Oct 11, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Saint John XXIII, Pope
Gospel – Luke 11:15-26
In this passage of Gospel Jesus is teaching about the necessity of understanding the action of God in our life. Our life must be with God. “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters”. Whether we agree or not, God is with us in every moment of our life. If we accept this reality with gratitude, our life gets a very important sense. If we are not accepting this blessing, our life goes to a different direction where we must find meaning for everything that happens in our life. When we understand that God is with us in every step of our life, the life naturally acquires a meaning and significance. The people who did not accept the miracles of Jesus as miracles were looking for strange explanations about what was happening. Unfortunately, they failed to be the part of the plan of God. But when we accept everything that happens in our life as plan of God, we are living our life with Jesus and there is no need to search for the meaning of events in our life. We gather our life with Jesus. The kingdom of God is reigning us. Let’s reflect: Do I live my life with Jesus without search for the meaning of what is happening in my life?
Don Giorgio
Oct 10, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 11:5-13
“persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants”. This is such a great promise by Jesus in the context of His teaching on prayer. One of the most important things in prayer is persistence. Keep praying even though we don’t see any results. Keep praying even though we don’t see any change. Keep praying even though things apparently are getting worse. Keep praying even though the contrary happened. Because of these words of Jesus: “persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants”. Persistence will be enough not only to get answers but all we want. This faith in the words of Jesus must motivate our prayer life. This persistence is not only about intercessory prayers or prayer for some needs. But this is more about the daily prayers, this is about our relationship with God. As we read in the gospel, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say”. We go in the middle of the night to a friend when we need something. We go to a friend. Prayer is like going to a friend. Prayer is persisting in this friendship. Let’s reflect: How much persistent am I in my prayers?
Don Giorgio
Oct 9, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Saints Denis, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs
Saint John Leonardi, Priest
“Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples”. This itself is the best pray to repeat. We must have the attitude of the disciples. We must be humble enough to make this conversation. The disciples came to know that John taught his disciples to pray. Then the disciples of Jesus also wanted that Jesus teach them. We must have the courage and openness to pray like that. First of all, it’s an admission that we don’t know how to pray. Then it’s a faith that Jesus will teach us to pray. And finally, it is love that we want to pray in the best way which the Father wants, and Jesus is the best person to teach us. Let’s reflect: Do I have the courage and humility to pray as disciples pray to Jesus about teaching them how to pray?
Don Giorgio
Oct 8, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel Luke 10:38-42
“It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.” What is the better part? The better part is to be at the Lord’s feet and listening to Him speaking. This is not about being active or not active. But it’s about being in the presence of the Lord and listening to Jesus. This being at the Lord’s feet and listening is also very active. It’s an active being and it’s an active listening. It’s an active being as one should actively choose to ignore the rest and everything else to be at the Lord’s feet. It’s an active listening as one should listen only to His voice and actively cancelling the rest of the voices. Martha was preparing everything for the meal for Jesus. But her complaint made the difference. She complaint about her sister. Her complaint shows that she forgot about the presence of the Lord. Whatever she did, she did not connect it to the presence of the Lord. The Gospel says, “she was distracted with all the serving”. The distraction in our life, is losing the connecting of what we are doing with the presence of the Lord in our life and actively listening to Him. Let’s reflect: Am I able to connect my daily activities to the presence of the Lord in my life?
Don Giorgio
Oct 7, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Our Lady of the Rosary
Monday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel Luke 1:26-38
The feast of the Holy Rosary is a very profound feast to be lived and relived in our daily life. In the today’s Gospel we read the passage of Annunciation where the Blessed Virgin Mary says her “Fiat” to the plan of God in these words, “‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me”. A complete submission to the Plan of God for the whole humanity. She lived this plan of salvation for the humanity in first person. And the devotion of Rosary is one of the best ways to relive this mystery. Rosary is a way of life. Rosary is to relive the mystery of salvation unfolded in the life of Mother Mary. Rosary becomes a way of life in so far as you can relate Rosary to your life and the life around you. While you walk with Mother Mary in reciting the rosary, you must relate to your walk, the joyous mysteries, still unfolding in the world, the sorrowful mysteries still unfolding in the world, the glorious mysteries still unfolding in the world, and the luminous mysteries still unfolding in the world. Then Rosary becomes a way of life. Let’s reflect: Is Rosary just a devotion or a way of life for me?
Don Giorgio
