The BreadCast

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.

(Mal.3:1-4,23-24; Ps.25:4-5,8-10,14,Lk.21:28; Lk.1:57-66) "His name is John." Yes, "the hand of the Lord [was] upon him," whose name signifies the grace of God, who comes at the end of the age to turn men's hearts back to God, who prepares the way we must walk to find the instruction and purgation of the Lord. We must be purified by "the refiner's fire." We must be purged of all dross "like gold or like silver that [we] may offer due sacrifice to the Lord," that we might be called children of the One God. The Day is coming; the Lord is returning to the temple, and we must be prepared to welcome Him – and so John is born, sent in the spirit of Elijah the prophet to cry out the way in the wilderness of this world. By the Spirit of the Lord, he "shows sinners the way; he guides the humble to justice," leading them to the Son who stands ready in Truth to teach and to save. Well do the people do to wonder at the birth of this holy child, for well will they do to follow his exhortation, and come to praise of the living God. This John leads us to something new, as even the originality of his name among his relatives signifies; he assists us in making the turn, the conversion to the New Covenant in the blood of Christ. From the Old and as a prophet of old, he leads us to the dawn of new light in this world. Jesus he comes to proclaim. Without this grace of God to be washed in the river of our sins, how could we stand on "the great and terrible day" of the Lord's coming? How could we bear His light, His fire? "All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep His covenant and His decrees." Praise God we have the instruction of the Lord with us now to guide us to life everlasting; and thank God we have been made ready by "the messenger of the covenant" to stand in the light of that wisdom. The Lord teaches us now, brothers and sisters; the Lord is with us to instruct us in His way and, "like the fuller's lye," to make us white. Let us not make the grace of forgiveness John has wrought by the hand of God among us come to naught – let us listen closely now to the Word of God to which his voice has led us. P.S. Re the Bible, the Word of God – a quote by St. Hippolytus from today's Office: "Sacred Scripture is God's gift to us and it should be understood in the way He intends: we should not do violence to it by interpreting it according to our own preconceived ideas." ******* O LORD, you brought John to birth to prepare the way of your only Son – let us walk that path to you. YHWH, your hand was upon John for our good, to prepare the way for your Son, that we might be prepared to receive the glory of His presence among us. This day may our hearts be ready for His coming. Sinners you show the way, O LORD; you mark out the path we all should tread if we wish to be cleansed of all evil and turn our hearts to you. You are our Father, and all we should desire is to love you – O LORD, lead us in the way to you. Your Son is the way, dear LORD. It is by Him on His terrible Day that we are purged of all dross in the fire of the Holy Spirit and so made pure to stand before you. O holy God, let us be refined like silver or gold that we might shine so brightly in your presence. By your grace only is this accomplished; let all be made new by your hands.

