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 in Mississippi, in the deep South, where it is already hot and humid. When you receive a visit from a missionary at your parish, you are probably expecting a missionary serving in a faraway land overseas. However, I am from a missionary territory in our own country. Our Diocese has the lowest percentage of Catholics of any Diocese in the US, about 3%. Most of our 90 parishes are small and located in rural areas, far different from the reality here in Los Angeles.
Our Gospel today talks about a little mustard seed that seems small and ordinary, but has the potential to grow into an amazingly large plant with huge branches. We are all to be like that little mustard seed. To take that little seed of faith that God gives us, and to grow our faith beyond our imagination. In the Diocese of Jackson, we try to bring the Catholic faith to others in many different ways. The Catholic schools in our Diocese bring a Catholic education to both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Our inter-cultural ministry efforts bring our Catholic faith to the many Hispanics and African Americans who are in our Diocese.
You probably do not detect a strong Southern accent in my voice. That is because I am not originally from Mississippi. I am actually originally from Chicago. However, you meet note a little bit of Southern California in my accent as well. My family moved here to Southern California when I was a teenager and I live down in Santa Ana in Orange County. I still have family in the area, so it is nice to come back here to the Los Angeles area this weekend. I am currently 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 serving as the vicar general of the Diocese for the past five years.
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 most of my priesthood. I go out to the federal prison in Yazoo City, which has about 6,000 inmates, and the Mississippi state prison just outside of Jackson, with about 3,500 inmates. For many years, we struggle 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, or sometimes in the fire station at the prison. About a year 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. If you have read any John Girsham novels, you have read descriptions about prisons in Mississippi, and unfortunately the reality is close to the terrible reputation they have. If you can believe, most of the inmates live in housing units that have no air conditioning at all. Unbelievable. Yet, our ministry has changed so many lives out there. We sometimes have more than 200 inmates attending Mass during any given week. We have had more than 20 men enter the Church this year. I have inmates themselves as the leaders of our Catholic community at the prison, even Eucharistic ministers. They try to bring others to the faith. You can tell I am very passionate about the prison ministry. It is amazing to see God at work in this mission environment.
Today we celebrate Father’s day with all of you. We are so grateful for our Fathers and Grandfathers, for the Father figures we have in our lives. We are thankful for the Fathers and Grandfather who provide examples of faith for the families, who bring their wives and children to the faith and provide love and care for them. It is like the parable in the Gospel today who sows seeds in the ground. Then on their own, the seeds grow and mature until they are able to provide a bountiful harvest. I encourage all of our Fathers and Grandfathers to sow these seeds of faith in their families and beyond - in their work environment, in their friendships, and in the community. We never now how those seeds of faith are going to take root and grow.
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 has said that we as a Church should lose our missionary identity. We always need to be a Church who goes out into the world and invites others to our faith. Pope Francis calls all of us to be missionary in spirit, for all Catholics to be a part of the universal mission effort of the Church. And I think 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 prison ministry, our rural parishes, and our rural schools. I want to thank you for any help you are able to give. Also, I am 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.
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