Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A (2026)
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Ordinary Time in the liturgical year is divided into two periods. It begins on the Monday after the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord, and continues until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It then resumes on the Monday after Pentecost and lasts until the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent. “Ordinary Time” does not denote that it is routine, commonplace, or uneventful. “Ordinary Time” is derived from the Latin “tempus ordinarium,” meaning “measured time” or “ordered time” (first, second, etc.) It is the season in the Church’s calendar that is not part of the major feast cycles of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. The readings for this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time are brief but poignant! They reveal God’s plan of salvation and that He calls us from the womb to have a role within it.
In the first reading from Isaiah, the Lord calls Israel His servant, formed in the womb to embody God’s glory and illuminate the world, bringing light to all nations. When we encounter God, our mission is to become a “light to the nations.” Every time we’re in our workplace, school, or neighborhood, we are sent to reflect the light of Christ. “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” — St. Catherine of Siena. The second reading from St. Paul’s epistle echoes this reality, calling us to be holy, “to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” — 1 Corinthians 1:2. Holiness is not an unattainable status reserved for saints on holy cards; through our baptism, we all have been sanctified and called to be holy. Christ’s presence in our lives leads us to reflect His light in a world often shrouded in darkness. The Gospel builds to St. John’s climactic testimony, proclaiming words etched into every Mass: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” — John 1:29. John’s life of fasting, preaching, and desert solitude prepared him to testify for Christ. The question for today: Do you recognize the Lamb amid your daily struggles? And, are you ready to reveal Him as light to a world lost in darkness?
John’s testimony calls us to embrace Jesus’ sacrifice: If the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, we must let Him lift our sins too. No more carrying guilt or shame, through Confession and prayer, we surrender these burdens to the Lamb who offered Himself on the Cross and in the Eucharist, expiating them once for all. Holiness is not mere absence of sin, but the pursuit of God and His will. Freed, let us carry Christ’s light into a broken world, bringing hope to those we encounter. Let us repeat daily today’s Responsorial Psalm: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” A quote attributed to St. Teresa, but whether she wrote, said it, or not, its message motivates us to focus on small acts of charity we can do with love, to the glory of God, reflecting the light of Christ, and bringing hope to the world.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.