LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, February 19, 2026
Do not cling to a life without sacrifice—follow Me through the cross, and you will find your true self.
LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, February 19, 2026
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
Do not cling to a life without sacrifice—follow Me through the cross, and you will find your true self.
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 9:22-25
Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
The cross is not an interruption of life—it is the path to its fulfillment.
Jesus speaks plainly. He will suffer, be rejected, be killed—and rise. The disciples are not given a sanitized Messiah. They are given truth. The path of redemption runs directly through suffering, not around it.
Then He widens the invitation. “If anyone wishes to come after me.” This is not reserved for apostles or mystics. It is universal. To deny oneself does not mean despising oneself; it means renouncing the illusion that we are the center.
“Take up his cross daily.” Daily. The cross is not a dramatic, once-in-a-lifetime ordeal. It is the steady offering of preference, pride, resentment, comfort. In Greek, the verb “follow” implies continuous movement. Discipleship is ongoing alignment.
The paradox is startling. Whoever saves his life loses it. The instinct to preserve comfort, reputation, or control ultimately shrinks the soul. Whoever loses his life for Christ discovers a deeper identity than the world can offer.
This truth lands powerfully in the domestic church. Marriage, parenting, caregiving—these are daily crosses. The temptation is to measure life by visible gain. Jesus measures by fidelity and surrender. Children learn what is valuable by watching what we are willing to sacrifice for.
The world promises profit; Christ promises purpose. The question He poses is piercing: What does it profit to gain the world and lose oneself? The soul cannot be replaced once forfeited.
The cross carried with Christ becomes light. The cross avoided becomes heavy.
Build saint-forming homes by embracing daily sacrifices with love, pray over your children by name that they may discover courage in surrender, and act boldly in the power of the Holy Spirit, teaching your family that losing life for Christ is the only way to truly find it.
“By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who ‘makes himself an offering for sin’, when ‘he bore the sin of many’, and who ‘shall make many to be accounted righteous’, for ‘he shall bear their iniquities’.” (CCC 615)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: What cross is Jesus inviting me to carry more willingly today?
In My Home: How are we modeling sacrificial love as the path to joy?
In My World: Where might God be asking me to lose comfort in order to gain fidelity?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, name one small sacrifice you can offer for love this week.
Then pray together aloud. As parents, place a hand on each person and pray over them by name, asking that they know God’s love personally, be freed from the Enemy’s lies about comfort and control, be strengthened to overcome temptation, and be filled with courage to follow Jesus faithfully.
Daily Challenge: Intentionally accept one inconvenience today as an offering of love.
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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