Shows
The BreadCastMay 14 - St. Matthias(Acts 1:15-17,20-26; Ps.113:1-8; Jn.15:9-17) “It was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit.” Since “the saying in Scripture uttered long ago by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David was destined to be fulfilled in Judas” and he “went the way he was destined to go,” now the word of the Lord must be accomplished: “May another take his office.” And though “Peter stood up in the center of the brothers” and declared the need expressed in Scripture, and though the one hundred and twenty brothers gathered together “nominated two,” the prayer of the disciples, as well as their...2025-05-1305 minThe BreadCastApril 20 - Easter Sunday(Acts 10:34a,37-43; Ps.118:1-2,16-17,22-24; Col.3:1-4 or 1Cor.5:6b-8; Jn.20:1-9 or Lk.24:13-35) “Everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name.” “His mercy endures forever,” brothers and sisters, and it is for us to “declare the works of the Lord”: that Jesus was “raised on the third day,” that He lives, that He still is “healing all those oppressed by the devil.” With Peter and the apostles we must “preach to the people and testify” that “the right hand of the Lord is exalted.” Yes, “they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,” but “the stone w...2025-04-1905 minThe BreadCastApril 19 - Easter Vigil(Gn.1:1-2:2; Ps.104:1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35 or Ps.33:4-7,12-13,20-22; Gn.22:1-18; Ps.16:5,8-11; Ex.14:15-15:1; Ex.15:1-6,17-18; Is.54:5-14; Ps.30:2,4-6,11-13; Is.55:1-11; Is.12:2-6; Bar.3:9-15,32-4:4; Ps.19:8-11; Ez.36:16-17a,18-28; Ps.42:3,5,43:3,4; Rom.6:3-11; Ps.118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Mt.28:1-10 or Mk.16:1-7 or Lk.24:1-12) “He is not here.” The women come faithfully to the tomb early Easter morning. What do they find but that the stone is rolled back from its gaping mouth; and angel(s) in white deliver unto them the message of the ages: “He has been raised.” This night, this early morning, we are led thr...2025-04-1806 minThe BreadCastApril 18 - Good Friday(Is.52:13-53:12; Ps.31:2,6,12-13,15-17,25,Lk.23:46; Heb.4:14-16,5:7-9; Jn.18:1-19:42) “He shall be raised high and greatly exalted.” Here is your king: “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews,” Pilate has written upon His cross. Here He is lifted up, where “many were amazed at Him – so marred was His look beyond human semblance and His appearance beyond the sons of man.” Yet “shall He startle many nations; because of Him kings shall stand speechless.” The Scripture passage is fulfilled: “They will look upon Him whom they have pierced.” And there they shall see that He who “was spurned and avoided by people… one o...2025-04-1705 minThe BreadCastApril 17 - Holy Thursday(Ex.12:1-8,11-14; Ps.116:12-13,15-18,1Cor.10:6; 1Cor.11:23-26; Jn.13:1-15) “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood.” For this cup holds the Blood of our Lord. And, “Seeing the blood, I will pass over you,” says the Lord. “When I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.” As the Israelites mark each of their houses with the blood of a lamb, so our bodies are marked by the Blood of the Lamb; and so we are saved by the Lord our God and become temples of His Spirit. “How shall I make a return to the Lord for...2025-04-1605 minThe BreadCastApril 13 - Passion Sunday(Is.50:4-7; Ps.22:2,8-9,17-20,23-24; Phil.2:6-11; Mt.26:14-27:66 or Mk.14:1-15:47 or Lk.22:14-23:56) “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” “The whole people” cry out for the death of Jesus. “Let Him be crucified,” they shout ever more loudly. The sins of us all demand the death of the Son. And though He would have us not bear such guilt – “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” – and though even after we have succeeded in our lust for innocent blood, He forgives… yet bear such a burden we must, to find release from its punishment un...2025-04-1205 minThe BreadCastMarch 25 - The Annunciation(Is.7:10-14,8:10; Ps.40:7-11; Heb.10:4-10; Lk.1:26-38) “Behold, I come to do your will.” Today we celebrate the fact that the Word became flesh, that God became man through Mary and dwells among us to take away our sins. In this is fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name Him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’” She is the Virgin; He is the Son – we are they with whom He dwells. Praise God for His grace! Obediently Jesus takes on the body prepared for...2025-03-2406 minThe BreadCastMarch 19 - St. Joseph, Husband of Mary(2Sm.7:4-5,12-14a,16; Ps.89:2-5,27,29,37; Rom.4:13,16-18,22; Mt.1:16,18-21,24a or Lk.2:41-51a) “I will be a father to him, and he shall be my son.” It is through Joseph that Jesus is a son of David and so fulfills the promise to the king made by God: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever,” for He is the heir “raise[d] up” after David “who shall build a house for [His] name.” “In heaven [the Lord has] confirmed [His] faithfulness,” and on earth He has made it known. And so Jesus says of God, “Yo...2025-03-1805 minThe BreadCastMarch 5 - Ash Wednesday(Jl.2:12-18; Ps.51:3-6,12-14,17; 2Cor.5:20-6:2; Mt.6:1-6,16-18) “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.” “We implore you, in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God!” Paul exclaims; and the people of God today raise a cry, rending their hearts, begging His forgiveness… turning from their sins to find His healing grace. The trumpet is blown in Zion; the people are gathered as one. Now “let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.” For...2025-03-0405 minThe BreadCastFebruary 22 - Chair of St. Peter(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 wor...2025-02-2105 minThe BreadCastFebruary 2 - Presentation of the Lord(Mal.3:1-4; Ps.24:7-10; Heb.2:14-18; Lk.2:22-40) “Suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek.” “And He will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord.” “To expiate the sins of the people” He has come – to bring us light. But to do this “He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every way”; He had to “share in blood and flesh” with us, and so share in our death, to overcome death and make us holy in the sight of God, that our lives might be...2025-02-0106 minThe BreadCastJanuary 25 - The Conversion of St. Paul(Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Mk.16:15-18) “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.” One would not have expected these words to be spoken so profoundly to the heart of St. Paul. For he, then known as Saul, had spent such time and with such vigor had persecuted the followers of Christ. Why does the Lord shine His light all about him? Why does He speak to him and reveal Himself to him? Why is it this man who is picked to bring the Name of Jesus to all the nations? Perhaps it was...2025-01-2405 minThe BreadCastJanuary 5 - Epiphany of the Lord(Is.60:1-6; Ps.72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Eph.3:2-3a,5-6; Mt.2:1-12) “They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary His Mother.” And so our prophecy of Isaiah and our psalm of David come to pass: “Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you… the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.” And “the kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay Him ho...2025-01-0405 minThe BreadCastJanuary 1 - Mary, Mother of God(Nm.6:22-27; Ps.67:2-3,5-6,8; Gal.4:4-7; Lk.2:16-21) “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.” The blessing of God, His holy Son, was upon