The BreadCast

O innocent martyrs of the Christ who gave your lives from the cradle for Him who carries the Cross, who suffered and died in His place even before His crucifixion, even as His martyrs would do after His death on the Tree – let our hearts cry not for the evil that has wrought your violent death; pray we not fear the dark wrath of this world’s king but set our hearts on the joy of our Lord’s kingdom, where you now reign with Him and to which we hope to come by the laying down of our own lives in His Name. And pray for the least among us who suffer the most this day, that they who are murdered in the womb will know the light of Christ’s holy face.

O great defender of the faith, of the clear waters, the wellspring of salvation that flows from the Sacred Heart of our Savior into His holy Church, thus to nourish the world and fill it with truth and wisdom and love… you whom the Lord inspired with apostolic zeal to teach and lead souls along His holy way – teach us today by your gracious intercession to be faithful, to be obedient to the voice of Jesus and the Spirit speaking in the Mother the Lord God provides His pilgrim people. Let us not be separated from His Word and His precious Body and Blood, but come together as one in His presence.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

O pure Mother, you are she who is full of grace; it is you who have found the Lord’s favor. Preserved from all sin from the womb, overflowing with all His blessings, you are the hope of our race, the one created soul most like to God – pray for us this day, dear Mother, that we might be kept from the snares of the world, from the enticements of the devil. O help us be pure as you, obedient to the will of the Father, bringing His Son into this world by the Holy Spirit’s power. You who now reign in Heaven with the Lord, your only Son, intercede for us who toil on earth that we too might enter God’s presence; you who are blessed to be one with Him, pray the Church you bear be so well founded. Hail, Full of Grace! Your name be blessed forever by all generations.

O good bishop and wise doctor of the Church – pray for us, that the water that is Christ might pour upon our souls, especially His chosen apostles, your fellow bishops, and fill all with wisdom from on high, leading us away from all lies to the truth that is Jesus. Pray our hearts shall be filled to overflowing with this Word, that the Gospel might be preached by lips anointed with the Body and Blood of our Lord; may the darkness of error be dispelled and God’s pure light shine in our midst. Pray for us, good doctor, pray for us; lead us indeed to the truth that is Christ.

O bishop of Myra, shepherd of the Lord’s sheep who has with a generous heart cared so well for His little ones… all became as your children, for you loved your flock with the love of Christ Himself; their needs were your own – pray our hearts will be like yours, that just so generously we will give to those in need, provide for those in our care. I pray you will see us now as your children here and beg the bearer of all good gifts to provide for all those most in need, that in joy all souls may welcome His coming, ready for the joys of Heaven. May our love be one with the love of our Good Shepherd, now and in eternity.