10 October 2026 - homily for Saturday of the 27th week in Ordinary Time - St Daniel Comboni - Galatians 3:22-29

Daniel Comboni was born in 1831 in Italy to a poor family of farm laborers. He was one of 8 children, but the only child to survive early childhood. His parents sent him to study at an institute in Verona, Italy run by Father Nicola Mazza. This Catholic institute trained boys to service in the Church. After his ordination to the prieshood in 1854, he was sent to Africa. On his journey to the Sudan, which took four months, his missionary companions died from tropical diseases. He had a heart for the missions and a call to evangelize the people of Africa with Christ’s Good News. In 1867 and 1872, his work led him to found to institutes for men and women which formed missionaries for Africa. Originally called the Verona Fathers and Sisters, they are now called the Comboni Missionaries and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Due to his many years of hard missionary work, he died in 1881 at the age of 50. Today, the two orders he founded serve as missionaries all over the world. I served as a consecrated Comboni Lay Missionary in Ecuador for three years, working alongside Comboni priests, brothers, and sisters. I am very humbled and honored to have been working in the tradition of Daniel Comboni in his missionary spirit. That spirit has stayed with me in my service as a priest in the Diocese of Jackson. 

I think of the great faith of St Daniel Comboni and the other missionaries who went to faraway lands to bring the Gospel to the world, knowing that they would encounter many struggles and obstacles. We hear St Paul address the theme of faith with the Galatians in our first reading today. St Paul asserts that faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is to replace the law of the Old Testament as the source of salvation. This faith is to unite all believers as children of God, breaking down our human divisions. St Paul calls us to clothe ourselves with Christ, to allow Christ’s grace to cover us, to allow Christ to transform our very identity so that may live in union with him each day on our journey of faith. 

18 October 2026 - prayers of the faithful for World Mission Sunday - prison ministry

Lord Jesus - you call us to have a missionary spirit. 

Christ Jesus - you sent out your disciples to continue your ministry. 

Lord Jesus - you are our savior and our redeemer. 

Priest: As we celebrate World Mission Sunday today, we bring our prayers before our heavenly Father: 

1. For the Universal Catholic Church. May every baptized Catholic answer the call to be a witness of Christ by word and deed, proclaiming the Gospel to all both near and far. We pray to the Lord.

2. For missionaries who leave their homeland to serve God and his people. For missionaries who work in the their own communities. May they be given courage, joy, and the strength of the Holy Spirit in their service. We pray to the Lord.

3. For communities in need. For communities suffering from war, violence, poverty, and persecution. May our prayers and material support bring them hope and relief. We pray to the Lord.

4. For our Holy Father Leo XIV and Bishop Kopacz. For all bishops, priests, deacons, and church leaders. May they lead the flock with the servant-heart of Christ and inspire a zeal for the missions. We pray to the Lord.

5. For our local Catholic faith community here at CMCF. May we open our hearts to the needs of the global missions and support them generously through prayer and sacrifice. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For Pope Leo’s October prayer intention. For the establishment and strengthening of mental health ministries throughout the Church. May we work together to overcome the stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental illnesses. We pray to the Lord. 

7. For our children and youth. May the Lord continue to accompany them in their studies and in their activities. May they always feel our love and prayers coming their way. We pray to the Lord. 

8. That during Respect Life month, we may unite our prayers with the prayers of our Blessed Mother Mary as we respect human life in our words and our actions. We pray to the Lord. 

9. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For those who have asked for our prayers. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Out of the joy of our faith, and out our of missionary spirit, we present our prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

9 October 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Friday of the 26th week of Ordinary time - Prison ministry

Lord Jesus - you are the new covenant. 

Christ Jesus - you heal the sick and you drive out demons. 

Lord Jesus - you reflect the glory of God the Father. 

Priest: We now present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. For our Church leaders. For Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Kopacz. For their health and well-being. We pray to the Lord. 

2. That we may all enter into a deeper reliance on God’s love and care. We pray to the Lord. 

3. For families that are facing crisis. May they hear Christ’s invitation to live in faith and hope. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For all who in the way of the storm hitting the Gulf coast this weekend. For safety. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For all us to have the freedom to practice their faith without criticism or persecution. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For our children and our families. May they feel our love and prayers reaching out to them. We pray to the Lord. 

7. For a greater love and devotion to the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ we receive in the Mass. We pray to the Lord. 

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts today. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: In faith and hope, we present our prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN.  

18 October 2026 - prayers of the faithful for World Mission Sunday - prayers of the faithful for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A

Introduction: Today, with great joy, we celebrate World Mission Sunday. Pope Francis taught us that the missionary identity is the very essence of the Catholic Church, asserting that the Church is "missionary by her very nature.” We Catholics are to see ourselves as members of a community of "missionary disciples" who naturally share the joy they have encountered in Christ with others. As we celebrate together at Mass with God’s holy word and with Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, may we feel this missionary spirit all around us. 

Lord Jesus - you bring the world a missionary spirit. 

Christ Jesus - you sent out your disciples to continue your ministry. 

Lord Jesus - you are our savior and our redeemer. 

