The BreadCast

(Sir.17:1-15; Ps.103:13-18; Mk.10:13-16) "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them." O how the Lord "looks with favor upon [our] hearts, and shows [us] His glorious works"! And because "His majestic glory their eyes beheld, His glorious voice their ears heard," so the "people were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them," so they were offering their precious loved ones into the arms of the Savior. And should we not all come to Him, should we not all run into His arms… are we not all His children? Brothers and sisters, "the Lord from the earth created man, and in His own image He made him." Do you hear that? In His own image we are made, as His sons and daughters. "He endows [us] with a strength of His own… He forms our tongues and eyes and ears, and imparts to [us] an understanding heart." He makes us as Himself, and then fills us with His presence! And should we not come to Him, should we not come to His only Son, our own dear brother, the perfection of our race, that all disfigurement might be taken from us and we might radiate the light of God, that we might be remade in His image? The Lord is only love and "His eyes are ever upon [our] ways" to guide us to His love. He is "as a father [who] has compassion on his children." Yes, "the kindness of the Lord is from eternity to eternity toward those who fear Him," and those who fear Him are His children. But this fear, this overwhelming awe at the love the Maker of the universe has toward His simple creatures, is not one which makes us run from Him, but which moves us to leap into the arms of our Redeemer, into the arms of Him whose arms are always open to receive us, always open to embrace His children. We know our blessed brother John has told us with holy affection that "we are God's children now" (1Jn.3:2). Of this grace at the hands of our Lord he has spoken most eloquently, most simply – most lovingly. And it is so for all who love Him. And so we should not hinder our hearts from coming to Him, from embracing Him as He embraces us… from giving ourselves to Jesus (particularly in the Sacrament), that we might be formed in His image. Come to Him who is one with the Father, and one with the Father you shall become. ******* O LORD, only your children come to you; welcome us into your kingdom. YHWH, let us come to you as children, trusting in your love. And you will embrace us, and you will bless us… and we will come into your kingdom on high. We are but dust, O LORD, and our days pass like those of the grass. A breath from your mouth and we are gone. But it is your Breath that gives us life, that makes us wise, that makes us holy – that causes us to share in your glory. You have created us from the earth but have endowed us with a spirit like your own. Let us know your kindness upon us that we may endure unto eternity. LORD, let us remain in awe of you, ever grateful for the gifts that you give us, for the wonder that is upon us every day of our lives. Let us not be separated from you but always be as your children, innocent and obedient and humble as you. To your Son let us run and so find a home in His flesh and blood, and so be adopted into your love.

(Sir.6:5-17; Ps.119:12,16,18,27,34-35; Mk.10:1-12) "They are no longer two but one flesh." How much more clearly could the Lord speak of the unity found in marriage and so the respect due this sacrament? How better could He get His point across to you that marriage is indissoluble, that it is not to be played with, that you commit adultery as you consider divorcing your spouse? "At the beginning of creation God made them male and female." And by this Jesus does not mean that two separate creatures were made – He means that every one of God's human beings is both male and female, and that in marriage one finds his wholeness in the sight of God. When Adam was formed of the dust of the earth, Eve was already present within him, in his very body. She was not created apart from him, but taken from him, "from man" – which is the meaning of "woman." Adam when he was first made held both male and female in himself, and when woman was taken from him, built of his rib, the two did not cease to be one. Thus does he recognize Eve as flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. Thus the two are inseparable. In marriage this inherent unity returns, is fulfilled. "Therefore, let no man separate what God has joined." And if "a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; [and] he who finds one finds a treasure," how much more of a shelter is a spouse in whose body one makes his home – how much more valuable a treasure? A friend and more is made by the marriage vow, for truly the spouses become one with one another, and one with the Lord. And so, "when you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him." Know that you are joining yourself to this spouse body and soul, and such commitment is not to be taken lightly or falsely, with an eye toward leaving "when sorrow comes." Beware, lest you find "a friend who becomes an enemy," or that you yourself