The BreadCast

(2Kgs.2:1,6-14; Ps.31:20-21,24-25; Mt.6:1-6,16-18) "As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." Jesus instructs us in our gospel, "Whenever you pray, go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private." This prescription the holy prophet Elijah fulfills in our first reading when he miraculously crosses the Jordan River and enters the wilderness, out of the sight of the prophets who remain standing on its other side. Elisha, too, he would have remain apart, but this holy man determines to stay with his father in faith. And so as their prayer becomes secret, as their conversation of God becomes hidden and private, even then Elijah is taken in flames of holy fire from the sight of men; even then he ascends to heaven. And though so otherworldly, the eyes of Elisha witness the hand of God lifting the prophet from our midst. Brothers and sisters, can you see that this is as what happens with us when we pray to God in our private rooms? David in his psalm declares, "How great is the goodness, O Lord, which you have in store for those who fear you, and which, toward those who take refuge in you, you show in the sight of men." When we "hide… in the shelter of [His] presence… screen[ed]… within [His] abode," He reveals Himself to us in His glorious might, He lifts us up to heaven where He dwells. As He blesses those who keep their alms secret and repays those whose fasting is hidden, so He anoints the prayers of His children who find Him in the recesses of their hearts. From this wilderness, from this desert place, He lifts us to see the encompassing shining of holy light. The quiet place is within your soul; the kingdom of heaven is within you. Converse with the Lord quite readily, quite faithfully, in this hidden place, and all shall be revealed to your eyes. Stay with Him; do not leave His side, and all your requests shall be filled in His blessed generosity. And His cloak He shall place upon you, His cross He shall lay across your shoulders, and the great blessings of heaven will be your own. "Love the Lord, all you His faithful ones! The Lord keeps those who are constant." And all humble souls He raises to the throne of God. ******* O LORD, let us hide ourselves in you, that you might carry us to Heaven. YHWH, let us enter into your presence hidden within us; into this wilderness let us come that we might meet with you and you might bless us, and take us to Heaven. Hear our prayer this day. LORD, you alone are our refuge, you alone are our glory and our peace – you are our only desire. Let us not seek the approval of this world or the praise it may give, but look always only to serve you, to love you, with all our might… and let all our might be only of you. Let it be you who work miracles in our life. Take all we have, LORD; we ask nothing in return but to be with you. Quietly let us come to you who dwell in the purest silence, apart from all the vain distractions of this world. You are quite above this dreadful place, though you come to dwell with us even here. In you let us transcend all the emptiness that surrounds us, even as we walk with you. O LORD, let us never leave your side that we might come to be where you are.

