Resource for Sunday Mass Prep: Breaking the Bread

Barb Szyszkiewicz reviews Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics by Scott Hahn and Ken Ogorek.

Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics (Year A)

By Scott Hahn and Ken Ogorek

Published by Emmaus Road Publishing

While 2026 doesn't begin for another two months, the new liturgical year (year A) starts the weekend of November 29, so now is the time to get your Mass-preparation materials lined up. Whether you're a musician (like me) or lector and therefore "on duty" during Sunday Mass, pulling parent duty in the pew, or aware that sometimes distractions tear your attention away from the readings and the homily, preparing for Mass ahead of time can help you get much more out of the Liturgy of the Word.

In three short pages per week, Breaking the Bread by Scott Hahn and Ken Ogorek offers background information about what's happening in the Sunday readings. Knowing the historical and religious context of these readings is a great help in understanding them. Material from the Catechism of the Catholic Church provides even more information and context, and the reflections in this book always bring the reader back to the focus on the Mass, inviting us to consider what they teach us about the Eucharist.

Little extras in this book that make it even more special are full-page pull quotes from Scripture, as well as full-page, full-color sacred art (there's an index at the back in case you'd like to learn more about each image). The clothbound hardcover book feels sturdy in my hands, and this book is built to last — which is good, because in 2029 it can be used again! With the publication of the Year A volume, this series from Emmaus Road Press is now complete.

As I mentioned in my review of the first book in the three-year liturgical cycle, Breaking the Bread takes Sunday Mass prep to the next level!

Four-Part Weekly Format:

• a listing of the Mass readings for the Sunday or holy day (have your Bible or Sunday missal handy, or use the USCCB's online daily readings);
• a reflection on the readings for the day, tying them all together;
• further information including quotes from the Catechism; and
• questions for reflection and a closing prayer.

One Thing I'd Change

It's important to note that when a solemnity with a fixed date falls on a Sunday (in 2026, that's November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints; we had quite a few in 2025), you won't find the readings for the solemnity in this book, but the general liturgical Sunday. I would have liked a section at the back that includes those solemnities. Breaking the Bread does include both Ascension of the Lord and Seventh Sunday of Easter options, so no matter where you live, you'll have the correct material for that Sunday.

Ask for Breaking the Bread at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Emmaus Road.

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Copyright 2025 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: copyright 2025 Barb Szyszkiewicz, all rights reserved.
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