The BreadCast

(Dn.13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62; Ps.23:1-6; Jn.8:1-11) "Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her." "Then the audience drifted away one by one, beginning with the elders." And no one was left to accuse her. In both our gospel and our first reading a woman is accused of adultery, one justly, the other unjustly. Yet both are freed. For under the old law the innocent were...

(Ez.37:12-14; Ps.130:1-8; Rom.8:8-11; Jn.11:1-45) "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." "You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!" says the Lord God through the prophet Ezekial. "The one who raised Christ from the dead will give l...

(Jer.11:18-20; Ps.7:2-3,9-12; Jn.7:40-53) "Let us destroy the tree in its vigor; let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will be spoken no more." With these words "they were hatching plots against" Jeremiah, and in the same way against Jesus. And so, "like a trusting Lamb led to slaughter," "like the lion's prey, to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue" are they. But "...

(Ws.2:1,12-22; Ps.34:17-21,23; Jn.7:1-2,10,25-30) "He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is His Father." And for such He shall be persecuted; for such He shall be killed. For to the wicked "He is the censure of [their] thoughts; merely to see Him is a hardship" for those who stray from the Lord's commands. And so, in vain attempt to spare themselves the just judgment of the Lo...

O righteous man called by God to be foster-father of His only Son and protector of His Mother, you who were obedient to the Spirit, who took Jesus by the hand and led Him from the temple in Jerusalem to the home in Nazareth where Mary made a place for Him – pray that we shall be built into the house of Abraham, the man of faith, into the house of David, your father, into the House the Holy Spirit...

(2Sm.7:4-5,12-14a,16; Ps.89:2-5,27,29,37; Rom.4:13,16-18,22; Mt.1:16,18-21,24a or Lk.2:41-51a) "I will be a father to him, and he shall be my son." It is through Joseph that Jesus is a son of David and so fulfills the promise to the king made by God: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever," for He is the heir "raise[d] up" after David "who...

O steadfast teacher of the faith whom exile could not keep from proclaiming the truths of Scripture and the Church, whose pastoral zeal called souls to the blessed chamber of our divine Lord Jesus Christ that we might unite with Him who united Himself with us to draw us unto Heaven – pray that the shepherds of the Church shall be just so diligent and faithful as you have consistently been in impar...

(Is. 49:8-15; Ps.145:8-9,13-14,17-18; Jn.5:17-30) "Just as the Father possesses life in Himself, so He has granted it to the Son to have life in Himself." Here the great mystery of the unity of Father and Son is revealed, and so also our salvation. God is life. The Father is the great I AM, He who will be what He will be and do what He will do – He who holds the world and all its wonders in His cr...

O great apostle to the nations who gave up your birthright of freedom for the benefit of others, who went forth in faith, Christ ever above you and before you and all around to protect you who were brought through trial to do His will in bringing God to unbelievers, you who never doubted – pray that we, too, shall spend ourselves for the sake of the Gospel and all souls yet to be gathered to the L...

(Ez.47:1-9,12; Ps.46:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn.5:1-3,5-16) "There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High." Brothers and sisters, Jesus is our living water. In our first reading, Ezekial speaks of his heavenly vision of the river of God which runs from His holy temple. The water, which increases as it flows further from its source, eventually "empties into the s...

(Is.65:17-21; Ps.30:2,4-6,11-13; Jn.4:43-54) "You changed my mourning into dancing." Here in the midst of Lent we find the purpose of all our suffering, the hope to which we all are called. "At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing." And thus does this time of penance and fasting lead to the abundance found in Easter joy. For what is darkness but the world in which we dwell, a...

(1Sm.16:1b,6-7,10-13a; Ps.23:1-6; Eph.5:8-14; Jn.9:1-41) "I am the light of the world." And by that light alone we see. By this light which comes from God we who were born blind, who were born into sin, have our eyes opened. And so having escaped the darkness we "live as children of light." When David was presented before Samuel, immediately the prophet's eyes were opened to the one on whom God's...

