The BreadCast

O priest of the Blessed Sacrament, you gave your life in sacrifice at the altar of the Lord and in all the trials of this earth; you suffered all for Jesus and desired only to bring souls, all the children of God, to receive Him and His grace in the Sacrament of Communion, in oneness with our Lord – pray, O priest of Christ, that our very lives shall also be offered in sacrifice, especially in the holy sacrifice of the Mass and in reception of His Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament. Pray particularly that our priests will know the profound call upon their souls to make Him present in this world and be as inspired with holy devotion as were you, dear saint. Pray our hunger for His Presence increase.

O vigorous defender of the divinity of Christ, you who suffered exile for your work for the faith, you who had a true shepherd's heart and cared so deeply for the priests and people the Lord placed in your hands – pray the shepherds of the Church today will strive with your same selfless zeal to bring the love of the Son of God and the blessed demands of His call to every soul in their care, that the faith might increase and be known in all its fullness even to the ends of the earth. Pray and weep, O steadfast apostle, for all the members of Christ's holy flock, that we shall be protected from false and specious claims, from wolves in sheep's clothing who would enter and steal the faith of this holy Catholic Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Is.55:1-3; Ps.145:8-9,15-18; Rm.8:35,37-39; Mt.14:13-21) "The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season." And the song of David, and the prophecy of Isaiah, are fulfilled in Jesus and the heavenly banquet He sets before us this day. For the Lord "open[s] His hand and satisf[ies] the desire of every living thing"; "without paying and without cost" all come to His table to eat. "You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat." The "rich fare" the Lord provides cannot be bought with money, for the earthly food "fails to satisfy." Only that paid for by the blood of the Son gives life; in His sacrifice we find "the everlasting covenant," the union with God and with His love which all our souls desire. And we know, as Paul testifies, that nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Does Jesus not give witness to the love of God today? Does He not show that "the Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works"? For though "He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself," though He sought to be alone with His Father in prayer, when followed by the crowds He took pity and "cured their sick." And though He had been with them all the day and evening drew on, when the disciples urge Him to "dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves," Jesus responds: "There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves." And He feeds them, without cost and without discriminating between one and the next. All sit at His table today; and we are told that "all ate and were satisfied." And why not? For the bounty of the Lord is indeed the richest fare. Do we follow Jesus as diligently as these in the wilderness, brothers and sisters? We know the food He provides us now every day. And we have been shown clearly that "the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Let us partake well of this feast set before us, which gives us now a foretaste of heaven. Freely let us come to Him, and be fed by His holy hand. And our expectant souls shall be forever satisfied, for His hand is always open. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Whole Whale" (first third) from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let our lives this day be in line with your will, united to the glory of your only Son. YHWH, let us not store up treasures for ourselves, but think rather of you and the salvation of others. All is indeed vanity if like Qoheleth we set our sights on what is on earth, if we are preoccupied by our possessions. For these shall rot with the lusts of the flesh and we shall die with them. But if we set our hearts on you and on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at your right hand, then we shall be blessed with life everlasting. Your Son calls us to glory with Him in Heaven. He warns us of the emptiness of this earth and the riches hereon. He would turn our eyes to you and away from all greed and selfishness. He alone can prosper the work of our hands, LORD, for without Him we pass like the changing grass and nothing comes of our days. O LORD, let us not labor in vain but with the wisdom that comes from above, that we might not come to great misfortune but to eternal life in your presence. Remake us in the image of your Son.

O patron of moral theologians and servant of the poor, how blessed was your loving wisdom, your understanding of God and His love for us, made perfectly known in His only Son whom you loved so much with His Mother and the Church, and whom you call us all to love through your blessed words – pray the redeeming love of Jesus our Savior flow in all our veins, that we might unite our wills to the Father's as perfectly as His only Son and so be as encompassed by grace and love as only He could be. Pray indeed that we shall be saved, that we will come to the Lord on our knees and so find His presence filling us unto eternity.

