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
May 27, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of the 6th week of Eastertide
Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop
First reading Acts 16:22-34
In today’s Eastertide meditation, drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, we witness a profound mystery: imprisoned, beaten, and chained, Paul and Silas do not curse their fate or cry out in despair, they sing. Their hymns, lifted in the silence of the night, echo the defiant joy of the Resurrection, the unwavering trust that Christ has conquered death and that no suffering can extinguish the light of Easter. Their praise becomes a miracle, not only in the literal shaking of the prison’s foundations but in the deeper liberation it brings: the conversion of a jailer, the birth of faith in his household, the transformation of pain into proclamation. This is the miracle of Easter: that from within the walls of our own darkness, be it fear, loss, doubt, or injustice, we too can sing. We sing not because all is well, but because Christ is risen, and in Him, all things are being made new. To sing God’s praises in suffering is to bear witness to a joy that death cannot touch and to a hope that nothing in this world can silence. As we journey through these final days of Eastertide, may we learn to make our hearts a sanctuary of song, trusting that even from the deepest prisons, God still brings forth resurrection. Let’s reflect: Easter is the radiant triumph of hope that empowers us to sing God’s praises even in suffering, revealing that Christ’s Resurrection transforms every prison into a place of freedom and every trial into a testimony of grace.
Don Giorgio
May 25, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Philip Neri, Priest
Monday of the 6th week of Eastertide
First reading Acts 16:11-15
Easter reminds us that faith is not merely a private conviction but a living, dynamic encounter—a dialogue between the human heart and the grace of God. In Lydia’s story, we see how the Lord opens hearts through listening, through presence, and through community. Her response to the Good News—hospitality, baptism, and shared life—embodies the Easter reality: that the Risen Christ continues to draw people into communion. Faith, like the Resurrection, is not static; it stirs us into action, into welcome, and into mission. This Eastertide, may we allow our hearts to be opened anew, ready to listen, to believe, and to invite others into the joy we have received. Let’s reflect: Easter is the living encounter with the Risen Christ that opens our hearts to faith, moves us to action, and draws us into communion with God and one another.
Don Giorgio
