Oct 4, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
- 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Francis of Assisi
Readings: Isaiah 5:1–7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6–9; Matthew 21:33–43
Today the image of the vineyard runs through the Word of God as an image of love received and fruit expected. Isaiah describes God preparing His vineyard with extraordinary care: He chooses the ground, clears it, plants choice vines, builds a tower and prepares the winepress. Everything necessary has been given, because Israel is His “cherished plant.” Yet the vineyard produces wild grapes. Jesus takes up the same image in the Gospel, but now the problem is not the vineyard itself: it is the tenants who begin to behave as though what was entrusted to them belongs to them. They want the vineyard but reject the owner; they enjoy its gifts but refuse to give its fruits. This is also a danger in discipleship. Our life, faith, abilities, relationships, responsibilities, opportunities, and even our time are a vineyard entrusted to us by God. We are not owners; we are stewards, and every gift of God carries within it a call to bear fruit. But what fruit? Saint Paul gives us a beautiful answer: whatever is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, gracious and worthy of praise. And he shows us where such fruit begins: not in anxiety, but in prayer, thanksgiving and trust, allowing “the peace of God” to guard our hearts in Christ. Saint Francis of Assisi became extraordinarily fruitful precisely because he stopped treating life as something to possess and received everything as gift, God, creation, the poor, his brothers and sisters, even suffering and death. The Kingdom bears fruit wherever what has been received from God is returned to Him through love. The question, therefore, is not simply how much God has given me, but what His gifts are becoming in my hands. Let’s reflect: When God looks at the vineyard He has entrusted to me, my faith, relationships, responsibilities, gifts and opportunities, what fruits of truth, peace, gratitude, justice and love does He find growing there?
Don Giorgio
Oct 2, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
The Holy Guardian Angels
Friday of week 26 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10Today Jesus gives us a remarkable glimpse into the invisible mystery surrounding our lives: “Their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.” Our Guardian Angels accompany us here, yet at the same time they remain always before the Heavenly Father. This means that their guardianship is never separated from God: they protect, guide, inspire, and accompany us precisely because they constantly contemplate the face of the Father. There is something deeply consoling in this mystery. Even when we feel alone, forgotten, vulnerable, or uncertain about the way ahead, our life is not isolated from heaven. Our angels stand before God while remaining mysteriously close to us, keeping our earthly journey open toward the Father. Jesus speaks of them while warning us never to despise the “little ones.” Their angelic presence therefore also reveals the immense dignity God gives to every human person. Someone whom the world considers insignificant has an angel contemplating the face of God. The message of Christ invites us to live with this greater awareness of the invisible: heaven is not distant from our ordinary life. Our Guardian Angel quietly accompanies our struggles, choices, prayers, work, temptations, joys, and sufferings, always directing us toward the One whose face he beholds. Perhaps the greatest service of our Guardian Angel is precisely this: while walking beside us on earth, he continually reminds our soul where it truly belongs, before the face of the Heavenly Father. Let’s reflect: Do I live with the peaceful awareness that I am never alone, trusting that my Guardian Angel accompanies me while always standing before the face of my Heavenly Father?
Don Giorgio
Oct 1, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Thursday of Week 26 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 10:1–12
In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the seventy-two disciples ahead of Him and tells them that their first word upon entering a house should be: “Peace to this house.” Before being preachers, therefore, disciples are called to be bearers of peace. But we cannot bring to others a peace that does not first live within us. The mission begins in interiority and intimacy with the Lord, in that hidden place where we allow ourselves to be loved by God, where our fears become trust, our agitation becomes surrender, and our need to control gives way to confidence in His providence. This is why Jesus sends the disciples with so little: no purse, no haversack, no sandals.
Their security must come not from what they possess but from the One who sends them. Thérèse of Lisieux understood this profoundly. She never travelled to distant missions, yet through her “little way” of confidence and love she became Patroness of the Missions. Her missionary fruitfulness was born in the hidden intimacy of Carmel, where ordinary actions offered with extraordinary love became instruments of grace for the whole Church. The message of Christ reminds us that mission is not first about doing more but about belonging more deeply to Him. A peaceful person is not someone without difficulties, but someone whose heart has found its centre in God. From that interior communion comes a peace that can enter homes, relationships, communities, and difficult situations. The closer we remain to the Lord in the secret of our hearts, the more naturally our presence itself can become a proclamation: “Peace to this house.” Let’s reflect: Is my daily activity flowing from a peaceful interior intimacy with the Lord, so that wherever I go, my presence can quietly bring His peace?