(Jer.26:11-16,24; Ps.69:14-16,30-31,33-34; Mt.14:1-12) "In truth it was the Lord who sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear." Jeremiah speaks to the people in the Lord's name, even as he is threatened with death: "Reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so that the Lord will repent of the evil with which He threatens you," he declares at his trial – he does not hide the truth. And the words of David's psalm are proven genuine: "His own who are in bonds He spurns not"; for the prophet's words find a hearing in the people, and Ahikam advocates for his release. It is the truth which John the Baptist, the greatest of prophets, comes to declare most boldly. Even from Herod's dungeon this voice crying in the wilderness continues to proclaim the sinfulness of the king's taking his own sister-in-law to wife, repeatedly telling him, "It is not right for you to live with her." He, too, does not back down in the face of trials, in the dark of prison, and he, too, is released from bonds – though bonds of a different kind. He, too, is "rescued from [his] foes, and from the watery depths… The pit [does not] close its mouth over [him]." For though he be beheaded, though death at the hands of his persecutor he does not escape, yet it is his message which lives and has power, power shown now in the presence of the Truth walking the earth in the Person of Jesus Christ – a power which causes the evil king to shake in his boots at the voice which still comes to his ears. Indeed, John yet lives. In Jesus he makes his home. "I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify Him with thanksgiving." For all His "lowly ones" He sees; all who "seek God" are known to Him. And these shall be released from all bonds of this earth, even as they speak His truth. The party shall soon be over, the dance of the daughter of lust come to an end. And who shall stand justified then? Who shall hear His soothing words? And who shall be condemned? Turn to Him in your hearts this day. Listen to His voice. ******* O LORD, save us from the dungeon of death; lift us from the mire of this corrupted world – let us repent that we might praise you. YHWH, it is you who are our secure protection, you who save us even from death, you who raise our heads in the joy of your presence. And so, what need we fear? Let the wicked of this world tremble before your voice, but let us be blessed to dwell with you in your kingdom. O LORD, though your prophets and disciples be cast into dungeons, though they be beheaded for your NAME's sake, though the princes of this world call for the death of those who proclaim your truth to their unyielding hearts… yet you are there to protect your own, for your power is beyond any creature crawling upon this desolate earth. And so we take refuge in you, LORD; and so we stand strong in the face of our persecutors. For we shall not die at their hands but live in your presence, as your saints do even this day. Give us the strength we need to place our trust entirely in you and in your Son, for we know even as we die with Him we shall live with Him forever.

O strong and holy apostle, soldier for the Lord Jesus and defender of His Church, you gathered together an army to labor in mission fields, to educate the masses, to serve and die as loyal sons of the Christ and His Pope – teach us this day to follow in the way of Jesus, to meditate on His life and be fruitful in His works. Pray your own sons and all the children of MotherChurch not waver in the faith which sustains them on this earth but that in all truth steadfast Christ's disciples shall stand and proclaim in strength the salvation that comes only through Jesus and the Vine He has planted, through whose teaching and sacraments His very Spirit and blood flow.

(Jer.26:1-9; Ps.69:5,8-10,14; Mt.13:54-58) "No prophet is without honor, except in his native place, indeed in his own house." How consonant are our readings today, speaking all of the persecution the prophet of God must bear in bringing the truth to His people. (Indeed I had thought to refer to the incident in our gospel before having even come to it, while still reading the words from Jeremiah, for elsewhere in the gospels the same quote of Jesus written above causes His people to lead Him to the brow of a hill, intending to throw Him down.) As Jesus was rejected when He "went to His native place and spent His time teaching in their synagogue," so when Jeremiah is obedient to the Lord's command to "stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord … all the people gathered about [him]," not to "listen and turn back, each from his evil way," but to join with "the priests and prophets [who] laid hold of him, crying, 'You must be put to death!'" And David bemoans the same treatment in our psalm: "I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother's sons," as for the sake of the Lord he "bear[s] insult." What does the prophet come to do; what does Jesus speak to His people but truth? They themselves recognize that He has great "wisdom and miraculous powers." With these He would save their very lives; His sword of truth would incise every cancerous growth of sin from their souls – He would heal them with the Word of God. In fact, it is their health He is so zealous to effect. But "because zeal for [the Lord's] house consumes [Him]… the insults of those who blaspheme [God] fall upon [Him]." As they do upon Jeremiah. As they do upon David… As they do upon every faithful prophet of God. Those who "disobey [God], not living according to the law [He] placed before [them] and not listening to the words of [His] servants the prophets," do not wish to hear of their sin: foolishly, they would be left to die in their rebellion. And so they kill the prophet, attempting vainly to destroy His message. And it must be those of the Lord's own house that reject His word, that kill the Christ, for it is only they who know His voice speaking in their heart. "This city shall be desolate and deserted." Hear these words, brothers and sisters. Let them sink deeply into your ears and take root in your hearts. Be not afraid of the death that must come to this earthen vessel. Nor reject the word because it comes from one who is your own brother. It is this sword of truth alone that will save you. ******* O LORD, your Son's own brothers surrounded Him and condemned Him to death – forgive us, LORD, and let us be faithful as He. YHWH, why are our hearts so set against your will that we would persecute your prophets and kill your only Son? Why are we so stubborn in our rejection of your love, of your chastising word that would bring us to your holy presence? It should be your temple in which we desire to dwell, and yet we seek to build our own. O holy LORD, take the blasphemy from our lips, the anger and hatred from our hands and tongue. Let us see and recognize that you are God and treasure the wisdom you bring to us. Let us not turn our backs or raise our hands against you, but rather bear the insult of those who suffer for the sake of your NAME. You look upon our zeal for you and for your house, LORD, and so hear us as we cry to you. Protect us well from the devastation of this fallen race, that we might accomplish your will and come to stand with you in Heaven. In your House alone let us seek to dwell.

O you of golden words, of angelic tongue, of sermons refined seven times by the Spirit of God… O how you made present on earth the invisible Creator even as He was made for us in the womb of the Virgin, so tangible had His grace become through the preaching the Lord inspired in your soul – pray we shall indeed be vivified by the eternal grace of God, by the gift of His becoming Man, to become like Him, heavenly spirits in His reign. How could we comprehend such blessing; how could such surpassing joy these earthen vessels hold? Let us come close to Christ our Savior, close to Him as now you stand in His radiant glory.

(Jer.18:1-6; Ps.146:1-6; Mt.13:47-53) "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel." "I went down to the potter's house and there he was, working at the wheel." According to the Lord's words Jeremiah goes, and a marvelous sign is provided him. For there in the hands of the potter and in his work, he sees the Lord huddled over His creation. And what in particular does he witness in this vision: "Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased." Are we not indeed like this clay in the potter's hands? Does He not send His only Son to remake us in His image? And so, should we not be as pliable as clay in the holy hands of our Lord and God? And are we not as those caught in the net of the fishermen who, having "collected all sorts of things… put what was worthwhile into containers. [But] what was useless they threw away." Yes, at the end of the world "angels will go out and separate the wicked from the just," and then the hand of the Lord will be at work in its fullness. So, while there is yet time, let us do all we can to be remade in God's image, that we might avoid "the fiery furnace" – let us not be hardened in our sin. For once cast in this kiln, what shall they do but "wail and grind their teeth"? Brothers and sisters, do you not see that it is the Lord "who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them"? It is the Lord who holds all in His holy hands, and does what He will with the universe. And so, should you not take refuge in Him? "Put not your trust in princes, in men, in whom there is no salvation." What is man who "when his spirit departs he returns to the earth"? When God removes His breath from man, indeed he becomes as nothing but clay in a potter's hands. But "happy he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God." For the one who trusts in Him, He shall remake in His own eternal image; upon this clay His breath shall remain. And so his soul shall ever "praise the Lord." ******* O LORD, all is in your hands; may our hands and our hearts be conformed to your own. YHWH, we are indeed as clay in your holy hands; you can make of us what you will. And so we pray you make us in the image of your Son, that we will be gathered into your kingdom and not cast aside. We are but dust, O LORD, except that you breathe upon us. And should you take your Spirit from us, to dust we would return. Yet we fail to recognize your power and glory and put our trust in the dust of this earth, in the things you have created. It is you who have made the heavens and the earth and all that dwell in them. It is you who hold the life breath of all men. O let us worship you alone and seek to be remade in your image! Then to eternal life we shall come. The fiery furnace awaits the wicked; let us not forget that you will separate the evil from the good at the end of the age. May your angels' hands be upon us this day, preparing our souls for the end of the world, forming us by your grace as your blessed children. Praise you, LORD!

O servants of the Lord who welcomed Him into your home, fulfilling all the duties of hospitality, and yet realized as He taught that it is He who serves us poor creatures, who is the resurrection and the life… in whose House we make our home – pray that even as we fulfill the duties of our station in life we too shall come to believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who comes to us to serve us in His need, allowing Himself to be fed by us that He might feed our souls with everlasting life, with the Spirit that passes not away with the body.