LIVE IT TODAY: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Come close to Me, and I will restore what has withered in you—because I came to save life, not destroy it.
LIVE IT TODAY: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
Come close to Me, and I will restore what has withered in you—because I came to save life, not destroy 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 | Mark 3:1–6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Jesus heals in public because love refuses to leave wounds in the shadows.
Picture the synagogue: the place where God’s Word is read aloud, where a people remember who they are. And yet a man stands there with a withered hand—living proof that suffering can sit in the middle of worship and still be ignored. The watchers aren’t moved by his pain; they’re moved by the chance to accuse. That is always the Enemy’s strategy: turn a person into a prop, and mercy into a threat.
Jesus calls the man forward: “Come up here before us.” He brings the wound into the light, not to shame him, but to reclaim him. And then He asks a question so plain it cuts through every excuse: is it lawful—exestin, “is it permitted”—to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it? In God’s kingdom, there is no neutral ground. Silence, when love is required, becomes a decision.
Mark says Jesus looks around “with anger” and “grieved.” That combination is holy. He is angry because the heart was made for love, and He is grieved because hardness is a tragedy before it is a sin. The word for hardness—pōrōsis—is like a spiritual callus: formed over time by repeated refusal to respond. The danger isn’t just being wrong; it’s becoming unable to feel.
This is where the Gospel gets uncomfortably personal for us in family life. We can learn to live alongside withered places—an old resentment, a strained relationship, a child’s anxiety, a spouse’s exhaustion—without ever bringing them to Jesus. We can keep the house “functional” while hearts quietly shrink. And we can even cloak it with religion: we’re busy, we’re tired, we’ll deal with it later. But love doesn’t wait for ideal conditions.
In the domestic church, Jesus still calls the wounded to the center. He teaches us to choose life in the very place where it’s easiest to avoid it: at the dinner table, in the hallway, in the moment after conflict when everyone wants to retreat. A saint-forming home is not a perfect home; it’s a home where mercy is practiced out loud.
And on this Memorial of Saint Agnes, we remember that true love is courageous, not cautious. She belonged wholly to Christ, and that belonging made her fearless. Holiness is not softness; it’s strength surrendered to God.
Parents: bring what is withered into the light today—name it, refuse the Enemy’s accusations, and act in mercy. Build a saint-forming home by praying over your children by name, calling them forward in love, and leading with steady courage in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that your home becomes a place where Jesus saves life rather than letting it slowly wither.
“The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this day. He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.’ With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing. The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God. ‘The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’ (CCC 2173)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: Where has my heart grown “calloused,” making me slow to respond to love?
In My Home: What “withered” place in our family needs to be brought into the light with Jesus today?
In My World: Where am I being tempted into silence when God is calling me to choose life?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, name one place where someone in your family needs encouragement to “stretch out” again—toward God, toward trust, toward love.
Then, as parents, pray aloud over each person by name, asking Jesus to restore what is withered, to pour His love into every fearful place, to break every lie and accusation of the Enemy, to strengthen them against temptation, and to fill them with joy for concrete Gospel living in school, work, friendships, and at home.
Daily Challenge: Choose one act of mercy today that costs you something small—time, attention, humility—and do it immediately.
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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