Sep 25, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of week 25 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 9:18-22In today’s Gospel, Peter gives the decisive answer to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”: “The Christ of God.” Yet immediately Jesus begins to speak about rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection. It is as though He is telling Peter: you have given the right answer, but you must still discover what that answer truly means. It is through the Passion that one must meet the Christ of God. We cannot know Jesus fully only through His miracles, consolations, teachings, or moments of glory; we must also encounter Him as the One who loves to the point of suffering, who remains faithful when rejected, who gives Himself when wounded, and who transforms death itself through self-giving love. The Passion reveals what kind of Christ He is: not a Messiah who escapes human suffering, but one who enters its deepest darkness and fills it with the love of God. This also changes the way we understand our own moments of passion, our suffering, rejection, disappointments, sacrifices, and losses. They are not automatically good, nor must we seek them, but when united with Christ they can become privileged places of encounter with Him. There we may discover a Christ whom comfort alone could never reveal to us: the Christ who stays, carries, forgives, surrenders, and finally rises. Peter’s confession becomes complete only when “the Christ of God” is recognized in the Crucified and Risen Lord; likewise, our faith matures when we discover that through the Passion we can enter more deeply into the mystery of who Christ truly is. Let’s reflect: When I pass through suffering, rejection, or sacrifice, am I able to recognize it as a place where I can encounter more deeply the Christ of God, who passed through the Cross into the glory of the Resurrection?
Don Giorgio
Sep 7, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Feast
Readings: Micah 5:1–4; Psalm 12(13):6–7; Matthew 1:1–16, 18–23
Today the Church celebrates with joy the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because her birth announces that the coming of Christ is drawing near. Micah speaks of the mother who will give birth to the ruler of Israel, the One who “himself will be peace.” Therefore, in celebrating the birthday of the Mother, we are already celebrating the approach of the Son: Mary’s life has meaning entirely in relation to Jesus. This is why the Church can sing with the Psalm, “I exult for joy in the Lord,” because in Mary a new chapter of salvation history begins to unfold. The genealogy in Matthew reminds us that God works through a real human history, marked by holiness and sin, fidelity and failure, greatness and weakness; yet through all these generations His saving plan moves faithfully toward Christ. Within this history stands Mary with an absolute openness to the plan of God. She does not impose her own design upon God but allows His design to become her life. Her greatness lies precisely in this availability: her existence becomes a space in which God can act without resistance. Because Mary is open, the Word becomes flesh; because she entrusts herself to God, the Prince of Peace enters human history. Her birthday therefore celebrates more than the beginning of one extraordinary human life: it celebrates the birth of a heart completely available to God. Mary teaches us that the most fruitful life is not the one in which all our own plans succeed, but the one that remains so open to God that His plan can succeed in us. And whenever we offer Him that openness, Christ can once again enter the world through our lives and bring His peace. Let’s reflect: Like Mary, am I sufficiently open to God to allow His plan, not merely my own plans, to take shape in my life and make me an instrument of Christ’s peace?
Don Giorgio
Sep 7, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 6:6-11In today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters a man whose right hand is withered. After calling him to stand before everyone, Jesus gives him a simple command: “Stretch out your hand.” Humanly speaking, this is precisely what the man cannot do; his hand is disabled. Yet he does not argue with Jesus about his limitations or wait until he feels capable, he does what Jesus tells him, and his hand is restored. This reveals something essential about faith: the Word of Christ often asks us to take a step that seems beyond our strength, but the grace to accomplish it is contained in the very word He speaks. We may hear Him asking us to forgive when we feel unable to forgive, to begin again after failure, to trust when we are afraid, to serve when we feel exhausted, or to open our hearts after they have been wounded. If we focus only on our weakness, we remain with the withered hand; if we trust His word and act upon it, we make room for His healing power. The man’s obedience did not produce the miracle by itself; rather, his obedience allowed the power of Jesus to restore what he could never restore on his own. The Gospel therefore invites us to a simple but profound faith: when Jesus speaks, take the step He asks of us. What seems impossible in our weakness can become possible through our obedience to His grace. Let’s reflect: What is Jesus asking me to “stretch out” today, and do I trust His word enough to act, believing that His grace can restore what I cannot heal by myself?
Don Giorgio
Sep 6, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
23rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeReadings: Ezekiel 33:7–9; Psalm 95:1–2, 6–7, 8–9; Romans 13:8–10; Matthew 18:15–20
Today’s readings remind us that Christian love is not passive: it makes us responsible for one another. Through Ezekiel, God appoints the prophet as a watchman, showing that we cannot simply say that the choices and suffering of others are none of our concern; love gives us a responsibility for what happens around us and sometimes requires the courage to speak the truth. Yet before correcting others, the Psalm warns us, “Harden not your hearts.” We must never become accustomed to our own sins, because a heart that no longer recognizes its own need for conversion can easily become harsh in judging others. Saint Paul gives us the principle that must govern everything: “Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour.” We must therefore never grow tired of loving, even when love has been disappointed, misunderstood, or wounded. Jesus makes this very concrete in the Gospel: when a brother sins against us, the first response is not condemnation, gossip, rejection, or revenge, but a sincere attempt to regain the brother. Even after negative experiences, we are asked to try again, because reconciliation is more important than proving ourselves right. This does not mean ignoring wrongdoing or pretending that wounds do not exist; genuine love seeks truth, conversion, healing, and communion. And Jesus promises that wherever people make this difficult journey together in His name, He Himself is present among them. In the end, only love can truly make things right, love courageous enough to speak, humble enough to recognize its own sins, patient enough not to give up, and merciful enough always to seek the restoration of the other. Let’s reflect: When I am hurt or disappointed by others, do I withdraw into judgment and resentment, or do I remain responsible for love, seeking with Christ the truth, healing, and reconciliation that can make things right?
Don Giorgio
Sep 4, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)
First Saturday - let us entrust ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In today’s Gospel, Jesus concludes the discussion about the Sabbath with a decisive declaration: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Christian life begins to find its proper order when Jesus is not simply one important part of our lives but Lord of everything. Our prayer, work, relationships, responsibilities, possessions, plans, successes, sufferings, and even our religious observances must ultimately be placed under His loving lordship. The Pharisees had become so focused on the observance of the law that they risked losing sight of the One to whom the law was meant to lead; Jesus reminds us that no practice can take His place. On this First Saturday, the Immaculate Heart of Mary shows us what it means to let Jesus be above everything: her whole life was centred on her Son, from Nazareth to Calvary and beyond. To entrust ourselves to her Immaculate Heart is to ask her to teach us to belong completely to Jesus as she did. Mother Teresa lived the same Christ-centred simplicity: she recognized Jesus in the poorest of the poor because He had first become the centre and Lord of her own heart. The Gospel therefore invites us to put everything in its proper place. When Jesus is above everything, we do not lose what we love; rather, we learn to love every person and fulfil every responsibility according to His Heart. The Christian life is ultimately this: Jesus above everything, Jesus at the centre of everything, and Jesus Lord of everything. Let’s reflect: Is Jesus truly above everything in my life, shaping my loves, choices, priorities, and responsibilities as the Lord of my whole heart and my whole life?
Don Giorgio
