About Today
Friday 23 January 2026
Friday of week 2 in Ordinary Time
Indeed, how good is the Lord: bless his holy name.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Green.
Other saints: St Marianne Cope (1838 - 1918)
Trinidad & Tobago, United States
Maria Anna Barbara Koob was born in Heppenheim, in Grand Duchy of Hesse, which is now part of Germany, on 23 January 1838. Her family emigrated the following year to Utica, in New York State. The family’s surname was anglicized to Cope.
In 1862 she entered the Sisters of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York, after having postponed her entrance nine years in order to work to support her family. She was instrumental in the founding of several schools and hospitals for immigrants. In 1883 she led a group of sisters to the Hawaiian Islands to care for the poor, especially those suffering from leprosy. In 1888 she went to Kalaupapa, Moloka‘i, where she set up a home for girls with leprosy. After the death of Saint Damien de Veuster she also took over the home he built for boys. She died on 9 August, 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 May 2005 and canonized by him on 21 October 2012.
Other saints: Bl. Henry Suso OP ( - 1366)
23 Jan (where celebrated)
Dominican Friar and Priest.
Blessed Henry Suso was born in Constance-Swabia, Germany, towards the end of the thirteen century and is associated with Meister Eckhart and John Tauler in the school of Dominican spirituality know as the “Rhineland Mystics.” He pursued Divine Wisdom and manifested a great love for the Passion of the Lord. In his writings he taught detachment from all sensible reality and union with God through the contemplation of the perfections and sufferings of Christ. He died in Ulm on January 25, 1366.
Jesus appointed Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him
Gospel: Mark 3:13-19
At that time: Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named Apostles, so that they might be with him, and he might send them out to preach, and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder; Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Reflection on the painting
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gathers around him those he desired to closely help him: twelve disciples called by name, including Judas Iscariot. Mark writes with the knowledge of what Judas would later do, yet he still affirms that Judas was among those Jesus wanted. Jesus chose him freely, just as he chose the others. There is no suggestion that Jesus deliberately selected a betrayer; instead, he believed in Judas’ potential for good and entrusted him with a real share in his mission, just as he did with the others. Jesus wanted Judas, and Judas accepted this call by his own free will... but in the end Judas did not ultimately want Jesus.n today’s Gospel, Jesus gathers around him those he desired to closely help him: twelve disciples called by name, including Judas Iscariot. Mark writes with the knowledge of what Judas would later do, yet he still affirms that Judas was among those Jesus wanted. Jesus chose him freely, just as he chose the others. There is no suggestion that Jesus deliberately selected a betrayer; instead, he believed in Judas’ potential for good and entrusted him with a real share in his mission, just as he did with the others. Jesus wanted Judas, and Judas accepted this call by his own free will... but in the end Judas did not ultimately want Jesus.
This dynamic touches our own discipleship. The Lord’s call comes to us again and again throughout our lives: “Come, follow me.” But our response must be freely given, continuously, consistently. He invites us first to companionship, to live close to his heart in prayer. From that friendship springs a mission: he sends us out to share what we have received. The call and response constantly get renewed and refreshed. Like the twelve, we are wanted by Christ; the question becomes whether we want him in return, and whether we consistently say 'yes' to his call at every stage in our life.
Our moving painting is by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899), one of Brazil’s most important 19th-century painters, bringing the Realist tradition of artists like Courbet and Millet into Brazilian art. He became celebrated for scenes that evoke profound human feeling: realism combined with emotion. The Remorse of Judas (Remorso de Judas), painted in 1880, is one of his most famous works. In this large canvas, Almeida portrays Judas Iscariot in the hour of his deepest despair just before his suicide, haunted by the weight of his betrayal as Christ is being crucified in the background. The fallen coins at his feet and the play of light and shadow emphasise his isolation, confusion, and overwhelming guilt, capturing not merely a biblical episode but the intensity of conscience and human sorrow that follows a tragic, wrong choice. The painting draws us into Judas’s inner anguish, a reminder of the raw emotional consequences of betrayal and the complexity of the human heart.
