Sep 13, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross – Feast
Gospel – John 3:13-17
“so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life”. This is the message of Cross. That’s why it’s the Holy Cross. Because the Cross implies the message of incarnation. The Holy Cross announces the message of Love between God and man. The Holy Cross demonstrates the price of redemption. The Holy Cross is not just a theory of relationship. It’s the real relationship between God and man. And in this real relationship we are saved. The Cross underlines the most difficult part of this relationship, the sacrifice. His sacrifice. The sacrifice which makes all relationships beautiful and profound. This message is what we are carrying around our neck. The sacrifice of Jesus that changed everything. The sacrifice of Jesus which asks for a reciprocal consideration where we accept sacrifice and difficulties in our daily life to keep the love of Jesus more alive. Let’s reflect: How much I carry the message of Cross in our daily life?
Don Giorgio
Sep 12, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor
Friday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Gospel - Mark 4:1-10, 13-20
In today’s Gospel we read about the parable of the sower who sows seeds. Some of them fall on the good ground and produce good fruits. But others fall on the unsuitable ground and it doesn’t produce fruits. It’s not because of the fault of the seed but the reason is the receiving ground that makes the difference. We are the receiving ground. So what do you think? What kind of ground I am? By receiving the seeds there is something very positive. That means the sower passed by me. I am a ground in the sight of the sower and the sower trusts in me. I must become a fertile ground. This is our vocation. This is our choice. I must become a fertile ground. I must convert myself. I must respond to the grace of God. Let’s reflect: Do I recognize the need to become a fertile ground to receive the seeds of Grace?
Don Giorgio
Sep 11, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
The Most Holy Name of Mary
Thursday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 6:27-38
“Do not judge”. How difficult it is not to judge but it’s very important we follow this commandment of Jesus. This comes after a very fundamental teaching of Jesus. “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate”. And in order to be compassionate like the Father, Jesus is giving the ways. And the first way is “Do not judge”. Then, come the other ones, “do not condemn, grant pardon, give abundantly”. But let’s mediate on the first one, “Do not judge”. Why? Because when you judge you destroy your relationship with that person. When I judge I take a distance from that person. But in Jesus Christ we are all united in His life. We all are united in the heart of Jesus. My unity with the other person in Christ is destroyed by my judgement about that person. Instead, with the life of Christ, I must try to understand that person so I can be compassionate like the Father. Instead of judgement, we understand the other in compassion so that unity in Christ is maintained. With judgements, I distance myself away from the other and from the unity provided in Jesus Christ. Let’s reflect: Do I recognize that my judgements about others are distancing myself from the unity in the heart of Jesus Christ?
Don Giorgio
Sep 10, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 6:20-26
“Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh”. This is one of the beatitudes. So, what does it mean? Does it mean that we must weep now so that we can laugh late? No. It means that with the incarnation of God, something has changed in the life of each human being. The human standards cannot be the same. The human outlook cannot be the same. There was a fundamental change in the life of each one of us because God became part of our life. This is big. This is more than what we can imagine. God incarnated. What changed? That what is changed is that our weeping is not the end. But my weeping will be transformed into laugh because the presence of God in my life changes my life. Weeping is part of life. But with God incarnate, I can see beyond the reasons of my tears to the reasons to be happy. The presence of God in our life changes perspectives, changes outlook of life, changes in choices in life. Because with God we see more that the immediate. We see beyond the immediate, as God the eternal Father is with us. Let’s reflect: Do I see beyond the immediate as God is present in my life?
Don Giorgio
Sep 9, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 6:12-19
“everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all”. Power from Jesus is always there. All what we must do is to try to touch Him. God never stops to love us. He always loves us. The power to heal us is always there. This crowd we see in the episode was waiting for Jesus. He went out into the hills to pray, and he spent the whole night there. But the people were waiting for Him. What happens is that we often do not try. We see lot of people and think that it’s not possible to touch Him. We quit. We postpone. This is where our faith fails. We must not quit. We must not postpone. We must keep trying to touch Him. The power is coming out of Him. It will cure us. Let’s reflect: Do I keep trying to touch Jesus or I quit without trying for some reasons?
Don Giorgio
Sep 9, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Saint Peter Claver
Gospel – Luke 6:6-11
“Is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?”. Jesus is asking a very basic question which must be the foundation of every law and instruction. All the laws and norms must be for doing good. They must be for saving life. Not just the opposite. But often, we try to interpret or change laws and norms in a way that it becomes an instrument for doing evil so that my selfish interests are saved. In this process, probably lives are destroyed. The laws and norms which God gave to the People of God in the Old Testament became like that. They became laws not of loving God but laws of a punishing God. Jesus is God became man who wants to save each and everyone. This is the most important principle, Jesus Christ, the love of God incarnate. So, if any law or norm, which does not contain that love of God, it’s not worthy to save us. Let’s reflect: Do I see the norms and laws as vehicles of God’s love to save persons?
Don Giorgio
