The BreadCast

jameshkurt@gmail.com

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. 21 giờ trước

    August 2 - Sunday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

    (Is.55:1-3; Ps.145:8-9,15-18; Rm.8:35,37-39; Mt.14:13-21) "The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season." And the song of David, and the prophecy of Isaiah, are fulfilled in Jesus and the heavenly banquet He sets before us this day. For the Lord "open[s] His hand and satisf[ies] the desire of every living thing"; "without paying and without cost" all come to His table to eat. "You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat." The "rich fare" the Lord provides cannot be bought with money, for the earthly food "fails to satisfy." Only that paid for by the blood of the Son gives life; in His sacrifice we find "the everlasting covenant," the union with God and with His love which all our souls desire. And we know, as Paul testifies, that nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Does Jesus not give witness to the love of God today? Does He not show that "the Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works"? For though "He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself," though He sought to be alone with His Father in prayer, when followed by the crowds He took pity and "cured their sick." And though He had been with them all the day and evening drew on, when the disciples urge Him to "dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves," Jesus responds: "There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves." And He feeds them, without cost and without discriminating between one and the next. All sit at His table today; and we are told that "all ate and were satisfied." And why not? For the bounty of the Lord is indeed the richest fare. Do we follow Jesus as diligently as these in the wilderness, brothers and sisters? We know the food He provides us now every day. And we have been shown clearly that "the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Let us partake well of this feast set before us, which gives us now a foretaste of heaven. Freely let us come to Him, and be fed by His holy hand. And our expectant souls shall be forever satisfied, for His hand is always open. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Whole Whale" (first third) from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let our lives this day be in line with your will, united to the glory of your only Son. YHWH, let us not store up treasures for ourselves, but think rather of you and the salvation of others. All is indeed vanity if like Qoheleth we set our sights on what is on earth, if we are preoccupied by our possessions. For these shall rot with the lusts of the flesh and we shall die with them. But if we set our hearts on you and on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at your right hand, then we shall be blessed with life everlasting. Your Son calls us to glory with Him in Heaven. He warns us of the emptiness of this earth and the riches hereon. He would turn our eyes to you and away from all greed and selfishness. He alone can prosper the work of our hands, LORD, for without Him we pass like the changing grass and nothing comes of our days. 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 not labor in vain but with the wisdom that comes from above, that we might not come to great misfortune but to eternal life in your presence. Remake us in the image of your Son.

  2. 1 ngày trước

    August 1 - Saturday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (Jer.26:11-16,24; Ps.69:14-16,30-31,33-34; Mt.14:1-12) "In truth it was the Lord who sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear." Jeremiah speaks to the people in the Lord's name, even as he is threatened with death: "Reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so that the Lord will repent of the evil with which He threatens you," he declares at his trial – he does not hide the truth. And the words of David's psalm are proven genuine: "His own who are in bonds He spurns not"; for the prophet's words find a hearing in the people, and Ahikam advocates for his release. It is the truth which John the Baptist, the greatest of prophets, comes to declare most boldly. Even from Herod's dungeon this voice crying in the wilderness continues to proclaim the sinfulness of the king's taking his own sister-in-law to wife, repeatedly telling him, "It is not right for you to live with her." He, too, does not back down in the face of trials, in the dark of prison, and he, too, is released from bonds – though bonds of a different kind. He, too, is "rescued from [his] foes, and from the watery depths… The pit [does not] close its mouth over [him]." For though he be beheaded, though death at the hands of his persecutor he does not escape, yet it is his message which lives and has power, power shown now in the presence of the Truth walking the earth in the Person of Jesus Christ – a power which causes the evil king to shake in his boots at the voice which still comes to his ears. Indeed, John yet lives. In Jesus he makes his home. "I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify Him with thanksgiving." For all His "lowly ones" He sees; all who "seek God" are known to Him. And these shall be released from all bonds of this earth, even as they speak His truth. The party shall soon be over, the dance of the daughter of lust come to an end. And who shall stand justified then? Who shall hear His soothing words? And who shall be condemned? Turn to Him in your hearts this day. Listen to His voice. ******* O LORD, save us from the dungeon of death; lift us from the mire of this corrupted world – let us repent that we might praise you. YHWH, it is you who are our secure protection, you who save us even from death, you who raise our heads in the joy of your presence. And so, what need we fear? Let the wicked of this world tremble before your voice, but let us be blessed to dwell with you in your kingdom. O LORD, though your prophets and disciples be cast into dungeons, though they be beheaded for your NAME's sake, though the princes of this world call for the death of those who proclaim your truth to their unyielding hearts… yet you are there to protect your own, for your power is beyond any creature crawling upon this desolate earth. And so we take refuge in you, LORD; and so we stand strong in the face of our persecutors. For we shall not die at their hands but live in your presence, as your saints do even this day. Give us the strength we need to place our trust entirely in you and in your Son, for we know even as we die with Him we shall live with Him forever.

