The BreadCast

(2Mac.6:18-31; Ps.3:2-8; Lk.19:1-10) "I fear not the myriads of people arrayed against me on every side." Zacchaeus' running up ahead and climbing a tree in order to be able to see Jesus as He passed along the way may not be a witness on the order of Eleazar, who "declared that above all he would be loyal to the holy laws given by God" and went willingly to torture and death, "leaving in his death...

O charitable soul who gave all you owned for the sake of the Gospel, though endowed with great riches you embraced lady poverty that you might serve the Lord with a heart beating for the poor. With your own hands you tended the sickest; into your own home you welcomed the most destitute – pray that in our small way we too may follow in the footsteps of Christ and give our lives to the poor whom He...

(1Mac.1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63; Ps.119:53,61,88,134,150,155,158; Lk.18:35-43) "Terrible affliction was upon Israel." Oh how the nation had become so blind. Oh how they had turned from their God. Some "preferred to die rather than be defiled with unclean food or to profane the covenant," but most ate freely of the poisonous fruit of the tree of abomination, and so became as the blind man begging b...

O blessed mystic of Jesus, you were saved by Him from a life of vain pursuit of the things and thoughts of this world to find union with His Sacred Heart, which holds all heavenly treasures. You see Him now (do you not, dear virgin?) in His perfection, even as you saw Him, though only in the shadow of vision, here upon this plane – pray we shall also know His blessed perfection, the beating of His...

O devout mother and queen whose concern was ever for your children and your people, that they might ever be fed in body and in soul and so grow unto the fullness of Christ – pray for us, O holy queen, that we the Lord's poor subjects might receive from His hand all we need to become His sons and daughters. In prayer and gratitude let us remain ever before His throne, that by such holy fear we migh...

(Mal.3:19-20; Ps.98:5-9; 2Thes.3:7-12; Lk.21:5-19) "For you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays." The end comes. The end of the Church year approaches, and the end of time is always upon us. What shall it mean for us, the fact that "there will not be left a stone upon another stone"? That day comes "blazing like an oven" for all evildoers, but for the just t...

O patron of scientists and philosophers, you of brilliant mind who taught with both human and divine wisdom, who led your students to deeper and purer understanding of God and His world and most especially His Church – pray we partake of your teaching this day, that the light you brought to the minds of your flock will not be lost or forgotten by eyes blind to the truth. Pray the word upon your so...

(Ws.18:14-16,19:6-9; Ps.105:2-3,5,36-37,42-43; Lk.18:1-8) "He led forth His people with joy; with shouts of joy, His chosen ones." "They beheld stupendous wonders." Before their eyes, "out of what had been water, dry land was seen emerging." And so, sheltered by the mighty hand of the Lord, they crossed over, from the land of bondage to freedom. And in their joy "they ranged about like horses, and...

(Ws.13:1-9; Ps.19:2-5; Lk.17:26-37) "Wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures gather." It is so that "the heavens proclaim the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork." It is true that "from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen." Yes, "the things seen are fair," and speak even of the glory of our God… but they shall indeed...

O mother of the faith and helper of the stranger in the New World, you sought with great diligence to preserve the true religion in a land hostile to Mother Church, to assist those in spiritual as well as physical need – pray a measure of your missionary spirit be poured out upon your daughters, upon the many houses you established and all those served by them. Pray the country you took to heart a...

(Ws.7:22-8:1; Ps.119:89-91,130,135,175; Lk.17:20-25) "Let your countenance shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes." Wisdom, who "is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars… reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well." Wisdom "penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity," for she is "the refulgence of eternal light." How like...

O shepherd thirsty for souls, whose only desire was the unity of the Church under Christ her King and on the Rock of Peter… for this cause you gave your life; for this call from the Lord you shed your blood – pray this day all may be one, that none shall shrink from fulfilling this desire of Jesus but by the power of the Holy Spirit work tirelessly and with great courage to slake the thirst of the...

