The BreadCast

(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 “lab...

(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, despit...

(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...

(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,...

(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 b...

(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 ag...

(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 childre...

(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.”  W...

(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...

(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 fulfi...

(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 po...

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 fa...

(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 abundantl...

(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...

(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,...

(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 n...

(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...

(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...

(Lv.23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37;   Ps.81:2-6,10-11;   Mt.13:54-58)   “Offer as an oblation to the Lord holocausts and cereal offerings, sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day.”   Our first reading and our psalm speak and sing of the honor due our God.  The Lord outlines for Moses “the festivals of the Lord” which must be celebrated “at the proper time with a sacred assembly,” and our ps...

(Ex.40:16-21,34-38;   Ps.84:2-6,8,11;   Mt.13:47-53)   “The cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling.”   The Dwelling is the Tabernacle of God, the place in which the ark of the covenant holding the Ten Commandments was housed; and so it was God’s dwelling-place.  And when this cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set forth; and when the cloud...

(Ex.34:29-35;   Ps.99:5-7,9;   Mt.13:44-46)   “The skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord.”   His face shining like the pearl of great price, with whom he speaks, Moses comes down from the mountain carrying the Ten Commandments.  Here is a great treasure in His hands, which he has given up all to find.  But, of course, the greater treasure is the Word of God from whic...

(Ex.33:7-11,34:5-9,28;   Ps.103:6-13;   Mt.13:36-43)   “The angels will hurl them into the fiery furnace where they will wail and grind their teeth.”   It is the justice of God which is our theme today.  And though it is absolutely certain that the mercy of God far surpasses our merit and He does not “requite us according to our crimes,” yet it is equally so – and Jesus could not make it more expl...

(Ex.32:15-24,30-34;   Ps.106:1,19-23;   Mt.13:31-35)  “Eventually the whole mass of dough began to rise.”  The kingdom of God comes gradually, grows imperceptibly; from the smallest of seeds it becomes “the largest of plants,” and “the birds of the sky come and build their nests in its branches.”  Indeed, this yeast is kneaded into our hearts, and by its grace we rise gradually unto the form heave...

(Ex.24:3-8;   Ps.50:1-2,5-6,14-15;   Mt.13:24-30)   “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do.”   But will they?  Who among them will remain faithful to the covenant they make with God?  All the Israelites vow as one to follow “the words and ordinances of the Lord,” yet only two men shall come from the desert and enter the Promised Land.  Their children shall exhibit greater fidelity, but t...

(Ex.19:1-2,9-11,16-20;   Dn.3:52-56;   Mt.13:10-17)   “Blest are your eyes because they see and blest are your ears because they hear.”   Jesus tells us today, “Many a prophet and many a saint longed to see what you see but did not see it, to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”  How blessed are we, for the light of His face now shines upon us, for His teaching is now in our ears. With fear an...