Readings for Sunday, January 18, 2026
Lectionary: 64
Reading 1 Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 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. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptising with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
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///// BIL-MALTI ////////
It-Tieni Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
QARI 1 mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Iżaija 49:3,5-6
Il-Mulej qalli: “Iżrael, inti l-qaddej tiegħi, bik jiena nkun imfaħħar”. Issa tkellem il-Mulej, li minn ġuf ommi għamilni qaddej tiegħu, biex għandu nraġġa’ lura lil Ġakobb, u biex Iżrael jinġabar miegħu mill-ġdid – għax jien kont imfaħħar f’għajnejn il-Mulej, u Alla tiegħi kien il-qawwa tiegħi – u Hu qalli: “Tkun ħaġa żgħira wisq għalik, li inti tkun il-qaddej tiegħi, biex tqajjem it-tribù ta’ Ġakobb, u traġġa’ lura l-fdal ta’ Iżrael. Jien nagħmel minnek dawl għall-ġnus, biex is-salvazzjoni tiegħi sa truf l-art tinfirex”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 39(40):2,4ab,7-8a,8b-9,10
Ittamajt b’tama qawwija fil-Mulej;
hu niżel ħdejja u sama’ l-għajta tiegħi.
Qegħedli fuq fommi għanja ġdida,
għanja ta’ tifħir lil Alla tagħna. R/.
Int ma titgħaxxaqx b’sagrifiċċji u b’offerti;
imma widnejja inti ftaħtli;
ma tlabtnix vittmi tal-ħruq u tat-tpattija.
Imbagħad jien għedt: “Hawn jien, ġej”. R/.
“Fil-bidu tal-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi
li nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.
Alla tiegħi, dan jogħġobni;
il-liġi tiegħek ġewwa qalbi”. R/.
Xandart il-ġustizzja f’ġemgħa kbira;
xufftejja ma żammejthomx magħluqa.
Mulej, dan inti tafu. R/.
QARI 2 Bidu tal-Ewwel Ittra ta’ S. Pawl lill-Korintin 1:1-3
Pawlu, li Alla ried isejjaħlu biex ikun appostlu ta’ Kristu Ġesù, u Sòsteni ħuna, lill-Knisja ta’ Alla li qiegħda f’Korintu; lil dawk li tqaddsu fi Kristu Ġesù, imsejħa biex ikunu qaddisin flimkien ma’ dawk kollha li f’kull pajjiż isejħu l-isem ta’ Ġesù Kristu, is-Sid tagħhom u tagħna; grazzja u sliem mingħand Alla missierna u l-Mulej Ġesù Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni, ra lil Ġesù riesaq lejh, u qal: “Araw il-Ħaruf ta’ Alla, li jneħħi d-dnub tad-dinja. Dan hu li għalih għedtilkom: ‘Warajja ġej bniedem li hu aqwa minni, għax kien qabli’. Anqas jien stess ma kont nafu, imma jien għalhekk ġejt ngħammed bl-ilma, biex hu jkun mgħarraf lil Iżrael”. U Ġwanni xehed għalih u qal: “Jiena rajt l-Ispirtu nieżel mis-sema bħal ħamiema u joqgħod fuqu. Tabilħaqq, anqas jien ma kont nafu; imma dak li bagħatni ngħammed bl-ilma, hu stess qalli: ‘Fuq min tara l-Ispirtu jinżel u joqgħod, dak hu li jgħammed bl-Ispirtu s-Santu’. Dan rajtu b’għajnejja, u għalhekk xhedt, dan hu l-Iben ta’ Alla”.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej. R/. Tifħir lilek, Kristu.
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///////////// REFLECTION.....
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An 8-minute Reflection on Sunday's Readings by Fr Anthony Kadavil
Introduction:
The central theme of Sunday’s readings is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of Godand thus bear witness to Christ the “Lamb of God.” We have to choose to accept John’s testimony in today’s Gospel as a personal and corporate call from God to us to become witnesses to the Lamb of God.
Scripture summarized:
In both the first and second readings, God calls individuals to His service entrusting them with a mission. The first reading is from the “Songs of the Suffering Servant” in Isaiah, where the prophet was chosen by God from his mother’s womb and consecrated to be the “light to the nations”. Here,aspects of Jesus' own life as sacrificial lamb and mission as salvation of the world are foreshadowed.
In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that they are "sanctified and called to be holy" like all who call on the name of Jesus. They are called by God and consecrated in Christ Jesus for a life of holiness and service. As believers, we too have been called by God to become members of Christ’s Body by our Baptism, and we are consecrated in Christ Jesus for a life of holiness and service.
The Gospel passage presents three themes, namely, the witness John the Baptist bears to Jesus, the revelation (epiphany) and identification of Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” and the call to discipleship. John’s first declaration probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” to the minds of his Jewish listeners:
1) The Lamb of Yearly Atonement (Lv 16:20-22) used on Yom Kippur.
2) The Lamb of Daily Atonement (Ex 29:38-42; Nm 28:1-8).
3) The Paschal Lamb(Ex. 12:11ss).
4)The Lamb of the Prophets(Jer 11:19), (Is 53:7).
5) The Lamb of the Conquerors.
Life messages:
1) Live and die like the Lamb of God.
(A) Live like a lamb by:
i) leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives obeying the Christ’s commandment of love;
ii) appreciating the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in His Church;
iii) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd and deriving spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit through the the Holy Bible, Sacraments and our prayers.
(B) Die like a sacrificial lamb by:
i) by the sacrificial sharing our blessings of health, wealth and talents with others in the family, parish and community;
ii) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain and suffering;
iii) offering our sufferings for the salvation of souls and as reparation for our sins and those of others.
2) Be a witness to the Lamb of God by our exemplary life.. Today's Gospel reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus means that we grow by Faith to become witnesses for him. And bearing witness to Christ is an active, not passive, lifetime enterprise. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus at a distance, any more than one can be a distant lover.
3) "Come and see". The essence of our witnessing is to state what we have seen and believed and then to invite others to "come and see" our experience of Jesus. As with Andrew and John, Faith begins with our responding to Jesus’ invitation to "come and see." We tell others about good restaurants, barbers, optometrists, etc. Why isn't there the same fervor over inviting and encouraging people to come and participate in our Church activities? If we are not willing to invite others into this experience, what does that say about our experiences with Christ and with our Church?
////////////////////////////////////// Fr Tony's Homilies © 2026. / https://frtonyshomilies.com
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