The BreadCast

(Jgs.9:6-15; Ps.21:2-7; Mt.20:1-16) "The last shall be first and the first shall be last." Jesus, the Son of God and true King, who is first, has made Himself last, and so for His humility will be exalted forever; Abimalech, rebellious son of Gideon, who is least of all his brothers, has made himself first, and so will be humbled for his vain pride. In our first reading Jotham curses his brother A...

O priest of Jesus and Mary so dedicated to the Hearts of our Lord and Lady and the formation of your fellow priests, how well you preached of our need to be one with Christ our Head; with what zeal you cared for the poorest among us – pray that priests and indeed all Christians will have hearts and souls beating and breathing as one with the Lord, in union with our Blessed Mother; may all serve an...

(Jgs.6:11-24; Ps.85:9,11-14; Mt.19:23-30) "Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you." The world is at enmity with God. The kingdom of heaven is not as the kingdom of this earth, thus Jesus tells us that "the last shall come first." For though we pray the Lord's kingdom come now to this earth, it shall not be fulfilled until "the new age when the...

(Jgs.2:11-19; Ps.106:4,34-37,39-40,43-44; Mt.19:16-22) "They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the Lord." It is not long before the Israelites break their vows to the Lord, mingling with other nations and worshiping their idols. As soon as the generation which has known Joshua dies out, their children begi...

(Jer.38:4-6,8-10; Ps.40:2-4,14,18; Heb.12:1-4; Lk.12:49-53) "Though I am afflicted and poor, yet the Lord thinks of me." Persecution is necessarily a part of every Christian's life. Not many of us will struggle "to the point of shedding blood" as has Jesus, as has Paul, as have all the apostles; and not many of us will be thrown into muddy cisterns as is Jeremiah… but all will remain "afflicted an...

O faithful king, loyal son of MotherChurch and just ruler of your people, in peace and piety, humbly and honorably you executed your duties, never showing favor to anyone but always respecting all and maintaining above all the faith and the Church which propagates that faith in Christ – where is true Christian profession today, where those in positions of power truly dedicated to right service of...

(Jos.24:14-29; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-8,11; Mt.19:13-15) "We will serve the Lord, our God, and obey His voice." Like children we must come before the Lord and extol His holy Name. "Completely and sincerely" we must serve Him and He will place His hands upon our heads and bless us. And we will sing with David of the "fullness of joys in [His] presence, the delights at [His] right hand forever." We indeed wi...

O glorious Virgin Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of your conception and now raised with your Son unto Heaven, blessed are you among women, most blessed of all God's creatures; kept from all corruption, you His lowly servant now reign with Jesus in His kingdom – pray all generations will call you blessed that all may indeed share in your blessing and come by the grace of the Lord to stand...

(Rv.11:19a,12:1-6a,10ab; Ps.45:10-12,16; 1Cor.15:20-26; Lk.1:39-56) "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." The Queen of Heaven here appears to us in her glory. She who has been taken up by her Son to His heavenly kingdom to stand at His side: "The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of...

O soldier of the Immaculate Virgin and martyr for our Lord, well you spread the fame of the Mother of all graces, calling all souls to repentance that she might apply her Son's blood to save the straying among us; and well you heeded our Savior's call to lay down your life for others – pray this day we have such strength, such conviction and determination in serving our Lord and Lady, in publishin...

(Jos.3:7-11,13-17; Ps.114:1-6; Mt.18:21-19:1) "My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." The forgiveness of sins and the crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land is our theme today. Both are very much one and the same. In our gospel Jesus tells the parable of the merciless servant in order to teach Peter and the apostles...

O brothers united in faith and in offering the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of that faith, for the sake of God's Church – pray nothing shall separate Christ's brothers one from another, but that all members of His flock and all those who lead His flock will remain ever united in His blood under the See of Peter. O pray that His Body not be divided but that it be healed, made whole by His Cross....

(Dt.34:1-12; Ps.66:1-3,5,8,16-17,20; Mt.18:15-20) "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants." The promise is coming to fulfillment; Moses looks out on the land the Lord so long ago vowed to give the great patriarchs. And though he shall not enter in and dwell there with the people, yet he has confidence that the promise shall be fulfilled....

