The BreadCast

jameshkurt@gmail.com
The BreadCast Podcast

Spirit-filled daily reflections on the Mass Readings of the Roman Catholic Church from the book Our Daily Bread by James Kurt (with imprimatur). The daily podcasts are voice only, while the podcasts for Sundays and Solemnities are produced with music and other elements. Another podcast recently added: Prayers to the Saints - a prayer to each saint on the calendar for the US. Also with imprimatur.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    September 8 - Sunday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

    (Is.35:4-7a;   Ps.146:2,6-10;   Jas.2:1-5;   Mk.7:31-37)  “He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” The Lord makes all whole.  He “sets captives free” from all their afflictions as He redeems us from all our sin.  “Here is your God, He comes with vindication; with divine recompense He comes to save you.”  This is He who “has done all things well”; this is the Lord Jesus Christ. “And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.”  By a word: “‘Ephphatha!’ – that is, ‘Be opened!’” the deaf mute is healed by Jesus, causing all to be “exceedingly astonished.”  And in their astonishment their eyes are opened, for “the Lord gives sight to the blind.”  And so He who sustains “the fatherless and the widow” and “gives food to the hungry” stands before the eyes of all now; and so indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared…  Then the tongue of the dumb will sing.”  And so streams “burst forth in the desert” and “the lame leap like a stag,” for He comes – He comes to heal all nations. Brothers and sisters, God chose “those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to those who love Him.”  He chose the blind; He chose the lame; He chose the deaf and the mute – He chose the hungry and oppressed.  He chose you and me in all our sin, in all our weakness before Him, and came to release us from all fear.  Making no distinction except to favor the soul who thirsts for Him, He came bringing “springs of water.”  And these waters heal.  And these waters set us free.  And these waters remove our “shabby clothes” and don us “with gold rings and fine clothes” spun by the hand of God. Brothers and sisters, “adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.”  For He is glorious indeed, and coming into His assembly with all your imperfections purged from your soul, you shall know such glory and not be able to withhold yourself from proclaiming such glory.  Yes, you shall be one with “the Lord [who] shall reign forever.”  He shall be “your God, O Zion, through all generations,” and with tongue loosened and renewed you shall sing “Alleluia” to the Lord forevermore.  Know now His power upon you. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder" (2nd half) from Listening to the Lamp, ninth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, open our ears that we might hear your voice and follow in your way. YHWH, you chose the poor to inherit your kingdom.  The deaf, the blind, the lame – to these you bring your healing touch.  You come to those who recognize their need for you and take them to yourself.  In your Son you fulfill your will for the good of all who desire you.  For this we can but praise you. O LORD God, you keep faith forever, you eternally offer forth love to us, the rivers of grace known in the work of Jesus.  You can but love us; you can but desire our good.  For you are all good, you are all love, and so you look with pity upon those in need, upon fallen man so separated from your love. O may we all be cleansed of our sin!  O may we all be made whole in your sight!  Let the touch of your Son be upon us, dear LORD, that we might sing of your glory forever.  O let our hearts be open to your love!

