The BreadCast

O protector of your sheep, you laid down your life for them, giving your blood for the service of souls that all might witness the surpassing love of the Lord and the glory that awaits those who die in Him – pray for shepherds who feed their sheep, not lording it over them or seeking what gain they might find for themselves, taking the milk and wool of their flock and leaving them naked and lifele...

(1Tm.6:2-12; Ps.49:6-10,17-20,Mt.5:3; Lk.8:1-3) "Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation, and a trap." Today we hear Paul's famous words: "The love of money is the root of all evil." They are oft-quoted, but how well are they understood and practiced in the avoidance of excessive possessions and inflated bank accounts. Paul tells us, verifiably so, that men "have come to grief amid g...

(1Tm.4:12-16; Ps.111:2,7-10; Lk.7:36-50) "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it." If "the works of His hands are faithful and just," as His children living in His Word and as His image, we must "be a continuing example of love, faith, and purity." If we do not attend to this duty, "so that everyone may see [our] progress," how shall we "bring to salvation [our...

O wise doctor whose intellect served well in defense of the Church and her teachings, who bore well the light yoke of Christ that leads to eternal life and shepherded your flock in following you along this path of our Lord – speak to us this day your words of grace that the souls of all within the Church's gates might be founded well on the truths of the faith and on the love of God. Pray we shall...

(1Tm.3:14-16; Ps.111:1-6; Lk.7:31-35) "God's wisdom is vindicated by all who accept it." "The Church of the living God" is the "pillar and bulwark of truth," as Paul tells us. And it is those who live the faith, "professing it" with all their beings, who prove its truth. "Wonderful, indeed, is the mystery of our faith"; no greater grace or wisdom could we hope to attain. "He was manifested in the...

O brothers in Christ, in death and in life you gave yourselves as one for the sake of the flock; for the cause of the faith readily you shed your blood to serve the growth of God's Church – pray we today will be zealous as you in defending the faith with our lives; by fasting and by prayer, by standing courageously before the courts of the world and offering our flesh in sacrifice, may we imitate...

(1Tm.3:1-13; Ps.101:1-3,5-6; Lk.7:11-17) "He who walks in the way of integrity shall be in my service." "God has visited His people." What the people said when Jesus raised the widow's son from the dead should be said of us all as we pass through this world. That same love that moved Jesus to pity upon seeing the tears of this poor mother should move us all. To all we should say, "Do not cry." To...

O sorrowful Mother whose heart was pierced by a sword, who stood at the foot of the Cross dying in spirit as your Son died in the flesh… Jesus was sent to suffer and die for our sins, and how intimately you shared in the profound pain He carried about all His life; how preeminently you filled up what was lacking in His suffering, suffering the whole Church must share with our crucified Lord – pray...

(1Tm.2:1-8; Ps.28:2,6-9; Lk.7:1-10) "Offer prayers with blameless hands held aloft." We must pray. We must petition the Lord for the good of the world, that the good of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, might be known to all. If we do not intercede, if we do not seek the healing of a people sick with sin, who shall do so? The Lord desires "all men to be saved and come to know the truth." It is our...

(Nm.21:4b-9; Ps.78:1-2,7,34-38; Phil.2:6-11; Jn.3:13-17) "God greatly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name." And why is it that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend"? Why does "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"? It is because "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." It is precisely because "He emptied...

O you of golden tongue, how well you proved the Word of God cannot be chained; how well you revealed its radiance to our ears and hearts… unconquered by threats of death and the sufferings the world imposes, you proclaimed the glory of God and His presence with us until the very end – pray, O dear shepherd, who held your flock so close to your heart that they became one body with you in Christ, th...

(1Tm.1:15-17; Ps.113:1-7; Lk.6:43-49) "Any man who desires to come to me will hear my words and put them into practice." Our psalm today declares that God is "enthroned on high" – "High above all the nations is the Lord; above the heavens is His glory." And why is the Lord so glorious, so worthy of our praise…? Because "He raises the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill He lifts up the poor." An...

