26 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time CYCLE A - PRISON MINISTRY

Lord Jesus - you lead us to the treasures of God’s kingdom. 

Christ Jesus - you give us the grace to meet our challenges in life. 

Lord Jesus - you call us to wisdom and truth. 

Prayers of the faithful: 

Priest: As we gather as a community of faith for Mass today, we now bring our needs and the needs of the world to our loving God:

1. For Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Kopacz, and all our Church leaders. May they always lead us in truth and in justice. We pray to the Lord. 

2. For all who are suffering, who are lonely, or who are facing difficult trials in life.  May they feel God’s healing presence with them. We pray to the Lord. 

3. For the Catholic community here at CMCF. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to the true treasures of our faith and to the practice of love and charity to the needy and the forgotten. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For our children. May the Lord bless their studies and their activities this upcoming school year. May our families feel our love and prayers always reaching out to them. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For our deceased family members and loved ones. For their union with God’s eternal kingdom. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For our stewardship of God’s creation. May we promote respect for all of God’s creation and for the resources of the earth. We pray to the Lord. 

7. May we have the courage to share our faith journey with others. May we offer to others the joy of experiencing the life of discipleship. We pray to the Lord. 

8. For a greater love for the Word of God. May we make space in our busy lives to allow the Word of God to challenge us and transform us. We pray to the Lord. 

9. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For our pray intentions spoken and unspoken. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Loving God, you teach us to bring all our needs to you. Hear the prayers we place before you today. Fill us with the grace to live as your faithful disciples. We make our prayers through Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN.  

Bulletin reflection for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time CYCLE A - 26 July 2026

This weekend is the feast of St James the Apostle, which reminds me of the years I spent as pastor of St James Catholic Church up in Tupelo.  It also reminds me of the times I have been hiking the pilgrimage of the Camino of St James in Spain. Celebrating the saints throughout the year is an important connection we have to the history of the Catholic Church and to the apostolic traditions of our faith. This weekend we also have the blessing of the backpacks as our children, youth, and college students get ready to go back to school. We pray that the Lord accompany them in their studies and in their school activities this school year.  Have a blessed week everyone. Father Lincoln. 

26 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction: On this 17th weekend of Ordinary time, this is the 3rd weekend in a row that we hear parables from the Gospel of Matthew. Today, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a hidden treasure of great wealth. As we gather together today for Mass as a community of faith, may we ask God for the wisdom to recognize what is truly valuable in our life of faith and the grace to seek those things above everything else. 

Lord Jesus - you lead us to the treasures of God’s kingdom. 

Christ Jesus - you give us the grace to meet our challenges in life. 

Lord Jesus - you call us to wisdom and truth. 

Prayers of the faithful: 

Priest: As we gather as a community of faith for Mass today, we now bring our needs and the needs of the world to our loving God:

1. For Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Kopacz, and all our Church leaders, that they will always lead us in truth and in justice. We pray to the Lord. 

2. For all who are suffering, who are lonely, or who are facing difficult trials in life.  May they feel God’s healing presence with them. We pray to the Lord. 

3. For our local parishes of Holy Savior and Immaculate Conception. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to the true treasures of faith and to the practice of love and charity to the needy and the forgotten. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For our children, youth, and college students. May the Lord bless their studies and their activities this upcoming school year. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For the faithful departed, especially our family members and loved ones. For their union with God’s eternal kingdom. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For our stewardship of God’s creation. May we promote respect for all of God’s creation and for the resources of the earth. We pray to the Lord. 

6. May we have the courage to share our faith journey with others. May we offer to others the joy of experiencing the life of discipleship. We pray to the Lord. 

7. For a greater love for the Word of God. May we make space in our busy lives to allow the Word of God to challenge us and transform us. We pray to the Lord. 

