Bread 4 Today

19/02/2026

As the Winter Olympics capture the world’s attention, we’re reminded that sport is more than medals and national pride.

What does faith have to say about competition, excellence and the human spirit?

In this timely conversation, Fr. Patrick Kelly, SJ, PhD, scholar, former collegiate athlete and contributor to the Vatican’s landmark document Giving the Best of Yourself, reflects on the deep connection between sport and spirituality.

https://www.commonhome.tv/feature/faith-sports-and-the-common-good

Fr. Patrick Kelly, SJ, PhD—a distinguished scholar and author whose work explores the intersection of faith, sport, and spirituality. Fr.

17/02/2026

Lord of the desert and the locked door,

On this Ash Wednesday,
when dust is traced on waiting foreheads,
remember those who wait behind fences and case numbers.
Remember the mothers, the workers, the students,
not condemned, but suspended in uncertainty.

You were once carried across borders.
You knew the long road of exile.
Be present in the fluorescent stillness,
in the quiet ache of those who do not know
when their names will be called.

When access was denied
and prayer paused at the threshold,
You were already inside.

Mark us with ashes that burn away indifference.
Teach us to visit You where You are confined.
Strip us of the comfort of distance.

We are dust
yet dust breathed upon by God.
Let this Lent make us merciful.

A federal judge ordered ICE to allow Catholic clergy to provide ashes and Communion at a detention facility, citing religious freedom protections.

17/02/2026

Happy / ! Lord help us to enjoy and give thanks to you for the bounty you provide for us, and remind us to share your gifts with others, not as a matter of charity, but of justice.

16/02/2026

Lord,
You were detained, questioned, and led away.
Be close to all who wait behind locked doors,
those uncertain of their future,
those far from family,
those longing for mercy.

May no wall silence prayer.
May no system extinguish dignity.
And may we remember that every person,
free or detained,
belongs first to You.

16/02/2026

2026 LENTEN MESSAGE
Three key takeaways.

13/02/2026

Lord of wisdom and mercy,

We place before You the children of Kinshasa and across the Democratic Republic of the Congo
those who sit on classroom floors,
those who walk long distances to learn,
those whose dreams are larger than the walls around them.

Bless the teachers who persevere,
the Church that remains present,
and those who report the truth with courage.
May education be more than instruction
may it be liberation.

St Alphonsus, who stood with the most abandoned,
pray that we never turn away from the margins,
and that we recognise Christ
in every child longing to learn.

Amen.

Read more at commonhome.tv or link in bio.

12/02/2026

Where walls rise, so does prayer. Where borders harden, Our Mother’s heart remains open. In places of division, may healing begin, on the long road to peace.

09/02/2026

I try each day to focus deliberate attention on whatever I am feeling, smelling, tasting, hearing, or seeing. When I succeed, there is the experience of being full, the satisfying experience of more than enough.

When I choose to be deliberately mindful, I feel the joy of the present moment and am not concerned with what is now in the past or what might yet occur in the future.
Help me to appreciate the sacred, the already and the not yet of God's abiding grace.

- Fr Thoman Santa CSsR (Redemptorists - Denver Province)

05/02/2026

Join Pope Leo and all people of good will in praying for an Olympic Truce, a moment to set aside conflict and choose dialogue over division.
Sport can build bridges. Peace begins with us.

05/02/2026

Today we honour Jackie Robinson on the 107th anniversary of breaking his sport’s colour barrier. As the Olympics approach, we pray that no border, colour, or flag would blind us to recognising every face as bearing the image of God.