4 February 2026 (Wednesday) / Ordinary Weekday. Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

4 February 2026 (Wednesday)

Ordinary Weekday.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Second Samuel 24: 2, 9-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 32: 1-2, 5, 6, 7
Alleluia: John 10: 27
Gospel: Mark 6: 1-6

First Reading: Second Samuel 24: 2, 9-17

2 And the king said to Joab the general of his army: Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Bersabee, and number ye the people that I may know the number of them.
9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people to the king, and there were found of Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword: and of Juda five hundred thousand fighting men.
10 But David’s heart struck him, after the people were numbered: and David said to the Lord: I have sinned very much in what I have done: but I pray thee, O Lord, to take away the iniquity of thy servant, because I have done exceeding foolishly.
11 And David arose in the morning, and the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet and the seer of David, saying:
12 Go, and say to David: Thus saith the Lord: I give thee thy choice of three things, choose one of them which thou wilt, that I may do it to thee.
13 And when Gad was come to David, he told him, saying: Either seven years of famine shall come to thee in thy land: or thou shalt flee three months before thy adversaries, and they shall pursue thee: or for three days there shall be a pestilence in thy land. Now therefore deliberate, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
14 And David said to Gad: I am in a great strait: but it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.
15 And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning unto the time appointed, and there died of the people from Dan to Bersabee seventy thousand men.
16 And when the angel of the Lord had stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord had pity on the affliction, and said to the angel that slew the people: It is enough: now hold thy hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingfloor of Areuna the Jebusite.
17 And David said to the Lord, when he saw the angel striking the people: It is I; I am he that have sinned, I have done wickedly: these that are the sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I beseech thee, be turned against me, and against my father’s house.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 32: 1-2, 5, 6, 7

R. (5c) Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
1 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
5 I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
6 For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
7 Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.

Alleluia: John 10: 27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
27 My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mark 6: 1-6

1 And going out from thence, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him.
2 And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were in admiration at his doctrine, saying: How came this man by all these things? and what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him.
4 And Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.
5 And he could not do any miracles there, only that he cured a few that were sick, laying his hands upon them.
6 And he wondered because of their unbelief, and he went through the villages round about teaching.

For our reflection today:

We may ask ourselves: why do Jesus’ fellow townsmen go from astonishment to disbelief? They make a comparison between Jesus’ humble origins and his current abilities: he is a carpenter; he did not study and yet he preaches better than the scribes and he performs miracles. And instead of opening up to the reality, they take offence. According to the people of Nazareth, God is too great to humble himself to speak through such a simple man! It is the scandal of the Incarnation: the unsettling event of a God made flesh who thinks with the mind of a man, works and acts with the hands of a man, loves with a human heart, a God who struggles, eats and sleeps like one of us. The Son of God overturns every human framework: it is not the disciples who washed the feet of the Lord, but it is the Lord who washed the feet of the disciples (cf. Jn 13:1-20). This is a reason for scandal and incredulity, not only in that period, but in all ages, even today. The radical change Jesus brought about commits his disciples of both yesterday and today to a personal and community [self] examination. Indeed, even in our day it can happen that we harbour some prejudices that prevent us from seeing reality. But, today, the Lord asks us to adopt an attitude of humble listening and docile expectation because God’s grace often manifests itself in surprising ways that do not match our expectations. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 8 July 2018)

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