  3. 2 ngày trước

    July 31 - Friday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (Jer.26:1-9; Ps.69:5,8-10,14; Mt.13:54-58) "No prophet is without honor, except in his native place, indeed in his own house." How consonant are our readings today, speaking all of the persecution the prophet of God must bear in bringing the truth to His people. (Indeed I had thought to refer to the incident in our gospel before having even come to it, while still reading the words from Jeremiah, for elsewhere in the gospels the same quote of Jesus written above causes His people to lead Him to the brow of a hill, intending to throw Him down.) As Jesus was rejected when He "went to His native place and spent His time teaching in their synagogue," so when Jeremiah is obedient to the Lord's command to "stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord … all the people gathered about [him]," not to "listen and turn back, each from his evil way," but to join with "the priests and prophets [who] laid hold of him, crying, 'You must be put to death!'" And David bemoans the same treatment in our psalm: "I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother's sons," as for the sake of the Lord he "bear[s] insult." What does the prophet come to do; what does Jesus speak to His people but truth? They themselves recognize that He has great "wisdom and miraculous powers." With these He would save their very lives; His sword of truth would incise every cancerous growth of sin from their souls – He would heal them with the Word of God. In fact, it is their health He is so zealous to effect. But "because zeal for [the Lord's] house consumes [Him]… the insults of those who blaspheme [God] fall upon [Him]." As they do upon Jeremiah. As they do upon David… As they do upon every faithful prophet of God. Those who "disobey [God], not living according to the law [He] placed before [them] and not listening to the words of [His] servants the prophets," do not wish to hear of their sin: foolishly, they would be left to die in their rebellion. And so they kill the prophet, attempting vainly to destroy His message. And it must be those of the Lord's own house that reject His word, that kill the Christ, for it is only they who know His voice speaking in their heart. "This city shall be desolate and deserted." Hear these words, brothers and sisters. Let them sink deeply into your ears and take root in your hearts. Be not afraid of the death that must come to this earthen vessel. Nor reject the word because it comes from one who is your own brother. It is this sword of truth alone that will save you. ******* O LORD, your Son's own brothers surrounded Him and condemned Him to death – forgive us, LORD, and let us be faithful as He. YHWH, why are our hearts so set against your will that we would persecute your prophets and kill your only Son? Why are we so stubborn in our rejection of your love, of your chastising word that would bring us to your holy presence? It should be your temple in which we desire to dwell, and yet we seek to build our own. O holy LORD, take the blasphemy from our lips, the anger and hatred from our hands and tongue. Let us see and recognize that you are God and treasure the wisdom you bring to us. Let us not turn our backs or raise our hands against you, but rather bear the insult of those who suffer for the sake of your NAME. You look upon our zeal for you and for your house, LORD, and so hear us as we cry to you. Protect us well from the devastation of this fallen race, that we might accomplish your will and come to stand with you in Heaven. In your House alone let us seek to dwell.

Giới Thiệu

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.