    6 min
  2. AUG 31

    September 1 - Sunday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

    (Dt.4:1-2,6-8;   Ps.15:1-5;   Jas.1:17-18,21b-22,27;   Mk.7:1-8,14-15,21-23)  “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.” Welcome it, yes, and “be doers of the word and not hearers only.”  For how else shall you show that the word of God is planted in you except that you bear fruit?  All that is planted well indeed grows and bears fruit in the light of God. Brothers and sisters, God “willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits.”  “What great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law?”  Indeed the Law of God is whole, the Law of God is perfect – the Law of God gives life.  For this reason Moses instructs the people: “You shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it,” for the Law is holy as He, and keeping it we prove ourselves to be so holy; keeping it we cannot but “give evidence of [our] wisdom and intelligence to the nations.”  Yes, with the Lord “there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.”  His light is perfect, and His light is eternal, and we must be children of His holy light. But what of those for whom the washing of hands has become more important than keeping the commandments of God?  What about those over whom Isaiah prophesies: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”?  Woe to these, for they have not the word of truth planted in them and so only evil things “come out from within,” and thereby they are defiled.  Oh may the Lord never pronounce over our souls: “In vain do they worship me”!  Oh let us never be producers of the evils of this world! “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” and he “who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue” knows the gifts of the Creator and walks in His holy light.  No “great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him.”  For His truth is indeed within us and this word comes straight to His ear.  The beat of our hearts is known to our God as we worship in spirit and in truth.  The only food that saves souls is laid upon our table.  The Word of God we consume and so are made His children, caring for “orphans and widows in their affliction” and keeping ourselves “unstained by the world.” Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "What Is In Your Heart" from Remove the Mask of Lies, second album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, if we walk according to your Word, we shall be saved. YHWH, your Word you have planted within us and so call us to follow in your way.  Your Law comes to our ears that we might observe your commandments and so have life.  But if we do not welcome the Word you give, if we do not do as we are commanded, we shall be empty vessels in which corruption may find a home. O LORD, let us walk blamelessly before you, cherishing the truth in our hearts and guarding our tongues from all evil.  You give us the grace to approach perfection; you are close to us when we call upon you, when you and your glory are our desire.  May we be innocent of all sin, our hands clean from all defilement, and we shall be blessed all our days. Let your Word live in us and grow in us, dear God.  Let there be no room in us for greed or deceit or any of the wickedness known to man.  With our very lives let us honor you – O let us be truly wise!

    6 min
  3. AUG 24

    August 25 - Sunday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

    (Jos.24:1-2a,15-17,18b;   Ps.34:2-3,9,16-21;   Eph.5:21-32;   Jn.6:60-69)  “Do you also want to leave?” How like the questions pertaining to the marriage vows is our Lord’s inquiry of the Twelve, and Joshua’s statement to the Israelites he has just brought out of the wilderness into the Promised Land.  “If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve,” Joshua says, “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”  And Jesus seeks to find from His apostles if they will be like “many of His disciples [who] returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him” after His teaching on the Bread of Life. Do you take Jesus to be your husband?  To honor and obey, to love… to “become one flesh” with Him who is “the Holy One of God”?  You are free to leave, or you are free to come unto Him.  Though He knows your heart and your choice, yet you are free to make it as you please.  How shall you answer the Lord? Paul renders a beautiful account of the love of husband and wife, relating it well “to Christ and the Church.”  “Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies… no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church.”  And what can the good wife do when loved “as Christ loved the Church and handed Himself over for her,” bleeding and dying on the cross to wash away all our sins – what can she do when confronted with such utter sacrifice for her sake alone but revere her husband and respect his every wish?  In loving such a man she finds her joy.  (How the wife of Joshua must have beamed to hear her husband’s public declaration that he and his household would follow the Lord!  Who could argue with such blessed authority?) And now, what of you and I, brothers and sisters, we who have the most faithful husband of all?  Do we “bless the Lord at all times”?  Does our “soul glory in the Lord” as King David’s today?  Do we realize how He “watches over all [our] bones” and makes them pure as His own?  Or will we be fool enough to leave His loving embrace?  The words must come from your mouths as well, and mean them: “We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.” Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Marriage" from The Innocent Heart, first album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, to whom else shall we go, to whom else shall we be wed… for you alone are God? YHWH, let us never leave you but be wed to your Son and become as His Body in this world.  O let His Spirit be upon us to bring us to eternal life!  What need we do but be obedient to Him and serve one another in His love?  You will certainly watch over and guide us safely in all things if we are united to Jesus. He left you, O Father in Heaven, to be joined to us, to save us, to pour out His blood as a cleansing shower to purify us from all sin, that we might be able to join you in Heaven with Him.  In splendor may He present us to you; let us be faithful until the coming of His Day. Flesh of His flesh and blood of His blood, you cannot but look upon us with favor, dear LORD.  And so, let us praise you all our days, never turning from worship of you, the one true God.  Let all your children serve you alone.

    6 min
  4. AUG 23

    August 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 one with Him if we don’t come to Him even with the faith of this innocent child? “You shall see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son Man.”  He it is who stands in the breach between earth and heaven; He it is who is as the ladder we climb to find God’s eternal kingdom: by Him it is heaven comes to us and we fly to heaven – His angels are with us to guide us to the vision of His splendor and lead us to safety within the protective walls of His Church as His bride.  As the angel comes to John, leading him to vision of the heavenly kingdom, so by Jesus the angels come to us to carry us home in His arms.  May we find the peace that awaits us within His walls and enter through its gates. And who are the foundation stones of this glorious kingdom but John and Bartholomew and the Lord’s blessed apostles?  These simple men who walked the earth as you and I have now become the radiant gems on which Holy Church is set – they serve now to support the Bride of the Lamb and bring her to His “dominion” which “endures through all generations.”  These generations include our own, and we simple men are now called and guided by the “discourse” of these “faithful ones” to enter in and take our own place in the city which has “the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkle[s] like a diamond.”  But to do so we must be like Him who is “just in all His ways and holy in all His works.”  We must come as Nathanael, without guile, guided only by love, to find our place in the peaceful kingdom. The Lord sees us all, brothers and sisters.  He knows us all.  He knows we are but simple men and women, but this is who He seeks.  Let us trust utterly in Him, and His angels will take us to the bridal chamber and we shall enter in and dwell with Him in His “kingdom for all ages” with all His holy ones redeemed in His blood. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, let us see the sky opened and the Son of God and His holy Bride coming down out of Heaven; let us have eyes that look for Him, hearts that long for Him. YHWH, may the sky be opened and our eyes see the glorious splendor of your kingdom coming down unto us.  Let us be pure and innocent, without guile, as all your children must be, and indeed your glory shall be revealed to us.  And we shall declare with all your apostles that you are God and Jesus is your only Son. Through all ages your kingdom lasts, O LORD; your dominion endures through all generations.  And that kingdom your Son comes to make known to us – and into that kingdom we must all be built.  The apostles are the foundation stones of your Church, and they speak of your might to all, but every soul must shine with your radiance in your holy City. O LORD, let us be wed to your Lamb and to His sacrifice; then indeed we shall have our eyes opened to see the angels ascending and descending upon Him.  Then indeed we shall enter the gates of the New Jerusalem.

    5 min
  5. AUG 17

    August 18 - Sunday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

    (Prv.9:1-6;   Ps.34:2-7;   Eph.5:15-20;   Jn.6:51-58)  “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of His blood, you do not have life within you.” Wisdom “has spread her table”; “she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine.”  And now she sends out “her maidens,” calling “from the heights out over the city… ‘Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!’”  Let the simple hearts, those who seek understanding and refreshment, “turn in here.”  Here is bread that He gives “for the life of the world.”  Yes, His “flesh is true food, and [His] blood is true drink.”  Jesus, the only Son, has come “down from heaven” and now spreads the table before us, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, in answer to all prayers. Are not our priests His maidens calling souls forth to the altar where we feed?  Is the Church not His city where His voice resounds, where His blood is outpoured?  And so we should heed the instruction of Paul today and “watch carefully how [we] live, not as foolish persons but as wise,” seeking the precious bread that opens all eyes.  “Do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery”; rather, “be filled with the Spirit” that comes to you in this wine made holy, in His sacred blood. Brothers and sisters, let us “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in [our] hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”  For what greater joy could there be than this Blessed Sacrament?  And so, “glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol His name,” that we may indeed be “radiant with joy, and [our] faces may not blush with shame.”  For the wise come to this table and eat, and so have life everlasting.  For the Lord is here in our midst, in flesh and blood.  Here is the house with “seven columns” in which His children ever dwell.  The foolish may fall by the wayside, but the wise receive eternal life. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Love, the Meaning of" part c. "Love" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood, we gain understanding, we come to eternal life… and so our mouths are filled with praise! YHWH, feed us with the flesh and blood of your only Son, this spiritual bread and wine that nourishes us to eternal life.  The days are evil and the food the world offers brings man only death – give us wisdom to see the emptiness, the foolishness of feasting on such corrupted fare, and come to your table today. O LORD, we praise you for your goodness to us, for when we sought you, when we recognized our lack of understanding and turned to you and to your Son, our shame you took from us and made us radiant with joy.  May Wisdom remain with us always; your Spirit ever sing in us of your surpassing glory. To the banquet let us come, to the feast Jesus prepares for us by His sacrifice.  Let us eat His Body and drink His Blood and live forever in your heavenly kingdom.

