May 31, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
7th Sunday of Easter
First reading Acts 7:55-60
The Ascension marks not an absence, but a deeper presence: Christ, now seated at the right hand of the Father, draws all creation into His glorified humanity. As the disciples stood gazing upward, they were not left alone but entered a sacred time of waiting, a novena of silence and expectancy, preparing to receive the Holy Spirit. This time between Ascension and Pentecost is emblematic of the Christian life: we are caught between the vision of glory and the struggles of earth, between the promise of the Kingdom and the pain of witness. In the First Reading, Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, does not flee from persecution; rather, he gazes into heaven and beholds Jesus standing in glory. The Spirit does not remove suffering but grants the vision to see beyond it, the heavens thrown open, the Son of Man not seated in rest but standing in active intercession. So too for us: to live in the Spirit is to live with unveiled eyes, seeing beyond what the world offers or threatens, and anchoring our lives in Christ’s victorious presence. This period of waiting is thus not idle, it is the Church’s upper room, where hearts are kindled with longing and prepared for mission, where suffering is not meaningless but becomes a window into eternal glory.
Don Giorgio
May 31, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Zephaniah 3:14-18
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a luminous moment in salvation history, where joy is not merely spoken—it is lived, shared, and embodied. As Mary hastens through the hill country to Elizabeth, she carries more than herself; she brings the living presence of the Lord, the victorious warrior foretold by the prophet Zephaniah, who is already at work in the quiet rhythms of human encounter. In their meeting, the prophecy is fulfilled: “The Lord your God is in your midst… He will renew you by His love, He will dance with shouts of joy for you.” The unborn Christ and the unborn Baptist rejoice together in a hidden but cosmic liturgy of joy. Mary, in her humility and faith, becomes the first evangelizer, bringing Christ not through words, but through presence, through service, through love. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, recognizes this sacred mystery and blesses Mary for her belief. Their encounter is a testament to the renewing power of divine love: God’s saving plan is already unfolding, not through grand displays of power, but in the quiet sanctuary of two faithful women. Let’s reflect: The Visitation reminds us that joy is the echo of God’s presence, and wherever Christ is carried with love and received with faith, heaven breaks into the world, not with noise, but with the gentle music of grace, of leaping hearts and whispered blessings.
Don Giorgio
May 30, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of the 6th week of Eastertide
First reading Acts 18:9-18
The Solemnity of the Ascension reminds us that Christ’s return to the Father is not a farewell, but a deeper immersion of His presence into the life of the Church. In the reading from Acts, we see Paul in Corinth, vulnerable yet open, when the Lord appears to him in a vision and says: “Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you.” This divine assurance echoes the promise given at the moment of the Ascension—“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Though Christ is no longer visible to the eyes, He is intimately present to our hearts, strengthening us for mission. The Ascension is not a withdrawal, but a transition: Jesus ascends not to distance Himself, but to send His Spirit and to remain mysteriously but truly close to each believer. In a world filled with noise, fear, and opposition, the risen and ascended Christ calls us, as He called Paul, to courageous proclamation. We are not meant to retreat into silence or self-preservation, but to speak truth with love, to evangelize with boldness, and to walk the difficult roads of witness, knowing that He walks with us. His Ascension does not end the story—it empowers it to begin anew in every generation, through the words and lives of faithful disciples who trust in His unseen nearness. Let’s reflect: The Ascension calls us to courage: to speak boldly, to love without fear, and to trust that His invisible presence is stronger than any earthly resistance.
Don Giorgio
May 29, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
The Ascension of the Lord
First Reading Acts 1:1-11
The Solemnity of the Ascension is not a farewell but a commissioning—a divine invitation to rise with Christ and become His witnesses to the ends of the earth. As the Lord is taken up into heaven, the promise of the Holy Spirit descends upon the Church like dawn breaking over a new mission. No longer confined to the dusty roads of Galilee, the Gospel now moves through hearts set aflame by the Spirit, urging us to speak, to serve, and to shine with the presence of the risen Christ. The Ascension reminds us that heaven is not a place of escape, but the horizon of our calling—to live as bold messengers of eternal hope in a world thirsting for truth. Let’s reflect: The Ascension is the glorious return of Jesus Christ to the Father, marking the fulfillment of His earthly mission and the beginning of His exalted presence as Lord of all, drawing humanity toward the fullness of communion with God.
Don Giorgio
May 27, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of the 6th week of Eastertide
First reading Acts 17:15,22-18:1
The Resurrection of Christ, proclaimed by Paul in the heart of the Areopagus, confronted every listener with a choice: to mock, to delay, or to believe. Yet amid the varied reactions—curiosity, skepticism, or conversion—the truth of the Resurrection stands unshaken. It does not rely on human approval to be real. In this Easter season, we are reminded that faith is not built upon consensus but upon the unchanging reality of the Risen Lord. The empty tomb remains a silent yet eloquent witness, inviting each heart not to reshape truth according to its mood, but to be reshaped by the truth that Love has triumphed over death. Let’s reflect: Easter is the celebration of the unchanging and transformative truth of Christ’s Resurrection, which stands firm regardless of human reaction, and calls each person to be reshaped by the victory of divine love over death.
Don Giorgio
