The BreadCast

O mystical doctor – help us by way of the Cross to find wisdom and knowledge of Christ and union with God; let us desire to enter the suffering of the Lord, that by this means we may draw closer to His glorious presence and there remain in joy. Let us fear not the dark night the soul must endure but bear it well, that we might be purged of all blindness; pray the Lord will shine upon us His holy light and we might soon look upon His face with you. May the Lord's Cross overshadow all and anoint every soul with the peace that surpasses understanding, with His undying love.

(Is.35:1-6,10; Ps.146:6-10,Is.35:4; Jas.5:7-10; Mt.11:2-11) "Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand." Hope. What hope have we. And so we should "be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord." Indeed, we must endure "the early and the late rains" – having been converted to the Lord we shall be purged of all sin on the last day – but, though "hardship" be with us now, our hope should be firm in Him who comes, in Him who "is standing before the gates" even now. Jesus is the fulfillment of the vision given Isaiah and the salvation sung of by our psalmist. By Him, "the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." Should not He who has power over all maladies, and even death, bring us hope in the kingdom to come? Should not our seeing these wonders wrought by Jesus instill great faith in our hearts? Should we not even rejoice now in our suffering, knowing well that "sorrow and mourning will flee away" when He comes, that the very suffering we experience now will then be no more? Patience. Indeed, patience brings us hope, enables us to endure all, even joyfully. And does Jesus not seek to encourage greater hope, greater faith in our hearts by His words about John the Baptist? "What did you go out to the desert to see?" He asks the crowds, addressing their longing for truth, their desire for hope, and confirms that the prophet they sought was indeed greater than all "among those born of women." But He does not stop there. How much farther He leads them: "The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Remarkable. What hope have we, to be greater than the Baptist. For the Baptist is himself a man, who himself suffers and struggles, inquiring if Jesus is "the one who is to come," and must himself be assured by the Lord. But in heaven no question will remain. This desert in which we seek the Lord will come to full bloom "with abundant flowers." Keep the faith in joy, brothers and sisters. We have every reason for hope; we have firm witness of His grace, at work in us even now. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music:"Hold On, Here We Go" from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, come with your Word to heal our souls that we might enter your kingdom. YHWH, the coming of your Son is close at hand, when all your children will dance and sing for joy. Though He has come once to open our eyes, to clear our ears, yet in some measure we remain blind and deaf, waiting for the day when your kingdom shall be fulfilled in our midst. And so, we thank you for the release from sin Jesus has wrought, and we wait in hope for His return. Give us the patience we so desperately need. John was the greatest of men, the greatest of prophets, who prepared the way for your only Son, O LORD. To this parched earth, this desert wasteland, he proclaimed a baptism of repentance that brought healing to our souls. Yet all he has done is but a shadow when compared to the glory of the eternal kingdom to which the Christ does carry us. Strengthen our hands, dear LORD; make firm our weak knees. Let all sorrow and mourning flee from us as we humbly await Jesus' return and our becoming one with you.

O bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, in your virginity and in your dying you have given yourself entirely to the Lord of Heaven and earth. O how like Him you were in your purity and in your suffering! and so how close to Him you must be in Heaven – pray that a ray of His light might come to us who sit in darkness, we whose hearts are not as strong as your own. His heavenly light we wish to enter; by your prayers may we see His glory.

(Sir.48:1-4,9-11; Ps.80:2-4,15-16,18-19; Mt.17:10-13) "Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace." Elijah has come, to "restore everything." The word has fallen like fire from heaven to prepare a path for the Lord to tread. The Baptist has cried out as a voice in the wilderness for us to make our hearts ready for the coming of the Lord. But, sadly, "they did not recognize him and they did as they pleased with him." They rejected the voice crying to them and attempted to cover over the way the word had cleared before them. He who came "to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob," was himself turned back; and they cast him into prison and beheaded the great prophet. Yet the way remains open to us. He whom the prophet hailed has come into our midst, and His presence cannot be taken away – even to the end of the age (which is upon us). And we must join with our psalmist today in calling upon Him to "come to save us," to "look down from heaven, and see," to "take care of this vine" planted by His right hand. "Give us new life, and we will call upon your name," must be our prayer, especially in this Advent season, for we must awaken and enliven the path to God the Baptist has served to blaze in our hearts. We must know now Him whom he has hailed. And, yes, with this Elijah and with the Son of Man, we too will suffer at the hands of those who would silence the Word, who would extinguish the fire set upon the earth. But the fire is eternal and its light and power cannot be dimmed, much less extinguished. It will purify those who seek the face of God and destroy those who turn from Him. It cannot be otherwise. Now that the Lord has come, His angels wait in expectation to purge the world. Once more only the prophet Elijah will appear and the flaming furnace his words prepare will be fulfilled in God's eternity by the return of the Son of Man. In absolute glory the Lord will reign. ******* O LORD, Elijah has come and the way of the Cross has been prepared; your Son is now present to save us. YHWH, rouse your power and come to save us; purge us in the fire your Son has set upon the face of the earth. The Baptist has come in the spirit of Elijah – the way of the Savior is now prepared in our midst. But we must walk this way of fire; we must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, if we are to walk in the way of your Son. If our hearts are to be turned to you, LORD, we must have faith in the One to come. And this path is one of persecution; it is one that reduces us to straits. For nothing unholy can enter your presence, and so we must be prepared along the narrow way. O LORD, make us strong in following you this day! The Son of Man is now among us, He who has suffered and died for our sake. May the fire of the Spirit He sends, LORD, make us ready to share in His death, and so His glory.

