4 June 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Thursday of the 9th week of ordinary time

Lord Jesus - you are our redeemer. 

Christ Jesus - you were raised from the dead. 

Lord Jesus - you bring us salvation. 

Priest: With faith in the Risen Lord, we now bring our prayers before God the Father: 

1. That the Holy Spirit may continue to teach and guide us in truth and faith. 

2. For leaders of nations: that they may seek the peace that comes from justice, wisdom, and respect for all people, we pray to the Lord:

For all who have given their lives in service to our country: that their sacrifice may be honored and their memory bring us deeper commitment to justice and peace, we pray to the Lord:

For our faith community: that we may keep Christ’s word alive through love, service, and forgiveness, we pray to the Lord:

That those who are ill and have asked for our prayers, including Marv Burns,

may feel Christ’s healing touch, we pray to the Lord:

Today we pray for our Beloved Dead, including: Rheta Wolin, Joseph Andreszuk, Betty Welp, and  Robert Sproutz. We also pray for those who have died more recently, that they all may they share fully in the joy of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life, we pray to the Lord:

Priest:  Loving God, you make your home with us and you gift us with your peace. Hear these prayers we offer in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Risen Lord. Amen.

3 June 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary time

Lord Jesus - You bring us God’s grace and God’s peace. 

Christ Jesus - You call us to a life of holiness. 

Lord Jesus -  You are the resurrection. 

Priest: Trusting in the God who is faithful to all generations, we bring our prayers before our heavenly Father:

1. That the Church may always be a faithful steward of the Gospel, ready to serve whenever and wherever Christ calls. 

2. That our world leaders may govern with wisdom, foresight, and a spirit of justice for all people. 

3. That we may have the patience and the grace to wait upon God, even when answers do not seem clear. May we trust in God’s love and providence. 

4. For those who struggle with doubt or fear. May the promise of God’s presence may bring them hope and peace. 

5. That we in our community may live generously, ready to share our time, talent, and treasure with those in need. 

6. For those who are ill and afflicted. For those who have asked for our prayers. 

7. For our VBS program going on this week. 

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

Priest: Faithful God, you call us to be vigilant and ready. Hear these prayers and help us to live each day in hopeful expectation of your kingdom. Through Christ our Lord forever and ever. Amen.

3 June 2026 - homily for Wednesday of the 9th week in Ordinary Time - 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12

Today, we commemorate the martyrs Charles Lwanga and 21 other young men who converted to Catholicism and who stood up to  their tribal leaders in Uganda in Africa who wanted them to commit moral acts. Charles helped instruct the other men in the Catholic faith while he was a catechumen himself. He was burned to death on June 3, 1886. He and his companions were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964. There was a group of young men who had joined the Anglican Church who were put to death for their faith at this same time.  

We hear St Paul express gratitude and thanksgiving at the beginning of his second letter to Timothy, as he writes: “I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.” It is easy to think about the things that are wrong in our lives and wrong in the world. It seems like a lot of people in the world today dwell on negative things and don’t strike toward an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. However, in the midst of all our challenges and struggles, we have a lot for which we can be grateful. St Ignatius of Loyola believed that being grateful was foundational to our life of faith as disciples of Christ. In the review of the day in the Ignatian examen, we are to give thanks for the way God was present to us that day. No matter what we have doing on in our lives, no matter what our challenges and struggles, we can always find blessings as well. 

2 June 2026 - homily for Tuesday of the 9th week in Ordinary Time - 2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18

We have been hearing from the 1st and 2nd letters of Peter in our first readings at daily Mass. Today, from 2nd Peter, we hear about the expectation in the Early Church that Jesus would soon come back again, that a new heaven and a new earth would be established in the end times. Other voices in the world had been telling the early Christians that this wasn’t going to happen, that they were deluded and misled. Perhaps we Christians in the modern world do not think much about the second coming, but in the Creed that we profess each Sunday at Mass, we state that we believe that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” 

One of my favorite towns on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is San Juan de Ortega, named after a saint whose feast day is today. This town is located on the stage right before the arrival into the city of Burgos, one of the main cities on the Camino. The person San Juan de Ortega, also known as St John the Hermit, was born in the city of Burgos in the year 1050, almost 1,000 years ago. He became a priest at a young age. While traveling back to Spain from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ship almost sank into a terrible storm. Juan de Ortega prayed to St Nicholas to save them from the storm and his prayers were answered. This experience motivated him to found a Augustinian monastery in the village now named San Juan Ortega, and a monastery church named in honor of St Nicholas. He intentionally founded this monastery and church in an area that was very dangerous for pilgrims on the Camino, as it was nestled in the mountains and was a prime location for robbers to attack the pilgrims. Thus, this church and monastery could be a refuge for pilgrims. Juan de Ortega was a good friend of Santo Domingo de Calzada, another great Camino saint.  Both of them spent time repairing bridges, improving roads, and constructing new chapels and hospitals for the pilgrims. He died in the year 1143. What is interesting is that this monastery and church were abandoned in the 19th century when the monks left and closed them down. It is only with the renewed interest in the Camino in the last 25 years that the church and monastery are being restored. There are many interesting stories that come from the saints who lived on the Camino pilgrimage route. 

2 June 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Tuesday of the 9th week in ordinary time

Lord Jesus - You are our refuge. 

Christ Jesus - You bring us the truth of God. 

Lord Jesus - You are our savior and our redeemer. 

