LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, October 26, 2025
You are not defined by comparison but by compassion. Come to Me as you are, and I will lift you up in mercy.
LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, October 26, 2025
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
You are not defined by comparison but by compassion. Come to Me as you are, and I will lift you up in 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 | Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—
greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
The one who kneels lowest stands tallest in the eyes of Heaven.
This parable strikes at the hidden posture of every heart that prays. The Pharisee does not so much pray to God as about himself. The Greek text literally says he “prayed toward himself” (pros heauton), revealing the closed circuit of his self-congratulation. He isn’t communing—he’s performing. But the tax collector, despised and broken, prays only seven words in Greek (Ho Theos, hilastheti moi tō hamartōlō), and those seven words shake heaven.
Jesus reveals that humility is not humiliation; it’s truth. The Pharisee measures holiness by comparison, but the tax collector measures it by dependence. The former’s prayer exalts his achievements; the latter’s cries out for atonement. The word hilastheti (translated “be merciful”) means “make propitiation”—a plea that anticipates the Cross itself. The tax collector prays as one desperate for the coming Christ, and in that humility, he meets God’s mercy face to face.
In our homes, the same spirit plays out in subtler ways—spouses keeping score, parents inwardly judging children, children silently resenting correction. Whenever comparison replaces compassion, pride closes heaven’s door. The humble, however, open it—because humility invites grace where pride repels it.
To live this Gospel is to make the home a sanctuary of mercy. Admit weakness first. Ask forgiveness freely. Thank God not that you are better, but that He is good. Tonight pray over your family by name, asking the Lord to give each of you a heart that kneels easily and rejoices when others are lifted high.
“Humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we acknowledge that we do not know how to pray as we ought are we ready to receive the gift of prayer.” (CCC 2559)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
The Posture of Prayer: When you pray, do you find yourself talking at God or opening yourself to Him?
The Power of Honesty: What would it look like to come before God without masks or explanations this week?
Humility at Home: How can your family cultivate a rhythm of humility, repentance, and grace?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one area where you need God’s mercy this week. Encourage one another to bring those areas to prayer daily.
Then pray over one another by name: Lord Jesus, be merciful to [Name], a beloved sinner. Fill [Name] with the peace that comes only from Your forgiveness. Teach [Name] to walk in humility and gratitude, rejoicing in the mercy that makes all things new.
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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