(Ws.6:1-11; Ps.82:3-4,6-8; Lk.17:11-19) "Stand up and go your way; your faith has been your salvation." "This man was a Samaritan." Jesus chose the lowest of the low, not only a leper, the most ostracized of all individuals, but a Samaritan, a foreigner most despised by the Israelite nation, to reveal His mercy, to reveal the universal nature of His forgiveness, and so the universal call to salvat...

O sacrificial shepherd, you gave your life for your flock; a poor and humble man, you gathered the poor and humble of the Lord into the arms of His Church, where they might be fed with His grace. Ever with arms upraised you taught your people ever to pray and founded many houses of prayer; peace you brought to your church that all might serve the one true God – pray we shall be humble and lowly as...

(Ws.2:23-3:9; Ps.34:2-3,16-19; Lk.17:7-10) "The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment shall touch them." What does the Lord mean when He instructs us in our gospel to say, "We are useless servants," than that which David says in our psalm, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves," and that which the Book of Wisdom states in our firs...

O true Pastor of God's Church, defender of the faith from forces without and within her walls, you proved that this House founded by Christ the Lord shall never succumb to the powers of hell but ever stand strong against all tides of the world and the evil influence of the devil – pray though the flesh be weak, though every member be prone to sin, that all souls set on the Rock that is the bark of...

(Wis.1:1-7; Ps.139:1-10,24; Lk.17:1-6) "Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?" Yes, "wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemous of his guilty lips." For the spirit of the Lord is everywhere and hears everything, listening closely to a man's inmost thoughts. "For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says....

(Ez.47:1-2,8-9,12; Ps.46:1-3,5-6,8-9; 1Cor.3:9c-11,16-17; Jn.2:13-22) "There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High." On this the feast set aside to commemorate the cathedral of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, himself the founding stone upon which Christ builds His Church, we hear much of temples. In our first reading Ezekial sees in his vision, "water flo...

(Rm.16:3-9,16,22-27; Ps.145:1-5,10-11; Lk.16:9-15) "Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you." We are in the world, and amongst the wealth of this world. We have nothing to do with money and the world – "You cannot serve God and money," the Lord has told us, and so we cannot serve money… yet what have we to use but the riches of this world? And so "through u...

(Rm.15:14-21; Ps.98:1-4; Lk.16:1-8) "The worldly take more initiative than the otherworldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind." What is the Lord teaching His disciples? What does He wish to tell them of their call? We need only look at the Apostle Paul, for here is a man, a child of God, who has taken the initiative the Lord would see wrought in us all. Our first reading indeed speaks c...

(Rm.14:7-12; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; Lk.15:1-10) "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Since "every one of us will have to give an account of himself before God," who are we to "sit in judgment" or "look down on" a brother? Why are our eyes set upon others' sins instead of the Lord's glory? Why do we fall into this pit of condemnation? Yes, Jesus welcomes sinners. For this has He come. How bles...

(Rm.13:8-10; Ps.112:1-2,4-5,9; Lk.14:25-33) "Love is the fulfillment of the law." Jesus tells us, "None of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions," turning our backs even on father and mother, even on our very selves. Our psalm states of the happy man, "Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever." And Paul makes clear that we "owe no debt to anyo...

O defender of the Catholic faith in which all the saints make their home, O great pastor of souls, shepherd of Christ's flock, who would see all enter fully into the fold only the saints know – pray for the Lord's Church this day, that it shall never turn away from the Truth which is at its heart, from the Son of God who made it, forming it in His own blood; pray our souls be set on prayer to Him,...

(Rm.12:5-16; Ps.131:1-3; Lk.14:15-24) "Come along, everything is ready now." Dinner is being served now in the kingdom of God. But are we prepared to sit down at table? Or do we turn our hearts to other things? Jesus sets our place now in the kingdom of heaven. He has come. He has died. He has risen and sends now the Holy Spirit to invite us into His presence. And His presence is ever with us; He...

O humble and charitable soul whose healing hands served the poor and all those the Lord placed in your care, with great love you looked upon Christ on the Cross and in the Blessed Sacrament, and so sought to love your neighbor even as Jesus Himself – pray we shall somehow learn to put others before ourselves, that in this way, in the way of the Lord, we will truly love and serve God, knowing our s...