The BreadCast

O glorious Virgin Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of your conception and now raised with your Son unto Heaven, blessed are you among women, most blessed of all God’s creatures; kept from all corruption, you His lowly servant now reign with Jesus in His kingdom – pray all generations will call you blessed that all may indeed share in your blessing and come by the grace of the Lord to stand at His side in the Father’s presence. Above the choirs of angels, where poor mortal man is called to take his place in union with the immortal Godhead, you precede us, O Immaculate Mother, by virtue of your eternal union with the only Son. Pray we shall truly follow you to perfection, conquering death by the Cross and entering the light of the Lord.

O soldier of the Immaculate Virgin and martyr for our Lord, well you spread the fame of the Mother of all graces, calling all souls to repentance that she might apply her Son’s blood to save the straying among us; and well you heeded our Savior’s call to lay down your life for others – pray this day we have such strength, such conviction and determination in serving our Lord and Lady, in publishing the Good News of salvation, that by our dedication we too may serve well upon this earth in the army of the faithful, also leading souls through the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that peoples and nations may be converted and so learn in turn to serve the surpassing glory of God.

O brothers united in faith and in offering the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of that faith, for the sake of God’s Church – pray nothing shall separate Christ’s brothers one from another, but that all members of His flock and all those who lead His flock will remain ever united in His blood under the See of Peter. O pray that His Body not be divided but that it be healed, made whole by His Cross. Into His arms may we all offer our lives and so join our Lord in His kingdom.

O tireless worker for the Lord who when cut off from everything dearest to you gave yourself completely to God, you who have shown the way of the martyrdom of love, of dying entirely to self and serving our Savior in the sick and the poor, in whose guise He comes – pray our lives shall not wallow in mediocrity or sin; pray we shall have the same thirst for love as you, that by our love we may die and so overcome death to live forever in the presence of our Redeemer. Visit us this day in our weakness that our hearts, too, might be strong and our lives be laid down in the blood of the only Son.

O bride of Christ whose poverty matched His own, whose humility made Him known, whose love indeed approached His throne and the embrace of His holy arms – pray all souls will gaze into the mirror that is our Lord born in a manger, dead upon a Cross, risen unto Heaven. Pray we shall be driven on through the death we all must die, through His marvelous poverty, His wondrous humility, to the indescribable delights of those who remain at His side. O that we might be poor as you were poor, as He is poor for the sake of every soul, that we might come to embrace His blessed sacrifice and so know the glories of His 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.

O great preacher of the Word of God, you who were entrusted with this angelic office to bring light to Christian minds and dispel the darkness of sin and error – pray all souls this day may be blessed with hearing the Word of God you spoke so well, that all hearts might turn in faith to the Lord purged by its cleansing fire. O blessed teacher, pray men of every tongue be told of the truth, that all might live by the Spirit of God in grace, that the renewal of the Church and every soul might be made complete and the ranks of the New Jerusalem be filled to overflowing.

O kings of martyrdom who indeed laid down your very lives rather than heed the dictates of an evil emperor, whose loyalty to the Lord and the Church He established stands unparalleled, your defense of the faith and conscience written in the blood you shed – pray that the mediocrity, the utter inability to stand for truth in this relativist age, will be defeated by souls founded firmly in the Spirit of Christ and in the Cross He offers forth for our salvation. Pray for leaders of Church and State to embrace your singular devotion.

O lover of poverty who gave up great wealth to find her abiding within the walls of your heart, a heart which turned thus to God’s people and the shepherding of them with great care – pray that we too may hear and come to realize in our lives the call of our Lord to give up all things for the sake of the kingdom, to be attached to nothing but service of the poor, service of God Himself in the humble of this earth; pray that like you we may have the heart of a shepherd, of a laborer in Jesus’ vineyard, united in the Spirit with all God’s children with whom we share His Heaven.

O patron of youth whose innocence was unsurpassed, whose desire to give yourself to the Lord in poverty and purity led you to relinquish your wealth in this world at a tender age that you might embrace Jesus fully – pray for the youth of our day and the child in each of our souls, that all might turn away from the temptations which surround and threaten to enter and enslave; let all turn toward the love of the Lord and His heavenly call, a call to a kingdom that surpasses everything of this earth and brings the joy known only in breathing and speaking His holy Name.