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Saints Alive! | St. Bernadette Soubirous

She once advised, "When tempted to argue recall these wise words: My job is to inform not to convince." Such is our motto at My Daily Bread: A Reason2bCatholic blog! Saint Bernadette Soubirous was born in 1844 to a destitute family in Lourdes, France. On 11 February 1858 she went down to the river Gave with her sister and a friend, to look for firewood and bones. There she received the first of a series of visions of the Virgin Mary. Today, this site is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in all the world. For more about this saint, holy model of our humble blog, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Lidwina of Schiedam

St. Lidwina of Schiedam was born to a poor family in Holland. She had a devotion to the Blessed Mother and would often pray before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. St. Lidwina of Schiedam is the patron of the chronically ill and ice skaters. For more about this saint, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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The Rosary | The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Rosary is one of the most beautiful prayers in the Catholic tradition. It's also one of the most commonly misunderstood, which is often the case for many of our Protestant brothers and sisters. Yet, it doesn't have to be. Put simply, the Rosary is a prayerful meditation on the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of his mother. I invite you, whether you are Catholic, Protestant, or other, to watch this beautiful video by our friends at Word on Fire.  Today we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries.  We meditate on five key events in the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of his mother, the Virgin Mary. For more, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Divine Office | The anointing with the Holy Spirit

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading by St. Cyril of Jersusalem (315 - 386 A.D.).

Cyril was born of Christian parents and succeeded Maximus as bishop of Jerusalem in 348. He was active in the Arian controversy and was exiled more than once as a result. His pastoral zeal is especially shown in his Catecheses, in which he expounded orthodox doctrine, holy Scripture and the traditions of the faith. They are still read today, and several of the Second Readings of the Office of Readings are taken from them. He is held in high esteem by both the Catholics and the Orthodox, and he was declared a Doctor of the Church by the Pope in 1883.

For a reflection on, "The anointing with the Holy Spirit," please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Margaret of Castello

She is a saint for the disabled. Blessed Margaret was born at Citta de Castello, Italy, in 1287. Blind from birth and abandoned by her parents at an early age, she faithfully placed her trust in God and lived under the Rule of Penance of the Order of Saint Dominic. Blessed Margaret is a powerful patroness for all the unwanted and abandoned. She is a bold witness to the beauty, dignity, and worth of every human life. For more about this saint, patron of the disabled, handicapped, and unwanted, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Martin I, pope

He was born in Todi in Umbria and elected Pope in 649. He called a synod to combat the Monothelite heresy concerning the nature of Christ. One of the people whose teachings were condemned was supported by the Byzantine Emperor, who in 653 had Martin kidnapped from Rome, taken to Constantinople, imprisoned and eventually exiled to the Crimea, where he died on 1 September 655. For more about this martyr saint, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Gospel Reflections | The Empty Tomb (Jn 20:1-9)

It's a stubborn point in fact that Christians profess the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This story is so familiar to us that we can sometimes lose sight of how stunning it must have been for Jesus' closest disciples to arrive at his burial place, only to find an empty tomb. For, as the Gospel writer John points out, they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead (Jn 20:9). Yet, what today we may take for granted, these same disciples - these Apostles of Jesus Christ - would later lay down their lives for the truth of what they believed, for the truth of what they professed, for the truth of who they would come to know as died, buried, and risen from the dead. The Christian martyrs down through the centuries are the heroic witnesses of this Profession of Faith. Jesus Christ invites each of us - He invites all of us - to new life. We begin by opening our hearts to him in the mystery of the Resurrection. Two-thousand years later there are many who, for whatever reasons, do not believe, they do not profess, they do not yet recognize with the eyes of faith. But we, by virtue of our baptism, are called to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ, truly risen from the dead for the salvation of the world, to the world that still lives in darkness. Jesus is the Light of the World. Easter morning he opened heaven for the salvation of all who come to believe in him. Be not afraid! Jesus is waiting for you when you find nothing else in this world satisfies you. For a Gospel reflection from John's account of the empty tomb please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Articles of Faith | Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection

Today is Easter Sunday, the most glorious day on the Christian calendar. For today we celebrate God's faithfulness, for what he promised he has brought to fulfillment: Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed and he has truly risen from the dead. It is the truth of this day, the truth of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, that we Christians stake our whole lives, for in Christ's rising from the dead we have a share in eternal salvation - thanks be to God!

For more about this day please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Articles of Faith | The Eucharist: In the Words of the Church Fathers

Today we explore some of the early Church Fathers sayings about the Eucharist.  Many of our mainline Protestant brothers and sisters, who know their history, will agree who these early Church Fathers were.

Catholic brothers and sisters, though not a Holy Day of Obligation, Holy Thursday has rich and historical significance for each of us:  for before departing the Upper Room to begin his Passion, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, giving thanks to his Father, and commanding his Apostles to love one another, as He has loved them (cf Jn 13:34); and he commanded them, "Do this in memory of me" (Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 10:16; Jn 6:53-57, 1 Cor 11:23-30).

For more on this great Mystery of Faith, from the Church Fathers in their own words, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Articles of Faith | The Scandal of the Eucharist

The Catholic belief in The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a hard saying, no doubt.  Yet, it's no harder a saying as was said by Jesus himself as he begins his colloquy with his disciples in the synagogue at Capernaum (see Jn 6:30). This teaching, the Catholic Church defends as the definitive and apostolic origins of the Eucharist, points to the Eucharist (from the Greek for "thanksgiving") as the "source and summit of the Christian life".

For a beautiful summation of the scandal of such a saying - and the recognition of how hard it is to believe - enjoy this brief writing from Fr. Richard Veras of Saint Joseph's Seminary; and for a Catholic answer addressing common Evangelical Fundamentalist challenges to the Catholic understanding of the Real Presence, please also see more of this post by clicking on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Do you reject Satan?

This Sunday following the Epiphany the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord.  It is here we recall in a special way Jesus' baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist.  In it we are also reminded of a great mystery revealed.  God the Father reveals Jesus as his "beloved Son" and the Holy Spirit comes down from heaven in the form of a dove. Here, we reject Satan and all his empty promises.

For my reflection, "Do you reject Satan?" please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

Thomas
Disciple of Christ | Son of the Church

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Catholics Come Home | Fallen Away Catholics

The story of the Prodigal Son, as we encounter in the Gospel of Luke (15:11-32), is one of the most poignant in all of literature. Sadly, there are many Catholics today who have fallen away from their faith. Each has a story of his own. Yet, by the sacramental power of one's baptism there remains a call unanswered - the yearning of a Father desiring the return of his child to the home of his baptismal birth.

For more about this post, and for a 2 min video expressing the tender mercy that awaits at home in love's embrace, click on the image. Our father in heaven wants us home. He wants you home. If you’ve been away from the Church for one day, or for a lifetime, come home. Your family misses you.

For more, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!