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Daily Bread | Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Good Tuesday morning. The world kept moving overnight. Here's what happened, and what your faith has to say about it.

✝ Tuesday of Holy Week

From the Holy Father

Pope Leo XIV

Pope at Palm Sunday Mass: 'Jesus does not listen to prayers of those who wage war'

Pope Leo XIV presided at Palm Sunday Mass and delivered a powerful homily on Jesus as the King of Peace, declaring that Jesus refuses to listen to the prayers of those who wage war. The message comes amid ongoing Middle East tensions and during Holy Week, Christianity's most sacred liturgical season.

Palm Sunday Homily

Today's Gospel

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John 13:21-33,36-38

"While at supper with his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me. ’ The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said, ‘Who is it, Lord."

Rosary Mystery of the Day

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Today's Mysteries

Tuesday: Sorrowful Mysteries

Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord

Defend the Faith

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Apologetics

Eucharist

The Objection

"Why do Catholics believe the bread and wine literally become Jesus's body and blood? That sounds like something from a pagan ritual, not rational faith."

The Catholic Response

Jesus said 'This is my body' and 'This is my blood' (Matthew 26:26-28), and he meant it so literally that many of his followers left him over it (John 6:66). The early Church Fathers confirm this was not metaphor. St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing around 110 AD, called the Eucharist 'the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ' and condemned those who denied it. The Church teaches that the substance of the bread and wine truly becomes Christ's body and blood while the appearances remain unchanged, a mystery called transubstantiation (CCC 1374-1376).

CCC 1374-1376 | John 6:53-56 | Matthew 26:26-28 | St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 7

Daily Trivia

Test Your Faith IQ

Scripture

In today's Gospel, Jesus dips bread and gives it to Judas to identify the betrayer. What is the technical term for this piece of dipped bread in the Last Supper tradition?

A) Prosphora
B) Sop
C) Azyme
D) Antidoron

Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.

Faith & The World

Army investigates Apache helicopter flyby at Kid Rock's home

Photo: CBS News

CBS News

Army investigates Apache helicopter flyby at Kid Rock's home

The U.S. Army is investigating why two Apache attack helicopters buzzed Kid Rock's Nashville home, after the singer posted videos on social media.

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FAITH & THE WORLD

Luke 4:5-8

"Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, 'I shall give to you all this power and their glory.' Jesus said to him, 'You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.'"

CCC 2239: Proper Use of Public Authority

Military hardware exists to defend the common good, not to impress celebrities. The Catechism warns that public authority becomes corrupt when it serves private interests instead of the people it was meant to protect (CCC 2239).

Reflect → When have you been tempted to use influence or resources entrusted to you for showing off rather than serving others?

Trump tells Europe 'get your own oil,' Iran hits oil tanker

Photo: NPR

NPR

Trump tells Europe 'get your own oil,' Iran hits oil tanker off Dubai

Iran attacked a Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai as Gulf states bear mounting consequences from the ongoing conflict, while the U.S. tells European allies to fend for themselves on energy.

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FAITH & THE WORLD

Ezekiel 34:2-4

"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds pasture the flock? You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured."

Pacem in Terris (Pope John XXIII), CCC 2304-2306

John XXIII wrote in Pacem in Terris that peace between nations requires mutual trust, cooperation, and a shared commitment to the common good. When allies abandon each other to protect their own interests while civilians burn, the shepherds are feeding themselves.

Reflect → Is there someone in your life you've told to 'figure it out yourself' when they genuinely needed your help?

Photo: CBS News

CBS News

CBS News gas and oil price tracker shows how much energy costs are rising

Energy costs are climbing sharply as the war with Iran continues, hitting American households at the gas pump and in their heating bills.

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FAITH & THE WORLD

Proverbs 22:22-23

"Do not rob the poor because they are poor, nor crush the needy at the gate; for the Lord will defend their cause, and will plunder the lives of those who plunder them."

Centesimus Annus 34 (Pope John Paul II)

Rising energy costs never land equally. John Paul II warned in Centesimus Annus that markets must serve human needs, not the other way around, and that the poor always absorb the shocks that the powerful create.

Reflect → Do you know someone in your neighborhood who might be quietly choosing between filling their gas tank and buying groceries this week?

Good In The World

[GOOD NEWS] This woman is leading Nigeria's mental health re

Photo: Good Good Good

Good Good Good

[GOOD NEWS] This woman is leading Nigeria's mental health revolution

Sa'adatu Adamu is breaking stigma and building better mental health care across Nigeria through tireless advocacy.

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FAITH & GOOD NEWS

Psalm 147:3

"He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds."

CCC 1503: Christ the Healer; Corporal Works of Mercy

The Church has always taught that caring for the sick, including the mentally ill, is not optional charity but a direct encounter with Christ (CCC 1503). Sa'adatu's work echoes Jesus healing those whom society pushed to the margins and refused to touch.

Reflect → Have you ever dismissed someone's mental struggle because it wasn't visible, and what would it cost you to simply ask how they're doing?

[GOOD NEWS] Small S. Korea Town Welcomes First Newborn in 17

Photo: Good News Network

Good News Network

[GOOD NEWS] Small S. Korea Town Welcomes First Newborn in 17 Years as Nation's Fertility Rate Continues to Rise

A rural South Korean town celebrated its first birth in 17 years as the nation's fertility rate shows signs of recovery.

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FAITH & GOOD NEWS

Psalm 127:3

"Certainly sons are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward."

Gaudium et Spes 50; Evangelium Vitae 92

John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae that a society's openness to life is the truest measure of its hope. One baby in a town that hasn't heard a newborn's cry in 17 years is not a statistic; it's a resurrection.

Reflect → What small sign of new life or new beginning in your community have you overlooked or taken for granted?

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DAILY WORD GAME

Can you guess today's word?

Test your Catholic vocabulary

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Saint of the Day

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Saint of the Day

March 31

Saint Benjamin of Persia

Benjamin was a deacon imprisoned for a year during the persecution of Christians in Persia around 420 AD. When released after a truce, he was told to stop preaching. He immediately went back to preaching. The king had him tortured with reeds sharpened into stakes driven under his fingernails before executing him. He never stopped talking about Christ.

His feast falls on March 31, and his refusal to stay silent echoes today's Gospel: while Judas chose silence and betrayal, Benjamin chose speech and martyrdom.

Trivia Answer

B . The morsel Jesus dipped and gave to Judas is traditionally called the 'sop,' from the Old English word for bread soaked in liquid. In some early Church commentaries, the act of offering the sop was seen as a final gesture of friendship, making Judas's betrayal even more devastating.

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