Give us this day our daily bread, Jesus taught us to pray. The bread that we break each day to keep body and soul together, but also, of course, the other bread: the bread that was given for us upon the Cross, the bread that we break each Sunday when we share in the gift of Eucharist.

In this time of unknowns, when so much of our daily life has been suspended, when we are unable to be together as a community or share in the Eucharist which feeds us so deeply, that bread may still point a way forward.

Daily Bread is a daily reflection, based on one of the readings appointed by the church for that day’s prayer. The reflections will take those readings in many directions: from scriptural meditations to creative or artistic responses to sharing elements of our daily lives. They will let us hear the voices in our congregation in a new way.

[ From the first Daily Bread by the Daily Bread editor, the Rev'd Dr. Deborah Meister ]

NOTE: Daily Bread began at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and ended in December 2020. 

  • Why are there so many mysteries around St. John’s Day?

    June 24, 2020Daily Bread

    Today, Saint John’s Day is celebrated all over the world, wherever there are Christians. This biblical figure who played a very important role in the life of Jesus. There is a close relationship between these two figures, one the precursor and the other the Messiah, and the birth of both...

  • Do unto others

    June 23, 2020Daily Bread

    In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate...

  • Alban

    June 22, 2020Daily Bread

    Verses from today’ reading: Wisdom 3: 1-9 The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,     and no torment shall touch them. 5 Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,     because God tried them 8 They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,     and the Lord shall be their King forever....

  • “There is no one who is righteous”

    June 21, 2020Daily Bread

    Saturday morning’s passage from the daily office (Romans 3:9-20) lists a whole catalogue of accusations that different writers of the Old Testament marshalled against the Gentiles.  Here, the author applies them to all the Roman Christians hearing or reading the letter—Jews and Greeks alike—as evidence of the need to rely,...

  • Spiritual Inheritance

    June 19, 2020Daily Bread

    The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is...

  • Mizeki

    June 18, 2020Daily Bread

                  “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!  Are...

  • First, do no harm

    June 17, 2020Daily Bread

      “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of...

  • Community

    June 12, 2020Daily Bread

    A small icon sits on my desk, a copy of The Trinity done in the early 15th century by Andrei Rublev.  The original is in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, but another copy can be found in the Meditation Chapel at the Cathedral.  The icon is also known by the...

  • Rich

    June 11, 2020Daily Bread

    The rich man toils as his wealth accumulates,     and when he rests he fills himself with his dainties. The poor man toils as his livelihood diminishes,     and when he rests he becomes needy. He who loves gold will not be justified,     and he who pursues money will be led astray...

  • Under the sun

    June 10, 2020Daily Bread

    Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time...

  • St Columba and Iona

    June 9, 2020Daily Bread

    In a week’s time, a group of pilgrims from the Cathedral would have been on their way for a pilgrimage to Iona, a tiny island in the inner Hebrides, off the coast of Mull on the West of Scotland.  Seen from here in Montreal, or even from London England, Iona...

  • Blessed are the…

    June 8, 2020Daily Bread

    There’s a meme going around where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor,” and someone interrupts him, “no, Jesus, blessed are all people.” The meme poignantly illustrates the insensitivity of the phrase “all lives matter” as aresponse to Black communities’ pain and anger. But the meme also brings two key Gospel...