(1Kgs.21:17-29; Ps.51:3-6,11,16; Mt.5:43-48) "Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me." We have hope, brothers and sisters; we have hope that the very depths of our sin and depravity against the Lord shall be forgiven, and we shall be made new, washed in His blood. For the Lord "sends His rain on the just and the unjust," and this He proves today in our readings. The Lord forgives David his "blood-guilt," he who has committed the dual sins of adultery and murder; and Ahab, too, of whom it is said, "No one gave himself to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab," finds a measure of His mercy. Indeed, if there is reconciliation of these sinners with the Lord God, then even we must have hope of the Lord's grace at work within us. The Lord is He who loves even His enemies, whose "sun rises on the bad and the good" alike, whose arm is not shortened, whose love knows no bounds – for has He not gone so far as to die on the cross as a common criminal, as the worst of sinners, to redeem all from their sins? But to receive such grace and mercy how must we come to Him? It is clear both in our first reading and in David's great psalm that forgiveness is not obtained in a casual manner. To find it, we must imitate our sinners in their repentance as we have mirrored them in our sin. For Ahab when he heard the condemnation of the Lord upon his house "tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh"; he did not hesitate to "acknowledge [his] offense" before the Lord and all the people. And recognizing that his "sin is before [him] always," David comes begging the Lord, "Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt," seeking the compassion he knows only God holds. And this trust in His mercy the Lord sees; this declaration of sin the Lord hears. It is because Ahab "humbled himself before [Him]" and because David proclaimed openly his guilt that God has mercy on their lives. And we must join them just so in our own repentance to find that same mercy and kindness. More than this, brothers and sisters. To more than this are we called now, my friends. For like the Lord Himself we are commanded to be – to show such mercy as He. The blood of Christ now outpoured, and it having poured upon our souls, we must now see that it is shared with all. We do that by shedding our own blood, by sharing that same love with everyone, indeed even with our enemies, as with us the Lord has done. And so our freedom from sin is made complete in His heavenly presence. ******* O LORD, is it not only fair that we should love our enemies since you have loved us who have done such evil in your sight, even having your Son die for our sins? YHWH, free us all from bloodguilt, for we are all guilty of shedding your Son's blood; we are all sinners in your sight. Yet you love us, and offer forth your forgiveness as we repent before you – though we have been your enemies, you make us your friends. Help us to receive such grace from you, and to share it with others. Your mercy pour upon us, LORD; each day let us come to you and find your cleansing rain. For continually our hearts turn from you… sinners we remain, and your healing grace ever we need to come into your presence and find your all-encompassing love. Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy! And let us answer your call to show your love and mercy in our lives. The light you impart to us let us shine upon all souls. O what a great grace you offer us, LORD! to be as you are, to love as you do – to be perfect even as you. Let us find such grace at work in us; let it be all we desire.

(1Kgs.21:1-16; Ps.5:2-3,5-7; Mt.5:38-42) "I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." How divergent are the paths of Jezebel and Jesus. This Queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, holds the philosophy that if someone won't give you what you ask for, take it by force; whereas the Lord says if someone wishes to take something from you, give it and more. Here are the way of the world and the way of heaven in stark contrast. When as a petulant child Ahab refuses to eat after not getting what he wants, his wife plots the death of Naboth to obtain the king's desired land. She truly is among "the bloodthirsty and the deceitful the Lord abhors." Jesus and those who follow Him are they whom the Lord loves. Far from stoning the righteous man to death, they themselves are the righteous who shed blood freely at the hands of their enemies. Both the wicked Jezebel and the just Jesus go beyond the old law: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth." She takes an eye and a tooth when none has been taken from her, going thus below the law; but Jesus says, "Offer no resistance to injury," going thus above the law. Where He fulfills the law in love, she makes a mockery of God. We hear these mutually exclusive paths spoken of even literally today. Jesus instructs His disciples: "Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him two miles," encouraging His followers on the same way of suffering He models for all – a way revealed most clearly in His carrying of the cross to the hill of Golgotha; and our first reading tells us that "on hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it," walking quite a different path of blood. Brothers and sisters, it should be obvious that God "delight[s] not in wickedness; no evil man remains with [Him]." He indeed "destroy[s] all who speak falsehood" – the justice of God they shall not escape. But let it be equally obvious that we must follow the Lord's words in turning the other cheek. His are not mere platitudes but necessary instructions for finding the way to God He Himself walks. If we do not walk where He has walked, how can we come to the place He now is? Do not think you will come to heaven along an easy path, much less a wicked one. You will obtain the vineyard of heaven only by drinking the blood of Christ where you are, only by laying down your very life here in this world. ******* O LORD, let us leave behind all the wickedness of this world and join in your Son's holy sacrifice of love. YHWH, let us leave the way of the wicked far behind and walk only in the path you mark out for us. In your Son's blood let us make our home, that there shall be no blood upon our hands. Let us lay down our lives with your Son, turning the other cheek to those who would harm us, to those who would slap us in the face. Yours is the way of forgiveness and love, of sacrifice in the name of goodness, in your NAME, O God. Keep us from the path of the world, LORD, for it is one of evil, of use and abuse of neighbor, of the shedding of his blood, the blood of the righteous Man. O let us not have Jesus' blood on our hands! LORD, we are all sinners, but if we turn to you, you save us from such sin as would condemn our souls. But if we harden our hearts against your love, if we seek only our own gain, and at others' expense, choosing to remain blind to your Son's Cross of sacrifice, which is our only hope of salvation… we can only be destroyed. Help us to give all to others, to answer your call to love.

