The BreadCast

(1Jn.3:7-10; Ps.98:1,3,7-9; Jn.1:35-42) "When Jesus turned around and noticed them following Him, He asked them, 'What are you looking for?'" Brothers and sisters, what Jesus asks the first two disciples He asks each of us who follow in their wake. What do we seek? Why are we following Him? What is it we hope to find at the place where He stays? David makes clear in our psalm that the Son of God, "His holy arm," has been revealed in our midst – in "wondrous deeds" He "comes to rule the earth." "The world and those who dwell in it" should resound with joy. Him whom John the Baptist points out in no uncertainty is with us now. There is no other whom we should follow. And so we do. And so we come to Him each day, to receive our daily bread. Seeing where He lodges, we come to stay with Him. But what does the Lord see when He looks upon us? Does He stay with us? When Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, He "looked at him and said, 'You are Simon, son of John; your name shall be Cephas (which is rendered Peter).'" Jesus upon looking at Peter sees the Rock on which He will build His Church. Peter's holiness, the strength he has in God and for God, is evident to the Lord. Jesus knows what Peter seeks, and both have found what they are looking for. Is it upon our hearts as well to find the holiness of heaven, to become one with the Son of God? "The man who acts in holiness is holy indeed, even as the Son is holy," but "the man who sins belongs to the devil." Holiness or sin? Jesus or the devil? The choice is clear, and must be evident in our lives. "No one begotten of God acts sinfully" and "no one whose actions are unholy belongs to God." The first letter of John, our first reading, could not more simply state our call in the Lord: to be holy, not to sin… to love our brothers and sisters well – to be as Jesus, the Son most holy. Jesus will turn and see us; His eyes are upon us now. What does He see as He looks upon your heart? What is your answer to His question, "What are you looking for?" Let His dwelling be all you seek. ******* O LORD, let us follow your Son to where He lives, in holiness with you. YHWH, let us stay with you and with your Son. May He turn and look upon us with kindness, with pity for our frail condition. O let this Lamb take our sins from us that we might no longer be in the grip of the devil but come to eternal life in your House! The Messiah you have sent is in our midst this day; let us come to the altar to receive Him, to receive His holy sacrifice and become one with Him. Only thus shall we be made holy; only with Him will we find true justice and so rejoice in your presence, O LORD. O let us be ruled by Him! Make us your children, dear LORD. Make us as your only Son. May Jesus be with us this day and we with Him that we might become holy indeed. Never let us act sinfully but ever love as you love, as your Son loves us. Let us seek your love alone and so be founded upon true Rock, in your House.

O eminent Shepherd of God's people who led us from the catacombs into the light of day by a blessed peace with the city of man, allowing the Lord's Church to grow and flourish freely in its sacraments, in its worship of the one true God – pray the Body of Christ may again prosper in truth with its divine Head, that the Light that has come into the world may be proclaimed to the ends of the earth and all souls called by the Lord come to the font of Baptism and find the fullness of faith in the holy Catholic Church. Pray there be no dissension in the Body but that all shall be one in Him who is God Himself.

O blessed martyr who died in the cathedral, murdered by the king of this world as you defended the Chair of Peter and the true faith of the Church – where can we find bishops like yourself; how shall the Church be led without holy apostles willing to give their lives as Christ, in whose place they stand? Pray for us, devout shepherd, that many will be inspired by your example to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and defend the faith even unto the shedding of blood, for what is the shedding of blood in this world compared with the light of Heaven you now know in our Savior's presence? Pray for us and let us pray with you, seeking truth and love in our pilgrimage on this earth.

O three holy persons united as one in the humble home at Nazareth, Mary and Joseph with God's only Son… who became your Son, who became our Son, who became our Brother in all things human and shared with you the food of your table and the dust beneath your feet – you are our model upon this earth; you we should follow to find new birth in the Spirit, to find ourselves sons of the Father, to be as brother to Christ. O Holy Family, what a blessed trinity you form in the love of God and neighbor; pray we not fall short of your grace.

