LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, October 30, 2025
You are My child, not My project. I long to gather you near, not to control you but to protect you. Let Me cover you with My mercy.
LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, October 30, 2025
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
You are My child, not My project. I long to gather you near, not to control you but to protect you. Let Me cover you with My 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 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Love is fierce enough to face rejection—and tender enough to stay.
Here Jesus reveals the heart of God in full tension: fearless and wounded, steadfast and sorrowful. When warned that Herod wants Him dead, He doesn’t flee—He presses forward. The phrase “on the third day I accomplish my purpose” (teleioumai in Greek) means “to be perfected, completed.” Jesus sees His Passion not as failure but fulfillment—the fire of love reaching its divine end.
Then, with one of Scripture’s most haunting images, He laments: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how many times I yearned to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood.” The same hands that will soon be pierced by nails are now imagined as wings—outstretched, shielding, trembling with compassion. The tragedy is not God’s wrath, but human unwillingness. His lament isn’t for rebellion, but for distance. Love stands outside the walls and weeps.
This is the divine paradox: the Lord who commands kings calls Himself a mother hen. The One who conquers demons mourns over hearts that will not be gathered. It is the fiercest tenderness in all of Scripture—a God both unstoppable and heartbroken.
In our homes, this tension lives daily. Parents ache to gather their children close, but free will demands patience. We long to shelter those we love, yet must love them enough to let them choose. This is God’s own pain in miniature. And yet, the call remains: be the refuge that reflects His wings.
Tonight, pray over your family by name, asking the Lord to gather every wandering heart under His mercy. Pray that your home becomes a place where truth stands firm, forgiveness flows freely, and no one doubts they are loved beyond measure.
“God is the Father who never ceases to call each person to return to Him, and the Mother who gathers us under her wings.” (CCC 1439)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Unstoppable Love: Where in your life do you sense God calling you to keep going, even when it’s difficult or misunderstood?
Heart of the Hen: How does Jesus’ image of Himself as a mother bird challenge or deepen your view of His love?
Family Refuge: How can your home more clearly reflect the welcoming, protective love of Christ this week?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, name one person or situation in your life that needs to be “gathered” back into God’s love—someone lost, struggling, or far from faith. As a family, commit to praying for that person every day this week.
Then pray over one another by name: Lord Jesus, gather [Name] under the shelter of Your mercy. Spread Your wings over [Name]’s fears and struggles. Make our home a refuge of Your truth, tenderness, and unstoppable 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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