LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, January 19, 2026
I am the Bridegroom among you—receive My joy, and allow Me to make you new from the inside out.
LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, January 19, 2026
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I am the Bridegroom among you—receive My joy, and allow Me to make you new from the inside out.
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 2:18–22
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Jesus does not come to modify our lives, but to remake them around His presence.
The question posed to Jesus sounds sincere and religious. Fasting is good. Discipline matters. Tradition has weight. But beneath the objection is a deeper tension: why doesn’t following You look like what we already know? Jesus’ response gently but firmly reveals that something entirely new is happening.
He names Himself the Bridegroom. In the Scriptures of Israel, this title belongs to God alone. Jesus is not offering a new rule; He is revealing a new reality. God is no longer distant or awaited. He is present, rejoicing with His people. When the Bridegroom is in the room, the posture of the heart changes.
Fasting belongs to longing. But joy belongs to fulfillment. Jesus is not rejecting discipline; He is anchoring it in relationship. Christian life is not defined first by what we do for God, but by who we are with. Without that order, even good practices can become brittle.
Then Jesus presses the image further. New cloth tears old fabric. New wine bursts old skins. The Kingdom cannot be contained by unchanged structures, habits, or control. Grace is alive. It expands. And if we try to contain Christ without allowing Him to transform us, something eventually breaks.
This lands directly in family life. Many of us try to fit Jesus into already crowded schedules and inherited patterns. We add prayer without reordering priorities. We want renewal without surrender. But the Gospel is not an accessory—it is a new way of living.
The domestic church is where fresh wineskins are formed. It happens when parents allow Christ to reshape rhythms, heal old resentments, simplify what is excessive, and restore joy. Children notice when faith is alive rather than merely observed.
Parents, Jesus is not asking you to try harder. He is asking you to make room. Build saint-forming homes by letting Christ renew the structures of your daily life. Pray over your children by name. Welcome His joy. Allow the Holy Spirit to stretch you without fear—so the new wine of the Kingdom can be poured out fully in your home.
“The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself as the ‘bridegroom.’” (CCC 796)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where am I trying to fit Jesus into old patterns instead of letting Him renew me?
In My Home: What needs to change so our family can truly receive the joy of Christ’s presence?
In My World: How does my life show that faith is relationship, not mere observance?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one area where your family could make room for something new from God.
Then, as parents, pray aloud over each person by name, asking Jesus to renew their hearts, to free them from the Enemy’s lies about control or fear, to strengthen them against temptation, and to fill them with joy in living the Gospel concretely.
Daily Challenge: As a family, choose one small but real change this week that creates space for prayer, joy, or reconciliation.
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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