    5 min
  6. AUG 14

    August 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 suffered so intimately with you here on earth now shares your glory in heaven.  And as she has said, “All generations will call me blessed,” for you have “lifted up the lowly” and she your humblest and most holy of all creatures can be nowhere but with you in your eternal life.  May she bless us from her place with you this holy day. In Mary we find our hope, brothers and sisters; in her we find it fulfilled, made real by the hand of God.  We know that “in Christ shall all be brought to life,” and “in proper order” she so blessed in life is now so blessed in death, having been preserved from its clutches and preceding us into God’s heavenly realm.  The devil would have devoured her and her child, but she and He, and we with them, have escaped his gaping mouth and the fire it breathes; this enemy and the death he wrought is destroyed by our Lord and His birth through the Virgin Mary, and so, “now have salvation and power come.”  “The kingdom of our God and the authority of His Anointed One” now reign supreme, and she who has been His special instrument in bringing such salvation now stands at His side in His paradise. “How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” asks Elizabeth in wonder at the blessed presence of Mary in her midst.  She who carries the Lord shares in His divinity in a way beyond our comprehension, for if her own kinswoman could be filled with such awe, recognizing whence Mary comes, how much more should we be filled with veneration for the Virgin daughter of Israel?  Indeed, it is her voice which causes the Baptist to leap for joy in the womb; with such joy we should approach this sacred day. As intimately as she was with Jesus, and is with Jesus now, so intimately is she with His Church here on earth as well as in heaven.  From her place at His side she watches over us and cares for our needs as any mother for her son.  We are her sons and daughters, united to her through the One Lord, Jesus Christ.  She comes to us now at the end of the age, granting wisdom and direction to those who seek their place with her Son.  Call her blessed, brothers and sisters in Christ, and see her glory shining forth at the right hand of God.  In her you will find light greater than sun and moon and stars.  You will find the presence of our Lord and our God. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, look upon all your lowly servants with favor, that we might join Mary at your Son’s side in the kingdom.  YHWH, your promise of mercy is fulfilled in our midst as she who is blessed comes to us bearing your Son.  And our hearts leap for joy at her approach, for indeed she brings salvation with her, and so the destruction of death.  In her Son is your kingdom, your power come, and to His glory we are all called. Dearest Mary, who are we that you should come to us, O Mother of our Lord?  O what blessing you are for those who rejoice with you in God our Savior!  For as He has looked upon you, His lowly servant, so He looks upon all poor creatures and fills our emptiness with His presence.  O that we might stand with you at His side this day! LORD, in Jesus death is conquered and all souls are brought to life again.  His Virgin Mother is the first to join Him in your glory, for you prepared a place for her.  May we a

