The BreadCast

O most devout spiritual guide, great pastor of your flock and of all souls, you who speak to us even this day with your words of wisdom and blessed direction – pray every branch of Jesus' vine may aspire to His perfection; in whatever state we find ourselves, let us set our hearts on loving the Lord and serving Him and neighbor prayerfully. Teach us to pray faithfully, to offer our lives in all situations, all for the glory of God. Our call may we hear and heed by your intercession, following the Christ and carrying His Cross as He leads.

(Heb.8:6-13; Ps.85:8,10-14; Mk.3:13-19) "I will be their God and they shall be my people." "Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land"; for absolute oneness do we find with our Lord and God through the ministry of His only Son. For the Lord has said of His new covenant, "All shall know me, from least to greatest," promising: "I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts." There shall be no separation from His presence for those who believe; His "kindness and truth shall meet" in us as they have in Jesus. Alleluia! But yet does the time move toward perfection. Though the new covenant be fulfilled in Jesus, it is still being fulfilled in the world and among those who dwell in the world. We know this because the Lord says of the covenant to come, through His prophet Jeremiah: "They shall not teach their fellow citizens or their brothers, saying, 'Know the Lord'" – there being no need any longer to teach the perfected – and also, "Their sins I will remember no more," meaning that sin will no longer exist. But Jesus upon commissioning the twelve apostles sends them out "to preach the good news" and "to have authority to expel demons," and to this day there is need, and great need, for instruction in the Word of God and healing by the expulsion of sin in Holy Confession. This ministry still in place, we know we have yet to reach perfection; we know we have yet to find absolute oneness with Christ and His sacrifice… and so, perfect union with the Father yet awaits us. "He appointed the twelve as follows: Simon to whom He gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James (He gave these two the name Boanerges, or 'sons of thunder'); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him." Upon these the new covenant is founded. By their ministry it shall grow, taking root in the world and bearing much fruit. And though Matthias must take the place of the traitorous Judas, there is no breaking the line that comes from these foundation stones: all of the coming kingdom is traced to them and from them, for they are anointed by the Son and by them God will make all His children. Brothers and sisters, "the Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase." In His Church as in His arms make your home, for His blessings are upon us and shall be fulfilled. ******* O LORD, let us be companions of your Son that we might be made one with you. YHWH, as your Son is joined to you and the apostles to Him, so let us be joined to them that we might be joined to Jesus and you, and your promise might be fulfilled and your NAME be written on our hearts. O let it be so, that all shall know you, that we shall be your people. O LORD, let truth spring out of the earth as your justice looks down from Heaven. Let the union of Heaven and earth accomplished in your Son be accomplished in us as we join ourselves to Him. O let us walk in the way of His steps that we might find salvation! LORD, forgive us our sins, remember them no more – cast all evil from us. May the priests who stand in your Son's place absolve us of all wrongdoing as we come on our knees before them. Your power be upon us for good; by your Word let us be taught, till we are entirely one with you, living in your New Covenant, living in the flesh of Christ, as His holy Body.

O lover of the least, the most wretched of society, whom you embraced when no one else would; how like St. Francis you were in your care for the lepers, in your living the Gospel as an image of Christ: He was hungry and you fed Him, thirsty and you gave Him drink, naked and you clothed Him and cared for Him when He was sick – pray our hearts will burn with the same sacrificial love you bore so well for those most abandoned, that truly we shall see Christ in them and welcome Him into our homes… may their suffering be our own. How else shall we become holy? How else shall we be welcomed into the kingdom with you?

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.

(Heb.7:25-8:6; Ps.40:7-10,17; Mk.3:7-12) "Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He forever lives to make intercession for them." Oh how the people approach Him today, seeking healing, seeking grace: "a great crowd followed Him from Galilee, and an equally great multitude came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon" – from all around they came to press upon Him, to press upon Him… "All who had afflictions kept pushing toward Him to touch Him. Unclean spirits would catch sight of Him, fling themselves down at His feet, and shout, "You are the Son of God!" So great were their numbers He needed to take refuge in a fishing boat. Oh "the press of the crowd against Him," the press of the crowd. They could not resist drawing toward Him who stood at the center of the universe, Him who stood in the place of God, Him who was God. Greater than the pull of gravity was the pull of their hearts toward salvation. And do you think He has left you, brother? Do you say, "Where is He now that I need healing, that I may press upon Him myself?" He has not left you alone; He has multiplied His presence and increased His grace through the ministry of His apostles. They now go out to those who would press upon Him, and through these priests they find the high priest, He who is "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens." Indeed, He is not on earth anymore and His ministry is not earthly – yet He is ever present to all who stretch forth their hands to Him. Do you not know the immense mercy available to you in the Sacrament of Confession? Do you not realize the heavenly food you eat in Holy Communion? Press upon Him this day; approach the priests who, despite their imperfections, hold the power He has left in our midst, and to your loving God you will come. "Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry now," and "He is mediator of a better covenant," an eternal covenant. Brothers and sisters, "we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, minister of the sanctuary and of that true tabernacle set up not by man but by the Lord." What greater gift could we ask for? How much more exalted could we be called to be than to receive mercy from Him who dwells in the heart of the Father, than to take food from the hands of Him who holds the hand of God? O Lord, "may all who seek you exult and be glad in you, And may those who love your salvation say ever, 'The Lord be glorified.'" ******* O LORD, your Son has taken on our flesh that He might draw us into the sanctuary of your presence O let us join ourselves to Him! YHWH, your Son is able to save all those who approach Him, for He sits with you in the heavenly sanctuary having offered Himself for our sakes. And so the crowds press upon Him, and so the devils cannot but recognize His power over them… and so we are saved from our sin by our faith in Him and offering ourselves to you through His hands. O LORD, may we be an acceptable sacrifice to you, joined well to the sacrifice of Jesus. May we say with Him, "I come to do your will," and think of nothing but obedience to your call. Write your law within our hearts that we might transcend the darkness of this place as we align our lives with your Son's and die to all that keeps us from you. He is made perfect forever in your presence and intercedes for us to be made perfect with Him. O let us press upon Him this day that we might ever glorify your NAME.