the shepherds, and it is upon us all. For “God sent His Son, born of a woman” that His “way be known upon earth,” “that we might receive adoption as sons.” And what greater blessing could man know than to fulfill his call as son of the living God? We are blessed, brothers and sisters, and we should proclaim it as the shepherds. The ble...2024-12-3104 minThe BreadCastDecember 28 - The Holy Innocents(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...2024-12-2705 minThe BreadCastDecember 27 - St. John(1Jn.1:1-4; Ps.97:1-2,5-6,11-12; Jn.20:2-8) “He saw and believed.” And “the eternal life that was present to the Father and became visible to us,” which John now proclaims, is Jesus Christ the only Son of God, risen from the dead and present to us now even as He sits with the Father. John has seen Him. He has believed in Him. His “hands have touched” Him and so he “proclaim[s] the word of life” made so real in his midst. What else could he do but declare that which burns in his heart? What else could be the Evangelist’s desire...2024-12-2605 minThe BreadCastDecember 26 - St. Stephen(Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Ps.31:3-4,6-8,17,21; Mt.10:17-22) “They proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke.” The world cannot stand up to the Word of God; even death has no power over those who trust themselves to His Spirit. A model of faith is Stephen. A perfect trust in the Lord made this martyr shine before the persecution of men. He made the Lord his “rock of refuge” and so the Lord did “lead and guide” him even unto heaven, hidden in “the shelter of [His] promise from the plottings of men.” It is this trust Jesus speaks of...2024-12-2505 minThe BreadCastDecember 25 - Christmas Day(Is.52:7-10; Ps.98:1-6; Heb.1:1-6; Jn.1:1-18) “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.” The coming of the One prophesied by Isaiah and hailed by John these many days is fulfilled in our midst at this blessed moment in time. And so in our dark world, the light that is God now shines. “Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the Lord restoring Zion.” To “all the ends of the earth” He makes “His salvation known: in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice.” For the Lo...2024-12-2405 minThe BreadCastDecember 25 - Midnight Mass(Is.9:1-6; Ps.96:1-3,11-13; Ti.2:11-14; Lk.2:1-14) “Today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Here is the “infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”; here is He who saves all from sin, born into our humble humanity. Yes, “a child is born to us, a son is given us,” and “upon His shoulder dominion rests.” This little one wrapped in our own flesh is indeed named “Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful,” for He rules all the earth with His loving justice. ...2024-12-2405 minThe BreadCastDecember 12 - Our Lady of Guadalupe (Zec. 2:14-17; Lk.1:46-55; Lk.1:29-47) “Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! for He stirs forth from His holy dwelling.” And His own stirring forth causes John the Baptist to stir forth, to “leap for joy” – thus is opened the mouth of the one who will proclaim His way. On this the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we celebrate the Lord’s stirring forth in astounding fashion in the Americas. As the Lord looked upon His humble servant Mary to bring forth the only Son of God, so He smiles upon the humble Juan Diego, to bring the conversi...2024-12-1104 minThe BreadCastDecember 8 (9) - Immaculate Conception(Gn.3:9-15,20; Ps.98:1-4; Eph.1:3-6,11-12; Lk.1:26-38) “He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him.” And she is the sign of such preservation from evil. “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” And so the Virgin Mother is greeted by the power of the Most High. So she is called – “full of grace” is her title. She whom all generations will call blessed is revealed in this simple greeting as having “found favor with God.” And so, “the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God,” the Son of...2024-12-0805 minThe BreadCastNovember 9 - Dedication of St. John Lateran(Ez.47:1-2,8-9,12; Ps.46:1-3,5-6,8-9; 1Cor.3:9c-11,16-17; Jn.2:13-22) “There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.” On this the feast set aside to commemorate the cathedral of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, himself the founding stone upon which Christ builds His Church, we hear much of temples. In our first reading Ezekial sees in his vision, “water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple,” water which brings life to the great sea and the fruit that grows upon its banks; the water that gladdens the holy dwelling...2024-11-0805 minThe BreadCastOctober 18 - St. Luke(2Tm.4:9-17; Ps.145:10-13,17-18; Lk.10:1-9) “The Lord stood by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the preaching task might be completed and all the nations might hear the Gospel.” As I read of Jesus’ instruction to the disciples as He “sent them in pairs before Him to every town and place He intended to visit,” and particularly His words to them to “eat what they set before you,” I am reminded of the command given Peter in his dream to “take and eat” of the unclean animals (Acts 10:13), this just before the first Gentile converts came to him see...2024-10-1705 minThe BreadCastSeptember 21 - St. Matthew(Eph.4:1-7,11-13; Ps.19:2-5; Mt.9:9-13) “Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.” “Till we become one in faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature,” the Word of the Lord shall be carried forth by all His “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers”; indeed, “each of us has received God’s favor in the measure in which Christ bestows it,” and each of us plays a role in bringing to fulfillment the Gospel of our “one Lord.” “Matthew got up and...2024-09-2004 minThe BreadCastSeptember 14 - Triumph of the Cross(Nm.21:4b-9; Ps.78:1-2,7,34-38; Phil.2:6-11; Jn.3:13-17) “God greatly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” And why is it that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend”? Why does “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”? It is because “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” It is precisely because “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” and dying as a cursed criminal, that this innocent dove who was “in the form of God” became the praise of our race and t...2024-09-1305 minThe BreadCastAugust 24 - St. Bartholomew(Rv.21:9-14; Ps.145:10-13,17-18; Jn.1:45-51) “Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.” Nathanael (who is Bartholomew) is taken by Philip (whose name means “love”) to meet the bridegroom of his soul – and immediately he weds himself to the Lord, recognizing Him as the Son of God. As Bartholomew is without guile, so must all His Church be so sincere to find the glory that awaits us “under the fig tree” in the absolute peace and splendor of His presence. How else will we see Him? How else can we recognize Him? How else will we become...2024-08-2305 minThe BreadCastAugust 15 - The Assumption(Rv.11:19a,12:1-6a,10ab; Ps.45:10-12,16; 1Cor.15:20-26; Lk.1:39-56) “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” The Queen of Heaven here appears to us in her glory. She who has been taken up by her Son to His heavenly kingdom to stand at His side: “The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.” Yes, Lord, the Mother you preserved from sin for all eternity you have preserved from the jaws of death; she who has