are not a trustworthy mate. For once joined you cannot be separated, try in vain as you will. One might as well cut off a healthy limb as seek divorce, so grotesque is the proposal. Worse than this, it is as cutting out one's heart, for how can one divide blood that is commingled? But you who are faithful of heart, know what blessing awaits you, for "a faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds." And if you seek "discernment, that [you] may observe [God's] law and keep it with all [your] heart," your spouse shall serve as savior to you, who are united with her to Christ. In her you will find your life, even as the two become one. ******* O LORD, may we take refuge in your friendship. YHWH, bless all marriages this day; may there be true, lasting friendship between all who vow their love for one another. May they understand the commitment they make and the grace that comes to those faithful to it. Let us not think that we can separate at will, O LORD; help us to realize the bond that comes even from you in this holy sacrament. Let us not harden our hearts against your loving will but sacrifice our desires to find union with that love. Let us never be adulterous in our relationships with one another or with you. You would make a sturdy shelter for all those who marry in your NAME and in the blood of your only Son. LORD, what could be of greater worth to us than a faithful friend, a faithful husband or wife, and a marriage founded in your surpassing love? Open all eyes to the wonders you hold for those who love as you command. Write your NAME upon our hearts and upon our wedding promises.

(Sir.5:1-8; Ps.1:1-4,6,40:50; Mk.9:41-50) "Mercy and anger are alike with Him; upon the wicked alights His wrath." "The way of the wicked vanishes." It must vanish. It cannot but vanish, for there is no place for wickedness in the kingdom of God. And so, what is wicked must "be thrown into Gehenna": what is to "enter life" must be purified. Thus does the Lord command – Cut off your hand! Cut off your foot! Tear out your eye! Remove even with violence whatever causes you to sin to preserve your life unto heaven. For it is indeed better that you "enter life maimed" or "crippled" or "with one eye," than to have your whole body cast into the fires of hell. Do you fear being "plunged into the sea with a great millstone fastened around [your] neck"? Does this seem a terrible fate? The fires of hell are infinitely worse, and those of purgatory approach them. Know that "everyone will be salted with fire"; everyone must be purified of sin. And you can refuse this truth and so find yourself in the place "the worm does not die and the fire is never extinguished," you can delay your purgation and suffer a measure of these flames in the state of purification after death – or you can remove the sin from your soul by the grace of God now, while there is yet time and His mercy is yet abundant. "Great is His mercy; my many sins He will forgive," you say, and you are not wrong. But do you know how the mercy of God affects the sinful soul? Do you think it a pleasant experience to be cleansed, to be refined as by fire? Do you not understand that the Lord's love and justice, His mercy and anger, are one for the wicked. Yes, "the Lord will exact the punishment" that brings refreshment and renewal. He must. How else shall you be purged and purified for heaven? All the sins upon your blackened soul are removed only by the chastising flames of His love. So, "delay not your conversion to the Lord, put it not off from day to day." Be not a fool "adding sin upon sin," for every transgression must be accounted for. But the Lord's blood will wash me clean, you may say, if you have some sense of His redemptive sacrifice. Yes, but it is still your soul that must be cleansed, and you shall own the purgatorial fires. And so, hasten this day to the confessional; turn resolutely from your sin. Then pray for the Lord's indulgence, and you may be spared even temporal punishment for your transgressions (and even serve in the Lord's stead to release others from the pain of purgatorial flames). ******* O LORD, we will all be salted with fire – may our souls be preserved from your wrath. YHWH, let your wrath not suddenly flame forth to destroy our lives; the way of the wicked let us not walk that the unquenchable fire we shall never know. You cannot but be angry with those who persist in sin – you cannot pretend that such evil does not exist or look past the hardened heart. All will know your purgatorial flames, but may they be redeeming for every soul. Why are we so foolish, O LORD? Why do we not turn to you this day, this hour, and delight in the Law you offer for our salvation? Should we not walk the way of love your Son has set forth for us and seek to soothe His desire for our love by meditating on your Word and serving those who bring it to us? Let us not be cast into the sea with a millstone around our necks, LORD, but drink in the running water that comes from your Church, from the side of Christ. Only this will quench the fires of your wrath.

