LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, July 3, 2026
Do not cling to what is merely familiar. Open your heart to My transforming grace, and I will make all things new within you.
LIVE IT TODAY: Friday, July 3, 2026
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
SUBSCRIBE FREE: LiveITToday.us
LISTEN NOW: Live IT Today Podcast A new episode drops every Saturday.
GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
Do not cling to what is merely familiar. Open your heart to My transforming grace, and I will make all things new within you.
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 | Matthew 9:14-17
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Christianity is not merely about becoming a better version of ourselves, but allowing Christ to make us new.
Where is Christ inviting you to let go of old patterns so His new life can flourish within you?
John’s disciples are asking about fasting, but Jesus answers by speaking of a wedding. That seems like an odd response until we recognize one of the Bible’s greatest themes: God desires not merely our obedience but communion. Throughout the Old Testament, God describes His covenant with Israel as a marriage. By calling Himself the Bridegroom, Jesus quietly reveals His divine identity. The long-awaited Bridegroom has arrived, and His presence changes everything.
Jesus then offers two brief parables: an old garment cannot simply be patched with new cloth, and new wine requires fresh wineskins. Both images point to the same truth. Christ did not come merely to repair the old life. He came to inaugurate the New Covenant. The Greek word kainos, often translated “new,” does not simply mean recent. It means new in kind—a reality transformed from within. Jesus is not offering improved religion; He is offering participation in His own divine life.
This is why Christianity can never be reduced to following rules or preserving comfortable habits. Grace does not simply decorate the exterior of our lives; it recreates the heart. The sacraments, especially Baptism and the Eucharist, do not merely symbolize new life—they communicate it. The Christian life is not self-improvement. It is Christ living His life within us.
That is also why conversion is rarely comfortable. Fresh wine stretches fresh wineskins. Every genuine encounter with Christ enlarges our capacity to love, forgive, trust, sacrifice, and hope. We naturally resist that stretching because old patterns feel familiar, even when they no longer give life. Yet the Holy Spirit continually invites us beyond mere comfort into communion.
This begins in the home. Families flourish when they remain open to the new work God desires to accomplish in each heart. Build saint-forming homes by asking not merely, “How can we preserve what we’ve always done?” but, “How is Christ inviting us to grow?” Pray over your spouse and children by name. Call daily upon the Holy Spirit. The family that continually welcomes God’s transforming grace becomes a living witness that the Gospel is not simply ancient truth—it is ever new.
“Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life.” (CCC 1997)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: What old habit, fear, or attachment may be preventing Christ from doing something new within me?
In My Home: How is God inviting our family to grow more deeply in faith rather than simply maintaining routines?
In My World: Where can I become a joyful witness that life in Christ is truly new?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Gather together and invite each family member to share one way they have grown over the past year because of God’s grace.
Then pray over each person by name. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew their hearts, deepen their faith, and give them the courage to embrace every new grace Christ desires to pour into their lives.
Daily Challenge: Ask the Lord today, “Jesus, what old wineskin in my life are You inviting me to surrender?”
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.
ENTER THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME: LifeTimeRide.com
Listen to the moving song, Ride Of A Lifetime:
Spotify | Apple | Other
TODAY’S SPONSORSHIP
Sponsored by the St. Thomas Aquinas Classical Academy, a non-diocesan K-12 school opening this Fall in Toledo, Ohio. Find out more: STAClassical.org | Email: Build@STAClassical.org
Built by TheStoryForge.us, committed to organizational excellence.
WE WANT TO PRAY FOR YOU!
Please share your prayer intentions in the comments at LiveITToday.us