Sep 20, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Readings: Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-8;
The prophet Amos gives us a sobering reminder of God’s justice: “Never will I forget a single thing you have done.” Every act of exploitation, dishonesty, or indifference toward the poor stands before God. Nothing escapes His gaze, for He is a God who loves truth and defends the vulnerable. Yet Paul balances this word of judgment with a word of hope: “God our Savior wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth.” The same God who remembers injustice also desires to heal and redeem us, offering the possibility of salvation through Christ. This tension between justice and mercy calls us to conversion: to let go of selfish pursuits, to act with integrity, and to intercede in prayer for all people. Today we are reminded that God’s desire is not condemnation but salvation, not exclusion but fullness of truth. To live this truth is to stand honestly before Him, acknowledging both our failures and our hope, and to commit ourselves to prayer, mercy, and justice, so that God’s will for all people to be saved may shine through our lives. Let’s reflect: Do I live each day mindful that God sees every action, and do I let this awareness move me away from selfishness and toward prayer, justice, and the desire that all people come to know His saving truth?
Don Giorgio
Sep 19, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs
Saturday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
First reading 1 Timothy 6:13-16
Saint Paul urges Timothy to “keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This command is not a temporary guideline, but a lifelong commitment rooted in the majesty of God Himself, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light. Our perseverance in faith is framed by this vision of God’s sovereignty, He is beyond human grasp, yet He reveals Himself in Christ who will return in glory at the proper time. The Korean martyrs we honor today embody this fidelity. In the face of persecution, they did not waver but lived and died with the conviction that Christ is the eternal ruler, worth every sacrifice. Their witness teaches us that to keep the commandment is to live with integrity, courage, and hope, even when the cost is high. In a world often distracted by passing powers and fleeting lights, this reading calls us to fix our gaze on the One who is eternal and to let our lives reflect unwavering devotion until He comes again. Let’s reflect: Am I keeping the commandment of Christ with faithfulness and integrity, inspired by the martyrs’ courage, and fixing my gaze on the eternal King who dwells in unapproachable light until He is revealed in glory?
Don Giorgio
Sep 18, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
Saint Januarius, Bishop, Martyr
First reading 1 Timothy 6:2c-12
Saint Paul warns Timothy against distorted teachings that twist religion into arguments, pride, or even personal gain. Such attitudes, far from nurturing faith, give rise to envy, rivalry, insults, and divisions. The danger is clear: when faith is reduced to self-interest or intellectual battles, it loses its heart which is the living relationship with Christ. Instead, Paul points to the true path: “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” These virtues are not abstract ideals but the fabric of authentic discipleship, visible in daily life. To live them is to “compete well for the faith”, not against others, but against the temptations that drag us away from the Gospel. On the feast of Saint Januarius, who laid down his life as a witness to Christ, we see the noblest confession of faith: to embrace eternal life with courage, perseverance, and love. This reading challenges us to examine whether our faith leads us to division or to holiness, to selfish gain or to the generosity of Christ who calls us to eternal life. Let’s reflect: Does my faith lead me into arguments and self-interest, or am I sincerely pursuing righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness so that I may truly grasp the eternal life to which I am called?
Don Giorgio
Sep 17, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
First reading 1 Timothy 4:12-16
Saint Paul encourages Timothy with a message that resonates for all of us: “Do not neglect the gift you have.” Every person has been entrusted with a grace, a calling, a charism that is meant to be cultivated and offered in service to others. These gifts are not accidental, they are God’s deliberate choice, placed within us for the building up of His Church and for the good of the world. Paul also insists on diligence: faithfulness requires attention, discipline, and perseverance. Gifts left unused or taken for granted risk being diminished, but gifts nurtured through prayer, humility, and effort grow into a powerful witness of Christ’s presence. This passage challenges us to see our lives as entrusted treasures, not for our glory, but for God’s. To honor the Giver means living with courage, gratitude, and constancy, allowing His grace in us to bear fruit in the lives of others. Let’s reflect: Am I nurturing and using the unique gift God has entrusted to me with diligence and perseverance, or do I risk neglecting His grace by letting it remain dormant?
Don Giorgio
Sep 16, 2025 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Doctor
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin, Doctor
First reading: 1 Timothy 3:14-16
Saint Paul summarizes in a hymn the heart of the Christian faith: the mystery of devotion. It is the mystery of Christ, which is manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the nations, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. This is the core of our devotion, the reason for our worship, and the foundation of our hope. Faith is not built on abstract ideas but on the living Person of Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection reveal God’s plan of salvation. Saints Robert Bellarmine and Hildegard of Bingen, both Doctors of the Church, lived this mystery deeply: Robert through his theological clarity and defence of the faith, Hildegard through her mystical vision and prophetic voice. Their lives remind us that to hold fast to Christ is to be rooted in this mystery, a truth so vast it can never be exhausted, yet so concrete it transforms daily life. To profess Christ in word and deed is to let this mystery of devotion shine through us, proclaiming Him not just with lips but with a life lived in His light. Let’s reflect: Do I let the great mystery of Christ, manifested in the flesh, proclaimed to the nations, and glorified in heaven, shape not only my faith but also the way I live, and bear witness each day?
Don Giorgio