O Mary, sweetest of creatures, whose name on our lips brings joy to our hearts… inflamed with love toward God and you we become in speaking your blessed name – pray we shall call your name, dear Lady, in our time of need, that you will be quick to intercede with your Son for our salvation. Washed in the water from His side and in His holy blood, pray we shall rise above the sea, beyond all rebelli...

(1Tm.1:1-2,12-14; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-8,11; Lk.6:39-42) "Remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." The answer to Jesus' question to His disciples: "Can a blind man act as guide to a blind man?" is obvious. No. It must be a man of sight, of vision, who leads those who are blind, who are without understanding. Paul has become a...

(Col.3:12-17; Ps.150:1-6; Lk.6:27-38) "Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus." "Sing gratefully to God from your hearts in psalms, hymns, and inspired songs." Such is our speech and action when dedicated to God. Our lives indeed become a symphony of His grace when we "let the word of Christ, rich as it is, dwell in [us]." The "blast of the trumpet… wi...

(Col.3:1-11; Ps.145:2-3,9-13; Lk.6:20-26) "Set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God's right hand." Is this not the central message of the Lord's beatitudes: "Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth." For how could we be blest in poverty, hunger, and weeping if our hearts are set on this earth? And how could riches and fullness and laughter be...

O slave to the slaves, to those who came in chains to the new world, those whose dark skin made them seem to eyes of flesh less than men… to you these were children of God, souls to be saved by His love and through His Church, and so the thousands baptized by your hands celebrate your glorious sacrifice this day in God's presence – pray for us, dear brother, that the shackles of racial prejudice,...

(Col.2:6-15; Ps.145:1-2,8-11; Lk.6:12-19) "Coming down from the mountain with them, He stopped at a level stretch where there were many of His disciples." In our gospel, the Lord has gone "to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God." Then at daybreak He chose His twelve apostles. On His way back down the mountain He comes upon those who have been waiting for Him, and He take...

O Virgin who bore the Son of God, who became the divine dwelling place for the Creator of us all, should we not celebrate your birth this day, the blessing of the generation of you who signal our salvation? Pray for us, dear Mother, pray for all your children, all who would call themselves sons of God and brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ... pray that all generations will call you blessed, that al...

(Mic.5:1-4 or Rm.8:28-30; Ps.13:6,Is.61:9; Mt.1:1-16,18-23 Note: I shall treat of both first readings) "It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child." "God is with us," brothers and sisters, and how has He chosen to come among us but through a woman, but through a virgin found with child? And this Virgin daughter of Israel from "Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of...

(Wis.9:13-18b; Ps.90:1,3-6,12-14,17; Phlm.1:9-10,12-17; Lk.14:25-33) "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." The wisdom of the cross, that blessed necessity for every Christian's life. What does it teach us? How does it call us to act? Its wisdom is not of this earth, for the "corruptible body burdens the soul," but the counsel of the "Holy Spirit from on hi...

(Col.1:21-23; Ps.54:3-4,6,8; Lk.6:1-5) "Hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it." "The Son of Man is Lord," Lord of the universe, Lord "even of the sabbath." He is the Word through whom all things have come and it is He who has "achieved reconciliation" for all with God, the Father. We must be presented to God "holy, free of reproach and blame." We must bow before His Majesty, t...

O lover of the poor and of the unborn, in whom you saw the face of Christ, by whom you held Him close to your heart and so comforted His thirst for souls – pray for us who are so blind to the presence of Christ in the least among us or even in those beside us. Pray, dear Mother, that we will hear their cry, which is Jesus' cry from the Cross, and that we shall not fear the darkness as we enter ben...

(Col.1:15-20; Ps.100:1-5; Lk.5:33-39) "New wine should be poured into fresh skins." "The blood of His cross" is poured forth for us; it becomes the new wine we drink this day, that which makes us new men by its grace. The scribes and Pharisees refuse this new wine, saying, "I find the old wine better," so they cannot see "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creatures," standing be...

(Col.1:9-14; Ps.98:2-6; Lk.5:1-11) "You will multiply good works of every sort and grow in the knowledge of God." As Simon Peter and the others "caught such a great number of fish that their nets were at the breaking point," so shall it be with any Christian who devotes himself to the work and the will of God. But as the apostles "brought their boats to land, left everything, and became His follow...