suffer...2024-08-1406 minThe BreadCastAugust 10 - St. Lawrence(2Cor.9:6-10; Ps.112:1-2,5-9; Jn.12:24-26) “The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.” The servant of the Lord lays down his life in His name. Today we celebrate St. Lawrence, deacon, servant, and martyr, who gave his life and his death generously to God. His life must be that of every Christian; his witness is one we are called to follow. “The man who hates his life in this world preserves it to life eternal,” the Lord tells His disciples in today’s gospel. As “the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies,” so must we if we are to produce “m...2024-08-0905 minThe BreadCastJuly 25 - St. James(2Cor.4:7-15; Ps.126:1-6; Mt.20:20-28) “Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed.” In His apostles the death and resurrection of Jesus are most clearly shown. It is particularly their place to suffer persecution, to be “afflicted” and “crushed”, “constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake”; and it is particularly their grace to show forth the glory of the resurrection. In this selfless service of the Lord, what comes through them is the preaching of the Word; “the spirit of faith” prompts them to speak, and though it brin...2024-07-2405 minThe BreadCastJuly 22 - St. Mary Magdalene(Sg.3:1-4 or 2Cor.5:14-17; Ps.63:2-6,8-9; Jn.20:1-2,11-18) "Whom are you looking for?" Let us stand with Mary Magdalene at the tomb of our risen Lord. Let us weep a little that our hearts might bleed with her same love, and so our eyes be opened to see Jesus standing before us. Let us hear Him call us by name. O let us search night and day for our God, thirsting for Him “like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.” Let us know that without Him we are lost in darkness, empty as the tomb. May it be “t...2024-07-2102 minThe BreadCastJuly 3 - St. Thomas(Eph.2:19-22; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Jn.20:24-29) “Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.” The faith of Thomas. By his faith we find faith. In his desire to know beyond all doubt that the Lord has risen, all our doubt is taken away, and we declare with him, “My Lord and my God!” If Thomas had not doubted so much, we would not believe so much his clear proclamation of the divinity of Jesus. As it is, we no longer have room for doubt. Indeed, Thomas’ ardent need to touch the nail marks in the Lord’s hands and sides is a c...2024-07-0205 minThe BreadCastJune 29 - Sts. Peter and PaulActs 12:1-11; Ps.34:2-9; 2Tm.4:6-8,17-18; Mt.16:13-19) “On this rock I will build my Church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it.” We go through death to life, for death has no power over us: the power of Jesus founded firmly on Peter, brought forward by Paul, and present in all the members of the Church and in its faith, has conquered death and leads us all to heaven. Today we celebrate the solid foundation of the Church in Peter, the man of faith, first of the apostles and rock upon whom we are firmly set; and Pau...2024-06-2806 minThe BreadCastJune 24 - The Nativity of St. John the Baptist(Is.49:1-6; Ps.139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26: Lk.1:57-66,80) “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” The voice of one crying in the wilderness, he who hails the coming of the Lord, is born today. This voice speaks of the Word among us. And from before his birth he is called, in the womb he is formed, to proclaim with the sword of truth God’s salvation for His people. “Surely the hand of the Lord was with him,” and surely we find the grace of God by walking the path h...2024-06-2304 minThe BreadCastMay 9 - Ascension of the Lord(Acts 1:1-11; Ps.47:1-3,6-9; Eph.1:17-23 or Eph.4:1-13 or Heb.9:24-28,10:19-23; Mt.28:16-20 or Mk.16:15-20 or Lk.24:46-53) “God mounts His throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.” Three events are the subject of today’s readings. The key of these is certainly the Lord’s ascending into heaven and taking His place at the right hand of the Father. Without this the other two could not follow. And so we celebrate the Lord’s Ascension in particular; but we also hear of the coming Pentecost and the apostles’ call to go forth to the ends of the world. “A...2024-05-0807 minThe BreadCastApril 25 - St. Mark(1Pt.5:5-14; Ps.89:2-3,6-7,16-17; Mk.16:15-20) “Go into the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.” Such is the call and accomplishment of our evangelist Mark, whose gospel reflects the song of our psalmist today, “The favors of the Lord I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.” For his inspired Word lives forever to declare the faithfulness of God. And “happy the people who know the joyful shout,” who exclaim like Peter in our first reading, “Dominion be His throughout the ages!” For they “walk in the light of [the Lord’s] countenance,” and...2024-04-2405 minThe BreadCastSeptember 24 - Sunday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.55:6-9; Ps.145:2-3,8-9,17-18; Phil.1:20-24,27; Mt.20:1-16) “You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.” Our readings today reveal that the Lord is near, merciful, and just, and that these three qualities are one in God. For the Lord’s justice is shown in His mercy, and His mercy in His nearness to us. And so we should “praise [His] name forever.” Isaiah conveys to us that the Lord’s thoughts and ways are “as high as the heavens are above the earth” with respect to our own thoughts and our own ways. As David proclai...2023-09-2307 minThe BreadCastSeptember 17 - Sunday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Sir.27:30-28:9; Ps.103:1-4,8-12; Rom.14:7-9; Mt.18:21-35) “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” How like the Lord’s own wisdom is that of Sirach; how like His teaching. For have we not heard the Master say, “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven,” in His instruction to His disciples on how to pray? And does He not impart this same lesson by parable today? “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” Oh the woe of the unforgiving heart! “Cou...2023-09-1605 minThe BreadCastSeptember 10 - Sunday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Ez.33:7-9; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; Rom.13:8-10; Mt.18:15-20) “O wicked one, you shall surely die.” The Lord declares to the prophet Ezekiel: “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel.” He is to “speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,” that the sinner might not “die for his guilt” and that the prophet himself might not be “responsible for his death” by his silence. As the Lord calls Ezekiel, so He requires all the Church to “warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way.” We must be diligent with all those in our care, all those we fin...2023-09-0906 minThe BreadCastSeptember 8 - Birth of Mary(Mic.5:1-4 or Rm.8:28-30; Ps.13:6,Is.61:9; Mt.1:1-16,18-23 Note: I shall treat of both first readings) “It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child.” “God is with us,” brothers and sisters, and how has He chosen to come among us but through a woman, but through a virgin found with child? And this Virgin daughter of Israel from “Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah” – she the humblest of the chosen people, the meekest servant of our race – has been thus greatly blessed “according to His decree,” for she is the first whom God “predestined...2023-09-0706 minThe BreadCastSeptember 3 - Sunday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Jer.20:7-9; Ps.63:2-6,8-9; Rom.12:1-2; Mt.16:21-27) “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” Paul says the same as Jesus when the Lord calls us to “take up [our] cross,” to lose our lives for His sake. And as Paul instructs the Romans: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” so Jesus teaches Peter, and all His apostles and disciples, when He insists he think as God and not as man. Why? Why is the Lord so harsh with this Rock of the Church (and, as...2023-09-0205 minThe BreadCastAugust 27 - Sunday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.22:19-23; Ps.138:1-3,6,8; Rom.11:33-36; Mt.16:13-20) “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Thus the Lord grants principal authority in His Church to His rock, Peter. Thus He prophesies what He has promised: the power and teaching given those who sit on Moses’ seat shall pass to this new leader He appoints to guide the flock of the New Jerusalem. And is this designation, or redesignation, of power not remarkably foreshadowed in our first reading: “I...2023-08-2604 minThe BreadCastAugust 20 - Sunday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.56:1,6-7; Ps.67:2-3,5-6,8; Rom.11:13-15,29-32; Mt.15:21-28) “God delivered all to disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all.” (In love let me speak, O Lord.) Brothers and sisters, the Lord has said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Yet our scholars and leaders make it a den of unbelief. Like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, they are deaf and blind to the light of God. We must not follow in their steps, but speak the truth of the presence of Christ that all might enter the portals of the Lord. I ask you: H...2023-08-1908 minThe BreadCastAugust 13 - Sunday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (1Kgs.19:9a,11-13a; Ps.85:8-14; Rm.9:1-5; Mt.14:22-33) “When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance to the cave.” For the Lord was in the “tiny whispering sound.” God speaks in silence. His Word sinks deeply into our souls, piercing the spirit within us, and so what can we be but afraid? His still, small voice brings us into His awesome presence. Brothers and sisters, it is the same NAME of God revealed to Moses the lawgiver that is spoken to Elijah the prophet here on the same “mountain of God, Hore...2023-08-1206 minThe BreadCastAugust 6 - The Transfiguration(Dn.7:9-10,13-14; Ps.97:1-2,5-6,9; 2Pt.1:16-19; Mt.17:1-9 – Mk.9:2-10 – Lk.9:28b-36 Note: since the three gospel accounts vary only in detail, they are treated as one in this one exposition for the day) “I saw one like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven.” Daniel’s vision, as John’s vision in the Book of Revelation, is perceived in the flesh by the three apostles on MountTabor, and is known in all our hearts as “the morning star” of faith rises in our hearts. It is the coming of Jesus in all His glory Peter, James, and John...2023-08-0505 minThe BreadCastJuly 30 - Sunday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (1Kgs.3:5,7-12; Ps.119:57,72,76-77,97,127-130; Rm.8:28-30; Mt.13:44-52) “The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple.” Wisdom. The “pearl of great price.” How precious the ability “to distinguish right from wrong” by the grace of God, and to choose the right way at all times. For finding the pearl is one thing, a gift from the Lord, but wisdom is revealed in him who “goes and sells all that he has and buys it,” knowing there is no treasure greater than the heavenly light shining from the face of God. It is heaven we must desire. What else is of any...2023-07-2906 minThe BreadCastJuly 23 - Sunday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Ws.12:13,16-19; Ps.86:5-6,9-10,15-16; Rom.8:26-27; Mt.13:24-43) “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Such are the Lord’s instructions to the harvesters, His angels that come “at the end of the age,” when “just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,” so will “all who cause others to sin and all evildoers” be thrown “into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Though the L...2023-07-2205 minThe BreadCastJuly 16 - Sunday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.55:10-11; Ps.65:10-14,Lk.8:8; Rom.8:18-23; Mt.13:1-23) “The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit.” Comes the Word of God. To our eyes, to our ears. A seed sown within our hearts. May it find rich soil in which to grow, that we might know “the redemption of our bodies.” “The rain and the snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth… so shall [God’s] word be that goes forth from [His] mouth.” For indeed it makes the earth “fertile and fruitful, giving se...2023-07-1506 minThe BreadCastJuly 9 - Sunday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Zec.9:9-10; Ps.145:1-2,8-11,13-14; Rom.8:9,11-13; Mt.11:25-30) “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” A remarkable confluence of Scripture today, extolling the “great kindness” of our King, who comes to us “meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass,” and inviting us to take refuge in Him and in His blessed humility. Yes, upon a beast of burden, upon the young offspring of a beast of burden comes He who bears the burden of all our sins. Not on horse or in chariot does He come...2023-07-0806 minThe BreadCastJuly 2 - Sunday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A(2Kgs.4:8-11,14-16a; Ps.89:2-3,16-19; Rom.6:3-4,8-11; Mt.10:37-42) “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The Lord encourages us today to “take up [our] cross and follow [Him],” to place Him first in our lives to find the reward He holds. And in our second reading Paul says the same, reminding us that “we were indeed buried with Christ through baptism into death,” that we have “died with Christ… to sin once and for all” – this is our cross – and that laying down our lives before the Lord we now find ourselves “living for God in Christ Jesus”; we now fi...2023-07-0106 minThe BreadCastJune 25 - Sunday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A(Jer.20:10-13; Ps.69:8-10,14,17,33-35; Rom.5:12-15; Mt.10:26-33) “For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face.” Jeremiah “hear[s] the whisperings of many” who seek to “denounce him”; those who “watch for any misstep” plot his destruction: “Perhaps he will be trapped, then we can prevail, and take our revenge on him.” Like David he has “become an outcast to [his] brothers, a stranger to [his] mother’s children.” And for what does he suffer such persecution but for speaking the truth of God’s word to his fellow Israelites? As David declares to the Lord, “The insults of those who blaspheme you fa...2023-06-2407 minThe BreadCastJune 16 - The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Year A(Dt.7:6-11; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,17; 1Jn.4:7-16; Mt.11:25-30) “He has loved us and has sent His Son as an offering for our sins.” Who better to hear from on this blessed feast than John, the Lord’s beloved disciple, whose words indeed continually breathe the fact that “God is love” and who eternally exhorts us to “love one another.” John cannot but speak of the love God has for His children and the love we must offer in return; and all of our Scripture today echoes his understanding and calls us to be washed in the blood of Christ. In our gospel Jesus calls...2023-06-1506 minThe BreadCastJune 11 - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year A(Dt.8:2-3,14b-16a; Ps.147:12-15,19-20; 