Daily Catholic Mass Readings for January 8, 2026

Psalm 72

¹A Psalm according to Solomon²Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king’s son, to judge your people with justice and your poor with judgment³Let the mountains take up peace for the people, and the hills, justice⁴He will judge the poor of the people, and he will bring salvation to the sons of the poor. And he will humble the false accuser⁵And he will remain, with the sun and before the moon, from generation to generation⁶He will descend like rain upon fleece, and like showers showering upon the earth⁷In his days, justice will rise like the sun, with abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away⁸And he will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the limits of the whole world⁹In his sight, the Ethiopians will fall prostrate, and his enemies will lick the ground¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and the islands will offer gifts. The kings of Arabia and of Seba will bring gifts¹¹And all the kings of the earth shall adore him. All nations will serve him¹²For he will free the poor from the powerful, and the poor one who has no helper¹³He will spare the poor and the indigent, and he will bring salvation to the souls of the poor¹⁴He will redeem their souls from usuries and from iniquity, and their names shall be honorable in his sight¹⁵And he will live, and to him will be given from the gold of Arabia, and by him they will always adore. They will bless him all day long¹⁶And there will be a firmament on earth, at the summits of mountains: its fruits will be extolled above Lebanon, and those of the city will flourish like the grass of the earth¹⁷May his name be blessed forever; may his name remain before the sun. And all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in him. All nations will magnify him¹⁸Blessed is the Lord, God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things¹⁹And blessed is the name of his majesty in eternity. And all the earth will be filled with his majesty. Amen. Amen²⁰The praises of David, the son of Jesse, have reached an end

Gospel: Luke 4.14-22a

Luke

Chapter 4

¹⁴And Jesus returned, in the power of the Spirit, into Galilee. And his fame spread throughout the entire region¹⁵And he taught in their synagogues, and he was magnified by everyone¹⁶And he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. And he entered into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath day. And he rose up to read¹⁷And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And as he unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart¹⁹to preach forgiveness to captives and sight to the blind, to release the broken into forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution.²⁰And when he had rolled up the book, he returned it to the minister, and he sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him²¹Then he began to say to them, "On this day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.²²And everyone gave testimony to him. And they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth. And they said, "Is this not the son of Joseph?

Sermon

In today's Gospel, we witness Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returning to Galilee to begin his public ministry. His fame quickly spreads as he teaches in the synagogues. Significantly, he journeys to Nazareth, his hometown, and on the Sabbath, he enters the synagogue according to his custom. There, he is handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, from which he reads a pivotal passage: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." After rolling up the scroll, he declares to the astonished congregation, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." This moment in Nazareth is not merely a reading; it is a profound declaration of Jesus' identity and the very heart of his mission. He reveals himself as the long-awaited Messiah, announcing the inauguration of God's kingdom of justice, healing, and liberation for all, with a special focus on the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. The initial wonder of the people at his gracious words, quickly followed by the questioning, "Is this not Joseph's son?" underscores the challenge of recognizing the divine in the familiar, a struggle that often mirrors our own in daily life. Are we truly attentive to Christ's message, or do our preconceived notions prevent us from fully embracing the radical newness he brings? The fulfillment of this scripture in our hearing today is a personal call to us. Just as Jesus was anointed by the Spirit to bring good news, we too are called to be agents of God's grace in the world. This means actively seeking out opportunities to embody his mission: offering compassion to those in need, advocating for the marginalized, and working for justice and peace in our communities. Each day presents a chance to make Christ's redemptive work present through our words and actions, bringing hope and liberation to those around us, and truly living out the acceptable year of the Lord in our time.