LIVE IT TODAY: Saturday, October 4, 2025 | Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Your true joy is not in power, but in knowing your name is written in heaven.
LIVE IT TODAY: Saturday, October 4, 2025 | Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
Your true joy is not in power, but in knowing your name is written in heaven.
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 10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Heaven’s joy is not in what you conquer, but in Who has claimed you.
The seventy-two return from mission ecstatic: demons flee, evil trembles, darkness obeys. Their joy is power. But Jesus redirects their gaze: rejoice not in victory over spirits, but in the eternal fact that your names are written in heaven. The deepest miracle is not what you do in His name, but that you belong to Him at all.
This flips our instincts upside down. We thrill in accomplishments—grades, promotions, trophies, applause. We measure worth by what we conquer. Yet heaven’s registry does not record achievements, but relationships. The Lamb’s book does not list résumés, but names. Our true greatness is not in power exercised, but in sonship received.
Jesus Himself bursts into praise—He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. The Greek verb here, agalliaō, means to exult with exuberant joy. What moves the heart of God is not worldly wisdom, but childlike trust. The mystery of salvation is veiled to the calculating but unveiled to the little ones who receive without demanding control.
Family life is often where this reversal must pierce us most. Parents can obsess over their children’s performance: grades, sports, resumes. But Jesus calls you to rejoice first that their names are inscribed in His heart. The domestic church is not a factory of success but a household of heaven—where childlikeness is not outgrown, but nurtured as the very path to salvation.
The pithy truth cuts sharply: Demons may obey power, but only children inherit the Kingdom.
Parents, today is your call to rejoice not in control, but in belonging. Pray over your children by name, blessing them with heaven’s joy—that they may know their true identity is not what they do, but Whose they are.
“By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘opened’ heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ.” (CCC 1026)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Joy Misplaced: Where are you tempted to find joy in accomplishments rather than in belonging to God?
Childlike Heart: How can you cultivate a deeper spirit of childlike trust in your home?
Heavenly Perspective: What would change if your family measured success not by achievement but by faithfulness?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one way you have experienced joy that was not tied to accomplishment, but to love and belonging.
After sharing, each family member should pray over another by name: Lord Jesus, pour out Your grace so that [Name] may know Your deep love personally. Free [Name] from lies that their worth is tied to performance. Strengthen [Name] to overcome temptations to pride or fear. Fill [Name] with joy to live Your Gospel daily, rejoicing that their name is written in heaven.
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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