The BreadCast

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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. -18 h

    August 30 - Sunday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

    (Jer.20:7-9; Ps.63:2-6,8-9; Rom.12:1-2; Mt.16:21-27) "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship." Paul says the same as Jesus when the Lord calls us to "take up [our] cross," to lose our lives for His sake. And as Paul instructs the Romans: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind," so Jesus teaches Peter, and all His apostles and disciples, when He insists he think as God and not as man. Why? Why is the Lord so harsh with this Rock of the Church (and, as I say, with us all)? The answer is spoken clearly in our reading from Jeremiah. In it the prophet declares in near desperation: "The Word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day." He goes so far as to say the Lord has "duped" him, making evident that he had not expected to become "an object of laughter" upon taking on the mantle of prophecy. "Everyone mocks me," he cries; and yet he "must cry out" still the way of the Lord. Yet he must call the people from their sins and warn them of the "violence and outrage" that is near them. He cannot remain silent, though he would greatly wish to, because the Word of the Lord is "like fire burning in [his] heart, imprisoned in [his] bones," and he can do nothing but shout it from the rooftops, though it bring him scorn. And what has this to do with Peter? Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and it is his voice above all that will cry out this truth to the ends of the earth; thus he and his fellow apostles must know clearly that to which they are called. As the Lord "must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly… and be killed," so must they walk the same path of persecution. This they must see. The contradiction of the cross they must realize, even as they preach it in this hostile world. For to it they must give themselves completely. How? How can it be that the Christian take up such foolishness in the eyes of the world? How can it be that we die so freely, that we suffer such mockery, such persecution at the hands of sinners? Is it not that our "flesh pines and [our] soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless, and without water" for the living God? And is it not because we know that "as with the riches of a banquet shall [our] soul be satisfied"? The key is in this gospel quote: "The Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father's glory." The key is believing on the third day He was raised. If we have this faith it becomes easy to deny the pleasures of the flesh, for even in this we find the eternal life of the Spirit. Because our "soul clings fast" to God and to the hope that is only in Him, we are able to cling fast to His cross and so "discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." And so we die with Him to live. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Weightless Crucifixion" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, help us always to take the lowest place, that you might call us up to you. YHWH, you give a home to the forsaken and call us to do the same; as you have provided for our needy souls – though we deserved it not – so you call us to care for others, or we shall not find our place with you. We are truly lowly, dear God, for before you, who could stand? How can we hope to sit at the same table as your only Son and partake of the food He provides? Yet to His side He calls us; to be lowly as He is our great gift. His grace we shall know, and in abundance, if with Him we lay down our lives for those in need. 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";} Then we shall come to your holy mountain, to the heavenly Jerusalem with all your angels and saints. Washed in the blood of the Lamb you offer for our sakes, emptied of all the vanity of our race, we shall be exalted and chant your praise, dearest LORD, we who have made ourselves humble and lowly before you, we who have thus found our place at your table with Jesus, and been made perfect by His Cross.

  2. -1 j

    August 29 - Prayer on the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

    O witness to the Truth, to the Light that has come among us, you gave your very life and death for the sake of Christ, who redeemed us in His blood, blood you shed with your Savior; you who were a pillar of iron against the whole land and against its king, you who stood so strong against the lust of the world, suffering its persecution so willingly, fortified even in death by the Lord and His promise – how can our meager lives measure up to your blessed sacrifice; how can we who are so weak of knee endure our exile so bravely? Pray for us, O forerunner of the Christ both in word and in the giving of your life, that our blood may be joined to your own and so to that of our holy Lord.

  3. -1 j

    August 29 - Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (1Cor.1:26-31; Ps.33:12-13,18-21; Mt.25:14-30) "He called in His servants and handed His funds over to them according to each man's abilities." All comes from the hand of God. Yes. Do you see this? God it is who provides any talent you possess on this earth and "God it is who has given you life in Christ Jesus." Not yourself. It is not from you any power comes. God has proven His power by choosing "the lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing," and making them strong. This is you. You are nothing; and yet you have all things in God. Brothers and sisters, "mankind can do no boasting before God." How could they? It is He who looks down from heaven and "sees all mankind"; it is He who chooses "His own inheritance." It is He who places in our hands the "silver pieces" we employ on this earth – and it is He who expects us to use well that which we have been given. To Him we must answer for all things. And if we are "industrious and reliable" in our service, it is He who will declare, "Since you were dependable in a small matter I will put you in charge of larger affairs." On earth as it is in heaven… If our work is done well here, it shall lead to the greater fruits, and we shall "share [our] Master's joy!" But it is always His joy to which we come and not our own. God is all things to us. "He has made [Jesus] our wisdom, and also our justice, our sanctification, and our redemption." All that we have is from Him, and without Him we could not live. And should you be resentful of so great a gift? Should you return the gift of Himself He lays before you on your table? Or should you not rather take it up, make it your own, and by it produce fruit according to the abilities He has shared with you? This is all He expects of you: that the graces He shares with you, you share with others. "In His holy name we trust." Yes, "our soul waits for the Lord" and "in Him our hearts rejoice." For He does not fail us. What He gives He does not take back: it is we who reject His love; it is He who increases the yield within us. "Brothers, you are among those who are called," and so be among "those who hope for His kindness." For His kindness shall but enrich you each day as you make His will your own and find your "boast in the Lord." Praise Him for His gifts and for His grace, for by His grace the gifts He provides become eternally fruitful in our lives. Alleluia! ******* O LORD, enrich us with your blessings as we serve you humbly in this world. YHWH, let us trust in your NAME and in your NAME alone. How can we trust in ourselves or in the riches of this world when all this is but dust? But in your hands this dust we are becomes as gold, for we become as you who are so far above this world. O make us your own, dear LORD! Help us to look to you, to wait for you, to trust in you for all things. May our tongues praise your NAME and our hands work in your service, and then, O how we shall be blessed! For truly you will be with us, and we with you. Into your joy let us come, O LORD, the joy that surpasses any joy of this earth, the grace that passes not away. Let us boast in you, that you are great and do marvelous things for those who trust in you, those who know your love. From death let us be delivered – into your House let us come. O LORD, increase your yield in us; we are but instruments of your holy love, your poor children whom you raise from the dust.

