The BreadCast

(1Jn.2:22-28;   Ps.98:1-4;   Jn.1:19-28) “Remain in the Son and in the Father.” In our gospel John the Baptist tells the priests and Levites sent by the Pharisees, “There is… one who is to come after me – the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.”  This Messiah has come, “The Lord has made His salvation known: in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice,” David proclaims i...

(1Jn.2:18-21;   Ps.96:1-2,11-13;   Jn.1:1-18)   “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”   And we must dwell with Him, remaining in His light, walking in His way.  “Through Him all things came into being,” and we who have come into being by Him, “who believe in His name,” must “become children of God.” In our first reading, John warns against the antichrists who come in this “final...

(1Jn.2:12-17;   Ps.96:7-11;   Lk.2:36-40)   “The world with its seductions is passing away but the man who does God’s will endures forever.”   Upon what is your eye fixed?  Do you seek the Lord as has Anna these many years, “constantly in the temple, worshiping day and night in fasting and prayer,” or are you seduced by “carnal allurements, enticements for the eye, the life of empty show.”  Indeed...

(1Jn.2:3-11;   Ps.96:1-3,5-6,11;   Lk.2:22-35)   “The way we can be sure we are in union with Him is if one who claims to abide in Him conducts himself just as He did.”   “The darkness is over and the real light begins to shine,” and we must live in that light.  “My eyes have witnessed your saving deed displayed for all peoples to see,” declares Simeon in his prophecy over the Christ child.  “In a...

(2Sm.7:1-5,8-12,14,16;   Ps.89:2-5,27,29;   Lk.1:67-79)   “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever.”   The Lord builds a house for us; He is that House. “Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations,” the Lord promises David, and accomplishes His word by Himself entering the line of the king.  Thus “He has visited and ransomed His people.  He has rais...

(Mal.3:1-4,23-24;   Ps.25:4-5,8-10,14,Lk.21:28;   Lk.1:57-66)   “His name is John.”   Yes, “the hand of the Lord [was] upon him,” whose name signifies the grace of God, who comes at the end of the age to turn men’s hearts back to God, who prepares the way we must walk to find the instruction and purgation of the Lord. We must be purified by “the refiner’s fire.”  We must be purged of all dross “li...

(1Sm.1:24-28;   1Sm.2:1,4-8;   Lk.1:46-56)   “His mercy is from age to age on those who fear Him.”   The Magnificat of Mary mirrors but, if I may say, far surpasses the Canticle of Hannah in beauty, in wonder, in grace… even as the perfection of the Son she bears far exceeds the blessing of the prophet Samuel.  As Jesus brings to fulfillment the greatness of all who came before Him, so Mary’s song...

(Is.7:10-14;   Ps.24:1-7,10;   Lk.1:26-38)   “Blessed are you among women.”   “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name Him Immanuel because ‘God is with us.’”  “The virgin’s name was Mary.”  And she has given birth to the Savior. “Who may stand in His holy place?” King David sings in our psalm.  “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?”  Clearly Jesus is He.  But as clear is...

(Jgs.13:2-7,24-25;   Ps.71:3-6,8,16-17;   Lk.1:5-25) “From my mother’s womb you are my strength.”  How the above line from our psalm is reflected both in Samson and in John, and how parallel are the lives of these two great men.  Of John it is said, “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb”; of Samson, “This boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb” and “The Spirit of th...

(Jer.23:5-8;   Ps.72:1,7,12-13,18-19;   Mt.1:18-24)   “He will save His people from their sins.”   Each of our readings today mentions the salvation of our Lord.  The above quote is from our gospel; our psalm states, “The lives of the poor He shall save”; and in our first reading it says, “In His days Judah shall be saved.”  The very name “Jesus” – as given to Joseph by the angel of the Lord – mea...

(Gn.49:2,8-10;   Ps.72:3-4,7-8,17;   Mt.1:1-17)   “May He rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”   Since “the scepter shall never depart from Judah,” the reign of Jesus, His descendant, His fulfillment, is without end – He is King forever.  And so, “tribute is brought to Him, and He receives the peoples’ homage,” which is in itself their salvation. Who is this Lion of...

(Zep.3:1-2,9-13;   Ps.34:2-3,6-7,17-19,23;   Mt.21:28-32)   “I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord.”   All have been “rebellious and polluted”; all have been as she who “hears no voice” and “accepts no correction.”  But the Lord now comes to “change and purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call upon the name of...

