Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection January 30, 2026
Friday – Third Week in Ordinary Time
30th January 2026 (Friday)
Psalter: Week 3
Readings of the Day
First Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
It happened that, in the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11 R.(see 3a)
R/. Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth that you have revealed to little children the mysteries of the kingdom
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
At that time: Jesus said to the crowds “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Friday – Third Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: We should not judge things by their mere external appearance, but by their effect and usefulness.
1. Right or wrong, good or bad, is not a mere private and individual matter. It does not limit itself to the person himself but has a pervasive influence and a wide-ranging effect. Many defend their wrong actions in the name of privacy and freedom. They argue that it is their life; what they do is something personal; they do not disturb or affect anybody.
2. But it is not true. Any human action has a pervasive influence. It affects others, either directly or indirectly. For example, some of the vices may look only self-ruinous. But, when examined, whatever harms an individual’s self will also have some harmful effect on others as well.
3. The simple reason is that human beings’ lives are interactive and inter-relational. No human activity is in isolation or in an exclusive territory. In today’s Word of God, we have two examples of this pervasive influence of good and bad. In the first reading, we have a sample of the evil effect of David’s sin. In the gospel, we have the good effect of the mustard seed.
4. The sinfulness of David does not remain with him, but ranges from one wrong to another, growing to bigger proportions. His sin starts with negligence and irresponsibility, leading him to lower his image, succumbing to lower instincts and falling into adultery, and finally landing up in murder.
5. Instead, we must allow good to take root and grow within us and around us. The kingdom of God is this good that must flourish and pervade all around. Like a seed and especially like a mustard seed, the kingdom of God must be allowed to grow and give shelter to many. We need not bother about its tiny size initially as a seed. We must see the result of its potential when grown as a tree.
My Practice: Both good and evil are always present before us. Good prompts us while evil tempts us. Good is difficult and thus not very attractive and appealing, while evil is easy and very compelling. But good is gracious while evil is pernicious!
