The BreadCast

(Ex.2:1-15; Ps.69:3,14,30-31,33-34; Mt.11:20-24) "I drew him out of the water." Moses was drawn from "the watery depths" by Pharaoh's daughter and nursed by his own mother. Into the river all male Hebrew children were ordered cast, but by the providential hand of God, this "Moses" is saved. And it is through him his people shall be drawn out from amongst the Egyptians and the slavery put upon them...

(Ex.1:8-14,22; Ps.124:1-8; Mt.10:34-11:1) "The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread." The Israelites lived and worked side by side with the Egyptians for some four hundred years; they had virtually become members of the same household. But jealousy overcame a "new king" of Egypt, who determined "to oppress them with forced labor," hoping to break their will as well as thei...

(Dt.30:10-14; Ps.69:14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37 or 19:8-11; Col.1:15-20; Lk.10:25-37) "He lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him." This "Samaritan traveler… was moved with compassion" upon seeing the poor victim on the road. And so he "poured oil and wine over his wounds" and provided for his healing. Such is the love to which we are called. In our first reading, Moses...

(Gn.49:29-32,50:15-24; Ps.105:1-4,6-7,33; Mt.10:24-33) "Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven." Joseph does well in acknowledging God before his brothers, as, refusing to take revenge on them, he states of his suffering that "God meant it for good." He thus proves himself a servant of the Lord; realizing that "no pupil outranks his teacher, no slave his m...

(Gn.46:1-7,28-30; Ps.37:3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40; Mt.10:16-23) "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation." We are as exiles in this world. Indeed, the Lord sends us forth "like sheep among wolves." In Egypt must we dwell for a time, until we are prepared for the coming of Christ. But here He meets us. Here He weeps over us and so enables us to face the death whic...

(Gn.44:18-21,23-29,45:1-5; Ps.105:5,16-21; Mt.10:7-15) "It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you." Remarkable words from the mouth of Joseph as the brothers who sold him into slavery in Egypt stand dumbfounded before him, fearing indeed for their own lives. And indeed Joseph may have been justified to command the ending of their lives to avenge his treatment at...

(Gn.41:55-57,42:5-7,17-24; Ps.33:2-3,10-11,18-19,22; Mt.10:1-7) "The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him." In our gospel, Jesus commissions the twelve apostles to go forth after "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" in order "to expel unclean spirits and cure sickness and disease of every kind" and bring His people into "the reign of God." In our first reading, we see that "famine had g...

(Gn.32:23-33; Ps.17:1-3,6-8,15; Mt.9:32-38) "You test my heart, searching it in the night." "You have contended with divine and human beings," the angel says of Jacob; and so he receives his new name, Israel: "he strives with God". Such striving with the Lord in this night which has set upon the earth is our lot in life. May we prevail upon Him as has Jacob. As he is about to reenter the Promised...

(Gn.28:10-22; Ps.91:1-4,14-15; Mt.9:18-26) "Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go." What the Lord says here to Jacob, He says indeed to all of us: He will protect us on our journey; let us but take refuge in Him. Our dearest Jesus is the abode of God, and in Him our souls are safe. As Jacob sets forth alone from the land of Canaan, he fears that he shall not return to this pl...

(Is.66:10-14c; Ps.66:1-7,16,20; Gal.6:14-18; Lk.10:1-12,17-20) "The Lord's power shall be known to His servants." Paul states: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus instructs: "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The bottom line is that "the laborer deserves his payment." The prosperity of Jerusalem shall flow "like a river" over those who work as l...

(Gn.27:1-5,15-29; Ps.135:1-6; Mt.9:14-17) "Pour new wine into new wineskins, and in that way both are preserved." "Jacob." The name means "the supplanter". Here he supplants his twin brother, Esau, whose name means "red earth". Though born second, Jacob receives the blessing of the firstborn. Of what significance is this supplanting, is this blessing of Jacob, who is to be "Israel", and from whom...

(Gn.23:1-4,19,24:1-8,62-67; Ps.106:1-5; Mt.9:9-13) "In his love for [Rebekah] Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah." And of this love Jacob shall be born; and from him shall come the twelve tribes of Israel, who shall people the earth as the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. Sarah had died and "Abraham had now reached a ripe old age." Now conscious of his mortality, Abraham...

(Gn.21:5,8-20; Ps.34:7-8,10-13; Mt.8:28-34) "When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him." Ishmael is the model of the afflicted man calling out to the Lord and being heard in all his distress. His very name means "he whom God hears" and indeed we see clearly today how, though "it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear [Abraham's] name," nonethel...

