Oct 10, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 11:27-28In today’s brief Gospel, a woman in the crowd praises the mother of Jesus: “Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you!” Jesus responds: “More blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” These words do not diminish the greatness of Mary; rather, they reveal the deepest reason for her blessedness. Mary is blessed not only because she gave birth to Jesus, but because she first welcomed the Word of God into her heart and allowed it to shape her entire existence. Before conceiving the Word made flesh in her womb, she had already received Him through faith and obedience. What truly matters in our relationship with God is our relationship with His Word. We may be close to holy places, participate in religious celebrations, fulfil important responsibilities in the Church, possess theological knowledge, or even accomplish great things in the name of Christ. Yet none of these can replace the essential question: What place does the Word of God occupy in my heart and in my daily life? Mary teaches us that hearing the Word is more than listening, and keeping it is more than remembering. It means allowing God’s Word to enter our decisions, transform our attitudes, purify our intentions, and guide our actions. She kept the Word even when she did not fully understand it, from the Annunciation to Calvary, remaining faithful through joy, uncertainty, and suffering. The Word of God becomes fruitful in us not simply when we know it, but when we allow it to become the principle by which we live. The message of Christ reminds us that holiness is not measured primarily by our position, achievements, or external closeness to sacred things, but by the depth of our openness and fidelity to God’s Word. Like Mary, we become truly blessed when the Word we hear becomes the life we live. Let’s reflect: Is my relationship with the Word of God merely one of listening, reading, and knowing, or am I allowing it, like Mary, to enter my heart so deeply that it transforms the way I think, choose, love, and live?
Don Giorgio
Oct 9, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Saints Denis, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs
Saint John Leonardi, Priest
Gospel: Luke 11:15-26
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals His divine authority over the powers of evil. When some accuse Him of casting out demons through the power of Beelzebul, He declares: “If it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the Kingdom of God has overtaken you.” Jesus is not simply another powerful person confronting evil; He is the Son of God, whose divinity is stronger than every power that threatens humanity. His presence brings liberation because evil cannot ultimately prevail against the power of God. Jesus describes Himself as the stronger One who overcomes the strong man and takes away his weapons. This gives us a profound reason for confidence: Jesus protects us not merely through His compassion or His human closeness, but through the infinite power of His divinity. Yet His protection does not mean that we will never encounter temptation, suffering, or spiritual struggles. Rather, it means that we are never left to confront them by our own strength. The final warning about the unclean spirit returning to an empty house teaches us something equally important: it is not enough to be freed from evil; our hearts must become a dwelling place for Christ. The safest heart is not simply one from which evil has been expelled, but one in which Christ Himself has been welcomed and allowed to reign. Saints Denis and his companions witnessed this confidence through their martyrdom, while Saint John Leonardi dedicated his life to renewing the Church through fidelity to Christ. Their lives remind us that the strength of discipleship comes not from our ability to resist everything, but from our union with the Lord who has already conquered evil. The closer we remain to Jesus through prayer, His Word, the sacraments, and love, the more deeply we experience the protection of His divine presence. Let’s reflect: Do I face my weaknesses, temptations, and fears relying only on my own strength, or do I allow Christ to dwell so deeply within me that His divine presence becomes my true protection and security?
Don Giorgio
Oct 7, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 11:5-13“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” These words of Jesus teach us that the courage to ask comes from trust. We hesitate to ask when we are uncertain about the person before us: Will I be welcomed? Will I be understood? Will my need matter? But Jesus invites us to approach God differently, not as strangers trying to persuade a reluctant God, but as children approaching a Father who already loves them. The man in the parable keeps knocking because he trusts that the door can be opened. How much more confidently can we knock at the heart of the Father. Yet trust does not mean that God will always give us exactly what we request or in the way we expect. Jesus takes us deeper: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The greatest answer to prayer is ultimately God giving us God Himself. Sometimes we ask for a situation to change, while the Holy Spirit changes our heart; we ask for a difficulty to disappear, while He gives us strength to pass through it; we ask to understand, while He gives us the grace to trust without understanding. Persistent prayer therefore is not an attempt to wear God down, but an expression of a relationship that refuses to stop trusting. The message of Christ invites us to ask boldly, search patiently and knock persistently because we know the One on the other side of the door. When we trust the Father’s heart, we are no longer afraid to place before Him the deepest desires and needs of our own. Let’s reflect: Do I have the courage to ask God openly and persistently for what is in my heart, trusting not only in what He may give me, but above all in the goodness of the Father who hears me?
