The BreadCast

jameshkurt@gmail.com
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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. -34 MIN

    April 24 - Prayer to St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

    O charitable and zealous soul who gave your life that others might know the true and abiding Catholic faith, you who cared for the sick and the dying, those who were ailing in body and diseased in spirit – how shall we learn to sacrifice all as you have done, to stand in the face of opposition and speak the truth though those we would help would devour us instead of listening to the words come from the Savior's mouth? Penance and prayer are so far from us this day, and who really cares to show others Christ's way? Pray this ship shall be strengthened by holy souls eager for the salvation of all and confirmed in the truth and love of the Spirit.

    2 min

  2. -3 H

    April 24 - Friday of the 3rd Week of Easter

    (Acts 9:1-20; Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15; Jn.6:52-59) "My flesh is real food and my blood real drink." And "the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever." The truth is simply stated to those who wonder at His words today in our gospel. As the Israelites in the desert asked, "What is this?" when presented with manna as their food, so now the Jews say, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" For those who do not believe, it is impossible; but for those who believe, it is the gift of God. Here is the Bread of Life in our midst, as real as the Light which shone around Saul and knocked him off his horse; as real as the voice which spoke aloud to his soul. This bread and wine on the table of the Lord, this great grace upon His altar of sacrifice, is indeed that which feeds us, that which sustains us – that which makes Him most present to us. Our first reading says of Saul that "his strength returned to him after he had taken food." For three days he had fasted in darkness, experiencing the absolute blindness of his life as persecutor of the Church. Then Ananias laid his hands on him and he recovered his sight. Then he was baptized. Then he could come to the table of the Lord our God and gain the strength "to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God." Yes, the Scripture refers in fact but to ordinary food, but indeed it indicates the "real food" Saul shall soon come to know and find his spirit through. "The man who feeds on me will have life because of me." He will become one with the Son as He is with the Father. And he, too, the Lord will be speaking of when He asks, "Why are you persecuting me?" By this Bread we become so one with our God, and with Him we suffer for His Name. "I myself shall indicate to him how much he will have to suffer for my name," Jesus says to Ananias. And so the disciple is convinced that this man who has done nothing but harm to God's holy people is truly being called to come to the Lord of all. It is through such suffering that discipleship comes, as it is through His sacrifice we have this food upon our table. Eat His Body, dear brothers and sisters. Drink His Blood. Let us share together this day this gift of oneness with our God. And let us be strong; and let us bleed with Him upon the cross, to bring His Name to all. "The fidelity of the Lord endures forever," and He shall never leave us orphaned. He shall feed us forever. ******* O LORD, feed us with the Bread that is your Son, that we might have strength to do your will. YHWH, how shall we come to see that your Son is the Bread of Life and we must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life in us, to be united with Him as He is to you? We have scales upon our eyes and upon our hearts – how shall they fall away and our souls open to receive your Word? Send your disciples forth to lay their hands on all blinded men. There are those still who persecute your Church, thinking they are acting in your Name, O LORD. There are many who cannot but harden their hearts to your gracious gift to them. Help all souls to accept your Son and see that it is His Body that acts in your Name. Help all come to the table of sacrifice and eat His flesh and drink His blood, that they too might proclaim Jesus as your Son. From our horses we all need to fall; your light we need to shine about us. Let us hear your voice, O LORD, and be obedient to its commands, and so live in your presence forever.

    5 min

  3. -1 J

    April 23 - Prayer to St. Adalbert

    O persecuted shepherd whose flock repeatedly drove you from their midst but who accomplished great work of conversion among them… to these indignant souls you repeatedly returned, ever spreading Christ's net further – pray for us, apostle to nations, that in God's Church today His Word may go boldly forth to convert hearts so hardened by sin, that the acquired ignorance of peoples returning to paganism will be thoroughly dispelled by truth. Forth let all souls journey, humbly proclaiming the Gospel till all have heard and understood the glory to which they are called by our Savior.

    1 min

  4. -1 J

    April 23 - Prayer to St. George

    O courageous soldier in the army of our Lord, you gave up the ranks of this passing world for the kingdom wrought by Jesus Christ, dying willingly for such a just cause and showing us the path we must tread to be found worthy to stand with our God – pray that we may be strengthened in the battle of earthly life, that our weak limbs may not be disjointed, that we might not tremble in fear at the threats of the mighty but take our refuge in the Almighty and fight for Him who fights for us until we are wrapped in His arms, until we cling to His breast.

