July 2 - Wednesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.21:5,8-20; Ps.34:7-8,10-13; Mt.8:28-34) “When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him.” Ishmael is the model of the afflicted man calling out to the Lord and being heard in all his distress. His very name means “he whom God hears” and indeed we see clearly today how, though “it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear [Abraham’s] name,” nonetheless, the Lord has pity on Ishmael and his plight – his rejection by the mother of the promised child and his wandering in a trackless waste – and...
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July 1 - Prayer to Junipero Serra
The BreadCast
O missionary of the New World inspired to leave your classroom and go forth to win souls for Christ, despite continuous battles with cold and hunger and long journeys with an injured leg, praying throughout the...
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July 1 - Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.19:15-29; Ps.26:2-3,9-12; Mt.8:23-27) “Even the winds and the sea obey Him.” “The Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah,” and “without warning a violent storm came up on the lake, and the boat began to be swamped by the waves.” The Lord saved Lot from the destruction of Sodom, and Jesus calmed the winds and the sea, saving the disciples; but how little faith either showed in His power. Lot seems oblivious to the annihilation about to be wrought by God, hesitating to flee even at the urging of...
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June 30 - Prayer to the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
The BreadCast
O first of souls to shed blood, whose sacrifice began the great persecution, you indeed handed your bodies over to torture, to the mad king of this dark world, but everlasting reward you have gained for yourselves and for the Church; your robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, you served to nourish the growth of the people of God – pray your holy offering shall always be remembered, that the Church in this day and in all days may be blessed by your witness of faith, that you might light our path to Heaven until our crucified Lord returns again to gather all of faith and courage into...
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June 30 - Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.18:16-33; Ps.103:1-4,8-11; Mt.8:18-22) “While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” “Then Abraham drew nearer to Him…” A marvelous scene. First, as Abraham walks along with the Lord, we hear the Lord’s thoughts. The Lord wishes to share His plans with him, not to act apart from His blessed one. He tells Abraham of the imminent destruction of Sodom, knowing he will be concerned for his kinsman, Lot. The Lord then stops and stands still, granting Abraham...
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June 29 - Prayer to Sts. Peter and Paul
The BreadCast
O most blessed apostles of the Lord upon whom the Church is founded and the faith goes forth, in you we cannot be shaken and the Lord’s reign extends to the ends of the earth – pray we always take refuge in His House and in the teaching of His mouth. It is you who preserve the authenticity of the faith; through you we may be assured the Spirit of God is with us, leading us out of the dark prison of this world along the narrow path to Heaven. Pray the chains fall from our hands and we heed the angel’s command, remaining faithful to the end, pouring out our lives like a libation. Feed the...
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June 29 - Sts. Peter and Paul
The BreadCast
Acts 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 Paul,...
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June 28 - Prayer to St. Irenaeus
The BreadCast
O great teacher of the Catholic faith who served to set a foundation upon which she could grow in peace and in truth, in the Spirit of God, you who valiantly defended her against attacks of heresy and shed your blood in the battle – pray we shall find shepherds today to explicate the faith of the apostles as clearly and loyally as you have done, that none shall be led astray into false doctrine by whim and fancy, by pride and envy, but drink rather the pure milk of our Mother and of the one true God. To vision of the Father let us come by revelation of His only-begotten Son.
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June 28 - Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The BreadCast
O Sanctuary of the Father, Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother of the Son of God who carried Him in your womb and contemplated Him in your heart – how shall we find Jesus within us; how shall we become the temples of the Spirit the Lord calls us all to be if you do not pray for us, if we are not formed in your womb, in the love with which you are blessed? Hold us in your soul, dear Mother, that our spirits might join with your own and we might thus become one with our Lord and brother. In us also let Him make His home.
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June 28 - Saturday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.18:1-15; Lk.1:46-50,53-55; Mt.8:5-17) “Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do?” Our theme again is faith. Do we believe as Abraham, as Mary, as the centurion? Only such trust will save us. In our first reading the Lord appears to Abraham. We have here the marvelous scene of faith being born, being conceived. Abraham sits patiently, waiting, praying – expectant of the Lord’s return to confirm His word to him. Then, “looking up, he saw three men nearby.” There is the Lord before him. His...
info_outline(2Cor.6:1-10; Ps.98:1-4; Mt.5:38-42)
“When a person strikes you on the right cheek,
turn and offer him the other.”
“Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!” Alleluia! And how do we know the salvation of the Lord except by the cross. This is our joy. These “difficulties, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, and riots”; the “hard work, sleepless nights, and fastings” – these crosses bring us immeasurable joy, for through them we share in the suffering of Christ and so also in His resurrection glory. Thus the Lord can encourage us not to seek to avoid such suffering; thus He instructs us to be prepared to suffer over and above that which comes to us – for He knows that as we give of ourselves in this ready way, as we lay down our lives without hesitation, we shall find ourselves in the hand of God, we shall come quickly to join Him in heaven. With Paul, we must “present ourselves as ministers of God, acting with patient endurance amid trials,” and His salvation will be made known in us. And we will rejoice with Paul in all our sorrows. And we will be able to exclaim with him, “We seem to have nothing, yet everything is ours!” For the fullness of Christ will reside with us.
Give. Give, and do not count the cost. How hard it is for us to freely give of our possessions, much less of our very lives. Are we ready to “give to the man who begs” from us? Are we prepared to care for others’ needs? Or do we hold tightly to our possessions, calling them our own? And what of the possession of our pride and the protection of ourselves from injury? What of our judgment of others? Are we ready to give these up so completely? Can we turn the other cheek to those who do us wrong, offering the pain to God and finding great comfort there, or do we need to strike back against the offending party, exacting the retribution due us according to the law? Do we indeed live by the law, or have we transcended the law: do we now live by the Law of love? Are we a new creation in Christ?
It is not easy to lay down our lives in such a way as Christ calls us. The world ever mocks the absurdity of this sacrifice. But we who are in Jesus should know the absolute truth of Paul’s words and Jesus’ instruction. If we are to be Christians, we must know the joy and freedom that come from suffering all with Him who is our salvation. He is all that matters. If we have Him, we have all things. Come to this truth, brothers and sisters; leave behind the fears wrought by attachment to the things of this world. This world is of sin, anyway. As we lose our possessions for Him, He gives us all the more. As the body dies, the spirit comes to life. What the devil would take from us, let us give him, for he cannot touch the life that is Christ: our souls are in the hand of God. And, as with Job, all will be restored to us, and more, in the day of the Lord. So, “wielding the weapons of righteousness with right hand and left,” let us learn always to turn the other cheek to our persecutors.
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O LORD, grant us the grace to endure all trials
in patience and with love,
that we may give witness to your salvation at work in us.
YHWH, your salvation has come to us, and it comes in the form of a Cross; in the suffering and death of your Son we are set free to rejoice in you. Though we seem to have nothing, though we be beaten and robbed, yet Jesus is with us, and with Him everything is ours. O let us accept the salvation that He brings this day! Let us be patient amid all trials and we will know your presence among us.
Help us, dear LORD, to walk with your Son on the way of the Cross. He is struck repeatedly; He is stripped and forced to carry the burden of our sin. We beg you not to turn your back on us, though we have turned our backs on Him. Help us to do what we are unable to do – to give witness to the truth and love of the Christ… to endure all as He has done.
O to be disciples of Him who saves us! O to know His holy innocence and unending life! O to sing with joy to you, dear God, in the unbreakable Spirit of your Son.