17 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Friday of the 15th week in Ordinary time

Lord Jesus - you bring us hope. 

Christ Jesus - you forgive the sins of the contrite. 

Lord Jesus - you bring healing into our lives. 

Priest: With hearts and minds renewed through the love of Christ, we bring our needs to the Lord in our prayers today: 

1. That our obedience to the leaders of the church be strengthened and their service to the church be renewed. 

2. That our civil leaders deepen their sense of service to the people. 

3. That our faith community be a sign of God’s love for all people as we worship and work together. 

4. That we may grow in our love of the Eucharist and embody the spirit of the Eucharist in our words and our actions.

5. For Hunter and Chris and for all the deacons who will be ordained this weekend. 

6. For peace throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East. 

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

Priest: We give you thanks for your beloved Son Jesus who cares for his flock. We make our prayers through him, for he is our Lord forever and ever. Amen.

16 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Thursday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time - Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Lord Jesus - you are the son of God and the son of Mary. 

Christ Jesus - you will come again in glory. 

Lord Jesus - you call us to repentance and conversion. 

1. That our Church leaders will help us grow in our respect for human life from moment of conception to the moment of natural death. 

2. For Christian unity amongst all Christian denominations. 

3. For those who have left the Church or who have become inactive in their faith. May our Lord Jesus lead them back. 

4. For all who have died. That they rest and rejoice in the glory of God’s kingdom, we pray to the Lord. 

5. That all of us Christians work to advance Christ’s mission and ministry on earth. 

6. That Mary will always draw us closer to her son. 

7. For our Carmelite sisters in the Diocese of Jackson and the Secular Carmelite group in our Diocese. 

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

Priest: God our Shepherd, feeds us and protects us. We present our prayers to God the Father today through his son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

15 June 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Wednesday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you bring us the love of your father. 

Christ Jesus - you are our savior and our redeemer. 

Lord Jesus - you bring us hope. 

Priest: As a people of faith, we bring our needs and the needs of our neighbors to God:

1. For the shepherds of our Church. May they listen lovingly to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him faithfully. 

2. That those who serve in public office may listen creatively and patiently to the voices of those who elected them and work for their good. 

3. For parents and teachers. That they shepherd their children and students with respect, love, and concern. 

4. For the sick and the afflicted. For those struggling with mental health issues, anxiety, depression, or addictions. For healing and wholeness. 

5. For a greater care for God’s creation and the resources of the earth. 

6. For the prayers we hold in our hearts today. For those who have asked for our prayers. 

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

16 July 2026 - homily for Thursday of the 15th week of Ordinary time - feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Matthew 11:28-30

The Carmelite monastery here in Jackson, Mississippi has a novena each year that leads up to today’s feast day, celebrating the special devotion and apparition of Mary in Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In the Old Testament, Mount Carmel was a place of refuge. In the era of the Christian Church, hermits began living there in the 12th century and dedicated a chapel on the mountain to our Mother Mary. This evolved into the celebration of a special mass and office of readings dedicated to Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular. Traditionally, Mary is said to have presented the scapular to an English Carmelite monk named Saint Simon Stock in the 13th century, which leads to the devotion that we have in the Brown Scapular today. 

This feast day was officially recognized by the Church in 1726 under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  This group of hermits at Mount Carmel evolved into the religious order of the Carmelites in the 13th century. That order went through a reform movement in the 16th century under the leadership of St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. 

In the different ways Mary appears to the faithful, she always points us to her son in a very special way. Jesus tells us to that we can only know the Father through the son. We come to the faith through Jesus. And Mary helps us in that process. May the intercession and prayers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel lead us to her son. Jesus tells us to come to him with all that is burdening us. Mary will help bring us to her son with all that is weighing us down. 

15 July 2026 - St Bonaventure - homily for Wednesday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 10:5-7 and 13b-16

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear how God uses the Assyrians to punish Israel for the way they have turned away from God. The Assyrians take credit for this themselves. This should serve as a warning for us of the dangers of spiritual pride. No matter our power or our success, we should see the role God has in our lives. 

St. Bonaventure was born in Italy in 1221. He entered the Franciscans as a young man after having been very sickly as a young boy and after have been inspired by St Francis of Assisi through that illness.  Bonaventure not only gives us the example of a great theologian and accomplished scholar, but he also led a life of great holiness & devotion.  Known as the "Seraphic Doctor" for the warmth and charity of his writings, he was instrumental in shaping the Franciscan Order, integrating faith with rational thought, and promoting mysticism based on experience. One of his famous quotes states: “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that (voice) proceeding from the mouth.” He died in 1274 at the age of 53. He was canonized in 1482 by the Franciscan Pope Sixtus IV. In 1588 he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Sixtus V, given the title the Seraphic Doctor, reflecting his profound love for God. "Seraphic" refers to the Seraphim, the highest order of angels known for their burning charity. The title reflects how Bonaventure’s theology was motivated by passionate love, prayer, and his deep mysticism.

14 July 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Tuesday of the 15th week in Ordinary time

Lord Jesus - you are our hope. 

Christ Jesus - you are our strength. 

Lord Jesus - you are our savior. 

PRIEST: In faith and hope, we present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. That the Church and her leaders may always be a beacon of hope in times of challenge and conflict. 

2. For all missionaries, evangelizers, and catechists. May God be in their hearts and their minds as they share their love of God with others. 

3. For the sick, the suffering, and the dying. May they receive love and compassion in their time of need. 

4. For the deceased members of our families and communities. May the angels may gather them before the throne of God. 

5. That we may grow in our love of the Eucharist and embody the spirit of the Eucharist in our words and our actions. 

6. For the prayers we hold in our hearts today. 

PRIEST: In a spirit of hope and faith, we present these prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

14 July 2026 - St Kateri - Tuesday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 7:1-9

In our first reading from Isaiah, King Ahaz of Judah is scared of an alliance that is forming between Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel. He should turn to the Lord in his fear, but instead, he tries to form an alliance with Assyria for protection. The prophet Isaiah advises King Ahaz to remain calm in the face of his fear. We are to turn to our faith as a refuge when we confront our fears. If we do not stand firm in our beliefs, we will falter. 

Today we celebrate the memorial mass of St Kateri Tekakwitha, a young native American woman who was born in 1856 near the present day town of Ossernenon, New York, which is near Albany. She followed the Good News of Christ that was presented to her. She survived many struggles and tribulations on her journey of faith and took many risks to follow the Lord. She was born to the chief of the Mohawk tribe. She was struck ill and became severely disfigured from a smallpox epidemic that killed most of her family.  Kateri had to flee from her uncle’s household in order to practice the Catholic faith that was the guiding light in her life.  Although she was born after the death of Jean de Brebeuf and the other Jesuit North American martyrs in the mid-17th century, the light of the faith that they brought to the Americas found root in St Kateri and many other native people.  She died at the young age of 24 in the year 1680. Her faith remains a witness to us today, reflected in her beatification by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and her canonization by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. I had the honor to visit her shrine in New York and the nearby shrine of the North American martyrs, a pilgrimage that had a big impact on me.