About Today
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Wednesday of week 1 in Ordinary Time
Let us adore the Lord, for it is he who made us.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Green.
Very early morning, he went out to a desolate place and prayed
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
At that time: Jesus left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is what I came for.’ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Reflection on the painting
Today’s Gospel shows us something essential about how Jesus carried out his mission. The disciples rush to him with urgency: “Everyone is looking for you!” There were people waiting, anxious to be healed. Yet Jesus chooses not to stay. He moves on to the next town, and then the next. He preaches, heals, and continues forward, always attentive to where the Father is calling him. He keeps moving. In this, Jesus reveals that when we try to help spread the word of God, we simply cannot do everything. None of us will ever reach every person, and even those we reach may not always listen.
The heart of evangelisation is movement! The Good News is always on the move: from village to village in Jesus’ day, from heart to heart in ours. We keep walking, keep proclaiming, keep sowing seeds of faith wherever the Spirit leads. Some needs will remain behind us, and new challenges will stand before us, but the mission continues. For the Gospel is alive, and we are called to carry it forward.
The other sentence that stood out for me is ‘rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed’. Jesus wanted to leave very early, to avoid the crowds and have time to pray. Repeatedly in the Gospels we hear about Jesus going away to spend time on his own with his Father in prayer. Jesus nurtured his own spiritual connection with his Heavenly Father and carefully looked after his own prayer life.
Our painting depicts Jesus meditating and praying. Russian artist Ivan Kramskoy painted this in 1872 and used primarily cold colours to reflect the early morning chill of dawn in the background. The pensive figure of Christ wears a dark cloak and a red tunic underneath, symbolic of his passion which was to come. The painting emphasises Jesus’ human nature and features his mind in action, in the midst of the physical demands of his ministry. This is not a heroic, victorious Christ. He is portrayed as a humble, simple, human Christ with a tired facial expression… but yet his head against the soft skies and above the rocky earth, reveals his true majesty and force…
Christ in the Desert,
Painted by Ivan Kramskoi (1837-1887),
Oil on canvas,
Painted in 1872
© Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Wednesday of week 1 in Ordinary Time
Let us adore the Lord, for it is he who made us.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Green.
Very early morning, he went out to a desolate place and prayed
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
At that time: Jesus left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is what I came for.’ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Reflection on the painting
Today’s Gospel shows us something essential about how Jesus carried out his mission. The disciples rush to him with urgency: “Everyone is looking for you!” There were people waiting, anxious to be healed. Yet Jesus chooses not to stay. He moves on to the next town, and then the next. He preaches, heals, and continues forward, always attentive to where the Father is calling him. He keeps moving. In this, Jesus reveals that when we try to help spread the word of God, we simply cannot do everything. None of us will ever reach every person, and even those we reach may not always listen.
The heart of evangelisation is movement! The Good News is always on the move: from village to village in Jesus’ day, from heart to heart in ours. We keep walking, keep proclaiming, keep sowing seeds of faith wherever the Spirit leads. Some needs will remain behind us, and new challenges will stand before us, but the mission continues. For the Gospel is alive, and we are called to carry it forward.
The other sentence that stood out for me is ‘rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed’. Jesus wanted to leave very early, to avoid the crowds and have time to pray. Repeatedly in the Gospels we hear about Jesus going away to spend time on his own with his Father in prayer. Jesus nurtured his own spiritual connection with his Heavenly Father and carefully looked after his own prayer life.
Our painting depicts Jesus meditating and praying. Russian artist Ivan Kramskoy painted this in 1872 and used primarily cold colours to reflect the early morning chill of dawn in the background. The pensive figure of Christ wears a dark cloak and a red tunic underneath, symbolic of his passion which was to come. The painting emphasises Jesus’ human nature and features his mind in action, in the midst of the physical demands of his ministry. This is not a heroic, victorious Christ. He is portrayed as a humble, simple, human Christ with a tired facial expression… but yet his head against the soft skies and above the rocky earth, reveals his true majesty and force…
Christ in the Desert,
Painted by Ivan Kramskoi (1837-1887),
Oil on canvas,
Painted in 1872
© Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow