The BreadCast

(Phil.3:17-4:1; Ps.122:1-5; Lk.16:1-8) "We have our citizenship in heaven." Brothers and sisters, we are not among "those who are set upon the things of this world." Always we must remember this. Though surrounded by worldly things, our hearts are not set upon them; rather, "we eagerly await the coming of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Our hearts are set upon heaven. Then what are we to do with "this lowly body of ours" as we long for the Lord to "remake it according to the pattern of His glorified body"? What purpose have we of heaven here upon this earth? Is there nothing for us to do with this old form that has been afforded us? Is emptiness all we are to know here? We must know and remember, brothers and sisters, that in this dark world we are called to light; we are called to "go up to the house of the Lord" even here where we stand. Is the Church not with us? And has not the Lord left His sacraments with her, that even now we may be transformed into the new creation He makes us? We do not wait in vain for our Savior to come; we do not sit empty here as we long for His Day. He is here now with a measure of His grace; "His power to subject everything to Himself" is already evident in our midst… and we must join with that power and work diligently to transform not only ourselves into the image of Christ, but the dark world we see around us as well. "Be imitators of me," Paul encourages his brother Philippians. In warning them against those who "go about in a way which shows them to be enemies of the cross of Christ," he exhorts them to be the cross's friend – to prove their mettle as they continue "to stand firm in the Lord." There are those for whom "their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame," and the "devious employee" of whom Jesus speaks may well be among these. But though we are called in no way to imitate his wickedness, yet we must see that he is given "credit for being enterprising" by the owner, despite the fact that he had been "dissipating his property." "Why?" indeed. And how can the Lord use an example such as this to teach us of the kingdom? Here the Lord employs great wisdom, and calls us to do the same. For He reveals to us how even in one destined to condemnation there is yet the spark of intelligence. ("I have it!" he declares, after taking consideration.) And should not this light of intelligence, which comes only from our Maker, be in us who are to be found entirely of light? And should we not bring the light of salvation through the gifts the Lord provides us even to those like this employee who are most in darkness? Should the devil control the things around us, the things here at our King's feet, or should we? Our citizenship in heaven requires us to employ its light here on this earth. There is much we owe our Master. Wise as serpents and harmless as doves let us be. ******* O LORD, we are citizens of your kingdom; help us on this earth to find our way to your House and remain there. YHWH, help us to stand firm in you and do your will, and so come to your holy kingdom. In the New Jerusalem let us make our home and not in this dark and empty world. If we could but be imitators of your Apostle, LORD, and so of your Son, carrying our cross eagerly as we await His coming; then we would hear you calling us to your House and rejoice in your glorious presence. Give us the wisdom, O LORD, to find our way to you, to do well your work upon this plane, our hearts not set on love of gain but making your blessing our only desire. O that we might be forgiven our debt even as we forgive those in debt to us and to you! Remake us in your image, LORD, in the image of your Son. Let us enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise your holy NAME. And help us to bring others to you and so finish the work Jesus has begun.

