The BreadCast

O soldier for the Lord and servant of the poor who trusted in God alone and gave your life for those in need – may we, too, become friends of the one Lord, purified of all dross by the trials we endure and by doing His will in this world. His children let us become as we care for the children most in need, those who seem abandoned by Him. His hands and His heart let us be, that in such love we shall be free of all fear and separation from the Father and so dwell with those we serve in the peace of Heaven.

O proclaimers of the faith even unto death, death on a cross, you who have followed in the way of our Lord so completely, loving your enemies even as they killed you, encouraging your brothers even with your last breath – may the blood you shed not be forgotten by those of the nation in which you preached and by all souls who seek God; may it nourish the land and bring it to bear much fruit unto Heaven. Pray that we who are so fearful here may find the faith and courage you displayed and so be blessed with the same grace that imparts the peace of the kingdom.

O good child of God who gave your life so willingly for the sake of Christ and so wore His holy blood upon your robes, you who were blessed to remain ever faithful to the Lord even as those around you turned from His presence – pray for us this day that our lives too may be holy and blessed as your own, that we too might give witness to the Lord with the same pure love you did so readily show. Pray we shall be wed to the Spouse you so intimately knew and thus become one with Him and all His saints in Heaven. May our lives also be good, may they also be godly, and may we, too, stand as others fall.

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 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 Blessed Virgin in whose womb was conceived the only Son of God, who by such grace has brought salvation to our race… What faith is yours in God the Father! What power is upon you by the Holy Spirit! What unutterable wonder we find in your Son! How is it one of our own number could give birth to our Creator? Such glorious union with the Godhead we could never merit nor discover except that the Lord has chosen you – pray this day He shall be born in us, too.

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.