(Ex.19:2-6a; Ps.100:1-3,5; Rom.5:6-11; Mt.9:36-10:8) "I bore you up on eagle wings, and brought you here to myself." As the Lord rescued the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians and brought them into His presence in the desert of Sinai, so in the same way, in a full manner, "God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God loves us and draws us to Himself. He is "moved with pity" when He sees us "like sheep without a shepherd." And so He sends the Good Shepherd in Jesus His Son; and so Jesus sends out His apostles to us, so that by their hands we might be freed from sin and the grasp of the devil and be reconciled with God through Christ. And once "we have… received reconciliation," the Lord promises us, "If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine." These words He speaks to His chosen ones are the same Paul declares to the Romans when he says, "If, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life." For saved by the crucifixion of Jesus, "justified by His blood" poured upon us, His life is now with us; and remaining in the way He has set before us, obedient to His command of love… laying down our lives as He has, we indeed become "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." And this Jesus Himself confirms when He instructs His apostles, "Without cost you have received" – He has saved us through no merit of our own… "without cost you are to give" – all our lives are to be sacrificed for Him and for His holy people. Brothers and sisters, we are "His people, the flock He tends." The Lord first called the sons of Jacob, and so Jesus first sends His apostles to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," to know the fulfillment of the promise made to them in ancient times. And now the Catholic Church is become the New Jerusalem, the new house in which the Lord does dwell, and all are called by God's love into its secure confines. As He revealed His love when He "gave [the apostles] authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness," so now the power of God rests upon His Church to draw all men unto the Father by the ministry of His anointed ones. The Lord saves us from all sin; let us come now to be with Him. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Souls at a Carnival" from All One, sixth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, in your kindness you care for your straying flock and gather us into your arms. YHWH, we are your own; gather us into your arms and make us holy as you. Your Son has died for us – let us now live with Him and do your will. LORD, your love for us is so great that even when we were in the midst of slavery to sin, you reached down and drew us from that place and raised us up to sit with you. By Jesus' blood you washed us clean of all our imperfections, all our blindness to your presence, not only redeeming us from such darkness but making of us a kingdom of priests to stand in your Son's stead and do your holy will. Indeed, how great is your love for us! Let us answer your call, LORD. Let us fulfill the mission you set before us. Let us truly be your own children, the sheep you bless and guide; and help us to bring other souls into your fold, that all might rejoice in your kindness, that all might sing your praise. Let us be released from all the snares of the devil, O LORD, and dwell with you on the mountain of eternal life.

O gentle preacher of the Word, the fire of the Holy Spirit upon your soul for the conversion of heretics and the leading of all to God – hold us in your arms even as the infant Jesus who appeared to you along the way, and pray that the Word may be instilled in our hearts even as it was in your own, that we shall never go astray but always have the consolation of the Spirit of God and His love and innocence to lead us through this life till we find ourselves at home in the Father's arms, where you dwell in peace with all His blessed saints. Pray for us, our teacher and brother, this day.

O Sanctuary of the Father, Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother of the Son of God who carried Him in your womb and contemplated Him in your heart – how shall we find Jesus within us; how shall we become the temples of the Spirit the Lord calls us all to be if you do not pray for us, if we are not formed in your womb, in the love with which you are blessed? Hold us in your soul, dear Mother, that our spirits might join with your own and we might thus become one with our Lord and brother. In us also let Him make His home.