(Phil.3:3-8; Ps.105:2-7; Lk.15:1-10) "I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ." Paul tells us, "Those things I used to consider gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ." The "legal observance" he grasped so tightly – having been "circumcised on the eighth day," "a Hebrew of Hebrew origins," himself a Pharisee – he now looses to the wind, desiring only to be among those "who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus," and "seek[ing] to serve Him constantly." What matters but Jesus and His love, and "the judgments He has uttered"? But this justice those who remain as Paul was cannot begin to consider, for they say to themselves as Paul once said of himself: "I [am] above reproach when it [comes] to justice based on the law"… yet do they hold tightly to their fine legal observances, looking down upon those who are below their reproach and judging them all as loss, as wayward sheep destined for the fires of Gehenna. And this Man eats with them! But what is loss in their eyes becomes great gain in the eyes of God, for there is "more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent"; and the angels sing in praise as they see the Son of Man sitting and ministering to these sinners, drawing them, as He has been sent to do, into the kingdom's gates. The Lord "light[s] a lamp and sweep[s] the house in a diligent search" for straying souls. When He succeeds, He calls us all, saying, "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep." And will we be jealous of the Lord's discovery, as the Pharisees and scribes, or will we realize that we all have need of repentance, that we are all that lost sheep, that lost coin which the Lord treasures so once He holds it in His hand again? Brothers and sisters, it is in the Lord's hands we must always place ourselves; this is to be in the light of the surpassing knowledge of Christ. By our own hands, in our own wills – "putting our trust in the flesh" – what do we make but corruption, even as our first parents who desired so to hold the apple in their hands and eat it at their pleasure? In things themselves, and our willful manipulation of them, we find only a knowledge that brings death, that leads to darkness. And who will lead us out of such darkness? Jesus, who is Light. In trust in Him we realize we do not know the good we do, for all of any worth is of His making. And so all our desire is for knowledge of "the wondrous deeds that He has wrought" and forgetfulness of our sinful selves. Rejoice in the Lord's salvation! ******* O LORD, help us to repent of our sin and leave behind all things of the flesh, that we might live in the glory of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. YHWH, how you desire our repentance, our return to you. For this you send your only Son to sit among us and call us to your side – for this He shall even die. May the light He shines find a place in our hearts that we shall be found by Him and lifted up on His shoulders… that we might be raised to Heaven. We are all poor sinners, LORD, lost to ourselves and lost to you. We are all blinded by the things of this world and the pride we take in our work among them. And so, darkness overtakes us. Yet you call us to glory in you and in the wondrous deeds that you have wrought in your mercy. Yet we may be gathered into your arms and rejoice in your NAME. Yet if we listen to your Son we shall know redemption, we shall return to you. And you will rejoice with all your angels that we have come to you, that we have found your glory. Our joy will be your joy, good God, for your love will be our own.

O defender of the Catholic faith in which all the saints make their home, O great pastor of souls, shepherd of Christ's flock, who would see all enter fully into the fold only the saints know – pray for the Lord's Church this day, that it shall never turn away from the Truth which is at its heart, from the Son of God who made it, forming it in His own blood; pray our souls be set on prayer to Him, our minds on meditation on His life, that nothing may distract us from His holy presence within the walls of Mother Church and within our own hearts.

(Phil.2:12-18; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; Lk.14:25-33) "Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation." Strive we must always to attain the kingdom of God, setting our hearts on salvation alone, and trusting in the Lord all the while. "If one of you decides to build a tower, will he not first sit down and calculate the outlay?" And do you think the outlay for being a follower of Christ is any less important to consider? For what is required of the soul on the path to the kingdom is nothing less than all he owns, and the work involved is the laying down of his very life. And so we must be prepared; and so we must act with conviction, to dispel any "fear of laying the foundation and then not being able to complete the work." It certainly cannot be said of St. Paul, "That man began to build what he could not finish," for he states with absolute conviction to his beloved Philippians, "Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation over the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad of it and rejoice with all of you." He is prepared to die to accomplish the work the Lord has set for him, and he shall. But he witnesses the fruit of his efforts: "As I look to the day of Christ, you give me cause to boast that I did not run the race in vain or work to no purpose." In his disciples he sees the faith he has planted grow. And now throughout all the earth do his words go forth, bearing the fruit of Christ among all who listen. And so, brothers and sisters, set your hearts on accomplishing the work the Lord places before you. Let no doubt or fear cause you to stumble on the way. Proclaim with David, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" Have this same confidence and commitment to His grace. For "it is God who, in His good will toward you, begets in you any measure of desire or achievement." It is His work you do and so He will surely bless it. Know that your King is able to do battle with any enemy, that none holds any sway over Him, and be as He is, giving yourselves entirely to His mission, His cause. And you shall "gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple"; and you shall certainly achieve your salvation. Onward, soldiers of the Lord. ******* O LORD, help us to renounce the things of this world and come into your Temple, into your presence, and there remain all our days – accomplish your work in us. YHWH, you are our light and our salvation; it is you who beget in us any desire for you and your kingdom. And it is you who bring this desire to fulfillment, if we but work to achieve it. Help us, O LORD, to know the way you call us and prepare us to walk your way without fear, without hesitation. In you we take our courage, for you are great and care greatly for our welfare. It is your bounty alone we desire, and so you will bring us to your House where we may gaze on your face in holy light. What need we but to dwell with you, O LORD? What of this world could keep us from coming to you? Help us to renounce all else but your holy presence; even our lives let us lay down in service of you. And we shall find our salvation, despite the darkness all around. It is you who defend us in battle, LORD; it is you who build our house. May we carry our cross with your Son this day, and so be blessed with confidence in your kingdom.