Priest: As we celebrate World Mission Sunday today, we bring our prayers before our heavenly Father: 

1. For the Universal Catholic Church. May every baptized Catholic answer the call to be a witness of Christ by word and deed, proclaiming the Gospel to all both near and far. We pray to the Lord.

2. For missionaries who leave their homelands to serve God and his people. For missionaries who work in the their own communities. May they be given courage, joy, and the strength of the Holy Spirit in their service to God and to his people. We pray to the Lord.

3. For communities in need. For communities suffering from war, violence, poverty, and persecution. May our prayers and material support bring them hope and relief. We pray to the Lord.

4. For our Holy Father Leo XIV and Bishop Kopacz. For all bishops, priests, deacons, and lay leaders. May they lead the flock with the servant-heart of Christ and inspire a zeal for the missions. We pray to the Lord.

5. For our local parish faith community gathered here at Mass today. May we open our hearts to the needs of the global missions and support them generously through prayer and sacrifice. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For Pope Leo’s October prayer intention. For the establishment and strengthening of mental health ministries throughout the Church. May we work together to overcome the stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental illnesses. We pray to the Lord. 

7. For our children, youth, and college students. May the Lord continue to accompany them in their studies and in their activities. We pray to the Lord. 

8. That during Respect Life month, we may unite our prayers with the prayers of our Blessed Mother Mary as we respect human life in our words and our actions. We pray to the Lord. 

9. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For those who have asked for our prayers. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Out of the joy of our faith, and out our of missionary spirit, we present our prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

Bulletin Reflection for World Mission Sunday - 18 October 2026

World Mission Sunday should resonate with us in different ways. I remember how it was about this time in the month of October back in the year 1992 that I traveled up to Winnipeg, Canada to serve as a lay missionary for two years, working in a food bank and an inner city soup kitchen. I remember visiting the Siloam mission soup kitchen for the first time, meeting the street people who were trying to survive just as the winter months were beginning in this cold Canadian city. We do not have to travel to a foreign country to be a missionary in spirit and to support the missions of the Church. St Therese, one of the patron saints of the missions, living out her missionary spirit and supported the missions as a cloistered nun in Normandy, France. I am thankful for all the ways our community here at Holy Savior supports missionary work in different ways. We also must never forget that we here in the Diocese of Jackson are designated by the Catholic Church as a mission Diocese, so this missionary spirit should always be a part of our daily identity. Have a blessed week everyone. Father Lincoln. 

16 October 2026 - homily for Friday of the 28th week in Ordinary Time - St Margaret Mary Alacoque - Ephesians 1:11-14

“I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the Heart of Jesus.” These were some of the last words of Visitation nun St Margaret Mary Alacoque, who died in the year 1690. She lived a holy life and had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Born into a large Catholic family in 1647 in France, she grew up with a special devotion to Jesus and the Blessed sacrament. She was bedridden by a mysterious illness at the age of 15. She prayed to the Blessed Mother, promising that if she was healed she would take religious vows. She was cured of her illness. 

Entering the convent at the age of 23, she had three apparitions from Jesus, revealing to her messages from his sacred heart, including the First Friday devotion of each month and an annual feast day of the Sacred heart, which have become popular devotions in the Catholic faith. She worked hard to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart, with the devotion first starting locally after it was approved by the local bishop, and then spreading throughout France. After her death, with books published about her life, the devotion became even more popular. In 1765, the devotion to the Sacred Heart was officially approved by Rome, and, in 1856, the feast of the Sacred Heart was made a universal solemnity by Pope Pius IX. St Margaret Mary is known throughout the world as the beloved disciple of the Sacred heart. 

These last couple of weeks, we’ve been hearing from St Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Yesterday, at daily Mass, we started hearing from his letter to the Ephesians. Paul had founded the Christian community in Ephesus on his second missionary journey. He later returned to Ephesus, where he stayed approximately 3 years. The letter to the Ephesians was written to that community while St Paul was in prison in Rome.  Scholars believe that in addition to Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were also written while he was in prison. The importance of praising God is a main theme of this letter. Paul praises God who is in the person and work of Jesus Christ and in the Gospel message.  After a brief greeting, Paul’s first words in his letter to the Ephesians begin,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.” 

May we give thanks to special messengers like St Margaret Mary and St Paul that God has sent to us throughout the ages. May there messages continue to resonate in us. 

16 October 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Friday of the 28th week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you call us to stand firm in our faith. 

Christ Jesus - you proclaim the kingdom of God. 

Lord Jesus - you are the word of God. 

Priest: In a spirit of trust and hope, we present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. For a spirit of gratitude. May we recognize our gifts, possessions, and opportunities as blessings from God, that we may place each of them in the service of God. 

2. For all who are bound by a spirit of self-righteousness. That God will free their hearts, break down the walls of prejudice, and open them to the dignity of each person. 

3. For all who are suffering or being persecuted for their faith. That God will comfort and strengthen them and bring them safely through their trial. 

4. For greater respect for each person. That God will turn the hearts of all who rely upon violence and bring healing to all who have suffered harm, abuse or neglect

5. For healing for the sick and the afflicted. For healing in body, mind and spirit.  

6. For a greater love for the Eucharist and a greater devotion to Mary. 

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

Priest: In unity with the community of saints, we present our prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  AMEN.