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For our pray intentions spoken and unspoken. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Loving God, you teach us to bring all our needs to you. Hear the prayers we place before you today. Fill us with the grace to live as your faithful disciples. We make our prayers through Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

24 July 2026 - St Francis Solano - Friday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time - Jeremiah 4:13-17

St Francis Solano was born in the province of Córdoba, Spain in 1549. At the age of 20, he joined the Franciscan Friars minor which followed a strict routine of prayer, fasting, and silence. After his studies, he became an itinerant preacher.  During a plague in Grenada, he ministered to and tended to the sick and the dying. He requested to be sent to Africa as a missionary, by at the request of the King of Spain, he joined at group of Franciscan missionary that were sent to America. He served in the regions of Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru. He learned the local languages to be able to minister to the native people there. He had a love of visiting the sick. On those visits he would often play the violin for them, as he was a talented musician. He died in Lima, Peru in 1610 and was canonized a saint in 1726. He is exemplary life of faith served as a wonderful means of evangelization in his missionary work. 

In our passage from the 4th Chapter of Jeremiah today, God calls his people to repent, affirming the covenant he has made with them. While the people always associated the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple with God’s presence that was with them, but the prophesy foretells an era when they will not need the ark to be God’s presence with them, that his presence will always be completely with them wherever they are. This message of repentance is made in the midst of the threat of the Babylonian exile, when the people will be separated from their holy city and their religious sites. We must never forget God’s fidelity to us, no matter what we are going through. 

Catholic Prayer for College Students at the Beginning of the School Year

Gracious God,
We thank you for our college students who are beginning a new year of studies. 
As they start they new semester, we ask for a blessing for Tiffany, Silas, and Greta. 
May you watch over them O Lord in their studies and their school activities. 
Provide them with strength, courage, patience, and perseverance. 

Lead and guide their professors as they help them learn this semester. 
May their studies help them grow intellectually and help them learn in their field of study. 
May you grow on your journey of faith this school year and may you feel the Lord accompanying you every step of the way. 

Know the love and prayers of your parish family will be with you always. 

May God bless you on your journey. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN. 

23 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Thursday of the 16th week of ordinary time

Lord Jesus - you proclaim the justice of God’s kingdom. 

Christ Jesus - you bring us hope.

Lord Jesus - you are the savior of the world. 

Priest: With faith and hope, we now present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. For greater wisdom on our journey of faith. For wisdom for our governmental leaders and Church leaders. 

2. For gift of peace in our local communities and throughout the world. May we be open to greater dialogue and opportunities for reconciliation. 

3. For those who came in to the Church this past year. That the Lord continue to bless them on their journey of faith. 

4. For all who are struggling with addictions. That God will free them and help them find the assistance they need. 

5. For the grace to live out the Gospel of life in our daily lives. 

6. For our children and youth who will be starting the new school year. May the Lord bless them on their journey.

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

Priest: We give thanks for the blessings we receive in life. We give thanks for God’s grace that helps us meet our challenges. We present our prayers though your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

23 July 2026 - St Bridget of Sweden - homily for Thursday of the 16th week of Ordinary time - Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13

Born in 1303 in Sweden, St Bridget of Sweden had a great devotion to Christ’s passion throughout her lifetime. She was married to a Swedish landowner for 28 years and had 8 children with him. She served as a lady in waiting to the queen of Spain. When her husband died, she committed herself to austerity and celibacy. She founded a monastery for both men and women. That community developed into a religious order known as the Brigantines. She advised the popes who were in exile in Avignon, France to return to Rome. She was known as a prophet and did not refrain from preaching the strong words that God put in her mouth. She is the patron saint of the country of Sweden and one of the co-patron saints of Europe. 

This week and next week during daily Mass, we will hear from the prophet Jeremiah in our first readings. Jeremiah compares the love that God has for his people with the ways Israel is not faithful to God. Israel has abandoned the founts of life giving water that God offers them to the broken dry cisterns that Israel chooses to dig themselves. Do we go to God for spiritual fulfillment in life? Or do we choose to try in vain to find that fulfillment within ourselves? If we rely solely on our earthly pursuits and not on God, we will remain spiritually unfulfilled.