Don Giorgio
Oct 7, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Our Lady of the Rosary
Wednesday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 11:1-4When the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray,” He does not simply give them words to repeat; He introduces them into His own relationship with the Father. “Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come…” Prayer becomes participation in the heart, desires, trust and mission of Jesus. The same is true of the Rosary. Praying the Rosary is not merely reciting prayers; it is entering into and becoming part of the mysteries we contemplate. With Mary, we stand at Nazareth and learn to say yes to God; we hurry to Elizabeth and learn the joy of service; we kneel at Bethlehem and receive the humility of God; we walk with Jesus through His public ministry and listen to His call to conversion; we enter Gethsemane and learn surrender; we stand beneath the Cross and learn faithful love; we encounter the Risen Lord and rediscover hope; we await the Holy Spirit and become missionary disciples. The repetition of the Hail Mary creates a quiet rhythm within which the mysteries of Christ can gradually enter our own lives. Mary does not keep our attention upon herself; she accompanies us into the life of her Son and teaches us to see Him with her eyes and to love Him with her heart. The Rosary reaches its deepest purpose when the mysteries we contemplate begin to become the mysteries we live. Then the Annunciation shapes our obedience, the Visitation our service, the Cross our sacrifices, and the Resurrection our hope. We no longer simply pray the Rosary; through Mary, we allow the Rosary to form the life of Christ within us. Let’s reflect: When I pray the Rosary, do I merely recite its prayers, or do I allow Mary to lead me into the mysteries of Christ so deeply that they begin to shape the way I live?
Don Giorgio
Oct 6, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Saint Bruno, Priest
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42Jesus’ words to Martha do not condemn work, responsibility, hospitality, or service; Martha is doing something genuinely good. Yet Mary has recognized that, at that particular moment, something greater is being offered: the Lord Himself is present, speaking, and she chooses to sit at His feet and listen. Discipleship means learning always to choose the better part. Often our difficulty is not choosing between something good and something bad but discerning between many good things and recognizing what is truly necessary now. We can become so occupied with serving Christ that we lose the intimacy of being with Christ; so concerned with responsibilities that we neglect relationships; so absorbed by urgent matters that we forget what is essential. Jesus does not say that Martha is doing too much, but that she is “anxious and worried about many things.” The better part therefore begins with an interior freedom that asks: What matters most before God at this moment? Saint Bruno understood this deeply. His withdrawal into silence and contemplation was not a rejection of life but a radical choice of the One from whom life receives its meaning. We may not be called to his solitude, but every disciple needs the same hierarchy of the heart. Choosing the better part means choosing what keeps us closest to Christ and enables everything else to find its proper place. When He is first, our work becomes service, our silence becomes communion, our relationships become love, and even our busiest days can remain centred in Him. Let’s reflect: Among the many good and necessary things that occupy me each day, do I have the interior freedom to recognize and choose the better part—the one that keeps me closest to Christ?
Don Giorgio
Oct 5, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 27 in Ordinary Time
Saint Faustina Kowalska
Gospel: Luke 10:25-37The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that our quality of mercy is often measured precisely when we are busy. The priest and the Levite were probably not wandering without purpose; they were going somewhere, perhaps with legitimate duties and responsibilities. Yet the wounded man appeared unexpectedly in the middle of their journey. The Samaritan also had somewhere to go, but he allowed another person’s suffering to interrupt his plans. He stopped, approached, treated the wounds, placed the man on his own animal, brought him to an inn and even arranged for his continuing care. Mercy cost him time, attention, resources and inconvenience. This is important because it is relatively easy to be merciful when compassion fits comfortably into our schedule; the deeper test comes when someone needs us at the wrong moment. The message of Christ does not ask us to abandon our responsibilities, but it does ask whether our responsibilities have become so absolute that we can no longer notice the person lying beside our road. Saint Faustina understood that Divine Mercy is not merely something we contemplate or receive; the mercy flowing from the Heart of Jesus must pass through us to others in concrete ways. Sometimes the most authentic prayer of a busy day may therefore be the decision to stop: to listen, to notice, to forgive, to telephone, to help, or simply to remain with someone who needs us. Mercy begins when another person becomes more important, even for a moment, than the schedule we had planned. Let’s reflect: When someone’s need interrupts my plans and responsibilities, do I see only an inconvenience, or can I recognize an unexpected invitation from Christ to become a neighbour through mercy?
Don Giorgio
