, who is indifferent to our fate. On the contrary, he is a Father filled with love who makes himself close to us, who visits our homes, who wants to save and liberate, heal from every ill of the body and spirit. God is always close to us. God’s attitude can be expressed in three words: closeness, compassion and tenderness. God makes himself close to accompany us tenderly, and to forgive us. Do not forget this: closeness, compassion and tenderness. This is God’s attitude. Let us look, then, at Jesus’ journeying and remind ourselves that our first spiritual task is this: to abandon the God we think we know, and to convert every day to the God Jesus presents to us in the Gospel, who is the Father of love and the Father of compassion. The Father who is close, compassionate and tender. And when we discover the true face of the Father, our faith matures: we no longer remain “sacristy Christians”, or “parlour Christians”, but rather we feel called to become bearers of God’s hope and healing. (Francis - Angelus, 4 February 2024)

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