(Sir.4:11-19; Ps.119:165,168,171-172,174-175; Mk.9:38-40) "Those who serve her serve the Holy One; those who love her the Lord loves." Such is wisdom, she who "instructs her children and admonishes those who seek her," she under whose counsel we become the children of God. And I cannot help but think as I contemplate this personification of wisdom, how well and how appropriately she is embodied by our Blessed Mother, she who was immaculately conceived, she under whose mantle even Jesus our Savior "advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man" (Lk.2:52). "To Jesus through Mary" is the motto of the fortunate souls who have consecrated themselves to the Virgin (even as St. Louis De Montfort most wisely instructs), and it is through her intercession that we find God's graces and favors lovingly bestowed upon us. She is our dear Mother, and instructs us as she has her Son. Indeed it is His beloved disciple John whom the Lord must admonish today, teaching him that those who do the Lord's work serve Him, and these He blesses; and, of course, it is this same disciple to whom Jesus will entrust His Blessed Mother – and she to him – even while dying on the cross: "He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home" (Jn.19:26-27). And now as she has taught Him, so she shall teach His beloved, shall teach all His Church, how to follow the Holy One. And certainly the home into which John gathered the Virgin Mary was more than an earthly domicile: even "from that hour" he took her into his heart. And she is with us still; she is with him who remains (see Jn.21:20-23), with the Church here on earth, serving as our Mother, guiding us in all wisdom. And, my brother, my sister, do not be discouraged if "at first she puts [you] to the test… and tries [you] with her discipline," for she only seeks to learn that your "heart is fully with her," and so, fully with her Son; she only longs to teach you wisdom. She will come back "to bring [you] happiness and reveal her secrets" to you. And as long as you remain with her, she will hold you in her loving arms as no other mother, and form you in the divine image of her blessed Son. O Lord, "those who love your law have great peace," for in your wisdom all question and doubt flee. Discipline me by your Word and form me in the womb of your Blessed Mother. "Let my soul live to praise you," for I would be in your company forever. May your wisdom and grace keep me from "the hands of despoilers." ******* O LORD, your wisdom transcends Heaven and earth; let us listen to your instruction. YHWH, let us never be against you, never fail in our embrace of the wisdom and grace that pour forth from your throne. Into your glory let us come, obediently following in the way of your Son, listening ever to His words of instruction. If we serve Him and love Him we will know the blessings that are upon Him through you and the Spirit. Let us not be forgetful, O LORD, forgetful of the blessings we have known or the ones which are yet promised us if we continue along the path your precepts mark out for us in this dark world. Because the world is dark, you must sometimes hide your face from us, you must sometimes seem dark to our minds, which are clouded over by sin and the inclination to sin. But if we reach out to you, if we seek your will, trusting in your love, we will indeed come soon to sing your praise in the surpassing light of your kingdom. Let us fear no discipline, LORD, but rather rejoice in carrying our cross with your Son.