(1Sm.1:1:20-22,24-28; Ps.84:2-3,5-6,9-10; 1Jn.3:1-2,21-24; Lk.2:41-52) "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" If Hannah says of Samuel, "As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord" even as she leaves her son with Eli in the temple, should not Jesus be equally dedicated to God, being His true Son? If as John rightfully says of all those who live in God's love and follow His commandments, "We are God's children now," how much greater a child of God is He who serves to make us children? And so, where should He be but the temple of the Lord? But Jesus' parents do not look for Him there, indeed are "astonished" to find Him there – and thus perplexed at His answer to them – because they have no word that He will be like Samuel, that they are to leave Him in "the midst of the teachers." Surely Mary knows of her own kinship with Hannah, for this is indicated clearly in her Magnificat, which mirrors so closely Hannah's own canticle of praise upon conceiving her son. But that Jesus should be separated from them at this time, that He should in essence begin His ministry, begin plying the leaders of the people with revelatory questions so that "all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers," now, at twelve years of age, is not known to them. Thirty is the customary age for the start of one's ministry, is it not? And their Son has not even reached His bar mitzvah yet! It must be noted that Jesus gives place to the customs of the race. We are told "He went down with [Joseph and Mary] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them." Though certainly the Son of God is prepared to teach even as He begins to talk, yet He does not remain in the temple at this time. He is obedient. And obedient particularly to Mary, who shall indeed indicate to Him the start of His ministry, at Cana. And He shall be obedient there to her, too, even though He says then that it is not His time. The Son must be in the Father's house, for more than any of God's children His "soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. [His] flesh and [His] heart cry out for the living God." His heart is ever "set upon the pilgrimage," for in the temple is His home. But the truly Beloved Child of God remains among us in our mundane lives, taking the cross of earthly existence upon Himself, enduring all for the sake of God's children. And through His Mother's intercession even "Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man." So may we all. So may we all be so obedient, so prepared for the Father's House. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Heaven" from Listening to the Lamp, ninth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, remain in us and let us remain in you. YHWH, your Spirit you give us to make us your children, to make us even your very temples. Let us remain in your House always! One with the Holy Family let us become, blessed as Joseph and Mary, and your Son Jesus, blessed to be called your own – blessed to be one with all your chosen ones in the heavenly kingdom. O LORD, remain in us! If we must leave our earthly family behind, so be it, LORD. If we must leave the caravan of our relatives and friends to enter your Temple, to remain with you, let us freely answer such a blessed call and dedicate ourselves to you alone. And if we must return to the house of our mother and father, let us be obedient to them in your Name. But wherever we are and whatever we do, let our lives be a holy offering to you. Our souls yearn for your courts, O LORD; our heart and our flesh cry out for you. O let us dwell in your House! Let our prayer come to your ears that we might be your beloved children, pleasing you in all things and growing unto your kingdom.

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.

(1Jn.1:5-2:2; Ps.124:2-5,7-8; Mt.2:13-18) "The blood of His Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin." And as martyrs of the Church, these innocent children slaughtered by Herod participate in the pouring forth of the blood of Christ. "Out of Egypt I have called my son." What does the prophet mean but that by the only Son all shall be redeemed of their sins – that out of sin all are called, all are drawn by the Lord? "Broken was the snare, and we were freed" when the child was born, when He died upon the cross. And that death is begun already in the slaughter of the holy innocents, whom indeed we commemorate as martyrs this day. In their sacrifice the cross is already known, though the Child Jesus be but a boy. No greater evil, no greater act of sin could be than Herod's cruel decree to "massacre all the boys two years and under in Bethlehem and its environs." And in the "sobbing and loud lamentation" rising from the town where Jesus was born we hear presaged our own cry, our own beating of our breasts as we gaze upon the crucified body of God's Holy One. It is sin that brings the slaughter of the innocent children, and it is sin that causes Christ's crucifixion. And we are participants in that sin, brothers and sisters. "If we say, 'We have never sinned,' we make Him a liar and His word finds no place in us." For He has come because of the sin which encompasses mankind, to redeem us from its sentence of death. And the blessed apostle John makes clear that we are indeed all participants in sin, and if we deny this fact we make His sacrifice null for our lives and continue to walk in darkness. We must all bewail our sins and the horrors they have wrought, and from their snare we shall be released – else the "raging waters" will overwhelm us. The souls of the innocents slaughtered by the evil king have been preserved, for their "help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Our souls, too, shall be redeemed "if we acknowledge our sin," our complicity in evil. For "He who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong" if we are but able to see we are not innocent as He, or they. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, take from us our weeping for our sins; make us innocent as these children. YHWH, what horrors our sins have wrought? Are we not complicit in the slaughter of these little ones, as indeed we are complicit in the crucifixion of your Son? Should we say, "We are free of the guilt of sin"? Should we deceive ourselves about the darkness in which we find ourselves? If we should, we would make void the sacrifice of Christ for the cleansing of our souls. For what would then need to be cleansed, and why should He have died? The truth is we are surrounded by sin and it would overwhelm us without the blood shed by Jesus. It is He alone who breaks the snare that holds us, and His martyrs share in His sacrifice. And we are called by you, O LORD, to share in this holy offering with them. Out of Egypt you call us, LORD, far from the darkness of sin. And if we admit our sin before you, in such light of truth we can be assured of your forgiveness. To Jesus let us come; at the foot of His Cross let us remain, and we shall never be separated from His cleansing grace.

O beloved disciple of the Lord who saw Him and touched Him, who believed in Him with all your being, who loved Him so that no love but His surpassed your own – speak to us this day of the Word of life who has come among us, died for us, and been raised from the grave. Continue to proclaim that love which alone saves men from sin, which alone banishes death from our midst; let us share in your love for Jesus and join you in proclaiming Him who has come in the joy you knew so well. Point us to Him even this day, that we too might see and believe.

O first martyr, model of Christ's love and bearer of His Holy Spirit in wisdom and in truth, you who spoke as the Lord Himself and died as He died, with the forgiveness of your persecutors upon your lips and utter trust of the Father in your heart – pray that we too will find the grace and strength to commend our lives into the Father's hands, never holding bitterness toward those who destroy the body, who would chain the Word, but ever loving every soul even as you have done. O let our hearts be set on Jesus! let them bleed as His own, that united in Heaven with Him we shall be with you in the glory of God.

O holy teacher of the faith and pastor of Christ's flock who instructed with wisdom and led by kindness and humility those in your care and all those around you – teach us today not only to know our faith but to practice it by holiness of life as you have done, so simply, so thoroughly as a child of the Lord. Pray for us and pray for our priests, for whom you are a model of perfection. All yourself you have given in imitation of Jesus; may the Lord God be in our hearts and on our lips just so truly as He has been with you, good teacher.