The BreadCast

(Sir.1:1-10; Ps.93:1-2,5; Mk.9:14-29) "There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon His throne: It is the Lord." "The Lord is King, in splendor robed," and He alone knows "wisdom's root" and all "her subtleties"; for it is He who created her and "poured her forth upon all His works." And so He alone, whose "throne stands firm from of old," He alone understands all things, and can an...

(1Sm.26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,12-13; 1Cor.15:45-49; Lk.6:27-38) "Who can lay hands on the Lord's anointed and remain unpunished?" This does David say of Saul the king of Israel – of him who has come into the desert to hunt David down and kill him – even as he stands beside a sleeping Saul, well able to "nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear." But even though it seems tha...

(1Pt.5:1-4; Ps.23:1-6; Mt.16:13-19) "On this rock I will build my Church." And Simon's name is changed to "Peter", which means "Rock", to signify that here is the chief shepherd of the Church, upon whom the Church on earth rests. It is he to whom Jesus gives "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Though all the apostles are given the power to bind and loose, it is Peter who leads – "a fellow elder"...

(Gn.11:1-9; Ps.33:10-15; Mk.8:34-9:1) "What profit does a man show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process?" Listen to what the men of old said among themselves at a time when "the whole world spoke the same language, using the same words." As they were migrating, they stopped in a valley and declared: "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky,...

(Gn.9:1-13; Ps.102:16-23,29; Mk.8:27-33) "The children of your servants shall abide, and their posterity shall continue in your presence." In our first reading from Genesis, God remakes the world. As once He sent forth Adam and Eve upon their creation, so now He blesses Noah and his sons with the same words: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth." Here we are reminded that "in the image of G...

(Gn.8:6-13,20-22; Ps.116:12-15,17-19; Mk.8:22-26) "Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up." A return to earth, the flood waters having ceased. A new day dawns in this "the first month, on the first day of the month." The world is made anew, and it shall last, and man shall last upon it, until the last day comes. Here is the second Creation, t...

(Gn.6:5-8,7:1-5,10; Ps.29:1-4,9-11; Mk.8:14-21) "The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the Lord, over vast waters." "Mighty" indeed is the voice of God, but who can hear it? Who listens to its "majestic" ringing in their ears? In the time of Noah the Lord's "heart was grieved," for He "saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but...

(Gn.4:1-15,25; Ps.50:1,8,14,16-17,20-21; Mk.8:11-13) "Sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master." Thus does the Lord encourage Cain not to hang his head at his failures in worship but to learn from his errors and be strong. Here already in Scripture we see how redemption is possible, how God gives us power to conquer sin. But Cain does not fight off the...

(Jer.17:5-8; Ps.1:1-4,6,40:5; 1Cor.15:12,16-20; Lk.6:17,20-26) "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all." For His reward is in heaven; His kingdom is not of the earth. And our faith is in His resurrection. It is not to this world we come, not in the things of the earth we make our boast, for he "who seeks his strength in flesh" is he "whose heart turns...

(Gn.3:9-24; Ps.90:1-6,12-13; Mk.8:1-10) "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." Because of the fall we come face-to-face with this truth: our own mortality, our own humility, that we are but a creature made from the dust of the earth. And this truth we must understand. Because we have "eaten from the tree of which [God] had forbidden [us] to eat," "thorns and thistles" the earth brings forth...

(Gn.3:1-8; Ps.32:1-2,5-7; Mk.7:31-37) "The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked." How different this opening of the eyes of Adam and Eve is from the opening of the deaf man's ears in our gospel; for our first parents' eyes were opened unto blindness, but the deaf mute's ears and tongue only to light. Why this difference? Why such contrast in the freeing of the s...

(Gn.2:18-25; Ps.128:1-5; Mk.7:24-30) "A man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." And Jesus leaves His Father's side and His mother's care, and takes to wife His chosen people. From His side indeed we are born, and become His holy family. To the "sons of the household" Jesus comes; among the Israelites He walks, calling them to His table to eat...

(Gn.2:4-9,15-17; Ps.104:1-2,27-30; Mk.7:14-23) "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being." In addition, "out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food." These would feed the body of the man. But only spirit feeds the soul. Body and soul. They meet...

