Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 9, 2018 23 D iocesan E vents ( cont . from P age 2) 2018 Peter Claver Scholarships BILOXI -- The Knights and Ladies Council and Court #25 of St. Peter Claver are again announcing their 2018 scholarships. Applications can be picked up from Our Mother of Sorrows church office or any Knight or Lady and must be mailed in no later than March 26. For more info, contact Lady Judy Polk, (228) 396-3868, text Lady Denise Bovastro, (228) 235-3132, or church office (228) 435-0007. March 23-25 41st Annual Youth Convention BILOXI -- This year will be the 41st Annual Youth Convention held at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum March 23-25th. Youth groups from all the par- ishes within the Biloxi Diocese will come together to celebrate their faith through community, Mass, keynote speakers, and worship. The Diocesan Spirit Movers (tenth-twelvth grade peer ministry team) have planned the theme Alive , prepared activities, and will be the masters of ceremonies. Target age group for the youth celebration is ninth-twelvth grade. Youth in sixth-eighth grades may also participate by attending the junior high rally from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, at the Coliseum. Anyone interested in attending the convention or youth rally may call the office of Youth Ministry at (228) 702-2141/2142 for more information. April 2 Catholics Returning Home at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish LONG BEACH -- St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Long Beach has a special program to help non-prac- ticing Catholics return to the Church entitled “Catholics Returning Home.” The next series begins April 2 upstairs in the administration building at 6:30 p.m. for 6 weeks. Please pass this article on to anyone who might be interested. For more information, call Cindy Vogt, Catholics Returning Home coordinator, (228) 860-5250, cynanne6@yahoo.com . April 8 Divine Mercy Sunday BAY ST. LOUIS -- Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, April 8, at Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis. Multiple priests will be available for Confession from 2-3 p.m. followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet. Fr. Michael O’Connor will then officiate at a solemn blessing of the Image of Divine Mercy and Holy Mass. The ceremony will conclude with ven- eration of the Image. “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion (on this day) shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary 699) April 13-15 Most Holy Trinity Spring Fest PASS CHRISTIAN -- Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church Spring Fest will take place April 13-15 on the church grounds, 9062 Kiln- Delisle Road. There will be rides, bands, vendors, food, crawfish, a car show and Corn Hole For more information, call (228) 669-7119. Our Facebook is Most Holy Trinity Spring Fest. April 21 Shamrockin’ the Coast BILOXI -- St. Patrick Catholic High School will host its 11th annual Shamrockin’ Party and Auction to be held at the Golden Nugget Casino on Saturday, April 21. More information on tickets will be coming soon. This is a casual evening of delicious food, good music, enticing auction items, and fun fellowship among friends. Proceeds from the event will help expand technology at St. Patrick. April 27 OLA Crescent Crawfish Boil BAY ST. LOUIS -- Our Lady Academy will hold its 6th Annual Crescent Crawfish Boil Fundraiser on April 27 at Our Lady of the Gulf Community Center at 7 p.m. There will be live entertainment, an OLA tuition raffle (valued at $6,000) or $3,000 cash, theme basket raffle and a silent auction. Tickets are $75 for two guests. Please contact Leigh Chapman at (228) 467- 7048 or leigh.chapman@ourladyacade- my.com for more information or to pur- chase tickets. April 28 Raffle and Family Fun Day BILOXI -- Raffle and Family Fun Day at Blessed Seelos, Sat., April 28, 3-6:30 p.m. Take a chance and win some great prizes which include 10 $100 res- taurant gift certificates, vacation pack- ages, a 43” TV, 50 lbs. of shrimp, and cash! Tickets are $10 each. The drawings will be held at 6 p.m. Food, drinks and family fun for everyone! Please call Tommy Boney at (228) 860-5077. April 28 St. James School Bayou Bash GULFPORT -- St. James Catholic School’s Bayou Bash will be held April 28 at the Bayou Bluff Tennis Club. Raffle yickets are $100 and admit two adults. There will be bingo, delicious food and live music by the Myles Sharp Band . Raffle prizes include a 2017 Mazda CX-5 SUV, a year of free tuition, a three-night stay at a beautiful beach house near Seaside, FL, four Saints tick- ets and a six-hour limousine ride and $1,000 cash. Tickets can be picked up from the church office, school office or any St. James parent. Vatican trains exorcists as demonic possession claims rise ROME, ITALY ( CNA ) -- With reported demonic possessions on the rise in Italy, the Vatican is hosting a weeklong training to better prepare exorcists for minis- try. Catholic leaders have said that the country needs more exorcists, and better training. “Today we are at a stage crucial in history: many Christians no longer believe in [the devil’s] existence, few exorcists are appointed and there are no more young priests willing to learn,” said one of the event’s speakers, exorcist Father Cesare Truqui, according to Vatican News . An exorcism course will be held at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome from April 16-21. The training will focus on exorcism and the prayer of liberation, a prayer commonly used for deliv- erance from possession. The event “is to offer a rich reflection and articu- lated on a topic that is sometimes unspoken and contro- versial,” Father Benigno Palilla, an exorcist from Sicily, told Vatican Radio on February 22. Palilla told Vatican Radio that there are 500,000 alleged cases of demonic possession or activity in Italy annually. He said demonic possession claims have tripled in recent years and attributed the rise in demonic activity to an increased use of fortune tellers and tarot cards. He also said that many alleged possessions are actu- ally psychological issues, highlighting the need for well-trained and discerning exorcists. Palilla said those facing the demonic are in need of the prayers of all Catholics. “The demoniacs are the existential peripheries to which Pope Francis drives us. They are people who suffer a lot and, unfortunately, are not included in the registry of the Church,” he said. Father Palilla said there is a lack of formation in the church to prepare priests in this essential ministry. “We priests, very often, do not know how to deal with the concrete cases presented to us: in the prepara- tion for the priesthood, we do not talk about these things. And, consequently, a true evangelization is lack- ing.” This has to be overcome by more than just an increase in available priests appointed by the bishops, he said, but must have an increase in exorcism appren- tice programs. “A self-taught exorcist certainly makes errors. I will say more: it would also take a period of apprenticeship, as happens for many professionals.”