O humble and charitable soul whose healing hands served the poor and all those the Lord placed in your care, with great love you looked upon Christ on the Cross and in the Blessed Sacrament, and so sought to love your neighbor even as Jesus Himself – pray we shall somehow learn to put others before ourselves, that in this way, in the way of the Lord, we will truly love and serve God, knowing our sins outweigh those of any other soul, and yet that the mercy of our Savior outweighs any human fault. And so, pray we shall be humble as you, as kind and as caring, that we too will lay down our lives in prayer and in penance, in the blood and tears of Jesus.

(Phil.2:5-11; Ps.22:26-32; Lk.14:15-24) "The lowly shall eat their fill." Yes, "happy is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God." Indeed, he shall have his fill. But who shall partake of such grace? Who shall come to the feast when the Master calls? Brothers and sisters, our "attitude must be as Christ's: though He was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at." Rather, He made Himself lowly, as we are lowly. And now He is exalted; now He prepares the banquet of salvation for all lowly souls. Who are the lowly souls? The lowly souls are they who bow down before the Lord. "At Jesus' name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth." If one does not bend the knee before our Savior, he is not humble, he is not lowly – rather, he stands in his vain pride. And these proud souls shall not come to the table in the kingdom. If when He calls they turn away unto their own affairs, spurning the only appointment which carries importance, they lose their place in the Banquet Hall. And listen to the command of the "master of the house" to his servant: "Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame." The Jews having rejected the invitation which was most especially theirs, we the outcast Gentiles now hear the call of the apostles of the Lord, a call that goes out to the ends of the world. All the poor souls are now invited. Brothers and sisters, "all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations shall bow down before Him. For dominion is the Lord's, and He rules the nations. To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth," all in the heavens, and all on earth. None shall be deprived of hearing the call to the feast the Son prepares; all shall stand before Him and have opportunity to bend the knee, to realize our lowliness before Him whom every tongue does praise. So "let the coming generation be told of the Lord that they might proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice He has shown," that all forever might bow their hearts before His majesty and proclaim: "JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!" In such humble praise they shall eat their fill of the blessings of the kingdom. ******* O LORD, let us honor your Son who has given His life for the salvation of all, that we might enter your kingdom and eat the Bread He sets before us. YHWH, let us bow down before your only Son and give Him due honor and praise, for He alone is Lord; He alone among us is worthy of our worship, for He alone is your Son. Let us humble ourselves as He has done and so find ourselves in your kingdom with Him. O LORD, if only we could eat bread at your table, if only it were the desire of our heart to enter your presence and rejoice in your glory. It is your desire to share with us all your gifts and graces, to feed us with your finest fare. But how can we celebrate in your House if our hearts are turned to earthly matters, if our thoughts are vain and our souls proud? Your Son has humbled Himself to come among us and call us to you, LORD. He has set aside His place at your side that He might become as a slave in our midst, that He might lead us to your side. Let us not reject His holy sacrifice but proclaim it with our lives as we eat bread at your table this day.

