LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, April 13, 2026
You must be born from above—let My Spirit make you new.
LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, April 13, 2026
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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This week on the Live IT Today Podcast, we feature the Gospel through five powerful insights that show how mercy meets and transforms us. We highlight the witness of St. Margaret of Castello—rejected and abandoned, yet transformed into radiant mercy—and a moving testimony from Patti Kastelic, sharing the transformation of an inmate through Eucharistic adoration and Christ’s healing presence. A new episode drops every Saturday, setting up the journey for the following week.
GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
You must be born from above—let My Spirit make you new.
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 3:1–8
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus at night and said to him,
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you are doing
unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him,
“How can a man once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
Jesus answered,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit
he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
What is born of flesh is flesh
and what is born of spirit is spirit.
Do not be amazed that I told you,
‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills,
and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
New life in Christ begins when we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us from within.
What would it mean for me to truly live as someone “born from above”?
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. This detail matters. In John’s Gospel, night often symbolizes spiritual searching, uncertainty, even hiddenness. Nicodemus is drawn to Jesus, but he is not yet ready to step fully into the light.
He recognizes something real—“no one can do these signs unless God is with him.” But recognition is not yet surrender.
Jesus immediately goes deeper: “You must be born from above.” The Greek word anōthen carries a double meaning—“again” and “from above.” Nicodemus hears it in earthly terms. Jesus is speaking of divine transformation.
This is not about self-improvement. It is about new birth.
“Born of water and Spirit” points directly to Baptism—the moment when we are brought into new life in Christ. But this is not a one-time event we leave behind. It is a reality meant to be lived every day.
Jesus uses the image of wind—pneuma in Greek, which also means “spirit.” The Spirit moves freely, powerfully, often mysteriously. We cannot control it—but we can receive it.
This is where many of us hesitate.
We want clarity, control, predictability. But life in the Spirit requires surrender. It calls us to trust that God is at work even when we cannot fully see or understand.
In family life, this is especially important. We can try to manage outcomes, shape behavior, control circumstances—but true transformation comes from the Holy Spirit.
The domestic church becomes alive when it is not merely structured around routines, but open to the movement of God. When prayer is real. When hearts are soft. When we invite the Spirit into decisions, struggles, and relationships.
Children need more than instruction—they need encounter.
Parents, this Gospel calls you to lead your family into life in the Spirit. Do not settle for surface-level faith. Invite the Holy Spirit into your home daily. Pray over your children by name, asking for renewal, freedom, and deep transformation. Teach them to listen, to trust, and to follow the movement of God in their lives.
You are not just raising good kids.
You are raising new creations in Christ.
“Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life… the gateway to life in the Spirit.” (CCC 1213)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to truly transform me, or am I holding onto control?
In My Home: How can we invite the Holy Spirit more intentionally into our daily family life?
In My World: Where is God calling me to trust His movement, even if I do not fully understand it?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one way each person wants the Holy Spirit to work in their life.
Then pray together as a family. Parents, place your hands gently on each person and pray over them by name. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew their hearts, guide their decisions, and fill them with God’s love. Renounce any fear, confusion, or resistance to God’s movement. Pray for courage, openness, and joy in living as sons and daughters of God.
Daily Challenge: Begin and end your day as a family with a simple prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.”
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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