(1Kgs.19:19-21; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-10; Mt.5:33-37) "I will follow you." Elisha gives His yes to Elijah, and so to God. He "kiss[es] [his] father and mother good-bye" and weds himself to the prophet who has thrown "his cloak over him." And he shall not turn back, shall not fall short of giving his entire self to the service of God, and so shall be greatly blessed. All he leaves behind. His very livelihood he slaughters, and gives these twelve oxen "to his people to eat." For he shall not return to work for them anymore. "You are my inheritance, O Lord," David sings; "my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot." All his soul trusts in the Lord in whom he "take[s] refuge," and what more does the Lord's king need? "My heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence": all his being finds peace in the presence of God, for all his being is set upon Him. So it is, brothers and sisters, that to the extent we give ourselves to God, to the degree that we give our yes to the Lord, even so will we find our place secure. For making our home in heaven with Him, there is nothing to keep us from His grace. All else falls short of His glory. Heaven and earth shall pass away, and the hairs on our heads are numbered: only the New Jerusalem is lasting; only heaven is secure, for only in heaven is God. We must be with Him. We must give ourselves to Him. Why should anything less hold sway in our lives? Why should we hesitate to follow Him with our whole heart? For there is nothing else that has importance – heaven is all that matters, and giving our lives to this place which is all life, how protected we are from "the evil one" who would dilute our love of God. And how certain our yes to our God is a no to this adversarial devil. Honor your mother and father, children; give to all the love that is due. But give to God your very soul; let your spirit rest in Him alone, and you will be blessed forevermore. ******* O LORD, let us follow you unreservedly and know your presence at our side. YHWH, let us give you our 'yes' even as your Blessed Mother, even as Elisha, even as all your faithful disciples. Let us give all things over to you and follow your way unreservedly. In your truth let us ever remain, not wavering or turning back to what we have left behind. In you let us make our home and we will dwell in Heaven. What do we need but you at our side? For what should we be concerned but serving your will? For as we take refuge in you, as we set our hearts on your work and your will, nothing can disturb us – in complete confidence our soul abides. For you are all, O LORD; you are all and everything, and nothing exists apart from you. And so, if we have you, everything is ours. Let us but give our trust to you. And we shall never die if we trust our lives into your hands. You shall be our food and drink, and we shall sit at your table forever… O LORD, we give you our 'yes' this day.

(Dt.7:6-11; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,17; 1Jn.4:7-16; Mt.11:25-30) "He has loved us and has sent His Son as an offering for our sins." Who better to hear from on this blessed feast than John, the Lord's beloved disciple, whose words indeed continually breathe the fact that "God is love" and who eternally exhorts us to "love one another." John cannot but speak of the love God has for His children and the love we must offer in return; and all of our Scripture today echoes his understanding and calls us to be washed in the blood of Christ. In our gospel Jesus calls unto the hearts of all: "Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you." He invites His little ones: "Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart." O so gentle and humble of heart is the Lord our God… so loving, so kind! David sings of Him so well in his psalm of praise and thanksgiving: "Merciful is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness." Why does God's king "bless the Lord" with "all [his] being" today? Because "not according to our sins does He deal with us." Because of His forgiving grace – this greatest sign of His love, embodied in His only Son. And so, as Moses says to all the people in our hearing on this holy feast, we should "love Him and keep His commandments," for He is "the faithful God who keeps His merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation." Yes, this covenant of love has been fulfilled in Jesus' blood, in Jesus' heart from which His blood does come, and "when anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God"; then we "come to know and believe in the love God has for us." And to whom does the love of God come so readily? Who finds such faith in the Lamb of God and knows that "He pardons all [our] iniquities" and "crowns [us] with kindness and compassion"? Jesus in His prayer to the Father states, "What you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children," and this is confirmed by Moses, who tells the Israelites, "It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set His heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations." It is not the strong and the wise of the world the Lord showers His love upon, but the humble and the lowly. These know the love the mighty and humble, gentle Lord holds in His Sacred Heart. Alleluia! Brothers and sisters, "it was because the Lord loved you… that He brought you out with a strong hand from the place of slavery." Let your soul "find rest" in that merciful love this day, and let it share that love with all others. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney. Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, how you love us! sending your only Son to die for our salvation – let us come to Him this day and know your love. YHWH, so loving you are that you share your very self with us in the Person of the Son of God, in Jesus the Christ. How is it love come to us so truly? How is it you, who are love, make yourself known to us in such a real way? It is because you are love and desire therefore to share love with us, your poor creatures. O LORD, you forgive all our sins, you heal all our ills… all that is evil you take from us that we might be one with you who are love. O that we might have a heart so humble and lowly as your own! that we might truly come to know your love, that we might truly come to be your own children. Let us share your love with one another and we shall find ourselves living in your love. In you let us take our rest, O LORD, in your Sacred Heart. Jesus is your very heart and His blood you would have course through our veins. O let His Heart beat in our own, that overwhelmed with His love we might become one with you in Heaven. Give us your Spirit of love this day to make us your own people, your own flesh and blood.

