LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, September 1, 2025
I have anointed you in My Spirit to live in freedom and bring My Good News into your home and the world.
LIVE IT TODAY: Monday, September 1, 2025
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD'S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I have anointed you in My Spirit to live in freedom and bring My Good News into your home and the world.
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 | Luke 4:16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, "Is this not the son of Joseph?"
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb,
'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said,
"Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
The Anointed One Confronts Our Comfort
This moment in Nazareth is electrifying. Jesus claims Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Him—He is the Anointed One, the Messiah. At first, the people marvel. But as He reminds them that God’s mission extends beyond their expectations—to outsiders, to Gentiles, to the broken and marginalized—their amazement turns to fury. The One they longed for is not the One they imagined.
In the synagogue, Jesus uses examples of Elijah and Elisha ministering to foreigners. In Hebrew thought, anointed—mashiach—meant being set apart by God for His saving mission. But here, the mission is not for comfort or control; it is for conversion and communion, breaking open boundaries of who “belongs.” This is the scandal that makes them want to kill Him.
We must be honest: many of us want Jesus on our terms. We want Him to affirm our plans, our culture, our way of life—without too much disturbance. But He comes into our homes and hearts to set captives free, to heal blindness, to break chains. And sometimes the hardest place to live that is in our own family, where familiarity can dull reverence.
Parents, we must not shy away from the prophet’s task in our own homes. We are anointed to confront lies, to call out sin, and to proclaim liberty in Christ. This means praying over our children by name, declaring the truth of who they are in Christ, and not settling for a domesticated Jesus who leaves us comfortable. He has come to set us—and our families—on fire.
“Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us” (CCC 521)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Prophet’s Edge: Where might I be resisting Jesus because He is disrupting my comfort zone?
Family Mission: In what concrete way can we proclaim liberty to the “captives” in our home—whether fear, resentment, or sin?
Anointed Parenting: How am I actively living out my anointing as a parent to lead my children closer to Christ?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, each person share one area of life where they feel “captive”—something that holds them back or weighs them down.
After sharing, lay hands gently and pray over each person by name:
“Lord Jesus, pour out Your Spirit upon [Name]. Let them know deeply Your personal love. Silence the whispers and lies of the Enemy. Break every chain that holds them captive. Give them strength to resist temptation and courage to live Your joy today. Set them free in Your love and mission.”
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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