The BreadCast

O bringer of light to many nations, you who struggled on for the souls placed in your care that all might know the Christ for whom you toiled, endlessly seeking to convert obstinate hearts – may your zeal inspire missionaries this day to go forth selflessly proclaiming the Gospel to all, bearing witness to the Lord in the cross they bear in season and out of season; whether producing much fruit or being rejected, may their hearts be set on the Word and the love of God for His children. Pray especially those lands you led to Christ will turn again to the one true light.

O shepherd whom we invoke for the healing of throats, you who suffered torments for the sake of the Name and embraced death as leader of His flock – open our throats to speak of Jesus, to declare His goodness and glory, the salvation that comes only through Him. Let us not fear our persecutors nor shrink from the threats of the mighty but stand fast in the Lord’s healing grace, confident that His every blessing will keep us well and on the path that leads only to Heaven. Pray all sickness flee from us this day and forever.

O martyr of the Lord extraordinaire who suffered unspeakable torture but was not bowed by such savagery, who spoke of great faith, singing of God’s glory even as your limbs were crushed, even as all the brutality the world could inflict sought to break your spirit – help us to conquer the world as you have done, as the Lord has done in you, not to be afraid but rather to serve our Savior and His Cross in joy as His blessed disciples; pray we, too, shall enter the heavenly gates open to those in whom the Spirit speaks even unto death.

O holy virgin martyr, O innocent child who offered your life more freely than a bride to her husband, more courageously than a warrior in battle, who though lacking in years was not lacking in faith nor desire to honor your only Spouse… you who were honored by the Fathers of the Church and are remembered to this day as a holy offering, a lamb of God sacrificed in flames yet professing ever your love for Christ – but a small measure of your courage would save our souls. Pray but a drop of His blood we may know falling from our veins.

O soldier for Christ who sought with such courage to embrace His Cross, to die a death worthy of such a Lord, you whose heart was so set on imitating the suffering only He knew and so were rewarded with the crown of martyrdom – where is our courage; where is our strength? Pray for us, O warrior of our Lord and God, that our lives may bear witness to approach your own, that we shall not shrink from the Cross before us but with your same zeal seek to make it our own. Pray the blood of Christ upon us.

O Holy Father of the Church, Pastor of the sheep of our Lord who have given your life freely for the name of Christ and its spreading throughout the earth, you whose blood was shed by the persecutors of the body but whose soul was ever in the Hand of God – pray our lives shall be lived in integrity and our death correspond, that a blessed witness we too shall give to the glory of God and His Son Jesus Christ, and so lead others to that same glory. May none of the flock or their shepherds fear the sacrifice of their lives.

O father of monks and all who would give themselves completely to the Lord, you who have been so obedient to the word of God, to His call to sell everything, to renounce all possessions and follow Him – how we need your prayers this day, when love for material things possesses our very bodies and souls, when prayer and penance seem things of the distant past. Make present to us the blessed call of the Lord, the renunciation of the world, that we too might find the riches of Heaven you knew so well. Pray we give up all for God.

O shepherd and doctor of God’s holy Church, is this not what you would declare with all your breath to the ends of the earth: “Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself”? Would you not proclaim the true light of Scripture and the Word, the Light, become flesh in our midst? Know, O saint of the Lord, that your words reach our ears and our hearts even to this day, and this day we proclaim you holy and your words true – continue to speak to us; please intercede for us, that the Truth you declared so fearlessly will be taken up again by those in His stead today.

O eminent Shepherd of God’s people who led us from the catacombs into the light of day by a blessed peace with the city of man, allowing the Lord’s Church to grow and flourish freely in its sacraments, in its worship of the one true God – pray the Body of Christ may again prosper in truth with its divine Head, that the Light that has come into the world may be proclaimed to the ends of the earth and all souls called by the Lord come to the font of Baptism and find the fullness of faith in the holy Catholic Church. Pray there be no dissension in the Body but that all shall be one in Him who is God Himself.

O blessed martyr who died in the cathedral, murdered by the king of this world as you defended the Chair of Peter and the true faith of the Church – where can we find bishops like yourself; how shall the Church be led without holy apostles willing to give their lives as Christ, in whose place they stand? Pray for us, devout shepherd, that many will be inspired by your example to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and defend the faith even unto the shedding of blood, for what is the shedding of blood in this world compared with the light of Heaven you now know in our Savior’s presence? Pray for us and let us pray with you, seeking truth and love in our pilgrimage on this earth.