The BreadCast

(1Kgs.12:26-32,13:33-34; Ps.106:4,6-7,19-22; Mk.8:1-10) "Whoever desired it was consecrated and became a priest of the high places." For this sin "the house of Jeroboam… was to be cut off and destroyed from the earth." Not only will their king be so punished, but the whole Israelite nation will find the wrath of the Lord for such idolatrous action. Not learning from their forefathers, whom the Lor...

(1Kgs.11:29-32,12:19; Ps.81:9-15; Mk.7:31-37) "My people heard not my voice, and Israel obeyed me not; so I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts." The Lord has said, "There shall be no strange god among you nor shall you worship an alien god," but the people did not listen. Led by their corrupted king, "they walked according to their own counsels" and took to themselves the perverse gods w...

(1Kgs.11:4-13; Ps.106:3-4,35-37,40; Mk.7:24-30) "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." Jesus speaks these words to a foreign woman, a pagan Greek, who "beg[s] Him to expel the demon from her daughter." They seem harsh. Some may interpret them so. After all, in our gospel we find Jesus traveling to the northernmost part of Israel where "He retired to a certain...

O lovely Lady who appeared to Bernadette, Mary, Blessed Virgin and Mother of our Lord – let our eyes, too, see your beauty and hear your voice calling us to pray for sinners, calling us to come to you with our prayers and to wash ourselves clean in the water you provide through Jesus your Son. O Immaculate Conception, so pure, so full of grace, cleanse all our sickness from us; let us be immersed...

(1Kgs.10:1-10; Ps.37:5-6,30-31,39-40; Mk.7:14-23) "The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom and his tongue utters what is right." Today in our readings we have a passage to illustrate the great extent of the wisdom and riches of King Solomon. "The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame, [comes] to test him with subtle questions." She had not believed the report she'd heard of him, but hav...

O innocent soul, pure as an angel, meek as a lamb, from slavery you were taken to the house of God, where freedom you found in faith in the Lord – pray for the freedom of all slaves chained in soul or body, that they shall be released from the snares of this world to walk at liberty with Jesus. Pray His goodness reign in all His children, in all who would be gentle as this Lamb; may all those in n...

(1Kgs.8:22-23,27-30; Ps.84:2-5,10-11; Mk.7:1-13) "Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth?" Well does Solomon do in stating, "If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!" For though the Lord will heed Solomon's prayer and "listen to the petitions of [His] servant and of [His] people Israel which they offer in this place," He...

(1Kgs.8:1-7,9-13; Ps.132:6-10; Mk.6:53-56) "Let us enter into His dwelling, let us worship at His footstool." "Advance, O Lord, to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty." Yes, in our first reading, "the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes" come to bring the ark of the Lord into the temple Solomon has built in Jerusalem. "For the occasion [they] sacrificed before the ar...

O innocent soul, pure as an angel, meek as a lamb, from slavery you were taken to the house of God, where freedom you found in faith in the Lord – pray for the freedom of all slaves chained in soul or body, that they shall be released from the snares of this world to walk at liberty with Jesus. Pray His goodness reign in all His children, in all who would be gentle as this Lamb; may all those in n...

O soldier for the Lord and servant of the poor who trusted in God alone and gave your life for those in need – may we, too, become friends of the one Lord, purified of all dross by the trials we endure and by doing His will in this world. His children let us become as we care for the children most in need, those who seem abandoned by Him. His hands and His heart let us be, that in such love we sha...

"Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." And how shall "your light break forth like the dawn" except that you "share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own." Indeed, you must "remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, an...

(1Kgs.3:4-13; Ps.119:9-14; Mk.6:30-34) "He began to teach them at great length." "Who is able to govern this vast people of yours?" Solomon asks in his plea to God for wisdom. And "upon disembarking Jesus saw a vast crowd" who "were like sheep without a shepherd," our gospel tells us. The apostles have just "returned to Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and what they had taught," ho...

O proclaimers of the faith even unto death, death on a cross, you who have followed in the way of our Lord so completely, loving your enemies even as they killed you, encouraging your brothers even with your last breath – may the blood you shed not be forgotten by those of the nation in which you preached and by all souls who seek God; may it nourish the land and bring it to bear much fruit unto H...