1Cor.10:16-17; Jn.6:51-58) “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” “Not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” And here is the Word standing before our eyes. Here is the Bread that gives us life. Here is Jesus Christ, in this Blessed Sacrament, nourishing all our lives. Yes, His “flesh is true food, and [His] blood is true drink,” for it feeds not only our bodies, but our souls as well, anointing us with...2023-06-1006 minThe BreadCastJune 4 - Most Holy Trinity Sunday, Year A(Ex.34:4b-6,8-9; Dn.3:52-56; 2Cor.13:11-13; Jn.3:16-18) “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; and blessed is your holy and glorious name.” Brothers and sisters, let us praise God this holy day; let us rejoice in His love. Let us be as Moses, who upon hearing the NAME of the Lord spoken in his hearing, upon having the Lord’s presence revealed to him, “at once bowed down to the ground in worship.” He did n...2023-06-0306 minThe BreadCastMay 28 - Pentecost Sunday, Year A(Acts 2:1-11; Ps.104:1,24,29-31,34; 1Cor.12:3b-7,12-13; Jn.20:19-23) “Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.” What our first reading captures in all its dramatic moment, David’s psalm declares in clarity – “When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth” – and our gospel defines in Jesus’ word and action with His apostles: “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” The Spirit comes from heaven above, through the only Son, to redeem, renew, and strengthen all on the face of...2023-05-2705 minThe BreadCastMay 21 - Sunday of the 7th Week of Easter, Year A(Acts 1:12-14; Ps.27:1,4,7-8,13; 1Pt.4:13-16; Jn.17:1-11a) “One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” Obedient to the instructions of the Lord, the apostles returned to Jerusalem, where they gathered together in “the upper room” and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,” waiting for the promised gift of the Spirit of God. With David they long to “gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple,” and so, with him they sing, “Of you my heart speaks, you my glance seeks.” The Penteco...2023-05-2006 minThe BreadCastMay 14 - Sunday of the 6th Week of Easter, Year A(Acts 8:5-8,14-17; Ps.66:1-7,16,20; 1Pt.3:15-18; Jn.14:15-21) “Put to death in the flesh, He was brought to life in the Spirit.” It is of this way to life Jesus teaches us when He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” for what is it to keep His commandments but to carry His cross – to lay down our lives, to die to the flesh, to suffer for His sake – and what is love but the life the Spirit brings. And both dying to self and loving God we find the Spirit at work in our lives; He is “the Spirit of...2023-05-1305 minThe BreadCastMay 7 - Sunday of the 5th Week of Easter, Year A(Acts 6:1-7; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,18-19,22; 1Pt.2:4-9; Jn.14:1-12) “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter tells us in his letter that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own.” Quoting Scripture, he calls us to “‘announce the praises’ of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His wonderful light.” The house we become, the priests we are, and the sacrifices we offer are evident throughout our readings today. First, in our gospel Jesus tells the disciples...2023-05-0606 minThe BreadCastApril 30 - Sunday of the 4th Week of Easter, Year A(Acts 2:14a,36-41; Ps.23:1-6; 1Pt.2:20b-25; Jn.10:1-10) “Whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” Jesus says in earnest to the Pharisees, “I am the gate for the sheep… Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” But they are as the thief who “comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.” Today, too, brothers and sisters, the thief is among us, those teachers who do “not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climb over elsewhere.” For neither seeing nor caring to seek the wholeness of Scripture, that it is here...2023-04-2906 minThe BreadCastApril 23 - Sunday of the 3rd Week of Easter, Year A(Acts 2:14,22-33; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-11; 1Pt.1:17-21; Lk.24:13-35) “God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.” Peter stands up “with the Eleven” and proclaims to all the Resurrection of the Christ, that He who was crucified has been released “from the throes of death.” David “foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was He abandoned to the netherworld nor did His flesh see corruption.” The women who went to His empty tomb early Easter morning saw “a vision of angels who announced that He was alive”; this they declared to His apostles. And as for the two sojourning to Em...2023-04-2206 minThe BreadCastApril 16 - Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A(Acts 2:42-47; Ps.118:1-4,13-15,22-24; 1Pt.1:3-9; Jn.20:19-31) “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Jesus comes to the disciples, repeatedly appearing to them after His Resurrection, to make certain there is absolutely no doubt in them: “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” He invites them even to put their fingers in His hands and their hands into His side. To Thomas He speaks, yes, but them all He teaches. For He is commissioning them to go forth in His name in word and sacrament to bring forth life to souls who are dying, to preach the salvatio...2023-04-1507 minThe BreadCastMarch 26 - Sunday of the 5th Week of Lent, Year A(Ez.37:12-14; Ps.130:1-8; Rom.8:8-11; Jn.11:1-45) “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!” says the Lord God through the prophet Ezekial. “The one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through His Spirit dwelling in you,” says St. Paul. And our psalm sings of the Lord’s “plenteous redemption,” that “He will...2023-03-2506 minThe BreadCastMarch 19 - Sunday of the 4th Week of Lent, Year A(1Sm.16:1b,6-7,10-13a; Ps.23:1-6; Eph.5:8-14; Jn.9:1-41) “I am the light of the world.” And by that light alone we see. By this light which comes from God we who were born blind, who were born into sin, have our eyes opened. And so having escaped the darkness we “live as children of light.” When David was presented before Samuel, immediately the prophet’s eyes were opened to the one on whom God’s favor rested. His eyes which had first “judge[d] from… appearance,” now with the Lord look “into the heart.” How clearly he hears the Lord speak to him, “Ther...2023-03-1806 minThe BreadCastMarch 12 - Sunday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Year A(Ex.17:3-7; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; Rom.5:1-2,5-8; Jn.4:5-42) “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.” What is this “spring of water welling up to eternal life” but the Holy Spirit come upon us, the Truth of God in our midst through the blessed sacrifice of the Son for us “while we were still sinners.” Brothers and sisters, “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” even as Jesus’ words of spirit and truth are poured into the e...2023-03-1106 minThe BreadCastMarch 5 - Sunday of the 2nd Week of Lent, Year A(Gn.12:1-4a; Ps.33:4-5,18-20,22; 2Tm.1:8b-10; Mt.17:1-9) “Rise, and do not be afraid.” Here in the midst of the darkness we drink in during this Lenten Season comes a light shining to assure our hearts of the promise that is ours. The Lord’s Transfiguration is presented to us this day to lead us through all the tribulations of the cross to the resurrection, which is our holy goal. “Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God,” Paul says to his