26 November 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Thanksgiving Day Mass

Introduction: As we gather for Mass on Thanksgiving Day, 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 and grateful hearts. 
Christ Jesus - you join us to give thanks to our Heavenly Father. 
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. In gratitude for God’s loving care, we pray that God will guide Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Kopacz, and all Church leaders. 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, friends, and loved ones. For God’s blessings for those most in need of his assistance at this time. We pray to the Lord.
4. 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. 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. For those names inscribed in our book of remembrance. We pray to the Lord.


6. 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. 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. 

13 November 2026 - Mother Cabrini - homily for Friday of the 32nd week of Ordinary time - 2 John 4-9

The saint we celebrate today is St Francis Xavier Cabrini. Born in 1850 in the kingdom of Lombardy, which was then part of Austro-Hungarian empire, she was the youngest of 13 children, but only 5 of them lived passed adolescence. She was born 2 months premature, and thus had frail and delicate health her entire life. She became a teacher at the age of 18, being very successful and valued at that vocation. After being rejected twice from being a sister in two religious orders, she was accepted by the Sisters of Providence. At her vows at becoming a sister, she added the name Xavier, in honor of the Jesuit priest Frances Xavier, the patron saint of missionaries. In 1880, the orphanage where she taught closed. She approached the Bishop of the diocese about becoming a missionary, with him advising her to start her own missionary order. With some of the former sisters of her past congregation, she formed a new order: the Salesian Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, an order established to care for poor children in schools and hospitals.  Pope Leo XIII asked her to come to the United States with 6 other nuns from her order to work among the Italian immigrants. She received approval from Archbishop Corrigan of New York to work there in 1889. She did much work with the immigrant population in the US, founding school, hospitals, and orphanages.She became a US citizen in 1909.  She died in Chicago in 1917. The Cambrini-Green public housing project in downtown Chicago was named after her.  She was canonized a saint in 1946, the first American citizen to receive such an honor. She is the patron saint of immigrants. 

In our first reading today, we hear from the very short second letter of John. John takes great joy that the community is living out the Gospel message. As always, living out the Gospel is not done in the abstract, but rather in the relationship we have with Christ as his disciples. John calls them to live in both Christ’s love and in obeying God’s commandments. The two must always complement one another. The New Testament letters that we have been hearing from in our first readings in daily Mass always give us great advice. God’s word can give us strength and encouragement on our journey. 

24 November 2026 - homily for Tuesday of the 34th week in Ordinary time - Psalm 96

In 1988, Pope John Paul II dedicated this day in November to more than 100,000 Vietnamese martyrs, both named and unnamed. These martyrs lived over the course of many centuries. The first Vietnamese martyrs were Spanish missionaries who arrived in 1580. The Christians were viewed as foreigner invaders and were subject or persecution, torture, and death. Bishops, priests, and lay people are included in this group. St Andrew Dun-Lac was a Vietnamese priest who was born in 1795. After being baptized in the city of Hanoi, where he was trained by a catechist, he decided to become a catechist himself and then was eventually sent to seminary and was ordained as a priest in 1823. In 1832, the emperor expelled all foreign priests from the land and ordered all Christians in the country to renounce their faith. The teaching of Christianity was declared to be against the law. Andrew Dun-Lac was killed after his arrest in 1839. These Vietnamese martyrs stand as a powerful witness of the Catholic faith. 

The psalm today speaks about heaven and earth rejoicing in gladness in being a part of creation and in recognizing the Lord as king, about how the Lord will rule in justice. We know, unfortunately, that we human beings often fail in justice. People of faith are often persecuted or treated unfairly. The vulnerable are often not treated with respect. The witness of the martyrs show the sacrifices men and women have made for the faith throughout history. May we be instruments of God’s justice and peace to those around us. 