(Sir.2:1-11; Ps.37:3-5,18-19,27-28,39-40; Mk.9:30-37) "My son, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials." Is Jesus not "teaching His disciples in this vein" when He speaks of His imminent death, a death they shall share, and calls them to "remain the least one of all and the servant of all," even as He is? Their arguing about importance reveals that they have not understood who they are, and so He would remind them that "in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation." A kind of humiliation is upon the Lord's disciples today as they fall silent in shame for "arguing about who was the most important, as Jesus stands a humble, silent child "in their midst" and calls them to embrace him, even as He has. They must make themselves lower than even this "little child," they must be even more "sincere of heart and steadfast," if they are to find the reward which awaits them. Yes, they must "cling to Him" even as He clings to them – even as He clings to this child – and "thus will [their] future be great"; thus will they come through the Son to the Father in heaven. "Crushing misfortune" awaits the Lord's disciples, for soon He shall be taken from them, and they will understand what His death means. But as long as they continue to "fear the Lord… [their] reward will not be lost"; for "three days after His death He will rise," and those who give their lives as He has done, even as the least of all, shall also know what His resurrection means. Oh brothers and sisters, "the Lord watches over the lives of the wholehearted; their inheritance lasts forever," and we must be counted among their number. The Lord "forsakes not His faithful ones"; there is no one who has "hoped in the Lord and been disappointed." So let our hope be in Him and our service be for Him, and He will help us to endure "whatever befalls" us. If He is our "refuge in time of distress," we shall know our salvation, for whoever stands with Him in times of trial will also stand with Him in glory. Let us but remain humble before Him, as a child; let us but accept the children He would place in our arms… and the birth pangs we find will but lead us to our home in heaven. To His house the Lord leads us, even in this life. Let us listen to His teaching. ******* O LORD, even in times of crushing misfortune you are with us, if we but turn to you in humility. YHWH, you are more humble than a little child, and if we could but trust in you and be as you, you would care for us in all things. Make us as your children, as humble souls in your holy hand, that into your image we may be molded. Your Son would lead us to you, LORD. By His death He would show us the trust we must have in your love. We must give all things over unto you, even our very life's breath, to find how faithful you are, to find the life that is in you. After three days Jesus did rise, and if we but trust our own death to you, we shall rise with Him. O LORD, let us not fear trial or distress, but in such humiliation increase our faith. This is your gift to us; this would bring us closer to you. And what more should we desire than to be more like you, who are more humble than a speck of dust, whose days are without end.

(Sir.1:1-10; Ps.93:1-2,5; Mk.9:14-29) "There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon His throne: It is the Lord." "The Lord is King, in splendor robed," and He alone knows "wisdom's root" and all "her subtleties"; for it is He who created her and "poured her forth upon all His works." And so He alone, whose "throne stands firm from of old," He alone understands all things, and can answer any question. And should we not be awestruck by His presence? That the Lord is robed in splendor as King over all we have seen only recently. Even today He descends from the mountain on which He was transfigured; and though His face no longer shines more brightly than the sun, yet "immediately on catching sight of Jesus, the whole crowd was overcome with awe" and rushed up to Him, for still His glorious presence overwhelms. At the base of the mountain the crowd and the disciples are engaged with the scribes "in a lively discussion" about the condition and fate of a poor child horribly possessed by a demon. Their words are empty wind, but the one with all answers approaches. And with a measure of faith from the boy's father and those surrounding, He casts out the devil which even the disciples could not command, and which the scribes could not comprehend. "What an unbelieving lot [we] are! How long must [the Lord] remain with [us]? How long can [He] endure" our lack of wisdom and grace? Brothers and sisters, why do we so lack faith? Why do we say to the Lord, "If you can"? Do we not know that "everything is possible to a man who trusts"? Do we think the Lord's power is somehow cut short? Yes, we are weak and pitiable creatures, blind to the glory which surrounds us, but He is not! He is that glory, and that glory He shines for us. We need but come to Him with the awe the crowd shows today, and He will do all things for us. "All wisdom comes from the Lord and with Him it remains forever"; and for us "fear of the Lord is glory and splendor," for by fear of the Lord are we graced with His wisdom. And then what shall we lack of His power? Indeed, we shall by holy fear come to know the "holiness [that] befits [His] house" and so dwell with Him who is "from everlasting." Do you believe this, my brother, my sister? Come to the One who is seated far above us, and you shall do His work here on earth with the wisdom His Blessed Mother imparts to all her blessed children. ******* O LORD, in your wisdom and majesty you save us from all evil; let us stand with you in holiness. YHWH, shine your wisdom upon us like holy light; let us grope in darkness no more, blind to your presence. Jesus your Son has come down from the mountain to remain with us – may we run to Him for healing. If wisdom had not been revealed to us, how would we know your majesty, LORD? If the Christ had not come to us, what would we know of your glory? But as it is, He has come, and in Him all things are ours to know. As it is, the Spirit now breathes upon us. May we be blessed with fear of you, O LORD our God, that all demons may be cast from our hearts and we might stand in strength with your only Son. O let us have faith in Him and the power at His command! Let us know that we are the work of your hands and to holiness in your House you call us. In awe let us come before you.

