January 24, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel for the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales: John 15:9-17
Reflect on the Word //
Utterly entranced by the lights and sounds issuing from his new toy DJ turntable, my ten-month-old nephew pressed each button with joyful abandon. He then drew back and sank to the ground, babbling delightedly and clapping his adorably pudgy little hands. As I watched him, smiling, unable to remember what our family had been like before the arrival of this littlest addition, I marveled at how, two years prior, he had not yet existed.
And then I began to marvel at God’s goodness. While he may not have been born into our family yet, God had eternally known of my nephew’s existence and creation in this time and place. God had chosen him for us—and for His great purposes—from before all time.
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you,” the Lord reminds us in today’s Gospel for the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales (John 15:16). Difficult as it is to realize in a world where we can often feel overlooked, left out, or rejected, the Lord chose each of us long before we were conceived in our mother’s wombs. Nothing about our existence is accidental or random. Our lives have been willed from the beginning, meticulously anticipated by God through generations, prepared for by our grandparents and great-grandparents, for such a time as this (see Esther 4:14), “to go and bear fruit that will remain” (John 15:16). All we have to do to fulfill His will for us, sister? Remain in His love (see John 15:19).
Then our joy will be complete (see John 15:11)—as complete as that of an infant playing with a new toy, dazzled by the gifts of each new day.
Relate to the Lord // Allow the truth of this statement, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you,” to wash over your heart. What rises to the top as you ponder your chosenness?
Dr. Sarah Zentner is a bibliophile and “hygge” enthusiast who delights in steaming mugs of tea, freshly baked pastries, the Little Way, and all things true, good, and beautiful. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the Catholic University of America and lives with her toy poodle, JoJo, in Washington, D.C., where she teaches literature at an all-girls Catholic secondary school.
Get Your Planner 📒
Be a Woman of the Word
Walk with Jesus
