The BreadCast

(Is.55:10-11; Ps.65:10-14,Lk.8:8; Rom.8:18-23; Mt.13:1-23) "The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit." Comes the Word of God. To our eyes, to our ears. A seed sown within our hearts. May it find rich soil in which to grow, that we might know "the redemption of our bodies." "The rain and the snow come down and do not return there till they...

O monastic father who led the way into the desert where the Lord speaks to men's hearts, where He calls souls to perfect worship, putting Christ before all else and treating others as He Himself… O you who prayed most perfectly, you who knew God so intimately – pray that our distracted minds will somehow be conformed to listening for His voice and answering His call to serve Him with all our lives...

(Is.6:1-8; Ps.93:1-2,5; Mt.10:24-33) "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,' they cried one to the other. 'All the earth is filled with His glory.'" Hear the angels' song. It is their praise, which fills the heavens like fragrant incense, that our psalmist proclaims: "The Lord is king, in splendor robed; robed is the Lord and girt about with strength." Exalted is the majesty of the Father in hea...

(Hos.14:2-10; Ps.51:3-4,8-9,12-14,17; Mt.10:16-23) "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise." Hosea instructs the Israelites, "Take with you words, and return to the Lord," and this David does in his psalm of sorrow. In "sincerity of heart" he begs the Lord's forgiveness for his sin and finds that the Lord creates "a clean heart" for him. "In [Him] the orphan finds compassion...

O righteous band of martyrs united by faith in Christ and His Church in a nation of religious oppression: children and grandparents, workers and teachers, lay and ordained, native and foreign-born… all as one you gave your lives, led by your convictions – pray the Word of the Lord come to a land so cold to conversion, to the love and worship of Jesus, all men's Savior. Pray the Holy Spirit fall li...

(Hos.11:1,3-4,8-9; Ps.80:2-4,15-16; Mt.10:7-15) "I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you." And He comes to us as do the disciples today, blessing each home as He enters. And "if the home is deserving, [His] blessing will descend upon it. If it is not, [His] blessing will return" to Him. Be careful to receive the blessing of the Lord, for if you reject Him, He will leave you, shaking t...

(Hos.10:1-3,7-8,12; Ps.105:2-7; Mt.10:1-7) "Jesus sent these men on mission as the Twelve." And in these men the Lord founds His Church, choosing "first Simon, now known as Peter," as the Rock upon whom the Building rests, and in like fashion all the twelve apostles, upon whom He places His Spirit. And so the foundation is set. And so none can separate themselves from these and their teaching, for...

(Hos.8:4-7,11-13; Ps.115:3-10; Mt.9:32-38) "Our God is in heaven; whatever He wills, He does. Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men." In Israel, the people have turned from worship of the living God and "with their silver and gold they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction." As the golden "calf of Samaria" is "destined for the flames," so they "shall be like them, eve...

O perpetual virgin who defended your purity even with your life and so earned the crown of martyrdom at a tender age… O bride of Christ who prayed even for your murderer and so served to inspire his conversion – pray for us, too, dear child; pray the lust and violence so prevalent in this world of sin, and in our own hearts, be purged from our midst that we, too, might turn to Jesus and find the p...

(Hos.2:16-18,21-22; Ps.145:2-9; Mt.9:18-26) "When the crowd had been put out He entered and took her by the hand, and the little girl got up." How like Hosea's prophecy today is the Lord's raising of Jairus' daughter in our gospel. For the Lord speaks through His prophet, saying, "I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart," and Jesus does this when He puts the crowd out of the house b...

O child of the Apostle Paul, follower in his steps, preacher of the Word he proclaimed so completely with his very life, you who desired so to bear the fruit of love in patience, to share in the hardships of the apostles as well as in their glory, and led your fellow ordained zealously to desire the same – pray there shall be reform in this day among our priests and among the people of God, that a...

O reconciler of warring sons, tranquility in the midst of great disturbance, though born of royal blood and married to a king, the Lord you preferred to all the riches of this world, and so His peace became your own – pray we, too, may keep our hearts set upon that which passes not away and the peace which passes understanding; pray our prayers be deep as your own and reflect the same tranquility,...