Judas' Remorse,
Painting by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850-1899),
Painted in 1880,
Oil on canvas
© Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Friday of week 2 in Ordinary Time
Indeed, how good is the Lord: bless his holy name.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Green.
Other saints: St Marianne Cope (1838 - 1918)
Trinidad & Tobago, United States
Maria Anna Barbara Koob was born in Heppenheim, in Grand Duchy of Hesse, which is now part of Germany, on 23 January 1838. Her family emigrated the following year to Utica, in New York State. The family’s surname was anglicized to Cope.
In 1862 she entered the Sisters of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York, after having postponed her entrance nine years in order to work to support her family. She was instrumental in the founding of several schools and hospitals for immigrants. In 1883 she led a group of sisters to the Hawaiian Islands to care for the poor, especially those suffering from leprosy. In 1888 she went to Kalaupapa, Moloka‘i, where she set up a home for girls with leprosy. After the death of Saint Damien de Veuster she also took over the home he built for boys. She died on 9 August, 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 May 2005 and canonized by him on 21 October 2012.
Other saints: Bl. Henry Suso OP ( - 1366)
23 Jan (where celebrated)
Dominican Friar and Priest.
Blessed Henry Suso was born in Constance-Swabia, Germany, towards the end of the thirteen century and is associated with Meister Eckhart and John Tauler in the school of Dominican spirituality know as the “Rhineland Mystics.” He pursued Divine Wisdom and manifested a great love for the Passion of the Lord. In his writings he taught detachment from all sensible reality and union with God through the contemplation of the perfections and sufferings of Christ. He died in Ulm on January 25, 1366.
Jesus appointed Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him
Gospel: Mark 3:13-19
At that time: Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named Apostles, so that they might be with him, and he might send them out to preach, and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder; Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Reflection on the painting
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gathers around him those he desired to closely help him: twelve disciples called by name, including Judas Iscariot. Mark writes with the knowledge of what Judas would later do, yet he still affirms that Judas was among those Jesus wanted. Jesus chose him freely, just as he chose the others. There is no suggestion that Jesus deliberately selected a betrayer; instead, he believed in Judas’ potential for good and entrusted him with a real share in his mission, just as he did with the others. Jesus wanted Judas, and Judas accepted this call by his own free will... but in the end Judas did not ultimately want Jesus.n today’s Gospel, Jesus gathers around him those he desired to closely help him: twelve disciples called by name, including Judas Iscariot. Mark writes with the knowledge of what Judas would later do, yet he still affirms that Judas was among those Jesus wanted. Jesus chose him freely, just as he chose the others. There is no suggestion that Jesus deliberately selected a betrayer; instead, he believed in Judas’ potential for good and entrusted him with a real share in his mission, just as he did with the others. Jesus wanted Judas, and Judas accepted this call by his own free will... but in the end Judas did not ultimately want Jesus.
This dynamic touches our own discipleship. The Lord’s call comes to us again and again throughout our lives: “Come, follow me.” But our response must be freely given, continuously, consistently. He invites us first to companionship, to live close to his heart in prayer. From that friendship springs a mission: he sends us out to share what we have received. The call and response constantly get renewed and refreshed. Like the twelve, we are wanted by Christ; the question becomes whether we want him in return, and whether we consistently say 'yes' to his call at every stage in our life.
Our moving painting is by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899), one of Brazil’s most important 19th-century painters, bringing the Realist tradition of artists like Courbet and Millet into Brazilian art. He became celebrated for scenes that evoke profound human feeling: realism combined with emotion. The Remorse of Judas (Remorso de Judas), painted in 1880, is one of his most famous works. In this large canvas, Almeida portrays Judas Iscariot in the hour of his deepest despair just before his suicide, haunted by the weight of his betrayal as Christ is being crucified in the background. The fallen coins at his feet and the play of light and shadow emphasise his isolation, confusion, and overwhelming guilt, capturing not merely a biblical episode but the intensity of conscience and human sorrow that follows a tragic, wrong choice. The painting draws us into Judas’s inner anguish, a reminder of the raw emotional consequences of betrayal and the complexity of the human heart.
Judas' Remorse,
Painting by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850-1899),
Painted in 1880,
Oil on canvas
© Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil