The BreadCast

O apostle of the Lamb, man without guile led by love to the Lord, you who declared Jesus Son of God and King of Israel, whose eyes of faith were illumined by angels' wings – pray we shall be found by the Christ under our fig tree in peace, in prayer, and carry with you His holy Gospel to the very ends of the earth. With you as a foundation stone, one of the Twelve, may the Bride of the Lamb be led to her Husband, her heart burning with love for Him alone; her soul thirsting only for God's presence, may her eyes be opened to see her Lord. To vision of Heaven pray we all come by an angelic belief in the Son of Man.

(Rv.21:9-14; Ps.145:10-13,17-18; Jn.1:45-51) "Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb." Nathanael (who is Bartholomew) is taken by Philip (whose name means "love") to meet the bridegroom of his soul – and immediately he weds himself to the Lord, recognizing Him as the Son of God. As Bartholomew is without guile, so must all His Church be so sincere to find the glory that awaits us "under the fig tree" in the absolute peace and splendor of His presence. How else will we see Him? How else can we recognize Him? How else will we become one with Him if we don't come to Him even with the faith of this innocent child? "You shall see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son Man." He it is who stands in the breach between earth and heaven; He it is who is as the ladder we climb to find God's eternal kingdom: by Him it is heaven comes to us and we fly to heaven – His angels are with us to guide us to the vision of His splendor and lead us to safety within the protective walls of His Church as His bride. As the angel comes to John, leading him to vision of the heavenly kingdom, so by Jesus the angels come to us to carry us home in His arms. May we find the peace that awaits us within His walls and enter through its gates. And who are the foundation stones of this glorious kingdom but John and Bartholomew and the Lord's blessed apostles? These simple men who walked the earth as you and I have now become the radiant gems on which Holy Church is set – they serve now to support the Bride of the Lamb and bring her to His "dominion" which "endures through all generations." These generations include our own, and we simple men are now called and guided by the "discourse" of these "faithful ones" to enter in and take our own place in the city which has "the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkle[s] like a diamond." But to do so we must be like Him who is "just in all His ways and holy in all His works." We must come as Nathanael, without guile, guided only by love, to find our place in the peaceful kingdom. The Lord sees us all, brothers and sisters. He knows us all. He knows we are but simple men and women, but this is who He seeks. Let us trust utterly in Him, and His angels will take us to the bridal chamber and we shall enter in and dwell with Him in His "kingdom for all ages" with all His holy ones redeemed in His blood. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, let us see the sky opened and the Son of God and His holy Bride coming down out of Heaven; let us have eyes that look for Him, hearts that long for Him. YHWH, may the sky be opened and our eyes see the glorious splendor of your kingdom coming down unto us. Let us be pure and innocent, without guile, as all your children must be, and indeed your glory shall be revealed to us. And we shall declare with all your apostles that you are God and Jesus is your only Son. Through all ages your kingdom lasts, O LORD; your dominion endures through all generations. And that kingdom your Son comes to make known to us – and into that kingdom we must all be built. The apostles are the foundation stones of your Church, and they speak of your might to all, but every soul must shine with your radiance in your holy City. O LORD, let us be wed to your Lamb and to His sacrifice; then indeed we shall have our eyes opened to see the angels ascending and descending upon Him. Then indeed we shall enter the gates of the New Jerusalem.

O penitential soul whose eyes saw the Lord, whose ears heard His voice calling all to the Cross, obediently you accepted the afflictions that are necessary to attain union with God and His surpassing glory – pray that fearful souls like our own, which turn in complaint from every torment and trouble, however small, may be blessed with a measure of your selfless devotion, that the unfathomable treasure of the Lord's grace might be our own as we endure, and even desire as you, the pains that pave the road to Heaven. Then we shall know Christ even as you and proclaim His glory to all creatures.

(Is.22:19-23; Ps.138:1-3,6,8; Rom.11:33-36; Mt.16:13-20) "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Thus the Lord grants principal authority in His Church to His rock, Peter. Thus He prophesies what He has promised: the power and teaching given those who sit on Moses' seat shall pass to this new leader He appoints to guide the flock of the New Jerusalem. And is this designation, or redesignation, of power not remarkably foreshadowed in our first reading: "I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open"? For the Lord has said to "Shebna, master of the palace: 'I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station… and give over to [Eliakim] your authority.'" The same declaration Jesus has made to the chief priests and leaders of the people, and here He indicates its fulfillment. "He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah." Is this not the case with our Papa, our Pope, whom the Lord has assigned in His "inscrutable" judgment to feed His sheep? "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" whose mind no man has known. For see the authority He gives to man, He who has all power to give. Even unto heaven does the reign of the apostles now extend, with Peter in the fore. And "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it," for it is granted by "the Christ, the Son of the living God" through the revelation of His "heavenly Father." "I will fix Him like a peg in a sure spot," the Lord states of Eliakim; and now no surer peg is there than Peter, through whose care all "worship at [the Lord's] holy temple." "Your kindness, O Lord endures forever." Your love for your sons on earth reaches unto heaven. And so you grant us blessings beyond our imagining; you strengthen us beyond our weak frame. And as to the apostles you deliver authority, so one in your grace all become. How shall we repay you for your kindness toward us? How shall we care for the gift you give? How shall we maintain your presence among us, except that in your love you remain? Bless this House and all its leaders; may "in the presence of the angels [we] sing your praise." Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Branch of the Vine" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. (Background chanting by members of Neocatechumenal movement awaiting arrival of Pope Benedict XVI at the United Nations.) ******* O LORD, teach us always to do what is right that we might be as your sons and enter into your House. YHWH, all peoples are called to your glory, to your kingdom, for all are sons and daughters to you. But truly you must be our Father, we must come from you, we must reflect your image, the image your only Son reflects to us in His way of the Cross, if we are to enter your presence. Relying on accidents of time or place we shall never be saved. Only by accepting the discipline you offer will be made ready for Heaven. Strengthen us, O LORD, by the chastisement you bring to our souls, by the Word of truth come from Jesus' mouth. He knows you and is the way to you – let us be obedient to His call and the call of His apostles to enter through the narrow gate, to leave all of this world behind that we might come rejoicing to your holy mountain with all our brothers and sisters, with all your blessed children. May all men hear your Son's voice this day, that none shall be barred from your kingdom.

O Queen of Heaven and earth, you radiate the glory of God, for now you stand at His right Hand in the heavenly kingdom. Clothed with the sun, the moon under your feet and a crown of twelve stars upon your head, you give light to all souls who thirst for the grace our Lord and King pours upon us through your intercession. O how the angels rejoiced, how the heavens rang with praise when the Son led you into His presence clothed in gold to be forever His Bride! O pray for us, dearest Queen and Mother, that we too shall be led in among your maiden companions to stand in God's glory forever. Our cause we entrust to your Immaculate Heart.

(Ez.43:1-7; Ps.85:9-14; Mt.23:1-12) "The temple was filled with the glory of the Lord." Certainly the vision of Ezekiel is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and His founding the Church, the New Jerusalem, here amongst us. In this Temple He has "set the soles of [His] feet"; here He "dwell[s] among the Israelites forever." For though the temple in Jerusalem shall be restored, it shall again be destroyed, and forever. In the Catholic Church now does His presence remain. Through it and through its teaching "the earth [has] shone with His glory." "Truth shall spring out of the earth": Jesus is born in our midst and walks among us; "justice shall look down from heaven": through Him the light of God shines upon us, bringing salvation to all souls. And it is in His Church truth and justice remain, "glory dwelling in our land." And "like the roaring of many waters" is His teaching, which comes with power, which comes with authority. And this teaching He leaves in the apostles' hands. As "the Pharisees have succeeded Moses as teachers" and Jesus has succeeded these, so do the apostles succeed Jesus; thus we must "do everything and observe everything they tell us" – the Spirit is upon the Church, which does not teach in error despite the sins of its members. These must be respected; it is upon these, and so upon Jesus' teaching, the Catholic faith is founded. And what if some refused to enter into this Temple and share in His glory present in His Church? What if they did not share the wholeness of His thought or receive His precious Body and Blood, offered each day in the New Jerusalem? Their eyes would be as blind and their vision as limited as those who quote our gospel today to prove that the Church should not call its priests "Father". They would not be able to see that what Jesus teaches His disciples in telling them to avoid "marks of respect in public and of being called 'Rabbi'" is to avoid having themselves inflated with pride. If these blind souls were correct, then no one could be called "teacher" either, for this is more the word the Lord wishes us to avoid. And they would have to condemn Paul for calling himself "father" of the Church in Corinth (1Cor.4:15). Such absurdity ensues when one has not the wholeness of Truth, but looks only on appearances. Brothers and sisters, where would we be without the teaching of the apostles? In a word, we wouldn't have Jesus. It is from Him their teaching comes, bringing His glory to the ends of the earth. In this Temple let us dwell, His Word and Sacrament sustaining our lives. ******* O LORD, your Son has humbled Himself to walk among us; the soles of His feet are set in this Temple, your Church – may we follow in His steps. YHWH, let us humble ourselves that we might be exalted in glory with you. You humble yourself to come among us as a Man; let us be as your only Son and so gain the favors of Heaven. Here in your Church make your home, in the soul of every believer. And, LORD, let us have a reverent respect for those you place in position of authority, especially here in your Church. They carry your power through the Word of your Son, becoming as His body and blood with the teaching of the Spirit He breathes upon them. We cannot disobey their teaching without disobeying you, and so let us be faithful to your apostles. Then we shall come to know your surpassing glory. What you revealed to Ezekiel help us to know and live this day – your glory here in your Temple bring to its fulfillment, we pray. In your kindness you come to us, Truth walking in our midst. The justice and peace of your Son let us find as we follow in His way of salvation.

O simple priest who became Shepherd of the universal Church and defended her with courage against the errors of the age, you did not waver before the powers that would dilute the purity of the teaching of our Mother but stood strong against the tide attempting to wash her away – are we not yet threatened by falsehood and sin being held up as good, and so do we not yet need your spirit and your prayers? Though the tide may be turning, returning to the solid rock of faith, yet certainly we need your help to see the Spirit of Truth regain and maintain His place in this House. Pray indeed all priests and people be simple and true as children before God.

(Ez.37:1-14; Ps.107:1-9; Mt.22:34-40) "I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel." The commentary in the missal I read states: "The lesson here is return from captivity, not life after death." And so the speaker proves once again the limited vision of so many of our scholars – indeed, how like the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the lawyers of Jesus' time these faithless are, how blind… how dry their bones without spirit. Certainly the prophet Ezekiel speaks to the exiles of their return to Israel: to these he is sent, and of this redemption they must hear. But if this were all the Scripture says, what lesson would we take from it – this passage why should we bother to read? And if this were all God intended even for these scattered children, what an ineffective God He would be. (As limited in vision as so many of our leaders today.) For what is the land upon which any find life but the kingdom of heaven? And how do we come there except through death, the death of our attachment to this earth? Vain all is if we have not the resurrection of Jesus within us; we must rise from our graves before anything has meaning in life. That the Lord speaks of more than the return to Israel in Ezekiel's prophecy of the dry bones today is indicated clearly in our psalm, which equates "the redeemed of the Lord" with those "gathered from the lands, from the east and the west, from the north and the south." Is it not so that the Psalms, though greatly written a millennium before Christ (and hundreds of years before even Ezekiel's time), speak of Christ, and even in the voice of Christ? Is it not Jesus who speaks even to Ezekiel himself? Listen to our psalm. It speaks of the Israelites' wandering "in the desert wilderness." It says they were "hungry and thirsty" and that "their life was wasting away within them." Certainly they lacked food and water in this arid place – but is this all of which the psalmist speaks! Do they not rather fail to drink from the spiritual rock which follows them? Is their hunger not for Christ? And the "inhabited city" to which the Lord leads them, is it but the land beyond the Jordan River? Is it the dust of this earth that will satisfy their dry bones? No. They "give thanks to the Lord… because He satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good things" – things of the spirit, not merely the body. "On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well," Jesus says of the love of God and neighbor. Here is the Spirit! Here is the Life! Here is what nourishes the dry bones and makes them stand upright: the Love of God! This is in every passage of Scripture – every prophecy, every psalm… This Word is the lesson we must always find: Jesus Christ is risen from the grave! "From the four winds come, O Spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life." May the Spirit of love open all eyes. ******* O LORD, your love bring to our hearts, your Spirit breathe within us that we might stand and praise you in our heavenly homeland. YHWH, you bring us to life by a word from your mouth; speak over us your holy Word that we might rise from the death that has settled upon our souls, that there might be flesh on these dry bones and your Spirit breathing in us. Bring us back to the land you have set aside for all your children – let us enter Heaven. If your command we follow, LORD, we cannot but come into your presence, we cannot but live forever. If there be love in our hearts for you and our brothers, what can we be but united to you? If we place you above all our joys, if we love you with heart, mind, and soul, your life will indeed be within us… for you yourself are love. Breathe upon us this day, dear LORD. Speak your Word of truth and life. Announce by the tongue of your Prophet the way we must go to find you. And let us be obedient to His command of truth, His Word of life, that we might stand in hope with Him, our hungry soul fed by this spiritual Bread, our thirsting hearts washed clean in His blood.