(Nm.24:2-7,15-17;   Ps.25:4-9;   Mt.21:23-27)   “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.”   And the light of that star is reflected in the eyes of Balaam, who, though a pagan, is gifted by God with the clear vision to see the beauty and wonder of “Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,” “like gardens beside a stream,” “like the cedars planted by the Lord.”  And as He is seen...

(Sir.48:1-4,9-11;   Ps.80:2-4,15-16,18-19;   Mt.17:10-13)   “Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace.”   Elijah has come, to “restore everything.”  The word has fallen like fire from heaven to prepare a path for the Lord to tread.  The Baptist has cried out as a voice in the wilderness for us to make our hearts ready for the coming of the Lord. But, sadl...

(Is.41:13-20;   Ps.145:1,8-13;   Mt.11:11-15)   “I will make you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged.”   A “worm” and a “maggot” are we.  We are “the afflicted and the needy [who] seek water in vain, [our] tongues… parched with thirst.”  But holding our right hand, the Lord speaks to us: “Fear not, I will help you.”  “I will open up rivers on the bare heights…  I will turn the desert...

(Is.40:25-31;   Ps.103:1-4,8,10;   Mt.11:28-30) “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” How we do become “weary and find life burdensome.”  How we can “faint and grow weary,” “stagger and fall” from the burden of sin and our inherent weakness.  But oh how “He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak He makes vigor abound.”   For indeed He is the creator of the universe – “by His great might and...

(Is.40:1-11;   Ps.96:1-3,10-13,Is.40:10;   Mt.18:12-14)   “Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers His lambs.”   His is the voice which “speak[s] tenderly to Jerusalem.”  It is He who “give[s] comfort to [His] people.”  For “it is no part of [the] heavenly Father’s plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief.” Like a shepherd He leads us.  With great con...

(Is.30:19-21,23-26;   Ps.147:1-6,Is.30:18;   Mt.9:35-10:1,6-8)   “On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of His people, He will heal the bruises left by His blows.”   “Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons.”  With these words Jesus sends His disciples forth proclaiming, “The reign of God is at hand!” The prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled.  The Savior has come.  The Tea...

(Is.29:17-24;   Ps.27:1,4,13-14;   Mt.9:27-31)   “The eyes of the blind shall see.”   O “that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple.”  That out of “gloom and darkness” I might be taken, and come “to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”  That I could feel His hands touch my eyes, that I might have the faith to believe they shall be open to His glory...

(Is.26:1-6;   Ps.118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27;   Mt.7:21,24-27)   “Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal rock.”   Sand or rock?  Upon which do we build our house?  If we “take refuge in the Lord” and enter “the gates of justice,” we shall find salvation in the Lord’s kingdom; if we “trust in man” and “princes,” we shall be leveled with the dust – our house shall collapse and we be “comple...

(Is.25:6-10;   Ps.23:1-6;   Mt.15:29-37)   “The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.”   And He will heal us.  And He will lead us.  And He will feed us. Jesus went up onto a mountainside along the Sea of Galilee and sat down to teach and to heal.  The sick were laid at His feet.  Isaiah says, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples.”  This mountain is the Lord.  It...

(Is.11:1-10;   Ps.72:1,7-8,12-13,17;   Lk.10:21-24) “The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea.” And so, “there shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. The vision is sure: “The wolf shall be the guest of the lamb… the lion shall eat hay like the ox… the child shall lay his hand on the adder’s lair,” for all shall live as one in the Spir...

(Is.2:1-5 or Is.4:2-6;   Ps.122:1-9;   Mt.8:5-11 I shall treat of both first readings)   “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!”   For it shall come.  “The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain….  All nations shall stream toward it,” and there the Lord will give judgment.  And His judgment will cause the banishment of war, for all shall be one in Him, and to all He s...

(Dn.7:15-27;   Dn.3:59,82-87;   Lk.21:34-36)  “The day I speak of will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth.”  And so we must “pray constantly for the strength to escape whatever is in prospect, and to stand before the Son of Man.” The vision is explained to Daniel, and really it is quite simple: evil shall come, but good shall triumph in the end.  Kingdoms of the Beast, of the evil on...

(Dn.7:2-14;   Dn.3:59,75-81;   Lk.21:29-33) “The beast was slain and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.” Daniel prophesies the coming of pagan empires in his vision of the four beasts.  The vision is, in short, an overview of the coming salvation. Notice that even as Daniel watches the beasts emerge with their horns and tusks and great iron teeth, even as he watches these terrible creat...