Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the first week in ordinary time, January 16th, 2026

Delivered by Vanessa Anggono from Saint Mary Church of Cadogan Street in the Archdiocese of Westminster, London, United Kingdon. 1 Samuel 8: 4-7.10-22a; Rs psalm 89: 16-17.18-19; Mark 2: 1-12.WE FIGHT AGAINST BADPREJUDICES Our meditation today isetitled: We Fight Against Bad Prejudices. While visiting a remote village forresearch, a renowned young professor fell in love with a young woman in thatvillage. Many of his friends, family members, and fellow villagers harbornegative feelings toward him, believing him to be mentally ill. All badprejudices came to destroy his good name and reputation. Bad prejudice towardsothers is usually caused by two main factors, namely lack of knowledge orunderstanding and negative thoughts. When these two come together andpresuppose each other, a person does not just prejudice, but he or she alreadyhas an attitude aimed to do evil and violence. War and fighting between humansare often caused by prejudices like this one. The prophet Samuel,as told in the first reading, was dealing with Israelites who were stilllacking knowledge of God's will and the fate of those who had wanted so long tohave a king for them. They thought that God was not their real leader. Samuelworked hard to give them sufficient knowledge and understanding they needed.Jesus Christ also faced very bad prejudices from his opponents. The violent reactionof the Pharisees and scribes toward Jesus far exceeded the one of the ancientIsraelites during Samuel's day. Jesus faced a huge wave of prejudices from hisopponents that united in negative feelings and distorting knowledge about thetruth of God. They were famaus and smart people, but their knowledge was reallywrong and dangerous. Thus, they became so evil and cruel towards Jesus and thewill of God the Father. In our daily lives,especially in relationships with others, we may often prejudice against others,because we lack understanding or consideration and have negative thoughts orfeelings. Negative thoughts or feelings are like dealing with the differencesbetween us in a given context of life with a consideration that being diferenceamong us is not good or improper. To fight these prejudices, the Lord Jesusteaches us an attitude that truly originates from himself. Jesus teaches us notto hesitate to uproot the root of the problem, namely sin. A sinful person usesbad prejudices towards others without feeling sorry and merciful. So badprejudices must be eliminated by broadening knowledge or understanding andbuilding positive thinking in every one of us. Let us do it right now!Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord, the almighty God, may we will not give up to challenges orobstacles that interfere with our faith and fidelity to You. Hail Mary, full ofgrace ... In the name of the Father ...