LIVE IT TODAY: Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
I call you to follow Me without hesitation, without excuses, with your whole heart.
LIVE IT TODAY: Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I call you to follow Me without hesitation, without excuses, with your whole heart.
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 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
The Kingdom admits no half-hearted disciples.
This Gospel is full of eager volunteers, but each one stumbles on a “but.” They admire Jesus, but they hesitate. They want to follow, but only on their own timeline. Into this hesitation Jesus speaks the hardest of words—no place to lay His head, no time to bury the dead, no room for looking back. These words sound merciless, even reckless, to ears trained in safety and moderation. Yet it is precisely the radicality that reveals His truth: the Kingdom is not one commitment among many; it demands everything.
The sharp edge of the Gospel exposes our culture’s great delusion—that we can have discipleship and comfort, Christ and compromise, faith and divided loyalties. But the plowshare cuts both ways: if your eyes are back, the furrow bends crooked. If your hands release, the seed never takes root. Following Christ is not an add-on to life; it is the death of an old life and the birth of a new.
Every household knows the tug of competing claims. Work schedules collide with mealtimes. Phones pull attention away from faces. Soccer games or business trips push prayer to the margins. It is easy to say, “I will follow You, Lord, but first…” But Jesus’ words today slice through the “but firsts” of domestic life. He is not cruel; He is clear. Only by seeking Him first can every other love find its proper order.
In the domestic church, the plow is daily faithfulness. Parents, you shape straight furrows when you prioritize prayer together over distractions, when you model sacrifice over self-indulgence, when you keep eyes fixed forward even through fatigue and frustration. Children learn more from your direction than your declarations. Where the furrow runs true, seeds of faith will grow.
Here lies the paradox: Discipleship costs everything, yet gives infinitely more. We lose false securities to gain eternal life. We leave behind fleeting comforts to inherit lasting joy. We surrender “but first” to live forever in the “now” of God’s Kingdom.
Parents, the Kingdom is breaking into your home. Do not look back. Do not delay. Set your hand to the plow today, and pray over your children by name, that they may know Jesus as their first love and their lasting joy.
“Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them ‘renounce all that [they have]’ for his sake and that of the Gospel.” (CCC 2544)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
No Resting Place: Where are you tempted to seek comfort rather than trust the radical call of Christ?
But First: What are your “but firsts” that compete with God’s claim on your time and heart?
Hand to the Plow: What concrete step can you take today to keep your eyes fixed forward in following Christ?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, name one “but first” in your life—something that often gets in the way of your faith.
After sharing, place hands on each other’s shoulders and pray over each one by name: Lord Jesus, pour out Your grace so that [Name] may know Your love personally. Free [Name] from the lies of the Enemy. Strengthen [Name] to overcome temptations and false comforts. Fill [Name] with joy to live Your Gospel in daily life and keep their eyes always fixed on You.
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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