The BreadCast

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...

(Nm.20:1-13; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; Mt.16:13-23) "'You are the Messiah,' Simon Peter answered, 'the Son of the Living God!'" With this response, because of this faith come from the "heavenly Father," Jesus declares to Peter, "You are 'Rock', and on this rock I will build my Church." He entrusts to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, with power to bind and loose. As from the rock Moses struck, "water gu...

(Dn.7:9-10,13-14; Ps.97:1-2,5-6,9; 2Pt.1:16-19; Mt.17:1-9 – Mk.9:2-10 – Lk.9:28b-36 Note: since the three gospel accounts vary only in detail, they are treated as one in this one exposition for the day) "I saw one like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven." Daniel's vision, as John's vision in the Book of Revelation, is perceived in the flesh by the three apostles on MountTabor, and is know...

(Nm.12:1-13; Ps.51:3-7,12-13; Mt.14:22-36) "The presence of the Lord he beholds." Throughout the history of salvation, the Lord chooses one man to lead His people. In the Old Testament times, this was Moses; in the New Testament times, it is Peter. Though it is always the Lord Himself who guides and teaches, He ever puts His Spirit upon one particular man to act in His stead. Those who do not foll...

O priest exemplar, O preacher and confessor extraordinaire, healer of souls who by prayer and penance was made holy unto God and brought others to that same holiness before the Lord and Maker of all poor souls – pray indeed this day that our hearts will be set on Heaven, that our longing will be for the Lord, and so that by prayer we shall come to union with Him. Pray all your fellow priests will...

(Nm.11:4-15; Ps.81:2,12-17; Mt.14:13-21) "Israel I would feed with the best of wheat." But the best of wheat they despise, and seek to satiate their appetite with meat. The blessed food from heaven, come from the hand of God, the Israelites soon grow tired of as they travel through the desert. Their stomachs cry out for earthly flesh. As our psalm tells us, the people "heard not" the voice of God...

(Ec.1:2,2:21-23; Ps.90:3-6,12-14,17,95:7-8; Col.3:1-5,9-11; Lk.12:13-21) "If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Yes, "all things are vanity!" without God. All is empty, for "like the changing grass" our life "wilts and fades"; we are turned "back to dust," and so what becomes of the earthly desires we pursue? Where do "immorality, imp...

O priest of the Blessed Sacrament, you gave your life in sacrifice at the altar of the Lord and in all the trials of this earth; you suffered all for Jesus and desired only to bring souls, all the children of God, to receive Him and His grace in the Sacrament of Communion, in oneness with our Lord – pray, O priest of Christ, that our very lives shall also be offered in sacrifice, especially in the...

O vigorous defender of the divinity of Christ, you who suffered exile for your work for the faith, you who had a true shepherd's heart and cared so deeply for the priests and people the Lord placed in your hands – pray the shepherds of the Church today will strive with your same selfless zeal to bring the love of the Son of God and the blessed demands of His call to every soul in their care, that...

(Lv.25:1,8-17; Ps.67:2-5,7-8; Mt.14:1-12) "It is really the number of crops he sells you." The earth is the Lord's; it is not our own. And it is only by His grace that we share the fruits of the land. "The earth has yielded its fruits; God, our God, has blessed us," our psalm declares. These fruits may be bought and sold, but the land is God's own. "In this year of jubilee, then, every one of you...