(1Sm.26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,12-13; 1Cor.15:45-49; Lk.6:27-38) "Who can lay hands on the Lord's anointed and remain unpunished?" This does David say of Saul the king of Israel – of him who has come into the desert to hunt David down and kill him – even as he stands beside a sleeping Saul, well able to "nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear." But even though it seems that "God has delivered [his] enemy into [David's] grasp," he foregoes the opportunity, humbly respecting him whom God has ordained. Thus does he presage Christ's own teaching to "love your enemies." It is so in the heavenly teaching of the Lord that we who are to be like "the second man, from heaven," and not like "the first [who] was from earth, earthly"; it is so that if we are to hear His words and be like Christ Himself – and who else is there to be like? – we must treat all men as David treats Saul, as if God's anointing is upon them. All must be respected as blessed by God; all must be loved as His children. Even if they hunt us down and kill us, even if they take all things from us, yet we must pray for their souls… for still God's blessing is upon them, and we must bless them with Him. Brothers and sisters, "He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." Do you see this? Though in the end He will judge (and not we), yet nothing cuts short the love of God; no act of man keeps him from the Lord's abundant grace. And we must "be merciful, just as [our] Father is merciful," if we hope to come into His kingdom and look upon His face. For only those who are of Him enter there. If you love as a sinner loves, if you love like an earthly man, with an earthly mind and an earthly heart, expecting something in return, how can you hope to be where He is, He who does not measure His love in earthly terms? Unending is His love, surpassing all and overwhelming all in its infinite greatness… and will you count the pennies that you offer? You need only look upon the cross, upon the corpus fixed firmly there, to see the love to which you are called: you must "bear the image of the heavenly" man. And you need only look clearly at what the Lord has done in your own life, He who "pardons all your iniquities, [who] heals all your ills," to understand His call. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He put our transgressions from us." And should we not do the same for others who have sinned against us, who have nailed us to the tree? Or would you fall short of His love? "Merciful and gracious is the Lord," and if He does not "requite us according to our crimes" but treats us "as a father [who] has compassion on his children," so all men should be as the Lord's blessed children in our eyes. Written, Read, and Chanted by James Kurt. Music: "True Love" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, help us to love our enemies even as your Son has done for all of us sinners. YHWH, you are gracious and merciful, but we are weak and sinful. How shall we be like you? How shall we bear the image of your Son? How shall we move from being earthly to heavenly men? Indeed, it is only by your mercy. O LORD, we must reflect your great mercy if we are to find the mercy we so desperately need for our own souls. And sharing in this mercy of yours is mercy itself, is your greatest gift to us, your poor creatures. What more could we hope for than to be like you? For what more could we ask than to be of your love? You it is who pardon all our iniquities, who spare sinful man. Though our deeds against you deserve death, though for our crimes we merit destruction – though we should be nailed to the ground with one thrust of your spear, we are freed from such a fate by your Son's sacrifice on the Cross… and we are called to join Him there. Forgive all who sin against us, LORD, that we might be saved.