O Patroness of the Americas and Protectress of the Unborn, look upon our troubled state, where lust and greed abound, where thousands are killed in the womb every day, where the poor and the rich are separated by steel walls and thirsting souls die in the desert – help us, dear Mother, to discover life, to find your guidance in this land of opportunity and broken dreams, in these hearts that have grown so cold that more are sacrificed on unholy altars than when you first came to turn our hearts to the Lord! Pray for us, Our Lady, or we shall surely die in a soulless pride.

(Zec. 2:14-17; Lk.1:46-55; Lk.1:29-47) "Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! for He stirs forth from His holy dwelling." And His own stirring forth causes John the Baptist to stir forth, to "leap for joy" – thus is opened the mouth of the one who will proclaim His way. On this the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we celebrate the Lord's stirring forth in astounding fashion in the Americas. As the Lord looked upon His humble servant Mary to bring forth the only Son of God, so He smiles upon the humble Juan Diego, to bring the conversion of a continent. His Mother comes humble and with child to bring new birth to a land in darkness… And how that land sits in darkness now, awaiting renewal by the graces from His hand. "He has looked upon His handmaid's lowliness" once, and again; let us pray a humble spirit He shall once more find in this place and on this earth, that indeed "the hungry shall be filled with good things," that He who has "lifted up the lowly" will remember them now that they are trodden down, now that the most humble are destroyed in the womb. "Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day." And many have. But how sincere is their commitment to Him? Are they truly "His people," and so will "He dwell among" them? Have we cause to "sing and rejoice," to be as she who "proclaims the greatness of the Lord" – or to cry tears of sorrow for the land to which we have come? For the womb is barren; the spirits are proud – and in these the Lord takes no joy. Silence before Him we must find once again, that He might turn to us and bring new birth to this land. "Stir forth, O Lord, from your holy dwelling," and renew our languishing souls. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney. Music by Roger and Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, may our hearts stir to life at the sound of Mary's voice, at the approach of your Son. YHWH, you sent the Mother of your Son to a land in darkness, to a barren place, that the people might be converted to the faith, that the blood upon their hands might be washed away. May she come again to this continent and this world that unholy sacrifice might again be stopped by her humble presence. O LORD, bring us new life! LORD, we would rejoice in you and in your presence in our midst. We would see all the nations gathered into your arms. But how can you come to a place that despises life, that kills its children in the womb? Have pity on us, dear LORD, and send Mother Mary to prepare the second coming of your Son. The Baptist awoke and leapt in his mother's womb when Mary brought his Savior to him. O let us awake this day, dear God, awake from our slumber in such darkness and come into the light of your day. Let us be humble and lowly as she who bore your Son, and we shall be lifted with her to your side. Save us, O LORD our God.

O bishop of Rome who guided the bark of Peter through difficult waters, who kept her on the course set for her by the Lord even as she grew in this world from a Church of the blood of martyrs to one entering the light of day, of acceptance by the city of man… you who sought so diligently to preserve the memory of the martyrs lest it should pass away, and the Cross of Christ with it – pray that today, too, the Church will remember its root, the root of Jesse and His sacrifice, and that as she grows our Mother on earth will be well understood by those called into her walls. Pray the martyrs pray for us, that in their blood we always find our growth.