O great light of the Church who by word and work inspired your brothers and so many others to a life of virtue, to peace and unity with one another and an abiding love for our Lord and His Mother – teach us this day, O blessed preacher, of the way in which Jesus calls us, of the life and love God offers if we but respond in kind in our weak and limited manner. To all souls in His holy Church and throughout the world you brought the Word of God, you imparted the light of His wisdom; please pray, dear father in the faith, that our lives may be conformed to the loving will of the Lord and we become children of His light and bearers of His Good News to the nations, till we stand with you in His surpassing glory.

(Ez.36:23-28; Ps.51:12-15,18-19,Ez.36:25; Mt.22:1-14) "Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me." The Lord desires to "prove the holiness of [His] great name," which has been "profaned among the nations" by the children of Israel. And so He determines to "gather [them] from all the foreign lands," to bring them back from their exile from His sight, and bless them again upon their "own land." He will "cleanse [them] from all [their] impurities… a new heart and… a new spirit within" them, and they shall be "careful to observe [His] decrees": "You shall be my people, and I will be your God." But when the time comes for the reign of God to be fulfilled in their midst, when all is prepared and they are invited to the "wedding banquet for His Son"… when indeed the Lord would wed the Israelites to Himself by the grace and blessing of the Messiah – they refuse the call. "Come to the feast," He cries out; eat your fill of my delights. But they make excuses and even kill those by whom the invitation comes (laying hands even on the only Son). And so the chosen city having rejected His offer, the Lord tells His servants to "go out into the byroads and invite to the wedding anyone [they] come upon." So do the apostles preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth; so are all now called to the wedding feast. But will all be prepared? To "the chief priests and elders of the people" Jesus addresses His parable of the wedding banquet today, for it is these who refuse to hear Him – it is they who reject the call of the Lord. And so, indeed, to the nations does His voice go; the Gentiles now hear the call. And we, we who though founded firmly upon the rock of Judaism are in such great number of Gentile races, do we heed the call of the Lord and prepare our hearts to receive His food? We are now the chosen city and the banquet table is now spread before us each day: His Body and Blood is the greatest food of which we could ever hope to partake. But have we the wedding garment necessary to remain in His banquet hall, in His Church, or do we wander in ignorance of the gift and graces before us? Brothers and sisters, we must pray not to be cast from the Lord's holy presence. We must seek the purity of heart we need to receive His blessing, to partake of the food of His altar and grow in His grace. We shall only avoid being thrown "out into the night" if we nurture the light that is with us and prepare well to meet our Jesus. Only then will the Holy Spirit here remain. ******* O LORD, made pure in Jesus' cleansing blood may we rejoice with Him in your kingdom. YHWH, you invite us to your wedding banquet, you call us to the feast prepared by your own hands, for you would wed yourself to us, making us your own holy children. But we must turn from our sins; with contrite hearts only can we approach your table and feed upon the Body of your Son. How shall we find our heavenly homeland if not cleansed in His blood? How shall we celebrate your glory if not renewed by your Spirit? O LORD, bring us back to our own land, that with you we might dwell for eternity. Your light and your love make our own; you alone let us worship. Into your Temple let us come, that we might feast upon your Word, and upon your Son's Body and Blood. Then what would we be but your children? What would we be but one with you? A white wedding garment of purity provide for our souls, dear LORD, that we might not be cast from your presence but glory in you forevermore.