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    August 28 - Prayer to St. Augustine

    O shepherd made anew by Him who is within, Him who made us all, the Light above and beyond every soul who gave His life, His flesh as food that we might live – pray that the Lord and God of all will break through our deafness and dispel our blindness, that He will breathe His fragrant Spirit upon us and we too will be created anew, saved by His grace from the sin that has kept us from Him and thirsting for the wisdom which became your own, with which you shepherded His people apart from the things He created to His very Beauty itself, that all souls might rest in Him who made them.

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    August 28 - Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (1Cor.1:17-25; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Mt.25:1-13) "The world did not come to know Him through its 'wisdom'." "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and thwart the cleverness of the clever," says the Lord God. And in its place we find the Gospel, "the message of the cross," which is "complete absurdity to those who are headed to ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation it is the power of God." It is this wisdom which saves us, even as the wisdom of the world falls to dust. The wisdom of the world tells us to take our rest, to find our pleasure in the things of this life; the wisdom of God instructs us to "keep [our] eyes open" for the coming of the kingdom of God, wherein we shall find eternal rest. The wisdom of the world has only the torch to offer; like the foolish bridesmaids, it brings no oil for its lamp, for it can see nothing beyond its eyes – its immediate physical concerns are its preoccupation. The wisdom of God knows that all depends on the oil of the lamp, and so it calls us to find our souls in the Word of God, which is a flask whose contents never recede but rather increase with use and preserve the soul's burning brightly before its Creator. The wisdom of the world is "wordy," is empty rambling with no foundation in truth; God's wisdom is founded in silence, pregnant with the power and authority of all ages. "The Lord brings to naught the plans of nations; He foils the designs of peoples." What can stand that is not rooted in Him? What has purpose that is not spoken by His mouth? Apart from Him nothing comes to be or lasts. And does not the Lord thwart the ideas of the human mind most perfectly in the crucifixion of His Christ? Making "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" turns the vain strivings of men upside down and exposes them in all their emptiness. Here is my Word, He says; here is my Love. To this sacrifice does He call us all, that we might celebrate at His wedding feast and not be barred outside in the cold world. For indeed all that is of the world comes to nothing, "but the plan of the Lord stands forever; the design of His heart, through all generations." And it is His design that we become children of light, shining forever in the light of His wisdom, not burning to ashes in the deceit of our hearts. In the cross all our empty words fall to naught as we are confronted with the truth of our sin and the love of our God. Thus our eyes are opened. May they remain so, fixed on this lamp which shines in the darkness of the night. By no other means will we come to know God and the meaning of our lives. ******* O LORD, let our eyes be open with the light of your wisdom that we might see your coming in the Cross of Christ. YHWH, the plans of the nations you bring to naught to show all souls where wisdom lies: it rests with you and in the Cross of your Son, for the light of our minds is dim indeed without your Word to feed it. How can we even speak of you, LORD, you who are beyond the realm of our words? We cannot determine whence we have come and do not know when our end shall be fulfilled… and so, how can we know anything? All we know is what you tell us through your Son in the love He offers. Jesus has died for our sins. This is all we need to know, LORD, for such knowledge, such faith, will bring us to your doorstep; and by the light of the Spirit we shall be able to enter in – to enter into your presence and so come to know all things by your grace and mercy. Dead are we apart from you, LORD, dead in our sin and in the emptiness of our minds. But the blood of your Son enlivens our souls that we might come to know the wisdom beyond all ages in His salvation. O may we be wed to you!

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    August 27 - Prayer to St. Monica

    O tearful mother whose persistent cries for the soul of your son were heard in time by the Lord our God and so led to his conversion, to his becoming not only a Catholic Christian but a bishop and doctor of the Church, a saint like yourself – pray for the prayers of all mothers who cry for their wayward sons; pray indeed that all souls may turn and come to know so deeply the love of our Lord and God and the blessing upon His holy Catholic Church. Pray that all who stray, many as they are, shall be raised from the death of sin and come to the life of Heaven, where you wait with your son to welcome all his brothers.