(Hos.6:1-6; Ps.51:3-4,18-21,Hos.6:6; Lk.18:9-14) "As certain as the dawn is His coming, and His judgment shines forth like the light of day!" It is night. There is darkness. In this world of sin we are afflicted on account of our guilt, for our failures to love God. And so David cries out in our psalm, "Have mercy, O God, in your goodness"; and so the tax collector in our gospel "beat[s] his breas...

(Hos.14:2-10; Ps.81:6-11,14,17; Mk.12:28-34) "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!" "There is no other than He," and so what should we do but "love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, with all [our] soul, with all [our] mind, and with all [our] strength"? What promise the Lord makes to us if only we would return to Him and love Him: "If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk...

(Jer.7:23-28; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; Lk.11:14-23) "They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me." The Lord calls His people to "listen to [His] voice," to "walk in all [His] ways," that they "may prosper." But with whom is there obedience? How many harden their hearts against Him! Of the people of Jeremiah's time the Lord says, "Faithfulness has disappear...

(Dt.4:1,5-9; Ps.147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt.5:17-19) "What great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law?" "He has proclaimed His word to Jacob, His statutes and ordinances to Israel." The Lord in His grace "sends forth His command to the earth; swiftly runs His word!" And as the snow and the rain come down to nourish the land, to bring life to the earth, so His Word is fo...

(Dn.3:25,34-43; Ps.25:4-9; Mt.18:21-35) "With contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received." The Lord "guides the humble to justice, He teaches the humble His way," and so it is the prayer of these He receives; upon them He showers His mercy. For His mercy is His justice and it is known by those who humbly share the same. Azariah makes his prayer for mercy for his people Israel who suffer t...

O patient and loving soul who cared for both the physical and spiritual needs of the poor and the sick, who with a gentle word would rebuke sins and heal division and with a gentle touch bind the wounds and smooth the beds of the ill in your home and in hospital, who saw that remedies for the soul, the Bread of life and holy Confession, were available, too, through the hands of a priest – who care...

(2Kgs.5:1-15; Ps.42:2-3,43:3-4; Lk.4:24-30) "There is no God in all the earth, except in Israel." "There is a prophet in Israel," brothers and sisters, and this prophet is God. Jesus Christ has come, salvation from the Jews. Do you recognize Him? Will you accept Him? It is only in "the waters of Israel" that we are made clean. As wonderful as may be the waters of our native land, it matters not, f...

O servant of love whom the angels knew to be of God for your blessed care of the poor and the sick and all the needy pilgrims who came to you in abundance that you might be the greater blest by what you did for the least of Christ's brothers, you who turned from the world to absolute service of the Lord and complete trust in His providence – please pray that our hearts may be enlarged and we find...

(Ex.17:3-7; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; Rom.5:1-2,5-8; Jn.4:5-42) "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst." What is this "spring of water welling up to eternal life" but the Holy Spirit come upon us, the Truth of God in our midst through the blessed sacrifice of the Son for us "while we were still sinners." Brothers and sisters, "the lo...

O blessed martyrs who willingly and happily suffered a cruel death by the teeth of beasts and the point of a sword, all for love of Jesus – how can we match your faith; where shall we find the strength you displayed in ecstasy at tortures devised by the wicked of this earth, and can we call ourselves Christian otherwise? Pray for us, dear martyrs, that the Lord will bless us with such favor as you...

(Mic.7:14-15,18-20; Ps.103:1-4,8-12; Lk.15:1-3,11-32) "While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was deeply moved." "He ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him." Amen. Such is the forgiveness of the Lord, that even while we are far from Him, yet while we are sinners, He sees our hearts turn to Him and welcomes us into His embrace. We have all...

(Gn.37:3-4,12-13,17-28; Ps.105:5,16-21; Mt.21:33-43,45-46) "They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver." "The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone of the structure." Hear what Scripture says. As he who was "sold as a slave" by his brothers became "lord of [the king's] house and ruler of all his possessions," so He whom the elders of the people could call "...

(Jer.17:5-10; Ps.1:1-4,6,40:5; Lk.16:19-31) "He is like a tree planted beside the waters, that stretches out its roots to the stream." "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord." For he shall be like the tree "that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade." He shall never be "like a barren bush in the desert" or "like chaff which the wind drives away." N...