(Is.41:13-20; Ps.145:1,8-13; Mt.11:11-15) "I will make you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged." A "worm" and a "maggot" are we. We are "the afflicted and the needy [who] seek water in vain, [our] tongues… parched with thirst." But holding our right hand, the Lord speaks to us: "Fear not, I will help you." "I will open up rivers on the bare heights… I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water." And has not John the Baptizer come, into the desert, into the wilderness, and there poured the water of God's compassion upon us for the forgiveness of sins? Lush trees now grow in the desert: we who were once empty are now filled with God's grace. And yes, "the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it." For all these wonders accomplished in our midst are but to "make known to men [His] might and the glorious splendor of [His] kingdom." Indeed, we now "thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff," but all this is done in His power. And how then do we understand Jesus' words: "From John the Baptizer's time until now the kingdom of God has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force"? We know that John spoke boldly in the name of God; unafraid of his oppressors, he called all to repentance. We should all learn from the power of God he displayed in crying out in the wilderness. We know also that at the time Jesus spoke the above words, John was imprisoned in Herod's dungeon, suffering genuinely the violence of this generation. We know Jesus Himself will be crucified. We know all the apostles (save John) will be martyred for the faith – all His children suffer under the weight of the cross imposed by the violent of this world. But we know also that this very cross is the means God has chosen to most poignantly reveal His powerful hand at work. For the nails which fix our hands to the wood have no power over us, and so by the humble acceptance of the violence of this age we do most dramatically destroy, crush into dust, the mountains of this world. And we upon whom the greatest violence is inflicted indeed effect the greater violence upon our oppressors, for by this sacrifice wickedness is destroyed and the righteous enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us act with such strength from God, brothers and sisters, for the sake of the kingdom. ******* O LORD, let there be springs of water in the desert of this world, that we poor souls might not die but enter into your kingdom. YHWH, Elijah has come as a threshing sledge preparing the way for your Son – and now all souls may enter your kingdom! To the desert of our lives you have brought your water, O LORD. We who were parched and lifeless have heard the Baptist's call to repentance and known the grace that comes to us thereby. Your Son, your very Son has come among us and opened the gates of Heaven; in His sacrifice you show your great compassion, and now this tree of life flourishes in our midst. To the Cross we must all be nailed, dear LORD; all the evil in us must die. But what blessing such violence brings! For joining ourselves to your Son's sacrifice, the glorious splendor of your reign is revealed to our eyes. Though we must die, LORD, you live in us and remain in us until the end of time. And so for such grace we bless you; so this day we heed your Son's voice. Let us be washed clean in the water from His side and come quickly to eternal life.

(Is.40:25-31; Ps.103:1-4,8,10; Mt.11:28-30) "My yoke is easy and my burden light." How we do become "weary and find life burdensome." How we can "faint and grow weary," "stagger and fall" from the burden of sin and our inherent weakness. But oh how "He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak He makes vigor abound." For indeed He is the creator of the universe – "by His great might and the strength of His power" all things come to be – and His Son is the redeemer of our souls. "The Lord is the eternal God" and "they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar as with eagles' wings." Trust in Him who "pardons all your iniquities" and "heals all your ills." What a promise Jesus holds forth for those who come to His "gentle and humble" heart: "Your souls will find rest." We know that the great St. Augustine has told us that only in God do our souls find rest. How we wander aimlessly in trackless wastes seeking comfort for our souls, rest for our weary bodies, taking refuge in the various attractions of the world and the vain promise they hold. How late in life all of us come to the fulfilling promise of Jesus, for any time spent apart from Him is but wasted. And thank the Lord that He is "merciful and gracious." Thank Him that "not according to our sins does He deal with us." For what hope would we have then? But this great God who has no equal, who holds the world in His hand, "redeems your life from destruction, He crowns you with kindness and compassion" despite your sins, if you but come to Him as He calls. How patiently Jesus waits for each of us, this only Son of God, this image of the Father and embodiment of His love. How gracious He is toward us poor creatures. Will you not take His "yoke upon your shoulders and learn" from Him? Will you not find refreshment from all your sins and forgiveness of all your crimes? Will you continue to turn your face away from Him who watches over all and weigh yourself down with anxiety? Or will you come to Him, your only hope? Take the light burden of His gracious Word upon your souls and do His will in this world. ******* O LORD, how shall your compassion come to dwell in our hearts, and your strength renew our own? – let us be blessed in Jesus your Son. YHWH, you make our burden light by the Cross of your only Son. He takes our sins upon Himself and carries them away, and we need but turn to Him and walk with Him to find rest for our souls. How great is your announcement to us, O LORD; how great your blessing! For you who are Creator of Heaven and earth promise your own strength to those who believe in you, who turn to your grace and mercy. Our sins you remember not, our iniquities you pardon; and finding no condemnation at your hands, we are free to soar as with eagles' wings – for what punishment can there be if it comes not from you? O LORD, for all your benefits let all men bless you and your holy NAME. Let us come this day to your only Son and share the blessings upon Him. He will carry our burden in this world and so our yoke will be light. Deep in our souls let us know your compassion, and we shall soar on your heights.

O humble child of the Lord whom our Lady blessed with her presence, to whom she gave roses in winter – pray for us who are not humble as you, whose obedience is cold and grown so weak, that she might come to us, too, that she might speak a word to our hearts and we might as children listen and do as she directs, she who directs us only to Jesus, only to His love. Pray this continent be once again renewed by the grace of God; may Our Lady's image be upon our hearts that we too might proclaim the glory of the Lord and His love for His children.