LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, January 2, 2026 | Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen
I am already among you—known not by titles or spectacle, but by humble truth and living presence.
Christmas Blessings!
We are deeply grateful to share this journey with you—encountering Jesus Christ more fully and becoming instruments of His presence.
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We are delighted to share with you The Inn Crowd — a very moving Christmas short story. Weekly Live IT radio program and podcast coming soon.
We wish you and your family abundant Christmas blessings!
LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, January 2, 2026 | Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I am already among you—known not by titles or spectacle, but by humble truth and living presence.
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 | John 1:19–28
This is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,
“I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
True identity is discovered in fidelity to God, not in self-definition or recognition.
John the Baptist stands firm under interrogation. Pressed by religious authorities, he refuses every title they offer him. He does not grasp for importance. He does not negotiate identity. He simply tells the truth: he is not the Christ. He is not Elijah. He is not the Prophet. He is a voice.
This is spiritual clarity at its purest. John understands that identity is not something we invent, but something we receive. His strength lies not in who he is not, but in whom he points toward. He exists to make room for Another.
The religious leaders cannot recognize what is already in their midst. “There is one among you whom you do not recognize.” God is present, but unrecognized—not because He is absent, but because expectations are misaligned. When we look for power, prestige, or certainty, we often miss the quiet nearness of grace.
This Gospel speaks powerfully into modern family life. We are constantly tempted to define ourselves and our children by labels, roles, or achievements. Yet God names us by mission, not by résumé. The domestic church becomes a place of freedom when parents model humility, truth, and faithful witness rather than performance or comparison.
Here the Enemy whispers that our worth depends on recognition. John exposes the lie. He decreases so Christ may increase. He finds joy in obscurity because obedience, not visibility, is the measure of faithfulness.
We parents are called to John’s clarity. To form homes where truth is spoken without exaggeration, where Christ is pointed to without self-promotion, and where children learn that greatness flows from knowing who God is and who they are not. Pray over your children by name. Teach them to listen. Prepare the way of the Lord in your home.
“Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us.” (CCC 521)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where am I tempted to define myself by approval rather than by obedience?
In My Home: How can our family better point to Christ rather than to ourselves?
In My World: Where is God asking me to bear quiet, truthful witness without recognition?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one way each person can help “make straight the way of the Lord” in your home.
Then, one by one, pray over each person by name, asking for an outpouring of grace to know God’s love personally, freedom from the whispers and lies of the Enemy, strength to overcome temptation, and joy in living the Gospel concretely each day.
Daily Challenge:
Choose one intentional act of humility today—serving without being noticed—and offer it to God.
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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