Daily Catholic Mass Readings for January 7, 2026
First Reading: 1 John 4.11-18
11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Psalm 72
1Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.2He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.3The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.4He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.5He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.6He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.7In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.8He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.9The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust.10The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.11All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.12For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.13He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.14He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.15Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.16Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field.17May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.18Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.19Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.20This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Gospel: Mark 6.45-52
45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.48He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,49but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,50because they all saw him and were terrified.51Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Sermon
The First Letter of John reminds us that God's immense love for us calls us to love one another. If we truly love, God abides in us, and His love is perfected, dispelling all fear. To confess Jesus as the Son of God is to have God dwell within us, granting us confidence, for perfect love casts out the anxiety associated with judgment and punishment. In the Gospel of Mark, we see the disciples struggling against a violent storm, alone on the sea, after Jesus had dismissed the crowds and gone to pray. When they were at their most vulnerable, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, yet they mistook him for a ghost and cried out in terror. Jesus immediately reassures them with, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid," and when he entered the boat, the wind ceased, leaving them utterly astonished, their hearts still hardened in understanding.
These readings illuminate the profound connection between divine presence, love, and the overcoming of fear. John teaches that God's indwelling love perfects us and drives out fear, offering confidence in our relationship with Him. Mark shows Christ, in a moment of intense struggle and fear for his disciples, revealing his divine authority by walking on water and calming the storm, actively commanding them not to be afraid. The disciples' terror and subsequent astonishment reveal their human limitations and the incomplete understanding of Jesus's identity, despite having just witnessed his miracles. Their fear arose from not fully grasping who was with them, much like our own fears often stem from forgetting God's steadfast presence and power in our lives.
In our daily lives, we too encounter storms, both literal and metaphorical, that can fill us with fear and doubt. Just as Jesus came to his struggling disciples, he is present with us in our anxieties, urging us to recognize his loving presence and power. To live in God's perfect love, as John describes, means to trust deeply in Him, allowing that love to banish our fears and empower us to love others in turn. When we confess Jesus and strive to live lives of charity, we allow God to abide in us, providing the peace and confidence that anchors us through any storm, transforming our astonishment into unwavering faith and love, rather than the blindness that held the disciples captive.