The BreadCast

O brothers in Christ, in death and in life you gave yourselves as one for the sake of the flock; for the cause of the faith readily you shed your blood to serve the growth of God’s Church – pray we today will be zealous as you in defending the faith with our lives; by fasting and by prayer, by standing courageously before the courts of the world and offering our flesh in sacrifice, may we imitate you who imitated Christ and so come with all our brothers to His resurrection and life. Shepherd us well even this day from where you now stand at the Lord’s side, that we might be unafraid to speak and to live the truth in undying love. O let us lay down our lives with you!

O sorrowful Mother whose heart was pierced by a sword, who stood at the foot of the Cross dying in spirit as your Son died in the flesh… Jesus was sent to suffer and die for our sins, and how intimately you shared in the profound pain He carried about all His life; how preeminently you filled up what was lacking in His suffering, suffering the whole Church must share with our crucified Lord – pray we shall indeed enter into the sacrifice of Christ your Son, following in your wake, O Mother of God; pray we shall meet Him along His Way of Sorrow that His blood upon our souls will carry us to Heaven, where you stand at His side.

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.

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.

O priest of Jesus and Mary so dedicated to the Hearts of our Lord and Lady and the formation of your fellow priests, how well you preached of our need to be one with Christ our Head; with what zeal you cared for the poorest among us – pray that priests and indeed all Christians will have hearts and souls beating and breathing as one with the Lord, in union with our Blessed Mother; may all serve and glorify the Father by using all their faculties as if they were His alone. O that we might indeed belong to the Son of God and be ruled by Him, His own eternal life coursing through our very veins, His breath upon our tongue!

O parents of the Virgin Mary, grandparents of the Lord our God, you who gave birth to our Blessed Mother, through whom we are blessed for all ages… O you through whom the promise to David came to be fulfilled, you whose virtues found favor with the Lord, you whom He chose to bring forth His Mother and the Mother of all the redeemed – pray our posterity shall endure even as your own, that we shall bear fruit even in our old age and see our children’s children in a happy Jerusalem. Pray we shall know the Virgin as intimately as you and so come to know our Lord in the kingdom where He reigns.

O martyred apostle, first to endure the death of Christ, you have indeed drunk of His cup, fully accepting the sacrifice to which all are called, and so blazed the path of service for others to follow – pray all God’s children, all those blessed to be called as sons, as brothers of the Lord, will have the courage and strength that comes from the Spirit to lay down their lives as a ransom for many and so find a place beside our Savior Jesus in His heavenly kingdom. Pray the blood of Christ in which you shared so intimately pour upon His Church and all souls be blessed to drink thereof unto the world’s salvation.

O solitary prayer, alone with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament you offered your life for the salvation of souls; in penance you lived, and so a light shone even from your tomb to show the presence of Christ and His miraculous powers at work in the world – pray all souls seek perfection in prayer, the perfection of being with Jesus, of remaining always in His presence with a heart of love poured out for our fellow man. Pray even now for the salvation of all, for what else matters but that we come to dwell with you in the light of our Lord, adoring Him forever?

O seer of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the scourges and the nails, of the blows and mockery He endured, of the blood which covered His face and all His skin… O you who have witnessed all His suffering and sought so diligently to share in it with Him – pray that we who are so blind to the pain and anguish our Savior bore under the weight of the Cross we build by our sin may by His grace have our eyes opened, and so turn from our own condemnation to the blood of redemption He has shed for our sakes and take refuge in the penance that leads all souls to the kingdom.

O woman of great love whose heart burned with desire for the Lord, whose soul thirsted for the living God… the tears you cried became the source of the greatest joy as from your sins the Christ released you, as your eyes beheld your blessed Teacher – pray for us this day, O Mary, that our hearts shall be set aflame with faith and love as we hear the news you bring us: that our Lord is no longer in the tomb, that He lives and so we with Him, that He is ascending to the Father and we shall join Him there. O pray His love dispel the coldness of our hearts that we shall be like you, remaining with Him forever.