(Heb.7:1-3,15-17; Ps.110:1-4; Mk.3:1-6) "Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever." We hear today more specifically about "Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God," whose name means "king of justice" and also "king of peace," who is therefore so like our King Jesus; it is in his line the Lord takes His place. "Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor," King David declares of his Lord and our Lord. Indeed before the dawn of light upon earth, Jesus is King: He is the only-begotten Son of God whose rule is from everlasting to everlasting; and His priesthood, like that of Melchizedek, is "in virtue of the power of a life which cannot be destroyed" – not by physical descent but by spiritual ascension. From God Himself He receives His kingship and His priestly anointing. In contrast to the eternal priesthood and princely headship of our Lord and Savior, we see in our gospel those whose power comes only by "virtue of a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent," and which is, therefore, passing away. Indeed, before their eyes it passes this day as Jesus stands before the Pharisees at the front of the synagogue and calls them to acceptance of the greater glory now in their midst. But they "closed their minds against Him" as they refused to realize the limitations of their own calling as leaders of the people, choosing to cling to a dying law and a power which is being taken from them even as a greater is offered, rather than stretching forth their hands to the Lord, in whom the law takes life and finds fulfillment, through whom all power comes… Yes, the Lord "stretch[es] forth" "the scepter of [His] power" even as the man stretches forth his "shriveled hand" here at the front of the synagogue, before all the people and their teachers on a sabbath day, and finds it "perfectly restored." The same He would do for each of them and for all of us, if we but recognized His transcendent power and glory, if we but realized He is the Son of God. ******* O LORD, your Son is of the Spirit but we are of the flesh; help us to offer this poor flesh through His eternal priesthood. YHWH, in the line of Melchizadek your Son comes to us, without beginning of days or end of life, for by you He is begotten before the world was brought forth. And so His power is like your own, and so in Him we shall not die but be healed of all evil upon us. We praise you, LORD, for your justice toward us, for the presence of your Son. For in Him we take our refuge; in Him we find our salvation. O let us freely reach out our hands to the grace He offers that He might stretch forth His scepter toward us and we be made whole in your sight! The Day you make is one of peace, O LORD, and so the Son you send brings to us that peace. Let us give to Him our possessions, even our very body and soul; for all He touches He sanctifies, and so we will thus be blessed by Him. No hardened heart could ever destroy Him or His love. Let us sacrifice ourselves with Him, LORD, that we might join Him at your right hand.

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.

(Heb.6:10-20; Ps.111:1-2,4-5,9-10; Mk.2:23-28) "I will indeed bless you, and multiply you." God promised to bless Abraham, to make his descendants numerous as the stars; and "He swore by Himself," "by oath," to carry out His promise, thus giving an unshakable, "unchangeable" "firmness to [the] promise." God does not go back on His word. And so, "after patient waiting, Abraham obtained what God had promised"; He became the father of many nations, of all those of faith. Now if God is so faithful, should we who are "heirs of His promise," who are children of Abraham in the faith and so the sharers of the same blessings promised to him, should not "we who have taken refuge in [God]… be strongly encouraged to seize the hope which is placed before us"? For we, "through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises"; and greater promises than Abraham do we receive at the hand of our Lord now, for our "hope extends beyond the veil through which Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf." As David "entered God's house… and ate the holy bread which only the priests were permitted to eat," and "even gave it to his men," so Jesus enters His Father's house, passing through the gates of heaven into the sanctuary, into the holy of holies, and there partakes of bread at His Father's hand… and indeed shares it with us, His brothers. Oh brothers and sisters, each day we partake of the bread of the angels from the hand of the Lord; it surrounds us like the "standing grain" around the disciples. And does it not prove to us that "great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights"? Doesn't it reveal to our souls that our hope in Him is "a sure and firm anchor," that His love for us is strong and all His promises are fulfilled in our midst, before our eyes? "God is not unjust." No, "gracious and merciful is the Lord." "Holy and awesome is His name," and He shares the glory of His presence with all His children: "He has given food to those who fear Him." So, let us "not grow lazy" in faith but take strength in this food He supplies. "He will not forget [our] work and the love [we] have shown Him by [our] service." But let us continue to serve Him in our brothers; let us "show the same zeal till the end," that all His promises we may taste. Indeed, the more we eat His bread, the more we accomplish His work, the more His blessings are multiplied, in us and in the world! "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." The gift of God's rest is ours, releasing us from slavery. Freedom we find in His name, blessing we find in His promise – His rest is upon us as we remain in Him. And "He will forever be mindful of His covenant": His blessings shall ever increase in our souls. ******* O LORD, your Son has entered into your presence that we might be fed with the Bread of Life – let us hope always in Him. YHWH, if Abraham's cause for hope was great, how much greater is our own, we for whom Jesus has passed through the veil of death that we might enter your presence? Now that your Word has been made flesh and been given to us as food for our journey, how much stronger should our faith be, and so, how much surer our work? We should not bend in the wind like standing heads of grain but know the glory to which we are called as we reach up to you through the grace that is with us by the sacrifice of your Son. O LORD, you are indeed gracious and merciful; you look upon our needs and answer them. You promise to be with us always and increase and multiply our works, so long as we remain faithful to you. Let us trust in your Word to us and find hope always that you are near. In Jesus your Son, you have walked among us – your great love for man let us never forget. Give us the food we need even this day, O LORD, the Bread that is our very life.

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.