    6 min
  7. AUG 10

    August 11 - Sunday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

    (1Kgs.19:4-8;   Ps.34:2-9;   Eph.4:30-5:2;   Jn.6:41-51) “Strengthened by that food he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.” As the forty days and forty nights Noah found himself protected from the rains by the Lord; as the forty years the Israelites were guided through the desert; as the forty days Jesus found strength in the Word of God while fasting in the wilderness… as Elijah is fed for his journey, so we for the fullness of our days feed upon “the bread of life” as we travel to the heavenly kingdom of our Lord.  Here is our ark; here is our manna – here is all the strength and protection we need.  He is our food. “His praise shall be ever in my mouth,” for His food is ever on our altar, and this Sacrament fills us with nothing but joy.  If we had not this food, indeed “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling” would come from our mouths so poisoned by the fruit of the world.  But as it is “Christ loved us and handed Himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma,” and thus we “taste and see how good the Lord is” and cannot but “glorify the Lord” and “extol His name.” That “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them” is illustrated clearly in the trials of Elijah.  Overwhelmed by “all [his] fears,” the “afflicted” prophet “prayed for death, saying, ‘This is enough, O Lord!  Take my life.’”  But “from all his distress [God] saved him,” for an “angel of the Lord… touched him, and ordered, ‘Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!’”  And Elijah “got up, ate, and drank” the food and water the Lord provided, and made it safely to the mountain where the Lord God would speak to him. “This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.”  All strength and blessing come from the Lord through His only Son.  And being drawn to Him and so discovering the Father of all, what can our faces be but “radiant with joy,” the joy of His eternal, loving presence?  Let us come this day to the holy mountain of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Body of Christ" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, you give us the flesh of your Son that we might live, and you send your angels to guard us. YHWH, your Son has given His flesh as a sacrificial offering that we might eat of this Bread and be strengthened for our journey to eternal life on your holy mountain.  Help us to walk with you, to walk with Him as your beloved children, your angel at our side, your Holy Spirit within us to bless us and keep us faithful to you until the Day of redemption is fulfilled.  O let us be taught by you!  Let us come to your Son and be fed with His Body and Blood, with the Word He is, offered for our salvation. Why should we murmur among ourselves, dearest LORD?  Why should we doubt and fear your presence among us and your care for us?  Why do we court death in our despair?  You are near!  You hear the afflicted man when he calls out – you have delivered us from death by sending us your Son.  Let us glory in the gift you give us.  Let us taste your goodness this day.

    5 min
  8. AUG 9

    August 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 “much fruit.”  We cannot hold on to our lives and our pride but must give them over in service of God, or they will be nothing worth.  We must trust in the words of Paul that “God can multiply His favors” among us, that as much as we give generously of ourselves, the more He will provide; and the greater will thus be our reward as we draw ever closer to Him and His sacrifice.  “Where I am, there will my servant be.”  By these words Jesus both calls and assures all who would follow Him that the laying down of their lives will bring them “honor” in the presence of the Father.  To be so “exalted in glory,” we must be washed in His blood. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church; it is by their sacrifice, their total giving of themselves, that the Church does grow.  They bear witness to God’s power working in the world, and we must sow bountifully with them in order to “reap bountifully” the graces of the Lord.  He provides the seed we sow and will “multiply the seed” and its yield; as long as we remain “firm, trusting in the Lord,” our posterity shall endure unto heaven.  So let us plant our prayers and our works and our lives in the fertile earth where the martyrs found their joy, and whether we live or die, we “shall be blessed in His holy presence.” May all the Church ring out their praises to the God who calls and blesses us with the holy example of those who serve Him and give their lives completely to Him.  “Lavishly He gives to the poor; His generosity shall endure forever,” so let us pray that this blessed yield the Lord provides will be increased in our own time, and that we may join in the grace of such sacrifice.  In His Spirit and in His blood may we ever grow away from the earth and the death it holds and unto the life of “everlasting remembrance” in heaven with God. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, if we serve you, we will be where Jesus has been – fixed to a cross – and so, blessed will we be as He accepts our sacrifice, for we will come to where He is now in Heaven.  YHWH, the seed and its yield are both in your hand, and you give freely to all of your abundance.  Help us to be generous as you, trusting that you will always multiply and increase our yield, trusting that all we are and all we do are in your holy hand. O LORD, let us unite ourselves with the Cross of your Son, let us plant our souls in His blessed death, that we might bear much fruit and endure unto eternal life.  Let us be so blessed to be His servants, to follow in His way, to be joined to His holy sacrifice.  Then we shall be honored with all your saints, with all who lay down their lives in your Name. What is it to hate our lives in this world but to see ourselves as we are, small and insignificant as a grain of wheat?  Yet giving what little we have cheerfully to you and to others, our yield becomes abundant, dear God.

    5 min

About

Spirit-filled daily reflections on the Mass Readings of the Roman Catholic Church from the book Our Daily Bread by James Kurt (with imprimatur). The daily podcasts are voice only, while the podcasts for Sundays and Solemnities are produced with music and other elements. Another podcast recently added: Prayers to the Saints - a prayer to each saint on the calendar for the US. Also with imprimatur.

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