The BreadCast

(1Thes.3:7-13; Ps.90:3-4,12-14,17; Mt.24:42-51) "Stay awake, therefore! You cannot know the day your Lord is coming." And what is it to stay awake, to be ready, but to do as Paul exhorts the Thessalonians in our first reading: to continue to grow in holiness until that day we meet with the Lord. This is our essential call. Here we are, having been converted to the Lord, having found faith in God a...

O tearful mother whose persistent cries for the soul of your son were heard in time by the Lord our God and so led to his conversion, to his becoming not only a Catholic Christian but a bishop and doctor of the Church, a saint like yourself – pray for the prayers of all mothers who cry for their wayward sons; pray indeed that all souls may turn and come to know so deeply the love of our Lord and G...

1Thes.2:9-13; Ps.139:1,7-12; Mt.23:27-32) "Make your lives worthy of the God who calls you to His kingship and glory." God is our Father, and those who preach "God's good tidings" love us "as a father does his children," for their message is "not as the word of men" but truly "the word of God at work within [those] who believe." Come to the Lord's table. Eat of His Body, drink of His Blood. Become...

(1Thes.2:1-8; Ps.139:1-6; Mt.23:23-26) "First cleanse the inside of the cup so that its outside may be clean." The Lord rails against the Pharisees again today, calling them from false practice to genuine faith; and in Paul we again see the paragon of true ministry in the Lord's Name. In our gospel the Lord calls the Pharisees "frauds," for they have the appearance of holiness in clothing and post...

O guardian angel of poor children who formed them in the image of Christ, an education of body and soul you provided those most in need, those most impressionable and thirsting for the Lord's care, and led so many others in this work for the least of our brothers – pray we shall become fellow workers with Jesus in the cause of truth and teach with deep love, the greatest patience, and profound hum...

O loyal subject of the Lord and of His Church on earth, though a king you did not exalt yourself but listened rather to the words of your Savior and chose to serve Him, doing His work in this world: the poor you cared for, your children you raised in the teaching of Christ, and for all those in your reign you sought true justice and maintained concern for their spiritual welfare – pray we poor sou...

(1Thes.1:2-5,8-10; Ps.149:1-6,9; Mt.23:13-22) "You turned to God from idols, to serve Him who is the living and true God." Contrast is at the heart of today's readings again. The faith of the Thessalonians and the inspired preaching of Paul are in distinct opposition to the empty ways and words of the scribes and Pharisees. In our first reading Paul praises the Thessalonians, who are "laboring in...

O apostle of the Lamb, man without guile led by love to the Lord, you who declared Jesus Son of God and King of Israel, whose eyes of faith were illumined by angels' wings – pray we shall be found by the Christ under our fig tree in peace, in prayer, and carry with you His holy Gospel to the very ends of the earth. With you as a foundation stone, one of the Twelve, may the Bride of the Lamb be led...

(Is.66:18-21; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Heb.12:5-7,11-13; Lk.13:22-30) "People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God." "I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory," even those of "distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory," says the Lord. The Word goes forth. The...

O penitential soul whose eyes saw the Lord, whose ears heard His voice calling all to the Cross, obediently you accepted the afflictions that are necessary to attain union with God and His surpassing glory – pray that fearful souls like our own, which turn in complaint from every torment and trouble, however small, may be blessed with a measure of your selfless devotion, that the unfathomable trea...

(Ruth 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17; Ps.128:1-5; Mt.23:1-12) "The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest." Today we can contrast the faith of Ruth with the Pharisees' of Jesus' time. In our first reading, Ruth says to her mother-in-law Naomi, "Let me go and glean ears of grain in the field of anyone who will allow me that favor." She puts herself at ready service in all humility, despite the...

O Queen of Heaven and earth, you radiate the glory of God, for now you stand at His right Hand in the heavenly kingdom. Clothed with the sun, the moon under your feet and a crown of twelve stars upon your head, you give light to all souls who thirst for the grace our Lord and King pours upon us through your intercession. O how the angels rejoiced, how the heavens rang with praise when the Son led...

(Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22; Ps.146:2,5-10; Mt.22:34-40) "Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God." How well our readings harmonize this day. Jesus speaks plainly to the keepers of the law the greatest commandments – total love of God and neighbor – and Ruth puts them into practice for our witness. And our psalm sings the praises o...

O simple priest who became Shepherd of the universal Church and defended her with courage against the errors of the age, you did not waver before the powers that would dilute the purity of the teaching of our Mother but stood strong against the tide attempting to wash her away – are we not yet threatened by falsehood and sin being held up as good, and so do we not yet need your spirit and your pra...

(Jgs.11:29-39; Ps.40:5,7-10; Mt.22:1-14) "You have made a vow to the Lord. Do with me as you have vowed." As with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is blessed not so much for giving birth to Jesus – or consecrating herself to God as a virgin – as for hearing and doing the word of God, being the handmaiden of the Lord extraordinaire… so the Lord delights not in "sacrifice and oblation," per se, but in "...

O great light of the Church who by word and work inspired your brothers and so many others to a life of virtue, to peace and unity with one another and an abiding love for our Lord and His Mother – teach us this day, O blessed preacher, of the way in which Jesus calls us, of the life and love God offers if we but respond in kind in our weak and limited manner. To all souls in His holy Church and t...

(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...