O son of encouragement and of consolation in the Holy Spirit, you who were filled with faith and lived that faith for the Lord, giving up all things to bring His Name forth to the ends of the earth, calling all souls and confirming them in the truth by the authority of the risen Son – whose footsteps go forth today as did yours upon the birth of the Church; what souls are so blessed to be set apart by the Spirit to perform His works in this dying world, to bring His light to those who sit in darkness? Pray the Lord shall indeed send out laborers into His vineyard and they shall with the same faith be an encouragement to all, a consolation to Christian souls.

(1Kgs.18:41-46; Ps.65:2,10-13; Mt.5:20-26) "You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have you enriched it." "There is the sound of a heavy rain." The Lord is speaking. The Lord is teaching. Jesus is revealing the strait path of holiness that leads to the Father, and His words and His Person come like a fruitful rain upon a drought-stricken land. O Lord, "thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield." By your speaking, by your teaching… by your bleeding on the cross for us "you have crowned the year with your bounty, and your paths overflow with a rich harvest." But will we receive these rains? Will we accept His chastisements which lead to life, which are the only way to the kingdom of God? Here are the Lord's words, the commands of His mouth: "Everyone who grows angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; any man who uses abusive language toward his brother shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and if he holds him in contempt he risks the fires of Gehenna." To what extent has He increased the prescriptions of the law! For He calls us to a holiness that surpasses the holiness of the law. He calls us to the kingdom of God, and great rains are needed to foster its life. And so He demands that we "be reconciled with [our] brother"; and so He warns us to "settle with [our] opponent." For we are on our way to His holy court, and not even the smallest sin will stand there. The eyes of Elijah see but "a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea." It is but the shadows the prophets knew as "the sky grew dark with clouds and wind." But it was enough to recognize the coming presence of the Lord that would relieve the drought upon the land, upon the nation of Israel. We, brothers and sisters, are those upon whom "a heavy rain fell," for now Christ has come; now He calls to us in Person from the cross and from His throne in heaven. If you wish to come to where He is, you must go where He has been: the cross is the heavy rain which brings the sweet smelling flower of heaven. "God's watercourses are filled" and "rejoicing clothes the hills." Listen to His words now. Be obedient to His command. It is the driving rain which breaks up the ground and prepares the soul for holiness. ******* O LORD, send your rain upon us to soften our hearts; let us be perfect as you by your chastising Word of love. YHWH, release us from judgment, we pray. Send upon us your driving rain, to cleanse our souls of all harsh words and anger. How shall we stand before your throne if here we cannot forgive, for how shall we ourselves be forgiven our grave sins if our hearts are hardened? O send your rain, LORD! Send your rain, and let our hearts be open to receive it well. Your Word is as a chastising rain to our souls, O LORD; it is the strong words from your mouth that serve to cleanse us from our sin and soften the ground of our hearts to receive your grace and blessings. If we have not your mercy within us, we are dead, for then there is no remedy for our sin. Speak to us; instruct us in your ways, and let us be obedient to your command, to your chastisement that brings new life from this poor land. O LORD, subject us not to the trial; lead us not before your tribunal. For we have nothing to pay our debt and so cannot stand before you. Only your mercy will save us on that day. Let us have your mercy within us now, and share it with others.