special child Timothy, and so the Lord speaks to us all, remindin...2023-03-0406 minThe BreadCastFebruary 26 - Sunday of the 1st Week of Lent, Year A(Gn.2:7-9,3:1-7; Ps.51:3-6,12-14,17; Rm.5:12-19; Mt.4:1-11) “Just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.” And what obedience Jesus shows in His temptations. For He was weakened, “He was hungry” after His forty-day fast in the desert, and the devil came at Him with all his power. But He does not falter as did the first man; He remembers the Word of God and His command. And by His faithfulness the sin of Adam is washed clean. See how the Lord atones...2023-02-2506 minThe BreadCastFebruary 19 - Sunday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Lv.19:1-2,17-18; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,12-13; 1Cor.3:16-23; Mt.5:38-48) “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” In the Book of Leviticus God says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and this is good. But in the gospel Jesus adds, “Love your enemies” – and this is better. In the old law we are commanded, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people”; but in the new we hear, “Offer no resistance to anyone who is evil,” and even, “Pray for those who persecute you.” For now it is revealed that all are God’s children, and so all must be lov...2023-02-1806 minThe BreadCastFebruary 12 - Sunday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Sir.15:15-20; Ps.119:1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34; 1Cor.2:6-10; Mt.5:17-37) “Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!” The clear theme of today’s readings is the need to “exactly observe” the commands of the Lord, to keep His law “with all [our] heart.” It is this walking “in the law of the Lord” that makes us blessed in His sight. It is popular to believe that Jesus’ coming somehow nullifies the law and makes it unnecessary for our lives. The Lord makes it quite clear the opposite is true: “I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.” In f...2023-02-1106 minThe BreadCastFebruary 5 - Sunday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” And how shall “your light break forth like the dawn” except that you “share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own.” Indeed, you must “remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech,” for only “the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice,” only for him “light shines through the darkness” – as he is thus light being brought to this world...2023-02-0406 minThe BreadCastJanuary 22 - Sunday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.8:23-9:3; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; 1Cor.1:10-13,17; Mt.4:12-23) “Light has arisen.” “Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.” Yes, “a light has shone”; Jesus has come. No longer do we walk in darkness. So we should proclaim with David: “The Lord is my light and my salvation”; we should long to dwell in the Temple He has built, “gaz[ing] on the loveliness of the Lord.” Here in His House we “see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” Here in His Church we come to the paradise He has come to establi...2023-01-2106 minThe BreadCastJanuary 15 - Sunday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A(Is.49:3,5-6; Ps.40:2,4,7-10; 1Cor.1:1-3; Jn.1:29-34) “I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!” John the Baptist testifies that Jesus is “the Son of God,” the One upon whom he has seen “the Spirit come down and remain.” And we are all His servants, made holy only in Him. John declares his own servitude, speaking of “the one who sent [him] to baptize with water,” and stating, “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because He existed before me.” His witness to Jesus and the strength he takes from Him is c...2023-01-1406 minThe BreadCastJanuary 9 - Baptism of the Lord, Year A(Is.42:1-4,6-7; Ps.29:1-4,9-11; Acts 10:34-38; Mt.3:13-17) “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.” And so He anoints us all in the baptism our Savior has wrought. As Jesus humbled Himself to be baptized by John, so must we bow our heads before Him and receive holy baptism at His hands. As He has laid down His life for us, so must we lay down our lives for one another. As “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil,” so God is with us to do the same. “The Spirit of God des...2023-01-0805 minThe BreadCastDecember 30 - Holy Family, Year A(Sir.3:2-6,12-14; Ps.128:1-5; Col.3:12-21; Mt.2:13-15,19-23) “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.” A man is a man, a woman is a woman, and children are children – this does not change with time or culture. All are called to be one in the love and sacrifice of Christ; all are one holy family. Why do we find it necessary to make excuses for Holy Scripture and the “patriarchal family pattern” it reflects and “the subordinationist family ethic of the Biblical culture” (from the commentary of the missal from whic...2022-12-2906 minThe BreadCastDecember 18 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A(Is.7:10-14; Ps.24:1-7,10; Rm.1:1-7; Mt.1:18-24) “God is with us.” How shall we “ascend the mountain of the Lord”? How shall we scale the heights and come to know Him as He is, He who “founded [the earth] upon the seas and established it upon the rivers”? Only by the Son, who “will save His people from their sins,” are we made ready to stand in His presence. “For it is through the Holy Spirit this child has been conceived,” and we are made holy by the blessing of His presence among our kind. He is one like us. Can you believe it? Can y...2022-12-1706 minThe BreadCastDecember 11 - Sunday of the 3rd Week of Advent, Year A(Is.35:1-6,10; Ps.146:6-10,Is.35:4; Jas.5:7-10; Mt.11:2-11) “Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Hope. What hope have we. And so we should “be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” Indeed, we must endure “the early and the late rains” – having been converted to the Lord we shall be purged of all sin on the last day – but, though “hardship” be with us now, our hope should be firm in Him who comes, in Him who “is standing before the gates” even now. Jesus is the fulfillment of the vision given Isaiah and the sal...2022-12-1006 minThe BreadCastDecember 4 - Sunday of the 2nd Week of Advent, Year A(Is.40:1-5,9-11; Ps.85:9-14; 2Pt.3:8-14; Mk.1:1-8) “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.” And so, “John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And so comes “the voice of one crying out in the desert,” in the desert that is our fallen lives: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” Turn from your sins, brothers and sisters. Repent. It is the Lord’s will that “all should come to repentance,” that all should be “found without spot or blemish” on the day of His coming, o...2022-12-0306 minThe BreadCastNovember 27 - Sunday of the 1st Week of Advent, Year A(Is.2:1-5; Ps.122:1-9; Rm.13:11-14; Mt.24:37-44) “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths.” “Beat [your] swords into plowshares.” “Throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep,” and to “stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” And even now He calls you to “go up to the house of the Lord” and “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Adven...2022-11-2605 minThe BreadCastNovember 20 - Christ the King Sunday, Year C(2Sm.5:1-3; Ps.122:1-5; Col.1:12-20; Lk.23:35-43) “This is the King of the Jews.” On earth, our King rules from a cross; in Paradise, upon a