(1Pt.5:1-4; Ps.23:1-6; Mt.16:13-19) "On this rock I will build my Church." And Simon's name is changed to "Peter", which means "Rock", to signify that here is the chief shepherd of the Church, upon whom the Church on earth rests. It is he to whom Jesus gives "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Though all the apostles are given the power to bind and loose, it is Peter who leads – "a fellow elder" among all the elders and yet the one who speaks for all. It is not by man's decision that Peter is the Rock of the Church, but by the word of the Lord Himself. Just as "no mere man ha[d] revealed" to him that Jesus is "the Messiah… the Son of the living God," so no mere man works through him today as our Pope guides the ship that is the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is led by the Church and its teachings we are guided "in right paths." It is as we dwell in this "house of the Lord" that we are protected from all harm. "The Lord is my shepherd," and the Shepherd of all, and into the hands of Peter and the apostles He places care for His flock. How well this first among equals instructs his fellow shepherds today in his letter: "God's flock is in your midst; give it a shepherd's care." How well does Peter answer the Lord's call to strengthen his brothers, to see that His sheep are fed. The key pitfalls of "coercion" and "shameful profit" and "lording it over those assigned" to them, he warns them clearly against, and reminds them of "the unfading crown of glory" that awaits them. It is they who must give "courage" to the flock, they who anoint heads with oil to make the cup of the Church overflow, even here on earth… and as they are faithful, they are Christ's own special children. To those who still doubt the primacy of Peter and its absolute necessity, I invite you to read again Scripture and notice how often and always Peter speaks for the whole and acts for the whole body as he does today. It is to all the apostles Jesus asks, "Who do you say that I am?" and though all may have faith, only one speaks up and answers in no uncertain terms. As he does at the first council at Jerusalem, as he did in coming to the Lord on the water, Peter speaks and leads in the power of the Spirit. The Church is one in Christ, and it has one rock it is set upon. Written, read & chanted, and produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, as long as we remain in your House we shall be secure, for the faith of Peter will strengthen us. YHWH, the keys of the kingdom of Heaven you entrust to Peter; he is the Rock upon which your Church is set, the chief Shepherd leading all the rest. Though your Son alone be the cornerstone, the true foundation of this House, it is into the hands of Peter you entrust your flock by his confession of faith. You are at his side always, ever assisting him in leading the ewes with care. It is by your Spirit he rules this House, generously giving his life in union with Jesus, our Savior. And so, in verdant pastures your sheep make their home. In your presence we are blessed to remain by your grace upon our souls, dearest LORD. O living God, bless this day all your bishops and priests, and especially the Holy Father. You indeed bless them by revealing yourself to them and strengthening them for the work they must accomplish. With them may we all walk in the footsteps of your Son, laying down our lives for all, that we might come to eternal rest in the glory of your kingdom.

(Gn.11:1-9; Ps.33:10-15; Mk.8:34-9:1) "What profit does a man show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process?" Listen to what the men of old said among themselves at a time when "the whole world spoke the same language, using the same words." As they were migrating, they stopped in a valley and declared: "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." Hear how their desires reflect the Lord's warning, "Whoever would save his life will lose it." For the Lord will thwart their plans made in a vain pride quite apart from Him and see that what they fear shall indeed come to pass – from this point they shall be forced to continue their migration, being scattered to the four corners of the earth. Like David when he sought to number the people in his kingdom rather than allowing their increase in the sight of God, they do not put trust in the Lord but in the work of their own hands to make themselves a name. And such work, such plans, cannot but come to ruin. "The Lord brings to naught the plans of nations; He foils the designs of peoples"; only "the plan of the Lord stands forever, the design of His heart, through all generations." And we must thank God that this is so. For left to our own devices, we would go on "doing whatever [we] presume to do." Thus does God save us from doing as we please because "He who fashioned the heart of each, He who knows all their works," knows well how inclined the human heart is to evil; He has witnessed the destruction that ensues when we are left to ourselves, and from this fate He would rescue our souls. And so does He "confuse their language" at the Tower of Babel; so from there "He scattered them all over the earth" – to keep them from the sinful plots they would concoct. Of course, our tongues are united again after Pentecost; we become one people under one God once more. And indeed, "happy [is] the nation whose God is the Lord." But those who are set apart from Him, who do not lose their lives "for [His] sake and the Gospel's," do better in separation, where their sin is not as able to thrive. And so, until that day "when He comes with the holy angels in His Father's glory," until the time of fulfillment of the coming oneness of all the children of God, only those who dedicate themselves entirely to Jesus and His cross will "see the reign of God established in power" here on this earth – even as "this faithless and corrupt age" courts its inevitable destruction in its unyielding pride. ******* O LORD, let it be your reign we seek and not our own, that our work might be blessed and not cast to the ground. YHWH, vision of you alone let us desire. Your reign established in power let us see coming even this day. This world shall soon pass away; upon it let us not set our hearts or we shall die in a vain pride. If we seek to serve you, LORD, laying down our lives under the Cross with Jesus your Son, then alone will we be blessed and dwell in the City you prepare for us. But if we seek to make a name for ourselves, if by our own hands we would build our house – if we think we can raise bricks on this earth to attain to your heavenly kingdom, we shall be cast down to that earth in which we put our trust. O LORD, it is you who fashioned and made us and we can do nothing of worth apart from you. If we turn our backs to the way you mark out for us, we shall be aimless wanderers on this earth. Let our words only praise you and your glory and we shall share in your reign.

