LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, September 18, 2025
I forgive you completely—your sins are not greater than My mercy, and your love will grow in the measure you receive it.
LIVE IT TODAY: Thursday, September 18, 2025
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD'S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I forgive you completely—your sins are not greater than My mercy, and your love will grow in the measure you receive it.
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 7:36-50
A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
"If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Simon, I have something to say to you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?"
Simon said in reply,
"The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven."
He said to him, "You have judged rightly."
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The others at table said to themselves,
"Who is this who even forgives sins?"
But he said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Forgiven Much, Loving Much
This Gospel takes us into a Pharisee’s dining room, but the real feast is happening at Jesus’ feet. A woman known publicly as a sinner pours out her heart in tears and costly ointment. The Pharisee, Simon, measures her only by her past. Jesus sees her by her love.
The contrast is striking. Simon shows Jesus no honor—no water, no kiss, no oil. Yet the woman lavishes everything she has: her tears, her hair, her kisses, her perfume. Why? Because she has experienced forgiveness. Jesus makes the connection explicit: “Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” In Greek, the phrase carries a sense of cause-and-effect. Forgiveness received leads to love poured out. Love is the fruit of mercy embraced.
The parable of the two debtors cuts to the heart. Both debtors are incapable of repayment. Both are forgiven freely. But the one who recognizes the greater mercy loves with greater intensity. The Pharisee, blind to his own debt, cannot enter into love. The woman, keenly aware of hers, overflows with gratitude.
Parents, our homes are often places where debts pile up—not financial debts, but the little and big ways we wound each other. If we want our homes to overflow with love, we must begin with forgiveness. Children need to see us ask forgiveness, grant it freely, and rejoice in mercy. They need to see that love is not earned but given, flowing from the Cross of Christ.
What if, instead of focusing only on our children’s failures, we helped them encounter the mercy of Jesus? What if we prayed over them by name, asking that they know the joy of being forgiven and the freedom of loving much? The difference between Simon and the woman is not sin, but humility. And humility opens the floodgates of mercy.
The Church Fathers often said the alabaster jar represents the human heart. When broken open before Christ, it releases a fragrance that fills the house. Parents, let’s break open our hearts before Him, and teach our children to do the same. The aroma of mercy will linger long after words fade.
“The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners. The angel announced to Joseph: ‘You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’” (CCC 1846).
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Debt and Gratitude: Where in my life have I experienced God’s mercy most deeply, and how has it fueled my love?
Family Mercy: How can I model forgiveness in my home in a way that forms my children to love freely?
Fragrance of the Heart: What “alabaster jar” is Jesus asking me to break open before Him today?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, each person share one way they want to give or receive forgiveness more fully.
Then pray over each person by name:
“Lord Jesus, pour out Your mercy upon [Name]. Break every chain of shame or resentment. Fill them with the joy of being forgiven, and set their hearts free to love You and others with gratitude and courage.”
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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