Don Giorgio
Sep 28, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels – Feast
Gospel: John 1:47-51
Today’s Gospel beautifully connects the revelation of the angels with Nathanael’s confession of faith. After Jesus reveals that He already knew Nathanael before Philip called him, Nathanael responds: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” It is after this confession that Jesus promises him something greater: “You will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.” The angels are therefore revealed within the mystery of Christ: their presence directs our attention not primarily to themselves, but to Jesus, the Son of God, in whom heaven and earth meet. Nathanael confesses who Christ is, and Christ opens before him the reality of heaven. This helps us understand today’s feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael witnesses that no power can stand against God; Gabriel announces the mystery of God entering human history; Raphael manifests God’s healing and guiding presence. Their different missions converge in one purpose: serving God’s saving plan and leading creation toward Him. The message of Christ teaches us that faith opens our vision beyond what is immediately visible. Nathanael first recognizes Jesus in faith, and then receives the promise of seeing the invisible world surrounding the Son of Man. The more deeply we confess Jesus as the Son of God, the more we discover that our earthly life is already open to heaven, accompanied by God’s messengers and embraced within a reality far greater than what our eyes can see. Let’s reflect: Does my confession that Jesus is the Son of God open my heart to recognize that my daily life is already connected with heaven and accompanied by the mysterious presence and action of God?
Don Giorgio
Sep 28, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 26 in Ordinary Time
Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr
Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs
Gospel: Luke 9:46-50In today’s Gospel, the disciples are caught looking only at what is immediately visible: they argue about who among them is the greatest, and then they want to stop someone casting out demons because “he is not one of us.” Jesus teaches them to see differently. He places a little child beside Himself and says that whoever welcomes this child welcomes Him and the Father who sent Him. Discipleship is learning to see beyond what is obvious. Where the disciples see someone small and insignificant, Jesus reveals His own presence; where they see an outsider, Jesus recognizes someone already working for the good; where they see greatness in status and recognition, Jesus sees greatness in humility and service. Following Christ therefore requires a continual conversion of our vision. We must learn to look beyond appearances, labels, groups, achievements, failures, and first impressions, because God may be present and working precisely where we least expect Him. Saints Wenceslaus, Lawrence Ruiz, and their companions also learned to see beyond what was obvious: beyond persecution they saw fidelity, beyond the loss of earthly security they saw the value of belonging to Christ, and beyond death they saw eternal life. The disciple does not deny visible reality but sees more deeply into it, looking for the hidden presence, action, and possibilities of God. When we learn to see with the eyes of Christ, the insignificant can become precious, the outsider can become a companion, and even sacrifice can become a path to life. Let’s reflect: Do I judge people and situations only by what is immediately obvious, or am I learning, as a disciple of Christ, to see more deeply and recognize where God may already be present and at work?
Don Giorgio
Sep 26, 2026 | DAILY BREAD
- 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Vincent de PaulReadings: Ezekiel 18:25–28; Psalm 24(25): 4–9; Philippians 2:1–11; Matthew 21:28–32
Today’s readings reveal a beautiful truth: God places no conditions on His love for us, but His unconditional love continually calls us to conversion so that we can experience it more fully. Through Ezekiel, the Lord invites the sinner to renounce sin and choose life, not because God withdraws His love when we fail, but because sin can make our hearts incapable of recognizing and receiving the love that is already being offered. That is why the Psalm asks us to remember the Lord’s compassion and mercy: conversion begins not with fear of a God who rejects us, but with the memory of a God who has always been merciful. Saint Paul then takes us to the deepest revelation of this love: Christ “emptied himself,” humbled Himself, became a servant, and accepted even death on a Cross. God does not remain distant waiting for us to become worthy of His love; He comes down to where we are so that we may discover how deeply we are loved. This is also the heart of Jesus’ parable. The son who initially says “No” is not rejected; he can change his mind and go to the vineyard. Even tax collectors and prostitutes, whose lives seemed far from God, discover that the door remains open when they turn toward Him. Saint Vincent de Paul understood this love and made it visible by going toward the poor, the forgotten, and the suffering. The message of Christ is therefore one of immense hope: we do not change in order to make God love us; we change because His love has reached us, and once we truly experience that love, we no longer want to remain as we were. Let’s reflect: Do I try to change because I am afraid of losing God’s love, or because I have discovered that He already loves me without conditions and I want my whole life to become a response to that love?
Don Giorgio