(Gn.9:1-13; Ps.102:16-23,29; Mk.8:27-33) "The children of your servants shall abide, and their posterity shall continue in your presence." In our first reading from Genesis, God remakes the world. As once He sent forth Adam and Eve upon their creation, so now He blesses Noah and his sons with the same words: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth." Here we are reminded that "in the image of God has man been made," and once again God calls man to "abound on the earth and subdue it," giving him power over all its living creatures. And now a promise is added, a covenant is made "between [God] and the earth," sealed with the sign of the rainbow – "never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth"… We shall endure on the land He has made for us. And the Lord works to remake His people in our gospel as well, as "on the way He ask[s] His disciples… 'Who do you say that I am?'" He is the new Creation, He is "the Messiah," and in Him all children shall be remade in the image of God, shall become as His only Son. And these truly shall endure, their posterity shall continue forever in the presence of Him who never dies. Even after the final destruction of this earth and those who cling to it by the fire of God, even beyond the covenant made with Noah, which shall so soon pass with the dust from which we were made… eternally we shall remain in the new heavens and the new earth, the ones which themselves will never pass away. For God's promise to Noah is only for as long as the earth endures, but the earth is indeed passing away: only the covenant Jesus is bringing to His disciples and their posterity is one which is lasting as Heaven. But to achieve this covenant, to found it firmly in the soul of Peter and his brothers and all us children of these servants, death must come to the only Son, and so surely to us all. The paradox seems difficult to comprehend, but with the vision of God, who "look[s] down from His holy height," it is easy to see: as long as the earth endures and we upon it, so long shall sin also endure. (This is what the Lord sees when "from heaven He [beholds] the earth.") Thus the only way to "release those doomed to die" by their imprisonment to sin is for the corrupted vessel in which we dwell to pass from the Lord's sight. Thus does Jesus Christ die. This must He do in the place of evil man and all his abominations that the world now in the hands of Satan might be destroyed, and the Spirit of God come to life. And so His sacrifice brings our salvation, brings us new life in the New Jerusalem, where the servants of the Lord increase and multiply. In the domain He has prepared by His blood, let us ever remain. ******* O LORD, look down and save us from destruction by the sacrifice of your only Son. YHWH, what do you see as you look down on us from your holy height? Can you be pleased with your creatures if they do not follow your ways? You desire to give us the earth and all it holds, but we are not worthy of such a gift. And so you send your only Son to redeem us, to remake us in your image, that we might be pleasing to you and that we might inherit not just this world but eternal life in Him who dies for us. Praise you for your kindness toward us! Let us come to Him and follow in His way. Jesus dies for us, LORD. In flesh He comes and offers His life that all the corruption upon us might be taken away, that it might die with Him on the Cross. And should we not follow Him to the Cross? Should we not see that all that is evil in us dies with Him that we might rise unto your heavenly kingdom? O let it be so! Let us come to the place where we shall never be destroyed. Look down upon us and hear our prayer.