LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, January 16, 2026
I see your faith, I forgive what binds your soul, and I raise you up to walk in freedom.
LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, January 16, 2026
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I see your faith, I forgive what binds your soul, and I raise you up to walk in freedom.
INVOCATION
Come, Holy Spirit! Through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, open my heart to hear and receive all that You desire for me. Draw me ever more deeply into the Love and Life of the Blessed Trinity!
GOSPEL | Mark 2:1–12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
—he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Jesus heals the body to reveal what truly paralyzes the soul.
The scene is intimate and chaotic at once. Jesus is “at home,” yet the house is overflowing. Into this press of bodies and expectations come four friends who refuse to be stopped. Their faith is not theoretical; it is muscular, persistent, and communal. They break through the roof because love refuses to wait politely when someone is bound.
When the man is finally lowered before Jesus, the expected miracle does not come. Instead of healing legs, Jesus forgives sins. This is not avoidance—it is diagnosis. The deepest paralysis is not physical immobility, but separation from God. Jesus treats the root before the symptom.
The scribes object silently, and their objection is theologically correct: only God can forgive sins. That is precisely the point. Jesus does not correct their premise; He fulfills it. The miracle that follows is not proof of power, but revelation of identity. Healing confirms what forgiveness already declared.
The Greek word for authority here again is exousia—inherent authority. Jesus does not ask permission, invoke another name, or defer judgment. He speaks as God among them. The man rises because his soul has already been set free.
This Gospel presses into family life with clarity. We parents often focus on visible struggles—behavior, performance, exhaustion—while missing the deeper wounds beneath. Children, spouses, and even we ourselves can be spiritually immobilized by shame, guilt, or unspoken sin. The domestic church must be a place where forgiveness is named, received, and lived.
Here is the great reversal of the Gospel: forgiveness is not a reward for healing—it is the source of it. When sins are forgiven, life can move again.
Build homes where faith is carried together, not alone. Pray over your children by name, especially where they feel stuck or discouraged. Trust Christ’s authority to forgive and restore, and walk forward together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, ‘The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ and exercises this divine power: ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.” (CCC 1441)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where do I need to let Jesus address the deeper root rather than just the visible struggle?
In My Home: How freely is forgiveness spoken, modeled, and practiced in our family?
In My World: Who might need me to carry them closer to Jesus through faithful persistence?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one way each person has experienced help or support from another.
Pray aloud together, intentionally praying over each person by name, asking Jesus to forgive, heal, and restore what feels stuck, to free each heart from shame or fear, and to grant joyful strength to walk in newness of life.
Daily Challenge: Offer explicit forgiveness today—to God, to another, or to yourself—and take one concrete step forward.
DAILY PARENT & GRANDPARENT BLESSING
LORD JESUS CHRIST, let Your holy anointing be upon each of our children, grandchildren, and godchildren this day and week, including all to whom they are called in vocation, and all future generations! In Your Sacred Name we claim them for You! We renounce all whispers, lies, and influences of the Enemy! We pray right now that each know Your loving Presence, be forged in virtue, and be flooded with an abundance of Your Holy Spirit to live fully their identity and mission in You now and through all eternity, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother! Amen.
PARENT BLESSING PROJECT: bit.ly/ParentBlessing
GOING VERTICAL
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Just as the vertical beam upholds the horizontal beam of the Cross, so too does undistracted, dedicated daily turning to God as our lifeblood uphold and strengthen every part of life. Start with just three minutes. Wait patiently for the breakthrough beyond the noise. Let Him speak.
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