(Wis.3:1-9; Ps.23:1-6; 1Cor.15:51-57; Jn.6:37-40 Note: there are any number of readings possible for this day) "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them." Is this not what it means to be a Christian? To have faith in the resurrection from the dead. To believe that after our time of trial there shall be peace, that we shall be refined by the hand of God to stand in His presence, to share in His kingship. "Grace and mercy are with His holy ones, and His care is with His elect." This is our faith. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." And so we have no fear. The Lord watches over us and guides our path, and in His blessing we take refuge, knowing we shall come to be with Him, knowing He is with us even this day, knowing even death we shall conquer in His Name. "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come." Nothing shall remove us from His presence. "We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed." Indeed, though all die, all shall come to life. None can remain as they are; all must be changed. All that is mortal must take on immortality, and in this immortality, in this incorruptibility we gain, death is swallowed up – it is no more. "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is an eternal victory. "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me." It cannot be that the Father's will not be done. Jesus awaits us with open arms. He has gone before us, He has prepared a place for us, and we must but come to Him as drawn by the will of the Father. "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise Him up on the last day." Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Death is not our realm, brothers and sisters. Though it comes to us all, it is but a passageway into Heaven, it is but the Lord's means of preparing us for the kingdom. And so, whether we experience it today or tomorrow or yesterday is of no consequence. It is there. It shall come to us all. But all who believe are preserved from its clutches and drawn into the life the Father offers. Let us pray this day for all holy souls to come by the Son into the hands of the Father. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, help us find victory over death in Jesus, your Son, and so come to dwell with you forever. YHWH, though we walk through the dark valley, we fear no evil – for you are at our side. Though death close its mouth upon us, we remain courageous, for your Son has given us victory over sin and death by His sacrifice on the Cross; and as we take refuge in Him, we are raised to dwell with you in eternal life. Let all souls be raised to your side with Him! Where in this world can we turn where there is not sin, where there is not darkness, where there is not death? O LORD, it is so, that this world is clothed with corruption, with mortality. All is now doomed to die for the sin that besets Creation. But where does the grace of your Son not penetrate? To whom would He not bring new life? And what need we but faith in Him to find that life dwelling in us even this day? Soon the end will come – the end of sin and the end of death. Let us not die with death, LORD, but find the victory you desire to impart to all souls through your Son. May your goodness and kindness follow us all our days and lead us to your eternal kingdom. May all who have died be at your side.

O God's holy ones, His apostles and martyrs, His virgins and confessors, all who have borne witness to Him with your lives, who have washed your robes in His blood, whose hands are clean in His sight and so are clothed in white, all you who have suffered under the Cross in the flesh in this world and so now stand in His light in the Spirit before His throne in Heaven… O all holy ones of the Lord from every age, from every time and place; from every nation you come, speaking in every tongue of His undying love – please, pray for us, His pilgrim children!

(Rv.7:2-4,9-14; Ps.24:1-6; 1Jn.3:1-3; Mt.5:1-12) "Everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure." All our readings speak of this purity this holy day. In the first reading we hear of the saints who "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Our psalm tells us it is "one whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean," who stands in God's presence. The above quote is from our second reading, and Jesus tells us in our gospel, "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God." Indeed, this purity of heart is the essential characteristic possessed by all the saints in heaven; and so we must strive to achieve it. I note a striking parallel particularly between our first reading from Revelation and David's psalm: the reading begins with the image of the four angels (at the four corners of the universe) being prevented from their call "to damage the land and the sea" until the seal of God is placed upon the foreheads of the "one hundred and forty-four thousand [symbolizing absolute fullness in number] marked from every tribe of Israel"; and our psalm begins by proclaiming, "The Lord's are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it." The reading continues with John's "vision of a great multitude" who "stood before the throne and the Lamb" in their white robes; while, as it continues, our psalm tells us that only the pure of heart "can ascend the mountain of the Lord" or "stand in His holy place." Then the reading from Revelation cries out, "Salvation comes from our God" and exclaims of the blessings upon the Lord and so His faithful; and David's psalm concludes that it is he who seeks Him who "shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior." What does all this tell us but what John states quite simply in his letter, our second reading: "Beloved, we are God's children now," and that when "what we shall be… is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Yes, we are anointed by Him as His own creation and shall come to stand in His presence with all the angels and saints, proclaiming the blessing He is and the salvation He has provided us. And in our gospel Jesus climbs the mountain and sits and teaches those who gather around Him. And how blessed are these eyes that see Him! How blessed are these ears that hear Him! And how blessed are we, too, insofar as we hear Him this holy day as He calls to our hearts to have faith in Him and in the kingdom of heaven, to set our hearts on the hope of which He speaks. And blessed are we most when we suffer insult and persecution for the sake of the Lord, for by this we are purified, and through this "our reward will be great in heaven." For we must die in Him before we rise in Him with all the saints in glory. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney. Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, let us be made pure as you are pure, as your saints have been made pure in the blood of the Lamb. YHWH, let us seek you with all our hearts, that we may find you and share in your glory with all the saints in Heaven. Help us to wash our robes clean, that they may be white, that we may be pure and so able to stand in your light. Make us your children, O LORD, blessed to dwell in your sight forever. If we must be purified by persecution in this world, what should that matter to us, LORD; why should that cause us concern? We should rejoice in this blessing even as we rejoice in the blessing of Heaven, for does not one lead to the other – do we not find Heaven even here, even now, in our suffering with your Son? But give us your love, LORD, and all shall be cause for celebration for us. O how we long to worship you in your kingdom, LORD! How we long to bow before your throne with all your angels and saints. How we long to sing your praise with them. Let it be so, LORD. Let it be so even this day in our souls.