    1 min

  5. -1 J

    April 23 - Thursday of the 3rd Week of Easter

    (Acts 8:26-40; Ps.66:1,8-9,16-17,20; Jn.6:44-51) "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." How evident it is in our first reading that the Father draws all believers unto Himself. For though it is clear that the Ethiopian eunuch is in search of God, has a desire for God, and welcomes God – He is coming from pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is reading Holy Scripture, and "invite[s] Philip to get in and sit down beside him" – which is necessary for belief as well, it is most certain that the Lord is leading him to Himself. The angel of the Lord directs Philip to the Ethiopian. The Spirit specifically instructs him to approach his carriage, and then inspires His disciple to speak to the eunuch of the Word of God and lead him into the waters of baptism (snatching him away immediately upon the completion of his task). Also evident in our first reading is Jesus' quotation of the prophets: "They shall all be taught by God." For indeed it is God that, through Philip, enlightens the Ethiopian eunuch regarding the Suffering Servant spoken of by Isaiah, and all of Scripture, "telling him the good news of Jesus." It is "not that anyone has seen the Father," for the Father is not visible to our human vision. But the Father has sent the Son, "the one who is from God," and "He has seen the Father," and He knows Him. And now through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son sends His disciples forth as His own flesh and blood, with the same Spirit that inspires Him, to reveal the Father's love to a waiting world. "The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world." We are those who have heard His Word, who have been instructed in His way, and who have received His Body and His Blood. And so, having eaten "the bread that comes down from heaven," we indeed become flesh of His flesh, bone of His bone. Wed we are to the Son of Man by the power of His Word and the blessing of His Sacrament. We have responded to the Lord's call; He who draws all to Himself and to the Father has become our "living bread," our life-giving water. And now at His command we must draw all men to the Son, who brings all to the Father. The Light of the world shines in our midst, and we are drawn as moths to this flame, to Him who "is deprived of His life on earth." And though we die in our turn as this Sheep who "was led to the slaughter," yet "of His posterity," and so our own, all the world will speak… and be drawn to Him who has been lifted up from the earth upon a cross, to Him who dwells with the Father in heaven. ******* O LORD, your Son is the living Bread come down from Heaven; let us seek Him and listen to Him, and rejoice in Him. YHWH, let us be taught by you; let us be drawn to you and receive the Bread that is your Son. Let us be baptized in His Name, with you and the Holy Spirit, and so let us come to eternal life in your kingdom. May all souls praise you for your goodness toward us! What can we do but rejoice when we hear your voice speaking to us in the depths of our souls, when your Word is revealed to our ears and our hearts – when Jesus stands before us in the flesh and offers Himself to us for our salvation? And so, let all indeed come to Him, and so to you, LORD, and loudly sound your praise. You stand before us in the flesh of your Son, O LORD our God, and this Good News goes forward by the power of the Holy Spirit upon His Church. We who eat the Bread He offers become His Body; let your Word now extend from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

    5 min

  6. -2 J

    April 22 - Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Easter

    (Acts 8:1-8; Ps.66:1-7; Jn.6:35-40) "Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you, sing praise to your name!" And why should there be such exultant joy among all the peoples of the earth? What should cause all men to "shout joyfully to God"? It is Jesus' profession that "everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." Nothing but life everlasting can bring such absolute joy, and we have the assurance from the Lord's own lips that He "shall lose nothing of what [the Father] has given" Him, that all who come to Him He "will raise up on the last day." Alleluia! Let us come to Him. How evident the universal call of the Lord is in our first reading. Upon the persecution which follows the death of Stephen, Philip, a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian "goes down to the town of Samaria" – where the Jews intermarried with the pagans of the land – "and there proclaimed the Messiah." And we are told that "without exception, the crowds that heard Philip and saw the miracles he performed attended closely to what he had to say" and that "the rejoicing in that town rose to fever pitch." Here we see the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy to the woman at the well, that all who worship Him will worship in spirit and in truth and not in any particular place; here we see the realization of the Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan, that all men truly are our neighbors. For now all are called into His holy fold. All now come to know the glory of the Lord. And, of course, he who leads the persecution against the growing Christian community, he who "entered house after house, dragged men and women out, and threw them into jail"… this same Saul we hear of today will soon become the great Apostle Paul, who travels to all the nations of the world converting waiting souls. Yes, brothers and sisters, "He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot." As the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, so now all God's children pass through holy Baptism and have the way made straight before them. "The glory of His name" is upon us all, upon all who believe in His Son, and now we who were "paralytics or cripples" – who were unable to move for not having heard of His Name or who had had our limbs disjointed for having forgotten His Law – all, Gentile or Jew, are now welcomed into the Father's eternal home. For "no one who comes will [the Son] reject." In Him all find their dwelling, and so what should we do but "rejoice in Him" and "proclaim His glorious 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, let us be raised with your Son on the last Day – Alleluia! YHWH, O how persecution brings great joy! For even as the disciples are hunted down and thrown into prison, many go out to new lands to proclaim the kingdom of God to waiting souls, souls who welcome the Word with shouts of joy. And, of course, it is looking upon Jesus on the Cross and believing in Him that brings us to eternal life. Alleluia! May the Word of God go out to the ends of the earth and all souls sing for joy at their salvation. Jesus has assured us that He will lose nothing of what you, Father, have given Him; no one who comes to Him will He reject, but He will gather all your faithful children into your eternal presence. Let us but long to look upon Him whom you have sent. Let us but set our hearts on the love that passes not away. Let us but come to Him to find your surpassing glory, and all our sickness will be taken away, and we shall never thirst again.