(Zec.9:9-10; Ps.145:1-2,8-11,13-14; Rom.8:9,11-13; Mt.11:25-30) "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." A remarkable confluence of Scripture today, extolling the "great kindness" of our King, who comes to us "meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass," and inviting us to take refuge in Him and in His blessed humility. Yes, upon a beast of burden,...

(Amos 9:11-15; Ps.85:9,11-14; Mt.9:14-17) "I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel." Of the city of David, the Lord promises, "I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old." Beautiful imagery is given indeed through the prophet Amos to illustrate the renewal of the land now fallen: "The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains, and all t...

O believing apostle who declared the divinity of Jesus, our Lord and our God, all doubt disappears in the light of your faith, for we see with you what is beyond all eyes – pray for an increase in our faltering faith, that we shall indeed believe though we do not see; let it be as if we ourselves have touched the nail marks in His hands and feet and placed our hands into His side. So firmly let ou...

(Eph.2:19-22; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Jn.20:24-29) "Blest are they who have not seen and have believed." The faith of Thomas. By his faith we find faith. In his desire to know beyond all doubt that the Lord has risen, all our doubt is taken away, and we declare with him, "My Lord and my God!" If Thomas had not doubted so much, we would not believe so much his clear proclamation of the divinity of Jes...

(Amos 7:10-17; Ps.19:8-11; Mt.9:1-8) "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." Amos says of himself in our first reading: "The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people, Israel." And so he can say, "Now hear the word of the Lord!" And so he can speak for God. And so he can reveal the Lord's will to the people, calling them to return to His pres...

O missionary of the New World inspired to leave your classroom and go forth to win souls for Christ, despite continuous battles with cold and hunger and long journeys with an injured leg, praying throughout the night you persevered and stayed with the thousands you baptized into the fold of Mother Church, bringing them not only the gift of faith but better living conditions as well; fighting ever...

(Amos 5:14-15,21-24; Ps.50:7-13,16-17,23; Mt.8:28-34) "Hear, my people, and I will speak; Israel, I will testify against you." The chastising continues in our readings today. Against the people's vain sacrifices and "noisy songs," both Amos and our psalmist speak in the Lord's name. In need of healing as the two men "possessed by demons" do we find ourselves in the sight of God. "Why do you recite...

O first of souls to shed blood, whose sacrifice began the great persecution, you indeed handed your bodies over to torture, to the mad king of this dark world, but everlasting reward you have gained for yourselves and for the Church; your robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, you served to nourish the growth of the people of God – pray your holy offering shall always be remembered, that the...

(Amos 3:1-8,4:11-12; Ps.5:4-9; Mt.8:23-27) "The lion roars – who will not be afraid! The Lord God speaks – who will not prophesy!" Yes, the Lord prophesies against Israel today like a lion rending and roaring: "You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your crimes." He brings upon His chosen "such upheaval as when God overthrew Sodom and...

O most blessed apostles of the Lord upon whom the Church is founded and the faith goes forth, in you we cannot be shaken and the Lord's reign extends to the ends of the earth – pray we always take refuge in His House and in the teaching of His mouth. It is you who preserve the authenticity of the faith; through you we may be assured the Spirit of God is with us, leading us out of the dark prison o...

Acts 12:1-11; Ps.34:2-9; 2Tm.4:6-8,17-18; Mt.16:13-19) "On this rock I will build my Church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it." We go through death to life, for death has no power over us: the power of Jesus founded firmly on Peter, brought forward by Paul, and present in all the members of the Church and in its faith, has conquered death and leads us all to heaven. Today we cele...

O great teacher of the Catholic faith who served to set a foundation upon which she could grow in peace and in truth, in the Spirit of God, you who valiantly defended her against attacks of heresy and shed your blood in the battle – pray we shall find shepherds today to explicate the faith of the apostles as clearly and loyally as you have done, that none shall be led astray into false doctrine by...

(2Kgs.4:8-11,14-16a; Ps.89:2-3,16-19; Rom.6:3-4,8-11; Mt.10:37-42) "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." The Lord encourages us today to "take up [our] cross and follow [Him]," to place Him first in our lives to find the reward He holds. And in our second reading Paul says the same, reminding us that "we were indeed buried with Christ through baptism into death," that we have "died wi...