Quote - on scripture

It is not how much Scripture you know, 

It is how much Scripture you live.  

Thanksgiving Day Mass - 28 November 2024 - prayers of the faithful

Introduction: As we gather for Mass on Thanksgiving Day this morning, let us recall all that we are thankful for. Let us bring to our minds the specific times when we have felt the presence of God who has gifted us with life and love, with mercy and salvation, and with goodness beyond our imagination. 

Penitential Rite:


Lord Jesus - you call us to have joyful hearts - Lord have mercy.


Christ Jesus - you join us to give thanks to our Heavenly Father - Christ have mercy.


Lord Jesus - you bring us new life - Lord have mercy. 

Priest: With grateful hearts and with confidence in God’s care and mercy, we place our prayers before him this Thanksgiving day: 

1. We pray in gratitude for God’s loving care, we pray that he that he will guide our Church leaders, including Pope Francis and Bishop Kopacz. We pray to the Lord.


2. We pray for our nation and our state of Mississippi, we pray God’s help for our president, our governor, and all our national, state, and local elected officials. We pray to the Lord.


3. We pray for our family and friends, we pray for God’s blessings for them today, especially those most in need of God’s assistance at this moment. We pray to the Lord.


4. We pray in gratitude for the gifts of health and material blessings. We pray for those who do not have these gifts, that God may aid them and that we might mutually support one another. We pray to the Lord.


5. We pray for the faithful departed and for our loved ones and family members who have gone before us, that God may grant them entrance to eternal life. We pray to the Lord.


6. We pray in gratitude for those who keep us safe: our first responders, the men and women in the military, and our medical professionals, especially those who are not able to spend Thanksgiving with their families. May the Lord lead them them in their service, we pray to the Lord.


7. In the silence of our hearts, we present our personal prayer petitions this morning. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Hear our prayers, loving Father, on this Thanksgiving Day. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever and ever. Amen. 

28 November 2024 - Thanksgiving Day - Sirach 50:22-24 - Luke 17:11-19

With great joy, we celebrate our national holiday of Thanksgiving today. We are glad to have you all at Mass this morning, to give thanks to God in the sacrament of the Eucharist and to listen to his holy word as we give thanks to him as individuals, as families, as a nation, and as a community of faith. 

In our reading from the book of Sirach, the author blesses the God of all who has wondrous things here on earth. We bless God and give thanks for the goodness of creation. Through nature and through God’s creation, we human beings are given what we need for our lives here on earth. We think of the first immigrants here in North America who depended on God’s creation and the assistance of the native people to create settlements here, overcoming many struggles and challenges. We give thanks for their courage and tenacity. 

Another important part of our celebration of Thanksgiving today is giving thanks for our community.  We give thanks are individuals and as families, but also as a community. We come together today in love with our families and our friends.  In love and compassion, we remember those who live in need. We offer up our prayers for them and we think of ways to help them with our assistance. 

Although thanksgiving is not solely a Christian celebration, as disciples of Christ, we wholeheartedly show our gratitude to God for the gift of his son. Jesus celebrated in food and fellowship with his disciples, with members of the community, and with those on the margins of society. Jesus also give us hope that the joy, thanksgiving, and love we express here on earth will be multiplied immeasurably when we enter eternal life with him in his kingdom. 

We have the example of faith in our Gospel today of the one leper who returned after he was healed to give thanksgiving to Jesus.  That act of thanksgiving was very important to that leper. May all of us have that same joy of Thanksgiving in our hearts. Blessings to all of you as we celebrate Thanksgiving day today and give thanks to God. 

27 November 2024 - Wednesday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time - Revelation 15:1-4

Near the end of his vision in the book of Revelation, John sees seven angels who are carrying seven bowls of plagues that will out the persecutors of the Christians. Jest as the ten plagues of Egypt ended up liberating the Israelites from their Egyptian captors, the seven plagues of the Apocalypse in the book of Revelation will liberate the Christians from their Roman oppressors. 

The Book of Revelation was written in the genre of apocalyptic literature that was well-known in the ancient world. Sometimes it is used in our modern world to defend the anger and the revenge that is wanted by the reader. Sometimes it is used to proof-text events that are happening in the world today. However, the message of this genre of literature is much more subtle and profound than the images we see on its surface. In today’s passage, we hear of God’s care for the people of faith, for those who follow his will in their lives. This type of literature has the aim of promoting us striving toward a life of holiness and turning to God in our time of need. It assures us that God is ready to help us when we call on him for help.

27 November 2024 - prayers of the faithful - Wednesday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you call us to be faithful. 

Christ Jesus - you reach out to the afflicted. 

Lord Jesus - you are the beloved son of the Father. 

Priest: We present our prayers to our God of love and mercy:

1. May God’s spirit be evident in our Church leadership and in our service so that the poor, the marginalized and the victimized. 

2. For world leaders and policy makers. May the Spirit of God encourage work that fosters peace and justice in all our communities and in every nation. 

3. For a deeper spirit of openness and welcome. That God may give us welcoming hearts that we may acknowledge God’s presence in all people.

4. That our youth may be filled with courage and vision, that they may reshape our world into a place where love is shared and where all people are deeply valued.

5. For all in special need — the sick, addicted, depressed, dying and grieving.

6. For all who suffer with through violence, war or bloodshed.

7. For the prayers we lift up in the silence of our hearts. 

Priest: We present these prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  AMEN. 

26 November 2024 - prayers of the faithful - Tuesday of the 34th week in Ordinary time

Lord Jesus - you bring us hope. 

Christ Jesus - you call us to discipleship. 

Lord Jesus - you bring us the joy of our faith. 

Priest: We now to bring our prayers to our merciful God: 

1. For the Church and our leadership. May we work together to find unity, healing and peace. May we be a sign of God’s love in the world.

2. For the grace of fidelity. May we be faithful in our relationships with spouses, siblings, parents, children, relatives, neighbors and friends.

3. That God may heal the divisions and ease the tensions that pull us apart from each other.

4. That God may instill in us a deep respect for all human life from conception to natural death. May we honor the sacredness of every person. 

5. That we may find ways to share the resources of our planet and to deal with climate change and natural disasters.

6. That God may tenderly hold all who are persecuted in our world and touch their lives with peace.

7. For all who are sick, addicted, dying and grieving. 

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. 

Priest: We ask these prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN.  

26 November 2024 - homily for Tuesday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time - Revelation 14:14-19

Today’s passage from the Book of Revelation describes the judgment at the end times. The judgment is depicted as a double harvest.  In the first harvest, the son of man cuts and gathers the good fruit, the righteous of earth. In the second harvest, the grapes are cut down, representing the ungodly. The grapes are crushed and thrown into God’s fury. 

This is quite a harsh image that we might want to dismiss. But there will be a final judgment in which we will all be judged for their actions. We will be held responsible. Even though Jesus and sacred Scripture warns us many time of the judgment that is to come, many people knowingly persist in doing evil and giving way to their temptations. 

Those disciples of Christ who make great effort and great sacrifice to follow the moral life and to follow God’s commandments should be encouraged on their journey of faith through this message today. Those who turn their back on God and continue to persist in their sinfulness should have fear cast into them through this scene. 

In the end, we will not be able to escape God’s judgment. That is our destiny.