LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, May 14, 2026 | Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
You are chosen, loved, and called My friend—remain in My love and bear fruit that lasts.
LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, May 14, 2026 | Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY.
You are chosen, loved, and called My friend—remain in My love and bear fruit that lasts.
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 | John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Lasting joy grows from sacrificial love rooted in friendship with Christ.
Do you treat your relationship with Jesus more like an obligation to manage—or a friendship to deepen?
Jesus reveals something breathtaking: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” The love flowing eternally within the Trinity is extended to us. This is not symbolic affection or distant approval. It is divine intimacy offered personally.
And yet Jesus immediately connects this love to obedience: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” In our culture, love and obedience are often treated as opposites. But Jesus reveals the opposite truth: obedience is how love matures and remains rooted. Love detached from truth eventually collapses into sentiment.
Then comes the promise we all long for: complete joy. The Greek word chara means a deep spiritual gladness rooted in communion with God. Jesus is not offering fleeting happiness based on circumstances. He is offering a joy strong enough to survive suffering, sacrifice, and even persecution. Joy anchored in Christ outlasts every storm.
And what is the clearest expression of this love? “To lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is cruciform love—love shaped by the Cross. Most of us will not die dramatically for someone else, but we are constantly invited to die daily to selfishness, impatience, pride, and distraction.
This becomes intensely practical in family life. Laying down our lives may look like listening when tired, forgiving when hurt, staying present when distracted, praying when exhausted, or speaking truth when it would be easier to remain silent. The domestic church is forged through ordinary sacrifices offered with extraordinary love.
Today’s feast of Saint Matthias beautifully reinforces this reality. Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas—not because he sought prestige, but because he remained faithful. He reminds us that discipleship is not about recognition, but about remaining available to God’s call and bearing lasting fruit through fidelity.
Jesus also says something that transforms identity itself: “I no longer call you slaves… I have called you friends.” In the ancient world, friendship with a king meant privileged access, trust, and shared mission. Jesus does not merely tolerate us—He entrusts Himself to us. Friendship with Christ is not passive admiration; it is active participation in His life and mission.
Today, remain in His love. Parents, your children do not simply need rules—they need to witness joyful, sacrificial love lived consistently. Pray over your children by name. Show them that friendship with Jesus changes everything. And let your home become a place where love is not merely spoken, but embodied in daily self-giving.
“Jesus makes charity the new commandment. By loving his own ‘to the end,’ he makes manifest the Father’s love which he receives.” (CCC 1823)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Do I truly live as a friend of Jesus, remaining in His love through obedience?
In My Home: How can I more intentionally lay down my life in love for my family today?
In My World: What lasting fruit is Jesus calling me to bear through sacrificial love and fidelity?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around … share one simple sacrifice you can make this week to better love someone in the family.
Then pray together as a family. Lay hands on each person and pray over them by name:
“Jesus, thank You for calling [Name] Your friend. Fill them with Your love and Your joy. Teach them to love sacrificially, to obey faithfully, and to remain close to You. Help them bear fruit that lasts and live with courage and compassion.”
Pray for deep confidence in God’s love, freedom from selfishness and isolation, strength to live sacrificially, and joyful friendship with Christ in every part of life.
Daily Challenge: Make one hidden sacrifice for someone today without seeking recognition or praise.
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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