LIVE IT TODAY: Tuesday, January 13, 2026
I speak with authority because I am Truth itself, and nothing that oppresses you has power over My word.
LIVE IT TODAY: Tuesday, January 13, 2026
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I speak with authority because I am Truth itself, and nothing that oppresses you has power over My word.
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 | Mark 1:21–28
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers,
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
The authority of Jesus does not impress demons—it expels them.
Jesus enters the synagogue on the sabbath, the very heart of religious life, and something decisive happens. His authority is immediately recognized—not first by the learned, but by an unclean spirit. The Greek word used for authority, exousia, does not mean borrowed power or delegated permission. It means inherent, rightful authority—authority that belongs to someone by nature.
The scribes taught by citing sources. Jesus teaches by being the source. His word does not describe truth; it delivers it. This is why the unclean spirit reacts. Evil can tolerate information about God, but it cannot endure the living presence of God. Truth spoken with authority always provokes a reaction.
Notice the setting. This confrontation happens in the synagogue, not on the margins. Disorder hides comfortably inside respectable spaces. The man is not shouting in the streets—he is sitting among the faithful. Liberation begins when Jesus is allowed to speak where we least expect resistance.
Jesus does not argue with the demon. He does not negotiate. He commands. “Quiet! Come out of him!” This is not volume; it is sovereignty. Evil has no standing before Christ. His authority restores the man without spectacle or humiliation—only freedom.
This Gospel presses into our homes with urgency. We parents often try to manage disorder with explanations, accommodations, or exhaustion. But Christ’s authority must be welcomed, not replaced. The domestic church is not sustained by clever strategies, but by obedience to the voice of Jesus spoken and lived daily.
Here is the hard truth and the great comfort: what we do not place under Christ’s authority will eventually exercise authority over us. But where Jesus is welcomed, darkness loses its grip.
Establish homes where Christ’s word is spoken with confidence. Pray over your children by name. Claim your household under the authority of Jesus Christ and act today in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask. So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father’s works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God. But his miracles can also be occasions for “offense”; they are not intended to satisfy people’s curiosity or desire for magic. Despite his evident miracles some people reject him; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons. (CCC 548)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where do I resist placing my life fully under Jesus’ authority?
In My Home: How intentionally is Christ’s authority welcomed and spoken in our household?
In My World: Where might God be asking me to speak truth with calm, Christ-centered authority?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one area where each person desires greater freedom and peace.
Pray aloud together, intentionally praying over each person by name, invoking the authority of Jesus to reveal His love, to silence every lie of the Enemy, to break habits of fear or temptation, and to establish joy, clarity, and Gospel courage in each heart.
Daily Challenge: Speak the name of Jesus aloud in your home today and intentionally invite His authority into one specific situation.
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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Greg, before I opened my Substack, I did my usual readings, and fell upon 1 Samuel, not the Gospel, with what amounted to a corollary of your focus on putting ourselves 100% under Jesus' protection, care, and will. The short form of what came to me is that Hannah, till this point, had not taken her plight to God, not 100% anyway. Now, she breaks. She bitterly gives it all to God, including her frustration. Perhaps till now, she has wanted to HAVE a son (possess, as a trophy of sorts, to prove her worth to Penninah and Elkanah). Now, all she asks is that she be blessed to BEAR one. If she can just fulfill her role as a woman, she will GIVE UP the possession part and give the boy (back) to God. She makes that vow. Now, the plot thickens: Eli, the priest, has his own problem. He has evidently forgotten his role as man of God, and unfairly judges a penitent as the world would. "She's drunk! Outrageous behavior in the temple!" It apparently doesn't even occur to him that he's witnessing religious conduct, and he chastises her. This adds a new and greater dilemma to Hannah's burden. At that point, after pouring out her heart to God, she must have been tempted to say "F--- it, if the priest is hostile to my prayer, it's hopeless!" But instead, she maintains her vulnerable, desperate vow, patiently explaining that she's praying, not drunk. Her steadfastness has a miraculous affect: it actually redeems Eli's priesthood. He changes his tune. We can presume that he is chagrined, and immediately redeems his own role by blessing her. (Note that he never learns WHAT she prayed for; he blesses WHATEVER "you have asked of Him"). Eli's redemption is absolutely critical to the fulfillment of God's will, for the boy Samuel is going to need Eli to raise him after Hannah turns him over. Finally, we read that Hannah herself is transformed. "She no longer appeared downcast"--to Elkanah. For the first time in years, we may presume, Elkanah sees, not an object of pity, but a hopeful, happy companion, "the woman he married." HE is transformed, as well. (It's a fair presumption that this had an effect on their subsequent successful conception. At least, the outcome strongly suggests so).
The moral of the story is, turn to God, yes, of course. BUT THEN REMAIN STEADFAST IN THE FAITH THAT TURNED YOU TO HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Witness, don't shrink in the face of worldly chastisement. Your steadfastness by itself will affect others, including those who misjudge you and even persecute you, and you may be sure that the transformations you thus engender will further God's will in the world.