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

1. That we may work together to build up the body of Christ here on earth. 

2. For a new spirit in the inter-personal relationships we forge with our family members and friends. 

3. That we may bring the hope of our faith to others in our words and actions. 

4. That we may be confident in God’s love for us, even in the midst of conflicts, confusion or hardship. 

5. For all missionaries and evangelizers who bring Christ’s Good News to others. 

6. That God would raise up and heal all who have been disrespected or treated unjustly. 

7. For our VBS program going on this week. 

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

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

31 May 2026 - homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - mission appeal at St Mary and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes in Bristol Rhode Island - 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 - John 3:16-18

It is very wonderful being with all of you here today to celebrate Mass around the table of the Lord. My name is Father Lincoln Dall. I come to you as a brother in Christ from the Diocese of Jackson (Mississippi) in the deep South. When your parish receives a mission visit, you probably expect a missionary serving in a faraway land overseas. However, I’m from missionary territory in our own country. Our Diocese has the lowest percentage of Catholics of any Diocese in the US, about 3%. However, we have the largest Diocese geographically east of the Mississippi River. Most of our 73 parishes and 15 mission churches are small and located in rural areas. We don’t have any large cities in Mississippi, so our parishes are spread out throughout sparsely populated rural areas. Some counties in Mississippi only have one parish. Some do not even have that. 

This first weekend after the end of the Easter season we celebrate the solemnity of the most holy trinity. The Trinity is one of the fundamental doctrines of Catholicism and the greatest mystery of our faith. The Trinity expresses how there are three divine persons sharing the same Divine nature in one God. We hear Paul bless the community of Corinth, invoking the name of the Trinity, recalling the words that is often used by the priest at the beginning of Mass. In giving the community that blessing, he also tells them that they must mend their ways, to encourage each other, and to live in peace, so that the peace and love of God be with them. We are strive to live in the love and peace of God that embodied in the three persons of the Trinity. 

As you are hearing my homily today, you probably do not detect a strong Southern accent. That is because I am not originally from Mississippi. I am originally from Chicago. I currently serve as the pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Raymond, MS and Holy Savior Catholic Church in Clinton, MS, two towns just outside the city of Jackson. I have also been working in the chancery office for 8 years, currently serving as vicar general of the Diocese. 

In wanting to share some specific ministry stories with all of you, I thought of the prison ministry in our Diocese, something that is very dear to my own heart. I have been involved in prison ministry for 18 years. I go out to the federal prison in Yazoo City, which has about 6,000 inmates, and the Central Mississippi state prison just outside of Jackson, with about 3,500 inmates. For many years, we struggled to even get access to see the inmates. Often, at the state prison, I would have mass at the foyer of the building where the inmates lived, sometimes in the fire station at the prison, or even on a picnic bench outside the prison cafeteria. Several years ago, we got access to have Mass in the chapel and have been able to go out every week, which has made a huge difference. You can imagine the terrible living conditions we have in the prisons in Mississippi. There is a lot of gang activity, violence, and drug use. Most of the inmates live in housing units that have no air conditioning. Unbelievable. Yet, our ministry has transformed the lives of many inmates. We usually have about 150 inmates attending Mass during any given week. We have 10 men entering the Church this year. For the last two years, we have been operating a garden project as a part of our ministry, where were have garden areas around the prison where the prisoners grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers. It has been a huge success. We try to tie the gardening to our Catholic spirituality. A lot of the produce goes to the prison cafeteria, and in certain raised garden, the inmates get to keep the produce for themselves. I am very passionate about the prison ministry.  It is amazing to see God at work in this mission environment of the prisons. 

I am here as a priest from the missionary Diocese of Jackson to share some of our stories with you as a part of our Church’s larger missionary effort.  Pope Francis always said that we as a Church should never lose our missionary identity, that we are to be a Church who goes forth into the world and invites others to our faith. All of us are called to be missionary in spirit, to be a part of the universal mission effort of the Church. Most importantly, in a world torn apart by divisions and conflict, we must recognize each other as our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we see ourselves as missionary in spirit, when we encounter our neighbor and invite him into our faith, it will open up so many possibility for us as well on our own journey and to see the Gospel in a new wonderful light. I am so grateful to be here with all of you this weekend. To celebrate around the altar of the Lord.  

Your parish is going to have a second collection to help us with the missionary needs of our Diocese, to help our different ministries, our rural parishes, and our rural schools. I want to thank you for any help you are able to give. Also, I ask for your prayers for our Diocese of Jackson. And be assured that I will keep all of you and your parish in my prayers as well.

31 May 2026 - prayers of the faithful for the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - prison ministry

Penitential Rite

Lord Jesus, you are the Son of the eternal Father.

Christ Jesus, you bring us salvation through your death and resurrection.

Lord Jesus, you nurture us and care for us on our journey.

Priest: The God of the Trinity loves us and saves us. In the name of the Triune God, we present our prayers today with faith and trust:

1. That we in the Church may strive to share with others the good news of salvation brought to us by our Lord Christ Jesus. We pray to the Lord.

2. For peace and reconciliation in all the nations of the world. We pray that the peace and love of God’s kingdom may reign. We pray to the Lord.

3. For anyone who is struggling in life. For those who are facing additions and mental health issues. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For good weather for our farmers and gardeners and our garden project. We pray their crops and gardens provide us nourishment and reflect the beauty and majesty of God in creation. We pray to the Lord.

5. For our children, our youth, our colleges students, and families. May God watch over them and bless them in their summer activities and travels. We pray to the Lord.

6. For the sick and the afflicted of our community. For healing in their lives. We pray for their caregivers and their medical professionals. We pray to the Lord.

7. For our departed loved ones and family members. For their entry into eternal life. For the souls in purgatory. We pray to the Lord.

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

Priest: God of mercy and compassion, in your love for us, you sent your only Son for our salvation. Graciously hear our prayers in his name, for he is Lord with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.