1 March 2026 - bulletin reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Lent CYCLE A

This week, we continue our Lenten journey as we hear of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountaintop in the presence of some of his disciples. During the holy season of Lent, it is good for us to think of the ways we need to have our lives of faith transfigured, transformed, and renewed. This upcoming week, I will be hearing confessions at St Jospeh school in Madison and at different parishes in our area. This upcoming Wednesday, we hear at Holy Savior will have our Lenten reconciliation service at 6:00. I want to encourage all of you to come to partake of this holy sacrament as we work toward conversion and repentance. Have a blessed week everyone - Father Lincoln. 

1 March 2026 - prayers of the faithful for the 2nd Sunday of Lent CYCLE A

Introduction: We hear of Jesus being transfigured on the mountaintop in the presence of some of his disciples in today’s Gospel. As Jesus was transfigured, we also have the opportunity and invitation to transform our lives of faith, to shine like the sun. May today’s celebration of the Eucharist strengthen us to transfigure our lives and make our lives more closely conform to the Lord. 

Priest: God promised blessing upon the children of Abraham. Let us have confidence to ask for those blessings upon us and our brothers and sisters in need: 

1. That we in the Church work toward transforming the lives of those with spiritual and material needs. We pray to the Lord. 

2. That we be good stewards of our earth and our resources. We pray to the Lord. 

3. For those who are struggling through life and who struggle with addictions, depression, and anxiety. For healing for them. We pray to the Lord.

4. For those who are preparing for entry into the Church. For our children and youth who are preparing for first communion and confirmation. May they grow ever closer to Christ during this holy season of Lent. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For healing for the sick and the afflicted in body, mind, and spirit. We pray to the Lord. 

6. That we may grow closer to Christ in his real presence in the Eucharist. May we live out the spirit of the Eucharist each day on our journey of faith. We pray to the Lord. 

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

Priest: Heavenly Father, may we please you by our words and our actions as we give witness to you in our lives. Hear our prayers and grant them through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

1 March 2026 - homily for the 2nd Sunday in Lent CYCLE A - Matthew 17:1-9

We see a very human response to Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew’s Gospel today on the 2nd Sunday of Lent. First, the disciples are intently engaged by what they see. Then, Peter expresses his desire to remain in this moment of grace with Jesus, wishing to build tents for them in order to remain on the mountaintop. Then, there is a sense of fear and awe when they hear God’s come out of the cloud, as the disciples fall prostrate on the ground. The mystery of this encounter penetrates the depths of their hearts. 

The mystery of God’s mercy was present in the transfiguration on the mountaintop. The mystery of God’s mercy is ever-present in our lives as well. God’s mercy invites us to trust in his holy presence and to ponder the ways God’s love and mercy can transform our lives into lives of faith and instruments of God’s love and grace. 

It is important for us to open ourselves to moments of transfiguration in our lives. In the US, we had a Eucharistic revival starting in June 2022, with a national Eucharistic congress being held in Indianapolis in 2024. The ideal of a Eucharistic revival came out of the pandemic when we are separated from the Eucharist for a time. The revival was meant to be a joyful grassroots response of the Church and the Catholic faithful to God’s invitation to be united around the Eucharist as the source and summit of our Catholic faith, as the place where we receive new life and as place where we are sent out to bring the Gospel message to the world. Through the Eucharist, God can heal us, renew, and unify us.  

The Eucharist can be the source of transformation as well. This year, I celebrated Ash Wednesday Masses at the federal prison, the state prison, and at the parishes at Clinton, Raymond, and Pearl. I left the house at 5:30 in the morning to go to an early mass at St Jude in Pearl and I got home at 9:10 pm after celebrating the Spanish evening mass in Pearl. Even though I was extremely physically exhausted at the end of that long day, I was edified by the many faithful who came to receive ashes on their foreheads and to receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. As a priest, I am always in awe of the presence of Christ that we receive in the Eucharist.  By the way he feeds us and nurtures us through the Eucharist. By the way he enters our lives in a special way and forms us as the Body of Christ in the Church. That is true transformation that we can never take for granted. 

As you all know, we just had the ACTS retreat for men two weekends ago. What an amazing faith-filled transformative experience. I saw the men being transformed before my very eyes that entire weekend as the Holy Spirit worked in their lives. We are actually going to have a reunion this Sunday over in Vicksburg for all the retreatants and team members who went on that retreat. We want to keep the transformation of that retreat alive in the lives of these men. We want to keep the spirit of that retreat alive as well. 

If we feel the power of Christ in the Eucharist within us, if we feel transformed by the ACTS retreat program, we also will want to bring that transformation to others. As you all know, in the prison ministry, I aim to transform the lives of the inmates there. It can be challenging work trying to navigate the Mississippi prison system, but I see transformation in the men there all the time. Last Tuesday, I was asked to be a speaker at a press conference with a group called Defend Mississippi, which is trying to advocate for reform the public defense system in Mississippi, which does not have the adequate resources that it needs. It is not enough to be there for the inmates in this ministry. We need to advocate for justice in a system that often fails our population. And this group is appreciative of having my voice as a Catholic priest united with them, as I work on the ground level with the incarcerated men and women through our Catholic prison ministry. We have to work toward transformation in different ways. As a priest, I in turn am transformed and transfigured through my ministries and through the men and women whom I serve as a priest. 

The mystery of God is at work in our lives in different ways. It makes us aware of the change that is manifested in the transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospel and the transfiguration at work in our lives of faith. We can sometimes want to give up on our efforts with the challenges and struggles we go through. However, with open and thankful hearts, with fortitude and prayers, we can see the way that God’s mercy is gradually at work in our lives and to trust in that mercy. 

