The BreadCast

O great defender of the Mother of God and of the faith itself, courageously you declared that Jesus is God indeed, become Man in Mary His Mother; this you made plain for all to see, O shepherd of the people of God, that truth might reign and the Virgin might find her proper place among us – pray, O brave teacher, that we shall not be afraid to proclaim the truths inscribed by the Spirit upon the h...

(Lam.2:2,10-14,18-19; Ps.74:1-7,19-21; Mt.8:5-17) "It was our infirmities He bore, our sufferings He endured." And oh how deep are those sufferings; "great as the sea is [our] downfall." And graphically are they seen in the destruction of Jerusalem; sharply they pierce the flesh of the Son. Yes, the Lord "has torn down in His anger the fortresses of daughter Judah… On the ground in silence sit the...

(2Kgs.25:1-12; Ps.137:1-6; Mt.8:1-4) "Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the last of the people remaining in the city." And so the exile is complete. Not a soul remains in the holy city. And their captors "burned the house of the Lord, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem." Not a stone is left standing one upon another. Not even the government appointed by th...

(2Kgs.24:8-17; Ps.79:1-5,8,9; Mt.7:21-29) "The rains fell, the torrents came, the winds blew and lashed against his house. It collapsed under all this and was completely ruined." Yes, "the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege," and "Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother, his ministers, officers, and functionaries, surrendered...

O greatest of men born of woman, before you were formed in the womb the Lord called you; while still in this cave you leapt for joy at His presence come to you… a sharp, two-edged sword He made you to hail the coming Messiah, the Light in our midst, the New Covenant born of the Old – how shall we humble ourselves as you have done; how shall our call be realized in flesh and blood as was your own?...

(Is.49:1-6; Ps.139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26: Lk.1:57-66,80) "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." The voice of one crying in the wilderness, he who hails the coming of the Lord, is born today. This voice speaks of the Word among us. And from before his birth he is called, in the womb he is formed, to proclaim with the sword of truth God's s...

(2Kgs.19:9-11,14-21,31-36; Ps.48:2-4,9-11; Mt.7:6,12-14) "I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David." Brothers and sisters, "renowned is He as a stronghold," the Lord our God. And faithfully does He watch over His chosen one. Our psalmist proclaims, "Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God." He extols the glory of Mount Zion, o...

O kings of martyrdom who indeed laid down your very lives rather than heed the dictates of an evil emperor, whose loyalty to the Lord and the Church He established stands unparalleled, your defense of the faith and conscience written in the blood you shed – pray that the mediocrity, the utter inability to stand for truth in this relativist age, will be defeated by souls founded firmly in the Spiri...

O lover of poverty who gave up great wealth to find her abiding within the walls of your heart, a heart which turned thus to God's people and the shepherding of them with great care – pray that we too may hear and come to realize in our lives the call of our Lord to give up all things for the sake of the kingdom, to be attached to nothing but service of the poor, service of God Himself in the humb...

(2Kgs.17:5-8,13-15,18; Ps.60:3-5,7,12-13; Mt.7:1-5) "In His great anger against Israel, the Lord put them away out of His sight." Jesus instructs His disciples today, "If you want to avoid judgment, stop passing judgment." In other words, "Judge not and you shall not be judged." Here is the prerequisite not only for avoiding judgment and condemnation at the hand of God, but also for assisting and...

O patron of youth whose innocence was unsurpassed, whose desire to give yourself to the Lord in poverty and purity led you to relinquish your wealth in this world at a tender age that you might embrace Jesus fully – pray for the youth of our day and the child in each of our souls, that all might turn away from the temptations which surround and threaten to enter and enslave; let all turn toward th...

(Jer.20:10-13; Ps.69:8-10,14,17,33-35; Rom.5:12-15; Mt.10:26-33) "For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face." Jeremiah "hear[s] the whisperings of many" who seek to "denounce him"; those who "watch for any misstep" plot his destruction: "Perhaps he will be trapped, then we can prevail, and take our revenge on him." Like David he has "become an outcast to [his] brothers, a stranger to [...