(Gn.19:15-29; Ps.26:2-3,9-12; Mt.8:23-27) "Even the winds and the sea obey Him." "The Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah," and "without warning a violent storm came up on the lake, and the boat began to be swamped by the waves." The Lord saved Lot from the destruction of Sodom, and Jesus calmed the winds and the sea, saving the disciples; but how little faith either showed in...

(Gn.18:16-33; Ps.103:1-4,8-11; Mt.8:18-22) "While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham." "Then Abraham drew nearer to Him…" A marvelous scene. First, as Abraham walks along with the Lord, we hear the Lord's thoughts. The Lord wishes to share His plans with him, not to act apart from His blessed one. He tells Abraham of the imminent destruction of So...

(Gn.18:1-15; Lk.1:46-50,53-55; Mt.8:5-17) "Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do?" Our theme again is faith. Do we believe as Abraham, as Mary, as the centurion? Only such trust will save us. In our first reading the Lord appears to Abraham. We have here the marvelous scene of faith being born, being conceived. Abraham sits patiently, waiting, praying – expectant of the Lord's return to con...

(Ez.34:11-16; Ps.23:1-6; Rm.5:5-11; Lk.15:3-7) "I have found my lost sheep." "We have found reconciliation" through the blood of Jesus Christ. So the Apostle Paul tells us, and so we know to the depths of our hearts, which are united to His Sacred Heart. Once we were sinners, scattered like sheep on the hillside, but the Lamb of God has come and died for us, and so we His scattered sheep are led h...

(Gn.16:1-12,15-16; Ps.106:1-5; Mt.7:21-29) "Anyone who hears my words but does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house on sandy ground." The Lord hears our words and answers our cries, but He is not so interested in these as in our listening to His voice and remaining obedient to Him. His desire is that we always strive to do His will; the recounting of our own deeds...

(Gn.15:1-12,17-18; Ps.105:1-4,6-9; Mt.7:15-20) "Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness." In our gospel today, Jesus teaches us, "You can tell a tree by its fruit." And what can we tell of Abram but that he is a bountiful tree, faithful and strong. Indeed, in his faith is his goodness, and in his children, who reach down even unto this day, his blessed fr...

(Gn.12:1-9; Ps.33:12-13,18-20,22; Mt.7:1-5) "The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him." There is a plank in our own eye; there is but a speck in our brother's. This is what the Lord sees. And this is what we see if we fear the Lord. If we fear the Lord, we remain humble before Him. If we fear the Lord, we will be released from judgment. If we fear the Lord, we indeed will be as Abram, foll...

(Gn.14:18-20; Ps.110:1-4; 1Cor.11:23-26; Lk.9:11b-17) "The Lord Jesus, on the night He was handed over, took bread, and, after He had given thanks, broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you.'" There is food for all, and it is ever available. The Lord feeds us with His own Body and Blood, and He is generous in giving His eternal self to us. Both eternal priest and victim "of God Most High...

(2Cor.12:1-10; Ps.34:8-13; Mt.6:24-34) "Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides." The call to treasure in heaven continues. What care we for the things of this earth? What is money, what are food and clothing to us? Indeed, they must not be our concern. And what matter to us is our bereavement of these things and other like afflictions...

(2Cor.11:18,21-30; Ps.34:2-7,18; Mt.6:19-23) "Store up heavenly treasure, which neither moths nor rust corrode nor thieves break in and steal." It is clear where Paul's treasure lies, and where it does not lie. In the litany of the sufferings and afflictions he has endured as a "minister of Christ," we understand without question his utter lack of concern for the things of this world. How could it...

(2Cor.11:1-11; Ps.111:1-4,7-8; Mt.6:7-15) "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." And what we need is to be holy as He is holy. And it is this we ask for in the Lord's Prayer. We simply seek to be like Him, and that all obstacles to holiness be removed from us. And like a loving father He meets our needs. And Paul is a father to the community at Corinth; he loves them "with the jealo...

(2Cor.9:6-11; Ps.112:1-4,9; Mt.6:1-6,16-18) "Keep your deeds of mercy secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." In the ground, hidden and secret, the seed is planted. From the womb of the earth it sprouts, and gives its yield. We plant the seed; God provides the seed. And it is through His power that anything which we plant grows and increases. So it is with our generous acts, as...