(1Sm.1:24-28; 1Sm.2:1,4-8; Lk.1:46-56) "His mercy is from age to age on those who fear Him." The Magnificat of Mary mirrors but, if I may say, far surpasses the Canticle of Hannah in beauty, in wonder, in grace… even as the perfection of the Son she bears far exceeds the blessing of the prophet Samuel. As Jesus brings to fulfillment the greatness of all who came before Him, so Mary's song expresses that perfection in the light of the same divine mercy. Mercy indeed is infused in each line she utters under the power of the Spirit. Mercy and truth, a love completely open to the blessings of God is hers and is revealed in the words which fall like cleansing rain from her immaculate lips. She is blessed, she knows, and she shall be called blessed; for the truth, the Word of God, cannot be hidden, must be raised to meet the eyes and ears of all who seek His grace. For "the hungry He [gives] every good thing," and the lowly He raises "to high places." She is "His servant in her lowliness" and the joy of such blessing she cannot help but proclaim with all her being. Hannah brings the child she has conceived in answer to her prayer, through the intercession of Eli – by the grace of God – and dedicates him to the Lord, leaving him at the temple. She, too, "exults in the Lord" for the fact that, in the Lord's will, "the barren wife bears seven sons"; for she who was thought sterile has borne the great man of God, Samuel. Mary, in her grateful appreciation for the blessing upon her, will not need to leave her child at the temple, for He has been conceived entirely of the Holy Spirit and is Himself the Temple of the Lord, wholly dedicated to the will of the Father from before the inception of time. As the ancient Israelites found the direction and guidance of God through the ministry of Samuel, as by him they were led to serve the Lord their God, so now in this the end of the age we have Jesus, the perfect light of guidance through the grace and mercy of God, to lead us to the total service of the Lord that Mary embodies so well. God is "mighty," brothers and sisters; "holy is His name." Let us rejoice in Him who "has upheld Israel His servant, ever mindful of His mercy," and let us make that same blessed mercy the leaven that lifts us unto heaven. To Him let us sing our song of praise. ******* 96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} O LORD, Mary you have blessed with your very presence, and so she has become the Temple in which you dwell – may we all become as your Temple. YHWH, to the humble you show your mercy; you raise them up to dwell with you. Our Mother Mary is the humblest of our race, and so she is at your side forever in Heaven. O may we be blessed as she! Hannah, too, you blessed, O LORD, she who had borne no children. Samuel, the man of God, you gave to her, for she had promised to give him to you. But the Son of Mary who could give to you, for He is with you always? Let us be with Him this very day, that we might remain in your Temple. O LORD, the proud and the mighty you tear down that they might know they are of the earth. But the meek and humble you raise to high places, even to your presence. Let us leave behind all the riches of this world; help us to escape the trap they are to us, the death they spell to our souls, that with the lowly we might dwell, in your eternal kingdom. O let your servants live!

O great defender of the faith, of the clear waters, the wellspring of salvation that flows from the Sacred Heart of our Savior into His holy Church, thus to nourish the world and fill it with truth and wisdom and love… you whom the Lord inspired with apostolic zeal to teach and lead souls along His holy way – teach us today by your gracious intercession to be faithful, to be obedient to the voice of Jesus and the Spirit speaking in the Mother the Lord God provides His pilgrim people. Let us not be separated from His Word and His precious Body and Blood, but come together as one in His presence.

(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 you understand it, understand its significance and the grace it is as a gift from God? Joseph struggled, certainly, to believe, to understand, to accept the greatness of this gift to him and to his people. The angel of the Lord had to come to him to convince him to receive such great grace into his life, into his home. But he did. He did believe, and he did fulfill his role in the coming salvation. And, yes, what of us? We "are called to belong to Jesus Christ… called to be holy." Paul answered the call from God to be His apostle and "bring about the obedience of faith"; again, what of us? Do we answer the call to holiness? Do we reflect that obedience? The time is upon us now. The great sign has been fulfilled in our midst. Jesus has been born and stands with us now to lead us to the purity of the Father – are we prepared to make this Child our own? What greater truth can be proclaimed than that God is with us? What greater grace can we receive than the forgiveness of our sins, than the preparation of our hearts for heaven? Jesus accomplishes these blessings now for all who desire to enter the presence of God, for He is the presence of God among us; He Himself is divine grace. His mercy is upon us. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," brothers and sisters. The power of the Lord be upon your souls. May the "Spirit of holiness" establish you with the Son as a child of the Father. Be of "the race that seeks for Him," and you shall find Him present, dwelling in your homes. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Vision of Children" (1st part) from The Innocent Heart, first album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, you call us to be holy; let us indeed be as the Virgin Mother of your Son. YHWH, you are with us now in your only Son, who has been born of the womb of the Blessed Virgin. All the earth is yours, and now this Child comes into the world to save it from its sins, from the destruction that is upon it for having turned from you. O let us welcome Him into our homes! O LORD, let us belong to Jesus and so become one with you. May your grace and peace be upon us this day and all the days of our lives. Make us pure as His Mother that your holy mountain we might ascend and gaze upon your face with all your saints. Obedient to your call as Joseph let us be; let us listen to the voice of your angel. 96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} You desire us all to stand with you, but our hands must be sinless and our hearts clean. May the Virgin Mary, she who has conceived and borne your Son, pray the Spirit upon us, that our obedience shall be like her own, and so her blessing also. Be with us this day, dear God, and let us be with you.