(2Chr.24:17-25; Ps.89:4-5,29-34; Mt.6:24-34) "Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you." How quickly Joash the king of Judah, who so recently had restored true worship in the temple at Jerusalem, "transgress[es] the Lord's commands." After Jehoiada the priest died, the people "forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the ido...

O sign of perfect solitude who heeded so well the Lord's command to enter into your closet in order to pray, whose great measure of self-denial led you to the peak of contemplation in God's holy presence, whose only desire was that souls might draw close to Him – pray all who seek the Lord may approach Him with a whole heart, a heart set on Him alone, that in such perfect devotion all might find H...

(2Kgs.11:1-4,9-18,20; Ps.132:11-14,17-18; Mt.6:19-23) "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your body will be filled with light; if your eye is bad, your body will be in darkness." And "how deep the darkness" is upon Athaliah. For her eye is evil, her "light is darkness," as so desperately she seeks to "lay up for [herself] an earthly treasure" by unjust and murderous means. Seein...

(Sir.48:1-14; Ps.97:1-7,12; Mt.6:7-15) "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Our psalm sings of the greatness of our God; in our first reading we hear of how this greatness was revealed in the prophets Elijah and Elisha; and in the Lord's Prayer we call for this greatness to be present in our midst. "Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes round about," our psalmis...

(2Kgs.2:1,6-14; Ps.31:20-21,24-25; Mt.6:1-6,16-18) "As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." Jesus instructs us in our gospel, "Whenever you pray, go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private." This prescription the holy prophet Elijah fulfills in our first reading when he miraculousl...

(1Kgs.21:17-29; Ps.51:3-6,11,16; Mt.5:43-48) "Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me." We have hope, brothers and sisters; we have hope that the very depths of our sin and depravity against the Lord shall be forgiven, and we shall be made new, washed in His blood. For the Lord "sends His rain on the just and the unjust," and this He proves today in our readings. The Lord forgive...

(1Kgs.21:1-16; Ps.5:2-3,5-7; Mt.5:38-42) "I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." How divergent are the paths of Jezebel and Jesus. This Queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, holds the philosophy that if someone won't give you what you ask for, take it by force; whereas the Lord says if someone wishes to take something from you, give it and more. Here are the way of the world and th...

(Ex.19:2-6a; Ps.100:1-3,5; Rom.5:6-11; Mt.9:36-10:8) "I bore you up on eagle wings, and brought you here to myself." As the Lord rescued the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians and brought them into His presence in the desert of Sinai, so in the same way, in a full manner, "God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God loves us and draws us to Himself...

O Sanctuary of the Father, Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother of the Son of God who carried Him in your womb and contemplated Him in your heart – how shall we find Jesus within us; how shall we become the temples of the Spirit the Lord calls us all to be if you do not pray for us, if we are not formed in your womb, in the love with which you are blessed? Hold us in your soul, dear Mother, that our...

O gentle preacher of the Word, the fire of the Holy Spirit upon your soul for the conversion of heretics and the leading of all to God – hold us in your arms even as the infant Jesus who appeared to you along the way, and pray that the Word may be instilled in our hearts even as it was in your own, that we shall never go astray but always have the consolation of the Spirit of God and His love and...

(1Kgs.19:19-21; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-10; Mt.5:33-37) "I will follow you." Elisha gives His yes to Elijah, and so to God. He "kiss[es] [his] father and mother good-bye" and weds himself to the prophet who has thrown "his cloak over him." And he shall not turn back, shall not fall short of giving his entire self to the service of God, and so shall be greatly blessed. All he leaves behind. His very liveliho...

(Dt.7:6-11; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,17; 1Jn.4:7-16; Mt.11:25-30) "He has loved us and has sent His Son as an offering for our sins." Who better to hear from on this blessed feast than John, the Lord's beloved disciple, whose words indeed continually breathe the fact that "God is love" and who eternally exhorts us to "love one another." John cannot but speak of the love God has for His children and the lov...

O son of encouragement and of consolation in the Holy Spirit, you who were filled with faith and lived that faith for the Lord, giving up all things to bring His Name forth to the ends of the earth, calling all souls and confirming them in the truth by the authority of the risen Son – whose footsteps go forth today as did yours upon the birth of the Church; what souls are so blessed to be set apar...