25 November 2026 - homily for Wednesday of the 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time - St Catherine of Alexandria - Luke 21:12-19

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St Catherine of Alexandria. A martyr in the era right before Constantine embraced Christianity, St Catherine of Alexandria died for the faith around the year 305 AD, when she was still a teenager. She was greatly honored and admired by Medieval Christians. Pope John Paul II restored her feast day to the status of memorial in our liturgical calendar in 2002. She was born in Alexandria, Egypt, an important center of learning and education in the ancient world.  Catherine was highly educated and came from a noble pagan family.   Tradition holds that Catherine was converted to Christianity through a vision she had of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, inspiring her to dedicate her life as a virgin and to reject a marriage proposal that she received.  Tradition also holds that Catherine came before the Emperor Maxentius during a time of brutal repression of Christians. She successfully defended the faith before a group of pagan philosophers and refused to renounce Christ. She also refused to become the emperor’s mistress. She was beheaded after brutal torture. More than 1,000 years after her death, Catherine would appear in a vision to the young French maid Joan of Arc, urging her to take up arms in defense of France. Joan of Arc would also die a martyr for the faith and become a beloved saint just like St Catherine of Alexandria. In our modern era when Christianity is facing hostility and persecution, when we are having to defend ourselves from different kinds of attacks, Catherine’s example of faith speaks to us very profoundly today.  

As we hear Catherine’s witness of faith today, we hear Jesus in the Gospels tell his followers that they will be seized and persecuted, handed over to synagogues and prisons, led before governors and kings, and will be called to give testimony of the their faith. Jesus tells them that he will accompany them in their persecution, giving them courage, and helping them with the words they need to say to defend themselves.  Sometimes we are called to suffer and to make sacrifices for our faith. Let us pray that we may have the courage to be true to our faith, no matter the cost.

7 November 2026 - homily for Saturday of the 31st week of Ordinary time - Philippians 4:10-19

Writing from prison, expresses his gratitude to the Philippians, thanking them for the financial gift that they sent him. Yet, he very clearly explains that his happiness does not depend on his financial well-being and his comfort, as he has learned to survive in times of poverty and in times of abundance. St Paul writes that he receives his strength from God, with God’s grace empowering him to me patient and faithful no matter what he is going through. Paul sees the generosity of the Philippians as an act of worshipping God that helps them on their journey of faith. 

Recently, in an address to Catholic educators, Pope Leo expressed his opinion that is so important for us to encourage our children and youth to reach out the poor and the vulnerable, to grow in their sense of charity. Our faith is often reflected more in our actions than in our words. 

As we celebrate the anointing of the sick, we pray for healing and wholeness for all of us in body, mind, and spirit. We pray for the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable in our families, in our community, and in society.  

25 November 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Wednesday of the 34th week of Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you bring us hope.

Christ Jesus - you bring us the Father’s love. 

Lord Jesus - you bring us God’s word.

Priest: Let us turn to God our Father in confidence in our prayers. 

1.  For the Church and for all our Church leaders. May Christ’s faithful people commit themselves to bringing his light to the world. 

2. For all those who serve us in the government. May they always strive to protect the dignity of human life. 

3. For the healing of the nations. May all people learn to live in peace and endeavor to bring an end to war, violence, and terrorism. 

4. For all who are starved of hope, especially the world’s poor and those living on the margins. 

5. For our parish community. May we always be ready to hear God’s word and do God’s will. 

6. For the sick, the suffering, and the housebound. May they know the healing touch of God’s love. 

7. For those who have died. May they enjoy their eternal reward with Christ in heaven. We pray for those names inscribed in our book of remembrance. 

Priest: Heavenly Father, you know each one of us and all our needs. Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace and lead us in the way of salvation. We ask this through Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  AMEN.  

24 November 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Tuesday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time

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

Christ Jesus - you bring us hope. 

Lord Jesus - you are our savior and our redeemer. 

Priest: Jesus prayed that we may all be one. As we present our prayers to God today, may we pray for unity among all Christians:

1. For the Church founded upon the apostles.  May she always

gather people in unity and truth. 

2. For the leaders of the nations. May they may be inspired by Christian

principles and lead all people to unity and peace. 

3. For unity amongst Christians from various traditions. May we come together in a spirit of acceptance and love. 

4. For the faithful departed. For their entry into eternal life. For those names inscribed in our book of remembrance. 

5. For our children, youth, and college students. May they always feel God’s presence accompanying them on their journey. 

6. For the sick and the afflicted. For those struggling with anxiety, depression, and mental health issues. 

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

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