  7. -3 j

    August 27 - Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (1Cor.1:1-9; Ps.145:1-7; Mt.24:42-51) "He will strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Brothers and sisters, "you lack no spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Lord provides all you need, generously and faithfully. You "have been consecrated in Christ Jesus and called to be a holy people" and so "have been richly endowed [by God] with every gift," that you might fulfill the call He places upon your soul, that by His grace you might indeed be holy. And so you should realize "the favor He has bestowed on you in Christ Jesus" and "call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" to gain all the blessings the Lord God is ready to pour forth upon you. Brothers and sisters, "keep a watchful eye and [do] not allow [your] house to be broken into." "Be prepared" for the Lord's coming. Let His every gift be at work in you, that readiness will ever be yours. Do not think as the foolish and worthless servant, "My master is a long time in coming," and turn thus away from His light, sagging into the world's darkness. Such a thought brings only death and the punishment of the Lord. For never is He long in coming. Always is He present to us; ever is His Spirit here within us when we remain faithful to Him. He it is who is of life and light – it is we who grow blind to His grace and are slow to come to His eternal presence. Forsake not His gifts, which sustain us at all times. Here is cause for rejoicing. Here is the reason David sings, "Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever" (revealing thus the newness of life which is ever upon us): "God is faithful, and it was He who called [us] to fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." No more than this need we know. For this reason "generation after generation praises [His] works" and "publish[es] the fame of [His] abundant goodness." It is this which brings His praise to our throats. For indeed in His grace He has called us to be as His only Son, and of course He is faithful to His call. And so by faithfulness all is ours in the Lord, and on that Day His blessings shall be full. Remaining in His light, growing in His gifts and favors, there shall be no "wailing then and grinding of teeth" for our souls – no, "happy that servant whom His master discovers at work on His return!" ******* O LORD, let us be prepared and waiting for your coming Day. YHWH, strengthen us to the end that we might be blameless on the Day your Son returns; make us your servants, faithful and true, praising you ever for your goodness to us, and we shall be ready on the Day of His revelation. LORD, great are you and highly to be praised, for you provide all the gifts we need as we await Jesus' coming. You give us speech and knowledge, and consecrate us in the Name of your Son. May we be like Him whom you sent for our salvation, that with favor you might ever look upon our lives. As your Apostle has borne witness to your glory, LORD, so let us proclaim your greatness this day, that from generation to generation your NAME might be known and all souls be prepared for your coming Day. Let us serve you with diligence and with love, never forgetting that He whom we serve loves us more than we could ever return, remembering always that you are the Most High God who has created us in your image, in the image of your only Son.

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    August 26 - Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

    (2Thes.3:6-10,16-18; Ps.128:1-2,4-5; Mt.23:27-32) "You shall eat the fruit of your handiwork." "Anyone who would not work should not eat" was the rule laid down by Paul among the Thessalonians. A man must earn his bread. And as on earth, so in heaven. For who shall come to the fruits of the kingdom if they are not as Paul, who has labored "to the point of exhaustion" for the sake of the reign of God? This is the "straight path" laid down for us by all the apostles: in the Lord's name we must walk "day and night." It is work which produces fruit. And what fruit will the scribes and Pharisees know? Their work is to "erect tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the saints," those who have been murdered by their forefathers. Yet they join these "in shedding the prophets' blood," thus making the tombs they erect all the more vain; yes, they shall "fill up the vessel measured off by [their] forefathers" by crucifying the Christ, the only Son of God. And this work they do shall have its fruit as well – it shall lead their souls to the gates of hell, where only the same blood they shed will save them. We will be judged according to our deeds, brothers and sisters. All is seen by God who looks upon the heart and whose eyes are everywhere. Let not your works be empty, or just so empty will be your heart, will be your place in the reign to come. Each day our souls are required of us; ever the Lord seeks fruit upon our tree. So, if you wish to "see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life," if you long to know always the blessing of God, then "walk in His ways." "Fear the Lord" who holds your life in His hands and do as He commands. Then "happy shall you be, and favored"; then the fruits of the kingdom you shall taste even here. And even the death you die and the blood you shed shall not remove this favor – by it "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" will be fulfilled in you. Amen. ******* O LORD, let us work for the life found in your Son, and not His death and so our own. YHWH, let us be blessed to walk in your way, to follow wherever you lead – to do your work in this world till the end of our days. Then we shall be truly happy, for then our fruit shall bring us unto Heaven. O LORD, let us be your fruit; let us be your handiwork, made in your image, living as your Son. If we can but imitate Jesus, laying down our lives as all your prophets and apostles have done, then we shall join their ranks in the Body of Christ in the heavenly Jerusalem. Your kingdom come, LORD. All vanity, all emptiness of heart and mind and soul and body take from us – let us be filled with your holy presence. Your kingdom within us let us know and live, breathing your Holy Spirit, bleeding as your Son… our spirits one with you and your love. Why should we be without you, LORD, when you live at our very hearts?

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À propos

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
    2005 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    901
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © James Kurt
  • Site web de l’émission
    The BreadCast