July 6 - Sunday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C
The BreadCast
(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...
info_outline
July 5 - Prayer to St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria
The BreadCast
O child of the Apostle Paul, follower in his steps, preacher of the Word he proclaimed so completely with his very life, you who desired so to bear the fruit of love in patience, to share in the hardships of the apostles as well as in their glory, and led your fellow ordained zealously to desire the same – pray there shall be reform in this day among our priests and among the people of God, that all will so zealously follow the teaching and way of the Apostle, which is, of course, the way of Christ: to die, to lay down our lives, to suffer indignation and pray for our enemies, all the while...
info_outline
July 5 - Prayer to St. Elizabeth of Portugal
The BreadCast
O reconciler of warring sons, tranquility in the midst of great disturbance, though born of royal blood and married to a king, the Lord you preferred to all the riches of this world, and so His peace became your own – pray we, too, may keep our hearts set upon that which passes not away and the peace which passes understanding; pray our prayers be deep as your own and reflect the same tranquility, that those in our own families and those under our care, all those whom we meet and to whom we relate, may find the Lord’s peace dwelling in us with His divine charity and so be reconciled to Him...
info_outline
July 5 - Saturday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.27:1-5,15-29; Ps.135:1-6; Mt.9:14-17) “Pour new wine into new wineskins, and in that way both are preserved.” “Jacob.” The name means “the supplanter”. Here he supplants his twin brother, Esau, whose name means “red earth”. Though born second, Jacob receives the blessing of the firstborn. Of what significance is this supplanting, is this blessing of Jacob, who is to be “Israel”, and from whom the twelve tribes shall proceed? Far more than some sibling rivalry, it shows the coming of the New...
info_outline
July 4 - Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
The BreadCast
(Gn.23:1-4,19,24:1-8,62-67; Ps.106:1-5; Mt.9:9-13) “In his love for [Rebekah] Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah.” And of this love Jacob shall be born; and from him shall come the twelve tribes of Israel, who shall people the earth as the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. Sarah had died and “Abraham had now reached a ripe old age.” Now conscious of his mortality, Abraham sets his sights firmly on his son and his coming progeny. Now with great resolve he sets to seek a wife for Isaac, telling his servant as he sends...
info_outline
July 3 - Prayer to St. Thomas
The BreadCast
O believing apostle who declared the divinity of Jesus, our Lord and our God, all doubt disappears in the light of your faith, for we see with you what is beyond all eyes – pray for an increase in our faltering faith, that we shall indeed believe though we do not see; let it be as if we ourselves have touched the nail marks in His hands and feet and placed our hands into His side. So firmly let our faith be founded that we shall reach out to all mankind and the truth of Christ as the Son of God will grow in all hearts until that Day we see the Lord with our own eyes.
info_outline
July 3 - St. Thomas
The BreadCast
(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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline(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,” “the strayed,” “the injured,” “the sick,” He has come to lead back to the bosom of the Father, where we may take refuge in His Sacred Heart.
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”; so let us recognize our sin that His blood might be efficacious. Let us not deny His grace as “people who have no need to repent.” For if we say we are righteous, the darkness will continue to surround us and He will not be beside us to guide us to the Father’s pasture: we will be left alone and forsaken. No, let us cause heaven to rejoice by repenting of our sin each day and always finding His blood at work within us. To what pasture He leads us! What protection we find even in this life, a blessing known especially in His Sacrament. And what future awaits us in His heavenly kingdom. We taste it and make our boast in it now, but there it shall be known in its fullness when, indeed, nothing shall ever harm us. “For, now we rejoice in the refuge He gives as we “walk in the dark valley”; even still He is gathering His scattered sheep. Yes, to this day He moves among us as our Shepherd, and then we shall rest eternally in the Father’s arms.
We give thanks to the Lord for the blessings He provides us on our path to His glory. We thank Him for His Church and its sacraments. We come to the altar and receive His sacrifice this day, knowing we are not worthy of such a call. But we confess our sins to Him. We seek His forgiveness through the ministry of the shepherds He has left us, and His mercy finds a place in us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, thank you for your grace and mercy.
Lead us home to the Father’s arms.
O Lord, like sheep we have all gone astray;
lead us back today,
and on your holy mountain
may we take rest.
Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney.
Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission.
*******
O LORD, in your mercy and love
shepherd us to restful waters.
YHWH, is it not the blood of your Son that reconciles us to you, that shepherds us into your kingdom? And so, does Heaven not now await every repentant sinner? O let us rejoice in your presence with all who have found your forgiveness!
Your promise is sure, dear God. You promise to come among us and lead all straying souls back to you, back to your holy mountain; and this you have accomplished by sending your Son to die for our sins. And now by the grace upon us by virtue of His sacrifice, your Spirit guides us in right paths to your House, where we shall dwell forever in your peace.
Why do you love us so, dear LORD? Why does your Son so freely lay down His life for godless men like us? O let us but accept the healing grace that comes to us because of your compassion! Let all souls repent of their sin and rejoice in Heaven, in your Sacred Heart.