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Gulf Pine Catholic
•
September 9, 2016
International Seamen Center
Collection: Sept. 17-18
Please give generously in your parish collection, or mail donations to:
International Seamen Center Collection
c/o Diocese of Biloxi, 1790 Popps Ferry Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532
• For over 70 years, the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) has been the Catholic Church’s
response to the spiritual needs of the seafarer, who does not otherwise fit in the
traditional structures of Catholic ministry.
• Seafarers bring 95% of all the goods used and consumed in the U.S. But these seafarers
often suffer loneliness, exploitation and spiritual deprivation in the process. On behalf
of the United States’ Catholic community, AOS port chaplains and ship visitors
welcome seafarers to our shores, provide for their practical and pastoral care and
enable Catholic seafarers to receive the sacraments.
• The Apostleship of the Sea ministry reaches out, in the name of Christ, to seafarers
from all countries without regard to religion or race, offering them the welcoming and
consoling message of Christ.
• Pre-Katrina, the Port of Gulfport ranked among one of the busiest ports on the Gulf
Coast, and as part of the ministry to seafarers, the Seamen’s Center provided a home-
away-from-home for thousands of seafarers whose ships visited the port each year. The
center offered a place for the seafarers to post letters, place overseas phone calls to their
families, play ping-pong, read in the library area, or watch television. Of course, all of
that was destroyed in the hurricane. Currently, the Diocese of Biloxi’s AOS chaplain,
Deacon Dick Henderson, visits seafarers onboard ships to celebrate a Communion
Service when a priest is unavailable to celebrate a Mass onboard.
• The Diocese of Biloxi, along with representatives of the Episcopal, Presbyterian,
Southern Baptist, and United Methodist churches, supports the ministry by providing
volunteer chaplains and lay people to visit ships entering the Port of Gulfport and to
offer local transportation for seafarers to replenish their personal supplies at local
retailers.
Thank you, Jesus,
St. Jude and St.
Joseph, for prayers
answered. DL
THANKSGIVING NOVENA TO ST. JUDE
O Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in
miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who
invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse
from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such
great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent
petition. In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be
invoked. St. Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.
Say three Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias. Publication must be
promised. This Novena has never been known to fail.
I have had my request granted. Publication promised. MLH
Letter to the Bishop
Dear Bishop Morin,
We have received the diocesan contribution in the amount of
$17,487.72 for the 2016 Pontifical Good Friday Collection.
On behalf of the Christians in the Holy Land, thank you. A small
minority today, these “living stones” of our faith struggle to live and
worship under very difficult circumstances.
Funds from the Pontifical Good Friday Collection help support 16
schools educating than 10,000 children, 29 parishes, formation for
100 men studying to be priests, senior care, employment assistance,
emergency relief for people in Syria and Iraq and care for 74 sacred
Christian shrines.
Your support and prayers also bring hope to our brothers and
sisters in Christ, who so often feel alone in their struggles.
God bless you and your ministry.
Gratefully,
Friar John-Sebastian, O.F .M.
Secretariat to the Commissariat of the Holy Land USA
Louisiana Floods Recovery
From page 4
“We opened up the kitchen and fed about 500 people,” Father David said, add-
ing that the 20 acres around St. Margaret were fine but many of their parishioners
have suffered major flooding.
Even as the waters continued to rise, donations, in the form of cash, clothes, gift
cards, cleaning supplies and other necessities began to filter in from all over the
world. On Aug. 23, the Knights of Columbus donated $200,000 to the diocese and
another $30,000 to the Knights’ Louisiana State Council.
In an ironic twist, a tractor-trailer from the University of Alabama dropped off
a truckload of supplies at the Catholic Charities Diocese of Baton Rouge’s ware-
house.
Pilots for Patients, a Louisiana-based volunteer pilot organization, flew in three
Cessna planes loaded with supplies for the diocese to distribute.
Meek is editor and general manager of The Catholic Commentator, newspaper
of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
MS Nuns Remembrance
From page 1
The Sisters broke the loaf in half to share with their respective communities in
Milwaukee and Nazareth, Kentucky.
About 300 people gathered at St. Thomas Church the evening of Aug. 27 for
another vigil. In addition to the more than 100 people packed inside the tiny sanctu-
ary, another 200 watched a video feed from a tent on the lawn.
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson presided over the service, but Father Plata
offered a homily. He remembered the sisters as great cooks, gardeners, generous
souls and hopeful women of the Gospel.
‟As Christians, we only have one choice, to move on in hope,ˮ he said.
As the families cope with the loss of their loved ones, they also worry about the
people of Durant and Lexington.
‟A big hole in the universe and in our hearts,ˮ is how Annette Held described
losing her older sister. ‟Sister Margaret was a wonderful and gracious person,
always concerned about others and certainly the spiritual leader of the family. This
tragedy is leaving a big hole for us. We are also worried because there is no one to
carry their ministry now and that has been very important for so long for the com-
munity they lived in and for our family too. We keep wishing we knew what will
happen next at the clinic.ˮ
Rosemarie Merrill, Sister Paula’s sister and who made the trip to Mississippi
from her home in Stoneham, Massachusetts, expressed a similar concern.
‟(Sister Paula’s) faith was very strong. And she was a wonderful nurse,ˮ she
said. ‟I feel so bad for the people of Holmes County because they’ve lost so much.
The care they provided leaves a huge void. They would do anything for their
patients.ˮ
Contributing to this report were Elsa Baughman of Mississippi Catholic and
Marnie McAllister, editor of The Record, newspaper of the Archdiocese of
Louisville, Kentucky.
Smith is editor of the Mississippi Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of
Jackson.