(Gn.1:20-2:4; Ps.8:2,4-9; Mk.7:1-13) "God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him." At God's word "the water teem[s] with an abundance of living creatures… birds fly beneath the dome of the sky," and "the earth bring[s] forth all kinds of living creatures," too. And "God saw how good it was." Then God conceived the crown of His creation and said, "Let us make man in our image,...

(Gn.1:1-19; Ps.104:1-2,5-6,10,12,24,31,35; Mk.6:53-56) "How manifold are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all." It is the Lord who "fixed the earth upon its foundation not to be moved forever," and "with the ocean, as with a garment [He] covered it" – "the earth is full of His creatures." By the Word of His mouth all comes into being, and is sustained, sustained in the goodness...

(Is.6:1-2a,3-8; Ps.138:1-5,7-8; 1Cor.15:1-11; Lk.5:1-11) "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "the voice of the Lord" asks in the presence of the angels and Isaiah. "Here I am… send me!" is the prophet's response. And so this "man of unclean lips" having been purged of his uncleanness by an ember from the altar of God is ready to speak...

(Heb.13:15-17,20-21; Ps.23:1-6; Mk.6:30-34) "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." All things are cared for by the Lord; our work and our rest are in His hands. Nothing need we fear. No good desire goes unfulfilled – His sheep He loves. Brothers and sisters, "through Christ may [the God of peace] carry out in you all that is pleasing to Him." Let Him guide you "in right paths" for the accomp...

(Heb.13:1-8; Ps.27:1,3,5,8-9; Mk.6:14-29) "I will never desert you, nor will I forsake you." A series of parallels we have today between our first reading and our gospel. Paul instructs us in his letter to the Hebrews not to "neglect to show hospitality" to our "fellow Christians," since we may be "entertain[ing] angels" thereby; but it is not angels Herod entertains at his birthday banquet, and a...

(Heb.12:18-19,21-24; Ps.48:2-4,9-11; Mk.6:7-13) "You have drawn near to MountZion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…" "…to the assembly of the first-born enrolled in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks more eloquently than that of Abel." Alleluia! "Great is t...

(Heb.12:4-7,11-15; Ps.103:1-2,13-14,17-18; Mk.6:1-6) "Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; He scourges every son He receives." Like His only Son we must be. For without discipline where would we be? Apart from the Lord's chastising hand, into what state would we fall? Without the cross, how could we find the kingdom? If the Lord did not scourge us, we would be blind as His countrymen in our gospel...

(Heb.12:1-4; Ps.22:26-28,30-32; Mk.5:21-43) "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith." Like the woman in our gospel who saw Him in the crowd and with great confidence made her way toward Him but to reach out and "touch His clothing," knowing in her heart that by this she "shall get well"; like the official of the synagogue who draws near and falls at His feet beggi...

(Heb.11:32-40; Ps.31:20-25; Mk.5:1-20) "They broke the jaws of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword…" In each of these descriptions of the powerful deeds of the men of old what is conquered is an instrument of death, and so what is indicated is the power of God – from whom these men derive their strength – to destroy death itself. This is made more obvious in the fact that "wom...

(Heb.11:1-2,8-19; Lk.1:68-75; Mk.4:35-41) "Why are you so terrified? Why are you lacking in faith?" "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see," our brother Paul would have us know, and realize. We all hope for something; there is ever something we all long to see. The eyes are set in the front of the human head and always he is looking at...

(Heb.10:32-39; Ps.37:3-6,23-24,39-40; Mk.4:26-34) "You need patience to do God's will and receive what He has promised." Brothers and sisters, "we are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live." Whatever "great contest[s] of suffering" may be before us or behind us or upon us even now, we do not "surrender [our] confidence" in the Lord but stand strong, endu...

(Heb.10:19-25; Ps.24:1-6; Mk.4:21-25) "Since we have a great high priest who is over the house of God, let us draw near in utter sincerity and absolute confidence." Let us shine our light without fear, for it is the light of the Lord and cannot be removed. "Let us hold unswervingly to our profession which gives us hope, for He who made the promise deserves our trust." Do you think He will fail you...