(Phil.1:18-26; Ps.42:2-3,5; Lk.14:1,7-11) "When you are invited by someone to a wedding party, do not sit in the place of honor in case some greater dignitary has been invited." At the feast of the marriage of Christ to mankind, we are the lesser party, and must act humbly before our God. Jesus comes among us as a guest to eat a meal in our house; He humbles Himself to sit at our table. And this guest who sits in the lowest place among us is in fact the Host of the banquet of which all are invited to partake. Though the Lamb that is slaughtered for all to eat, He the sacrifice rules at the altar of our worship. Listen carefully to what Paul says to his beloved Philippians; see how his own attitude mirrors that of the humble Christ, and how it must be imitated by us all. He says quite openly, "I long to be freed from this life and to be with Christ, for that is the far better thing." In the choice of living or dying, he would opt for the latter, "for, to [him], 'life' means Christ; hence dying is so much gain." As the psalmist sings in comparing his soul to "the hind [that] longs for the running waters": "When shall I go and behold the face of God?" When shall he know full union with the Lord? Only in death, the dawn of perfect day. But though "strongly attracted" to death, Paul has equal attraction to life, and accepts that he must "go on living in the flesh" for the "productive toil" it means; and so he will "persevere with [his disciples], for [their] joy and [their] progress in the faith." He will remain "with the throng" that he might lead them "in procession to the house of God… amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving," though he himself is already prepared to enter the festival gates. Do you not see how this attitude is as Christ's own? Would not the Lord Jesus have preferred to remain in the heavenly kingdom with the Father? Would this not have been better for Him by far? And yet He comes among us, and yet He remains with us. And yet He takes on flesh which is as the cross itself and bears it with all patience for our benefit. He gains nothing by sitting with us at table as a dishonored guest, but we gain life eternal as we eat the Bread He feeds us. And so, listen to the Lord's teaching. Pray that "when your Host approaches you He will say, 'My friend, come up higher.'" Let His sweet words of humility and sacrifice be in your ears and in your heart – and upon your lips, lived through your body – that with Paul you will "have full confidence that now as always Christ will be exalted through" your own humility; then you will find the same "conviction that this will turn out to [your] salvation." If here you sacrifice your life, at the wedding party of our Lord and our souls you will be given your due place of honor at table in the kingdom. ******* O LORD, may the humility of Jesus be proclaimed to all who wish to see your face. YHWH, help us to be your humble servants, coming to others as a slave, as your Son, concerned only for the welfare of your flock, even as the Apostle Paul. How shall we have the Spirit of Christ within us? How shall we set our hearts on seeking your face and helping others progress in the faith? Let us not care if we live or die, but only that your NAME goes forth. To your House let us come, O LORD; at your table let us sit. The lowest place let us take, for this is the place we deserve. It is only by your grace we come to the table at all, and so, how can we boast of anything? Your Son is the exalted guest among us – let us give place to Him in all things. Call us higher, dear LORD. Call us to your side. Without your call we shall be lost, scrambling blindly for adulation on this empty earth. O let us rejoice as we enter your presence!