Today’s Gospel begins by saying that Jesus led the disciples up the mountain. He could have easily gone up the mountain alone and experienced his own transformation. However, the Gospel emphasizes that Jesus intentionally took these 3 disciples, who subsequently witnessed the grace and mystery of his transfiguration.  Jesus’ invitation to encounter and receive this grace and mystery extend to us today.  

Friday of the first week of Lent - 27 February 2026 - prayers of the faithful

Lord Jesus - you call us to the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and charity. 

Christ Jesus - you bring us joy on our Lenten journey of faith. 

Lord Jesus - you call us to repent for our sins. 

Priest: We now bring our prayers to our loving and merciful God in this first week of Lent: 

1. That God may strengthen our friendships and family relationships and deepen our compassionate concern and assistance toward those who are alone or isolated.

2. For our first responders, our military veterans, and for the men and women in the military. For courage and strength on their journey. 

3. For missionaries and for all who bring Christ’s Good News to others in the different corners of the world. May the Lord accompany them in the efforts. 

4. For our children, youth, and college students, that Lent be a meaningful time for them on their journey of faith. 

5. That our words and actions may reflect the values of the Gospel of Life, as we respect the dignity of each human being. 

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

Priest: With faith and hope during these holy days of Lent, we present these prayers through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN.  

27 February 2026 - homily for Friday of the 1st week of Lent - Ezekiel 18:21-28

Today, the saint we celebrate is Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. He was born in 1838 in Italy into a large family. His mother died when he was four years old. He was educated by the Jesuits and was very sickly as a child. He applied to join the Jesuits, but was rejected because he was only 17 years old. He later was accepted to the Passionist Father where he became well-known for his love for the poor, for his devout prayer life, and for his kindness toward others. After four years of studies, he contracted tuberculosis. He patiently and quietly accepted his sufferings, dying in 1862 at the age of 24. He was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.  He is a patron saint of Catholic youth and of students studying for the priesthood. In 1959, Pope John XXIII declared him to be patron saint of the Abruzzi region of Italy, where he spent the last two years of his life. 

As we commemorate St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows today, the prophet Ezekiel brings us a message in the midst of our Lenten journey, telling us that the Lord does not delight when a wicked man remains in his wickedness, but rather God delights when the wicked man transforms his heart. There are many in our world today who turn their backs on both God’s law and man’s law, who want to stay on those evil paths and do not want to hear the voice of God calling out to them. We may say that the laws of God and the laws of man are unfair, but what about the ways that we break those laws, the ways we give way to temptation and go down the wrong path? Our Lenten journey calls out to return to the Lord and to renew out lives of faith. It is difficult to break old habits and to reform our lives. It is hard to break out of addictions, laziness, and complacency. But that is what the Lord is calling us to do. And the Lord will rejoice when we are able to do so. 

26 February 2026 - homily for Thursday of the 1st week of Lent - Matthew 7:7-12

Blessed Francisco Bejarano Fernández was a Catholic priest of the diocese of Córdoba, Spain. He dedicated his life to serving the community of Añora, where he was born on June 1, 1877. He was known for his holiness as a priest and his dedication to his parish and to his ministry. He died in the Spanish Civil War while in prison on February 26, 1938. Many priests and bishops were martyred during that war. He was beatified by Pope Francis in the cathedral in Córdoba Spain in 2021. 

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”   We hear this famous verse as a part of the Gospel from St Matthew this afternoon. When we see an image of a door as a symbol of our faith, we can picture that door either open or closed.  It can a door that is inviting us in or a door that closing us off from our faith.  In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI wrote an apostolic letter Porta Fidei - The Door of Faith – a letter that declared the year of faith for us in the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict declared that “door of faith” is always open for us, that it ushers us into the life of communion with God and offers us entry into his Church.  He said that it is possible for us to cross the threshold of the door of faith when the word of God is proclaimed and our heart allows itself to be shaped by God’s transforming grace. Pope Benedict went on to say that to enter through the door of faith is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. Yet, we can be afraid to open the door of faith. Sometimes, we fear what will happen next in our lives. Sometimes, it is difficult taking that first step or taking a risk. The Lord tells us to knock at the door. We have to be willing to take that chance no matter how frightening it may seem. 

Thursday of the first week of Lent - 26 February 2026 - prayers of the faithful

PENITENTIAL RITE:

Lord Jesus - you call us to trust in you - Lord have mercy. 

Christ Jesus - you call us to faith - Christ have mercy.  

Lord Jesus - you give us hope on our journey - Lord have mercy. 

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL:

Priest: With hope and trust during this first week of Lent, let us present our prayers to God:

1. That Pope Leo XIV and our church leaders may lead us and guide us to put greater trust and hope in the Lord. 

2. That our world leaders may help us address the problems that afflict us.  We pray for peace in those war-torn and violent areas of the world. 

3. For our first responders, the men and women in the military, our veterans, and our medical professionals. 

4. For our children, youth, and college students. May they see God accompanying them in their studies and in their school activities. 

5. For the sick and afflicted. For healing for those who need it in mind, body, and spirit.  

6. For the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. For our deceased loved ones and family members.  For the souls in purgatory. For their entry into eternal life

7. For those who are struggling to find healing in the brokenness of life. 

8. For those prayers we hold in our hearts today.  

Priest: Heavenly Father, may we always place our trust in you. We present these prayers to you through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever and ever.  AMEN.