(Sir.47:2-11; Ps.18:31,47,50-51; Mk.6:14-29) "Herod feared John, knowing him to be an upright and holy man." O how the Lord has given power to His great men. It is He who "gave great victories to [the] king." David "called upon the Most High God, who gave strength to his right arm"; and as David "made sport of lions as though they were kids," as he "slew the giant" and his "tens of thousands" in b...

O good child of God who gave your life so willingly for the sake of Christ and so wore His holy blood upon your robes, you who were blessed to remain ever faithful to the Lord even as those around you turned from His presence – pray for us this day that our lives too may be holy and blessed as your own, that we too might give witness to the Lord with the same pure love you did so readily show. Pra...

(1Kgs.2:1-4,10-12; 1Chr.29:10-12; Mk.6:7-13) "Yours, O Lord, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all." Solomon begins his reign, and the apostles begin their mission. But how different is their manner of rule. Solomon sits in sovereignty upon a throne, while the apostles are sent in poverty to all towns. Solomon's reign is of the physical universe, with the riches of the world at his...

(2Sm.24:2,9-17; Ps.32:1-2,5-7, Mk.6:1-6) "I acknowledged my sin to you; my guilt I covered not." The Lord can heal only those who believe in Him, who turn to Him in their guilt to be saved. David has sinned against the Lord once again. His kingdom had been blessed by the Lord and was flourishing in His sight. Rather than accept the blessings the Lord poured upon him and so find their increase, the...

O bringer of light to many nations, you who struggled on for the souls placed in your care that all might know the Christ for whom you toiled, endlessly seeking to convert obstinate hearts – may your zeal inspire missionaries this day to go forth selflessly proclaiming the Gospel to all, bearing witness to the Lord in the cross they bear in season and out of season; whether producing much fruit or...

O shepherd whom we invoke for the healing of throats, you who suffered torments for the sake of the Name and embraced death as leader of His flock – open our throats to speak of Jesus, to declare His goodness and glory, the salvation that comes only through Him. Let us not fear our persecutors nor shrink from the threats of the mighty but stand fast in the Lord's healing grace, confident that His...

(2Sm.18:9-10,14,24-25,30-19:3; Ps.86:1-6; Mk.5:21-43) "Hearken, O Lord, to my prayer, and attend to the sound of my pleading." Today in our readings we hear of desperate pleas made to the Lord. In our gospel there are at least two "earnest appeal[s]": Jairus "fell at [the] feet" of Jesus and begged Him to heal his dying daughter; and without words the woman "who had been afflicted with a hemorrhag...

(Mal.3:1-4; Ps.24:7-10; Heb.2:14-18; Lk.2:22-40) "Suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek." "And He will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord." "To expiate the sins of the people" He has come – to bring us light. But to do this "He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every way"; He had to "sha...

(Jer.1:4-5,17-19; Ps.71:1-6,15,17; 1Cor.12:31-13:13; Lk.4:21-30) "I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." When God calls Jeremiah to prophesy "against Judah's kings and princes, against its priests and people," He tells him to "gird [his] loins" and commands: "Be not crushed on their account." For though his people "will fight against" him, they shall "not prevail over" him. The Lord makes J...

O teacher and father of the children in your care, in whose hands they were not abandoned but held in patience by Christ's love – teach us, too, to have that same patience, to have that same love for those the Lord places in our care, that anger shall be banished from our hearts and our minds, that the wisdom of Christ's sacrifice you taught and lived we too might embody, and so serve in raising t...

(2Sm.12:1-7,10-17; Ps.51:12-17; Mk.4:35-41) "I have sinned against the Lord." David is the man who "took the poor man's ewe lamb and made a meal of it for his visitor." To feed his lust he has feasted on another man's wife. And he sees the injustice of this; he recognizes his guilt when his sin is exposed. But why has he done it? "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this merits death!" And so...

(2Sm.11:1-10,13-17; Ps.51:3-7,10-11; Mk.4:26-34) "The seed sprouts and grows without his knowing how it happens." Jesus in our gospel tells us of the kingdom of God and of its gradual growth without our knowing. Seed is scattered, the Word is sown in our souls, and as we "[go] to bed and [get] up day after day," remaining in the presence of the Lord, good fruits little by little reveal themselves...