glorious throne. O Lord Jesus, “here we are, your bone and your flesh.” May we die with you that we might reign with you in your holy kingdom. “All the tribes of Israel came to David” and anointed him king of Israel. He had been called by the Lord as shepherd and commander of Israel, and now he would finally receive his kingship. And he would make Jerusalem the city of the king, and make it holy when he...2022-11-1906 minThe BreadCastNovember 13 - Sunday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Mal.3:19-20; Ps.98:5-9; 2Thes.3:7-12; Lk.21:5-19) “For you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” The end comes. The end of the Church year approaches, and the end of time is always upon us. What shall it mean for us, the fact that “there will not be left a stone upon another stone”? That day comes “blazing like an oven” for all evildoers, but for the just the healing rays of the Son of God shine down – will we be burned with the proud like stubble, or made whole in the presence of God? Yes...2022-11-1206 minThe BreadCastNovember 6 - Sunday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(2Mac.7:1-2,9-14; Ps.17:1,5-6,8,15; 2Thes.2:16-3:5; Lk.20:27-38) “On waking I shall be content in your presence.” Our hope is in the resurrection, brothers and sisters. It is this which gives us strength, and it is our endurance which brings us to His presence. Brothers and sisters, indeed, as Paul wishes us, we have “everlasting encouragement and good hope” through the grace of our Lord. He strengthens our hearts “in every good deed and word” and guards us “from the evil one.” Thus our hearts should be directed “to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.” We have as our example today th...2022-11-0505 minThe BreadCastOctober 30 - Sunday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Wis.11:22-12:2; Ps.145:1-2,8-11,13-14; 2Thes.1:11-2:2; Lk.19:1-10) “The Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.” How beautifully the readings speak today of our “Lord and lover of souls” whose “imperishable spirit is in all things” and who is “good to all and compassionate to all His works.” It is indeed “in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ” that we be glorified in Him and He in us, and so we praise Him: “Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.” The Lord “love[s] all things that...2022-10-2907 minThe BreadCastOctober 23 - Sunday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Sir.35:12-14,16-18; Ps.34:2-3,7,17-19,23; 2Tm.4:6-8,16-18; Lk.18:9-14) “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” “The one who humbles himself will be exalted,” for it is the lowly the LORD hears. And in no greater way, and for no greater benefit, do we humble ourselves than to recognize our sinfulness before God. It is then we prove ourselves His own, for it is then Truth is with us. We must guard ourselves ever from the sin of pride, brothers and sisters; it is just such presumption that breaks down the spiritual life, for it separates us from our proper...2022-10-2205 minThe BreadCastOctober 16 - Sunday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Ex.17:8-13; Ps.121:1-8; 2Tm.3:14-4:2; Lk.18:1-8) “Call out to Him day and night.” How faithful is the Lord. How true is He. As our psalmist so well states, “He neither slumbers nor sleeps.” Indeed, “He is beside [us] at [our] right hand”; always “the Lord will guard [us] from all evil” – “The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever.” But are we so faithful to Him, turning to Him for His eternal help? “Pray always without becoming weary.” This is our instruction today. This is the “wisdom for salvation” sacred Scripture brings us. Do we receive the “correction” and “training...2022-10-1506 minThe BreadCastOctober 9 - Sunday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(2Kgs.5:14-17; Ps.98:1-4; 2Tm.2:8-13; Lk.17:11-19) “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.” “The word of God is not chained.” It cannot be imprisoned. It is free. And it cannot be limited by national boundaries; it is for everyone. The universal call of salvation is made most clear in our readings today: in our first reading, Naaman the Syrian is healed of his leprosy, and in our gospel a Samaritan is healed of the same. Both are foreigners and essentially enemies to Israel, but it is these two we hear of today to make clear that th...2022-10-0806 minThe BreadCastOctober 2 - Sunday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Hb.1:2-3,2:2-4; Ps.95:1-2,6-9; 2Tm.1:6-8,13-14; Lk.17:5-10) “The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint.” And we are servants of this Gospel. And so, with faith and in patience we must accomplish “what we [are] obliged to do.” We must serve the Word of God. Never hardening our hearts against the voice we hear, rather, we should “stir into flame the gift of God” we are blessed with as Christians, as Catholics; “the Holy Spirit that dwells within us” should be our refuge and our guide – it should be our stronghold despite any “dest...2022-10-0106 minThe BreadCastSeptember 25 - Sunday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Amos 6:1,4-7; Ps.146:2,5-10; 1Tm.6:11-16; Lk.16:19-31) “Keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Lord is coming. First of all, know this. “The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see” will reveal Himself “at the proper time.” Shall come the end of this world and the birth of the new in the presence of our all-holy God. Do not doubt this. Do not question it in your hearts. But believe. Second, know the nature of our God...2022-09-2407 minThe BreadCastSeptember 18 - Sunday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Amos 8:4-7; Ps.113:1-2,4-8; 1Tm.2:1-8; Lk.16:1-13) “If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” This world and the things of it are not our own; we are children of heaven. Yet we are here amongst these things which are foreign to us. And so, what should we do? With all the Lord puts in our hands as we pass through this generation we must honor God. Though in the world of mammon, we must use it to serve our God in heaven. Thus we shall prove ourselves worthy to enter into that...2022-09-1706 minThe BreadCastSeptember 11 - Sunday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Ex.32:7-11,13-14; Ps.51:3-4,12-13,17,19,Lk.15:18; 1Tm.1:12-17; Lk.15:1-32) “The Lord relented in the punishment He had threatened to inflict on His people.” Redemption is ours, brothers and sisters. Though we are great sinners, the Lord has mercy on us when we turn to Him; for, as Moses interceded for the Israelites in the desert, so Christ Jesus intercedes for us now before the throne of His Father. Indeed, He “came into the world to save sinners,” sinners like you and me. What examples of sinners we have throughout our readings today – what examples of great sinners and the greatness, the...2022-09-1006 minThe BreadCastSeptember 4 - Sunday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Wis.9:13-18b; Ps.90:1,3-6,12-14,17; Phlm.1:9-10,12-17; Lk.14:25-33) “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” The wisdom of the cross, that blessed necessity for every Christian’s life. What does it teach us? How does it call us to act? Its wisdom is not of this earth, for the “corruptible body burdens the soul,” but the counsel of the “Holy Spirit from on high” brings the freedom to be sons of God. This wisdom can only be found by knowing we are but dust and renouncing all things of dust to serve the living...2022-09-0307 minThe BreadCastAugust 28 - Sunday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Sir.3:17-18,20,28-29; Ps.68:4-7,10-11; Heb.12:18-19,22-24a; Lk.14:1,7-14) “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” Is this not the message of Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel, and indeed of all our readings – and indeed the essence of our Christian lives? “Take the lowest place.” Exalt not yourself in the sight of God, who sits at table with you, whose presence is everywhere, and is a guest far greater than you. Give your place to the poor, provide for them out of your means, as He has done, and then you will know...2022-08-2706 minThe BreadCastAugust 21 - Sunday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Is.66:18-21; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Heb.12:5-7,11-13; Lk.13:22-30) “People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory,” even those of “distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory,” says the Lord. The Word goes forth. The Word goes forth to the ends of the earth and it will open the eyes and ears of all peoples. But who shall be ready for its coming? Indee...2022-08-2006 minThe BreadCastAugust 14 - Sunday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Jer.38:4-6,8-10; Ps.40:2-4,14,18; Heb.12:1-4; Lk.12:49-53) “Though I am afflicted and poor, yet the Lord thinks of me.” Persecution is necessarily a part of every Christian’s life. Not many of us will struggle “to the point of shedding blood” as has Jesus, as has Paul, as have all the apostles; and not many of us will be thrown into muddy cisterns as is Jeremiah… but all will remain “afflicted and poor” in their striving against sin and have to endure “opposition from sinners” as they grow in holiness before their Lord and God. Jesus is anguished at the baptism He must endure...2022-08-1306 minThe BreadCastAugust 7 - Sunday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Ws.18:6-9; Ps.33:1,12.18-20,22; Heb.11:1-2,8-19; Lk.12:32-48) “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” “Our soul waits for the Lord.” Though we do not know the day or the hour of His return, we must always be ready for His coming. As the ancients, the Hebrew fathers and especially Abraham the father of faith himself, we must ever be seeking our heavenly homeland. By faith the ancients, who saw the promise only from afar, “awaited the salvation of the just”; by faith Abraham “sojourned in the promised land as in a fo...2022-08-0607 minThe BreadCastJuly 31 - Sunday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Ec.1:2,2:21-23; Ps.90:3-6,12-14,17,95:7-8; Col.3:1-5,9-11; Lk.12:13-21) “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Yes, “all things are vanity!” without God. All is empty, for “like the changing grass” our life “wilts and fades”; we are turned “back to dust,” and so what becomes of the earthly desires we pursue? Where do “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry” lead us but to the grave – and what do they do for us here but keep our hearts from what truly matters? See the difference b...2022-07-3007 minThe BreadCastJuly 24 - Sunday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Gn.18:20-32; Ps.138:1-3,6-8; Col.2:12-14; Lk.11:1-13) “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Prayer. Our wonderful gift from God. Our sharing in His will. The Lord ordains that Abraham should speak with Him, and so He stops and waits to hear the prayer of His favored one. And so in this mystical scene from our first reading, we are given a holy model for our own petitions of the Lord. Indeed, first we see that the Lord waits upon us to approach Him – His ears are ever open to...2022-07-2306 minThe BreadCastJuly 17 - Sunday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Gn.18:1-10a; Ps.15:1-5; Col.1:24-28; Lk.10:38-42) “There is need of only one thing.” Whether we teach or whether we serve, all must be done in the Name of the Lord. If it is not sitting at His feet that we do all things, if all is not a prayer offered in His Name, to His glory, it is all quite worthless. How “anxious and concerned about many things” we often are. How like Martha we often struggle under the burden of our duties without a proper heart for service. And so how often, in the words of our psalm, we are...2022-07-1606 minThe BreadCastJuly 10 - Sunday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Dt.30:10-14; Ps.69:14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37 or 19:8-11; Col.1:15-20; Lk.10:25-37) “He lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him.” This “Samaritan traveler… was moved with compassion” upon seeing the poor victim on the road. And so he “poured oil and wine over his wounds” and provided for his healing. Such is the love to which we are called. In our first reading, Moses exhorts us: “Heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep His commandments… Return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.” We are told this com...2022-07-0906 minThe BreadCastJuly 3 - Sunday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(Is.66:10-14c; Ps.66:1-7,16,20; Gal.6:14-18; Lk.10:1-12,17-20) “The Lord’s power shall be known to His servants.” Paul states: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus instructs: “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” The bottom line is that “the laborer deserves his payment.” The prosperity of Jerusalem shall flow “like a river” over those who work as laborers in the field of the Word of God: “peace and mercy” shall be to the “Israel of God.” All “who were mourning over her,” all who have suffered the indignity of the cross in this exile of ours, shall in...2022-07-0206 minThe BreadCastJune 26 - Sunday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C(1Kgs.19:16b,19-21; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-11; Gal.5:1,13-18; Lk.9:51-62) “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” We must follow Jesus. And the path He walks leads to the cross. Our gospel tells us, “When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” Jesus knows what awaits Him in Jerusalem. He knows how He will weep over the city for its lack of faith, and He knows their lack of faith will bring His crucifixion. Yet into the waiting arms...2022-06-2506 minThe BreadCastJune 24 - Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Year C(Ez.34:11-16; Ps.23:1-6; Rm.5:5-11; Lk.15:3-7) “I have found my lost sheep.” “We have found reconciliation” through the blood of Jesus Christ. So the Apostle Paul tells us, and so we know to the depths of our hearts, which are united to His Sacred Heart. Once we were sinners, scattered like sheep on the hillside, but the Lamb of God has come and died for us, and so we His scattered sheep are led home. He has brought to fulfillment the promise of the Father to walk among us and rescue us from the darkness that envelops this world. “The lost...2022-06-2305 minThe BreadCastAugust 2 - Sunday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A (Is.55:1-3; Ps.145:8-9,15-18; Rm.8:35,37-39; Mt.14:13-21) “The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season.” And the song of David, and the prophecy of Isaiah, are fulfilled in Jesus and the heavenly banquet He sets before us this day. For the Lord “open[s] His hand and satisf[ies] the desire of every living thing”; “without paying and without cost” all come to His table to eat. “You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat.” The “rich fare” the Lord provides cannot be bought with money, for the earthly food “fails to sati...2020-08-0105 min