LIVE IT TODAY: Saturday, January 17, 2026 | Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot
I see you where you are, I call you by name, and I invite you to rise and follow Me into mercy.
LIVE IT TODAY: Saturday, January 17, 2026 | Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I see you where you are, I call you by name, and I invite you to rise and follow Me into mercy.
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 2:13–17
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Jesus does not wait for repentance to love—His love awakens repentance.
Levi is sitting at the customs post, a place associated with betrayal, corruption, and collaboration with Roman power. Everyone knows who he is. Jesus does not avert His gaze, offer a lecture, or demand reform first. He simply says, “Follow me.” Mercy comes before moral reconstruction.
The Greek verb for “follow” implies decisive movement—Levi rises and leaves behind status, income, and a carefully built identity. Conversion is not gradual here; it is responsive. Grace calls, and freedom answers.
Then comes the scandal: Jesus reclines at table in Levi’s house. In the ancient world, table fellowship signified communion and belonging. To eat with sinners was to identify with them. The Pharisees’ objection is not about etiquette; it is about holiness. Jesus redefines holiness not as separation from the wounded, but as redemptive presence among them.
Today the Church gives us Saint Anthony, Abbot, the great father of the desert, who heard the Gospel and responded by leaving everything to seek God with an undivided heart. His life is a living commentary on Levi’s rising: not a performance of holiness, but a surrender to Christ’s call that reordered everything. Anthony did not flee people in contempt; he went into silence so that God could heal the heart—and from that healed heart, wisdom and strength poured out for countless others.
Jesus’ words are surgical: “Those who are well do not need a physician.” He exposes the illusion of self-sufficiency. The truly sick are not those who know their need, but those who deny it. Mercy is refused not by sinners, but by the self-righteous.
This Gospel confronts our homes directly. We parents can quietly sort our families into categories—strong and weak, faithful and failing, acceptable and embarrassing. Jesus dismantles that hierarchy. The domestic church must be the place where no one is beyond the reach of mercy and no one pretends not to need it.
Here is the hard grace of the Gospel: Christ does not endorse sin, but He never withholds His presence until sin is gone. He enters first, heals from within, and calls us forward.
Build homes where mercy leads and truth follows. Pray over your children by name, especially where they feel unworthy or ashamed. Rise with Levi, seek God with the single-hearted courage of Saint Anthony, Abbot, and walk together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’ By doing so he calls them to that conversion without which there is no salvation, but shows them the mercy of God which grants them repentance and forgiveness.” (CCC 545)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where do I resist believing that Jesus truly calls me as I am?
In My Home: How is mercy practiced when someone in our family falls short?
In My World: Who might I be avoiding that Jesus is inviting me to love?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one moment when someone felt welcomed or forgiven.
Pray aloud together, intentionally praying over each person by name, asking Jesus to break lies of unworthiness, to heal hidden shame, to strengthen hearts against temptation, and to root your family in mercy, truth, and joy.
Daily Challenge: Intentionally show mercy today—through presence, patience, or forgiveness—where it would be easiest to judge.
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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