Apr 28, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of the 2nd week of Eastertide
First reading Acts 4:23-31
The experience of the early Church in today’s reading from Acts reminds us that the life of faith is not a flight from difficulties but a courageous engagement with them, sustained by prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John, after facing threats and opposition, return not with anger or discouragement, but with a heart turned toward God, bringing their wounds into the light of the community and inviting all to pray. And their prayer is not for safety or comfort, but for the grace to persevere and to proclaim the Word with greater boldness. This radical trust in the power of God over human threats reveals the true fruit of the Resurrection: the Spirit alive and active in believers, making them fearless witnesses to Christ. In our own lives, when challenges arise, whether external resistance, interior doubts, or a culture growing indifferent or hostile to the Gospel, we are called to the same response: to gather, to pray, and to ask not for the removal of hardships, but for the strength to remain faithful. The Easter season is not a time of passive joy, but of active mission, where the Spirit shakes our lives anew and fills us with divine courage. May we, like the first disciples, become places where God’s boldness is made visible. Let’s reflect: Risen Christ is proclaimed not only with words but with a life transformed by fearless love and unwavering hope.
Don Giorgio
Apr 27, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Divine Mercy Sunday
First reading Acts 5:12-16
On Divine Mercy Sunday, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (5:12-16) shows us that divine mercy is not only a truth we believe in, but a dynamic reality that transforms the world. It is through divine mercy that signs and wonders were performed by the apostles, and the people, moved by hope, brought the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, confident that even the shadow of Peter could bring healing. Mercy, therefore, is not passive; it is powerful, active, and overflowing. It reaches into human suffering and brings restoration, it meets despair with hope, it touches death with the promise of life. It is the visible sign that God has not abandoned humanity but continues to walk among us, heal us, and lift us up. On this Sunday, we are reminded that we, too, are called to be bearers of this mercy: to extend forgiveness where there is hurt, to offer compassion where there is loneliness, and to be a living sign that Christ’s mercy is inexhaustible and ever at work. Through prayer, trust, and acts of love, the Church today continues the mission of the apostles, drawing countless souls to the heart of the One who is Mercy itself. Divine mercy is the very life of the Risen Christ poured into the world through His Church.
Don Giorgio
Apr 26, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Easter Saturday
First reading Acts 4:13-21
On this Easter Saturday, the Acts of the Apostles reveal to us the unstoppable power of the Resurrection alive in the hearts of the first disciples. Peter and John, simple fishermen transformed into fearless witnesses, stand before the authorities who command them to be silent. Yet they respond with clarity and conviction: “You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you rather than to God. We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.” Their words echo the uncontainable truth that the Risen Christ is not an idea, nor a private sentiment, but a living Person who has conquered death and forever changed the destiny of humanity. No threats, no punishments could suppress their testimony, for it was rooted not in human strength but in divine encounter. Today, as we continue to be happy in the light of Easter, we are called to this same courageous witness. Like Peter and John, we are sent forth to proclaim what we ourselves have experienced: that Christ is truly risen, that life has triumphed over death, that mercy is stronger than sin, and that hope can never be extinguished. The world may attempt to silence the voice of faith, yet when we listen first to God and not to the fears or pressures around us, we become living signs of the Resurrection. Our lives, marked by joy, charity, and steadfast hope, give glory to God and reveal to the world that Christ’s victory is not confined to the past but is alive and active today. Let us ask for the grace to listen always to the voice of the Risen Lord and, with hearts on fire, to never cease proclaiming what we have seen and heard.
Don Giorgio
Apr 25, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Easter Friday
First reading Acts 4:1-12
On this Easter Friday, the reading from the Acts of the Apostles invites us into the fearless proclamation of the early Church: “This is the stone rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the keystone. For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” In these powerful words, Saint Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks before the rulers and elders not with hesitation but with unwavering conviction in the Risen Lord. The Resurrection has changed everything. The Jesus whom the world dismissed, condemned, and crucified is now revealed as the cornerstone of God’s redemptive plan—the very foundation upon which new life is built. The rejected stone becomes the keystone not by force or vengeance, but by the mystery of divine love that overcomes death. In a world that often discards what seems weak, inconvenient, or humble, the Easter message is a radical reversal: salvation does not come through domination, but through the meekness of a crucified and risen Christ. His name is not simply a label—it is a living presence, a power that saves, heals, and restores. This is not just an idea or doctrine, but a reality experienced in the life of the Church and in each believer who places their trust in Him. To confess the name of Jesus is to embrace the paradox of a God who reigns from a cross and triumphs through resurrection. May His name be ever on our lips and in our hearts, the sure and saving path to life eternal. Let’s reflect: Let us not fear being stones rejected by the standards of the world, for if we are united to Christ, we too are being shaped to fit into the great architecture of God’s Kingdom.
Don Giorgio
Apr 24, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Easter Thursday
First reading Acts 3:11-26
On this Easter Thursday, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles brings us face to face with the astonishing mercy of God. Peter, addressing the people after the healing of the lame man, does not hesitate to confront them with the truth: “You handed over the Holy and Righteous One… you killed the author of life.” And yet, in the very same breath, he reveals the unfathomable depth of divine compassion, ‘this very Jesus, rejected and crucified, has been raised from the dead’. The Resurrection does not ignore our sin, but it transforms it; it does not justify our betrayal, but it reveals that even our worst failures cannot derail the plan of God. The victory of Jesus over death—the ultimate consequence of sin—is not merely a reversal of tragedy but a radiant sign that grace abounds where sin once reigned. This is the paradox at the heart of Easter: we who rejected Life itself are now offered life anew. The Risen Christ does not come to condemn but to restore, to lift us from the paralysis of guilt and despair, and to set us once more on the path of righteousness. It is a call to conversion, to return to God not in shame but in trust. Every wound, every misstep, every denial becomes, in His hands, a point of redemption. Jesus is risen not only in glory, but in the midst of our history, continuing to transform hearts, restore dignity, and reconcile us to the Father. In this light, Easter is not just a season, but a daily decision—to rise with Christ, to walk in His ways, and to allow His Resurrection to unfold within us, one act of faith and forgiveness at a time. Let’s reflect: Easter is an invitation to believe that nothing we have done can place us beyond the reach of divine mercy.
Don Giorgio