O tireless worker for the Lord who when cut off from everything dearest to you gave yourself completely to God, you who have shown the way of the martyrdom of love, of dying entirely to self and serving our Savior in the sick and the poor, in whose guise He comes – pray our lives shall not wallow in mediocrity or sin; pray we shall have the same thirst for love as you, that by our love we may die...

(Dt.31:1-8; Dt.32:3-4,7-9,12; Mt.18:1-5,10,12-14) "It is the Lord who marches before you; He will be with you and never fail or forsake you." "Do not fear or be dismayed," little ones, the Lord is with us and watches over us. Just as it was He who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, so it is He who leads us now into His "heavenly reign." In our first reading the Israelites stand poised to a...

O bride of Christ whose poverty matched His own, whose humility made Him known, whose love indeed approached His throne and the embrace of His holy arms – pray all souls will gaze into the mirror that is our Lord born in a manger, dead upon a Cross, risen unto Heaven. Pray we shall be driven on through the death we all must die, through His marvelous poverty, His wondrous humility, to the indescri...

Dt.10:12-22; Ps.147:12-15,19-20; Mt.17:22-27) "In His love for your fathers the Lord was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples." The Israelites are the chosen race, and Jesus the Chosen One of that race. Upon them the blessing rests, and in the Son it is fulfilled. Our first reading tells us that the Lord is a great God, "who has no favorites,...

O generous soul, you gave your life freely to the poor and your death completely to the Lord; a grain of wheat fallen to the earth, you have indeed produced much fruit, so closely have you followed Christ – pray for us miserable souls who cannot seem to draw near your thorough sacrifice, made without fear of the fire ignited by your torturers, made in joy of uniting your death to Jesus' own. How s...

(Ws.18:6-9; Ps.33:1,12.18-20,22; Heb.11:1-2,8-19; Lk.12:32-48) "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." "Our soul waits for the Lord." Though we do not know the day or the hour of His return, we must always be ready for His coming. As the ancients, the Hebrew fathers and especially Abraham the father of faith himself, we must ever be seeking our heav...

O sacrificial victim seeking to bring peace to a dark world, you found your wisdom in love, in the love of Christ and in His Cross, and died three times for His sake: once in entering His Church, once in taking His habit, and once in laying down your life at the hands of the enemies of His peace – pray, O blessed teacher and sister to all men, that the death of this life be something we shall not...

(Dt.6:4-13; Ps.18:2-4,47,51; Mt.17:14-20) "Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies." In our first reading we hear the Shema, the great Commandment of the Mosaic Law – the Lord is God and we must love Him with all our being. Moses exhorts the people "not to forget to the Lord," who brought them out of slavery in the land of Egypt and is about to bless them abundantly in the Pr...

O humble preacher who walked in poverty with Christ your King and spoke in power to destroy lie by truth, you gathered men around you to be bearers of the grace of God, to be men of the Gospel inspired by love divine – pray we shall be taught well the faith and walk with you in Jesus' way, that all we do will be for the salvation of souls, our lives even as our Savior's. May His Word and deep love...

(Dt.4:32-40; Ps.77:12-16,21; Mt.16:24-28) "The Son of Man will come with His Father's glory accompanied by His angels." The Lord God came to "take a nation for Himself from the midst of another, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with His strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors." As He came with power to rescue the Israelites from the bonds of Egypt, so He will come at the e...

O reformer of the Church and leader of her priests and people, calling all to live the Gospel, to give their hearts in the service of Christ, who alone can save men's souls – pray that your love for the Lord and His holy Church will be known in all the members of His Body, and so that apostles will be sent forth to preach and to heal even this day. Pray we shall be one with Him who made us, eating...

O martyrs of the faith ordained by the Lord to shed blood for His sake and the sake of His Church, to give witness to the glory of Christ and so win the crown of eternal life… it is in your blood and by your sacrifice the Church has grown and become strong – pray it shall always stand firm in confessing the faith despite any threat from the powers of this world; pray every soul shall give his life...