    5 min

  7. -3 J

    April 21 - Prayer to St. Anselm

    O sublime teacher and defender of the Church and her freedom, the joy of Heaven you sought in your spiritual life, and for the autonomy of MotherChurch you fought in your call as shepherd – pray that we who remain so blind to the presence of God will have our eyes opened and draw closer to Him who is our life, in whose light we alone find peace; and pray, too, that we shall fulfill our call as disciples of truth and defend with your same strength the life of our Mother, despite the persecutions that come.

    1 min

  8. -3 J

    April 21 - Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Easter

    (Acts 7:51-8:1; Ps.31:3-4,6-8,17,21; Jn.6:30-35) "No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again." "I myself am the bread of life," Jesus declares, and it is in this Bread we take refuge. It is by this Bread we are fed. Do you think that Stephen is at all hungry as he lives again the trial, way of the cross, and crucifixion of the Lord in our first reading today? No, even in this time, and perhaps especially in this sacrifice, the Lord feeds him with Bread from heaven. Even as he is stoned to death, the Lord God hides him "in the shelter of [His] presence from the plottings of men." Yes, in our first reading we have Jesus again chastising the elders and indeed all the people for their betrayal and murder of the Word of God. Here we have again Jesus being dragged "out of the city" and killed at the hands of those "who received the law through the ministry of angels [but] have not observed it." And here again we have forgiveness offered with His last breath. Here is the persecuted Church found in the person of Stephen; here is Jesus. Recall Jesus' words to Saul upon his conversion: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me"(Acts 22:7)? And here is that same Saul overseeing this first "act of killing," this first martyrdom of the Body of Christ. But all the while Jesus is there, not only in the persecution, but quite evidently in His glory. "I see an opening in the sky, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand," Stephen exclaims. And notice that it is not until this moment, not until they hear this declaration – despite their "shouting aloud, holding their hands over their ears" – that the people are moved "as one man" to destroy that voice. Stephen's chastisement "stung [them] to the heart" and made them "ground their teeth in anger," but it is this Truth of the presence of the Lord which they simply cannot stand. And what is the significance of Stephen's vision being the impetus for his own death? It does bring his stoning, but simultaneously it prepares him for such martyrdom, for now truly the Lord is with him. Before this he would not have been able to bear so completely this cross. And without this Bread he would not have been killed. "God's bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." That bread of life is in Stephen's trust in the Lord and in his echoing the words of David's psalm, which are Jesus' own: "Into your hands I commend my spirit." For even as he dies, he is most alive. It is this same faith we need, brothers and sisters, and we shall never be hungry, and we shall never be without the Lord, but shall declare His love and His truth to all, happy to be called His own. The Lord's "face shine[s] upon [His] servant[s]," and they always have the Bread they need. ******* O LORD, give us the Bread from Heaven, your Son, to be with us even unto death, and help us to proclaim His Name. YHWH, into your hands let us commend our spirit, and we will be protected. Though stones rain down upon our heads, vision of you will light our way, and we shall come into your presence. At your right hand with Jesus let us stand. In your Son let us take our refuge, O LORD, in Him and in His Cross. Let us be as He was, revealing His image to this fallen world. Let us proclaim the truth in His Name, let us accept the persecution it brings… and let us forgive those who kill us, those who would destroy your Word this day. Jesus is our Bread from Heaven; it is in His flesh we find our home. Let us be His Body in this world, crucified and rising on high. O LORD, O faithful God, out trust is in you alone, and in your Son – in our lives let your will be done.

    6 min
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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.

Informations

  • Création
    jameshkurt@gmail.com
  • Années d’activité
    2007 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    940
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © James Kurt
  • Site web de l’émission
    The BreadCast