Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • October 19, 2018 27 D iocesan B riefs Nov. 10 St. Mary, Gautier, Retreat GAUTIER -- St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Gautier is hosting a retreat, “The Limitless Love of God” on Sat., Nov. 10. The retreat will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. followed by the Vigil Mass at 5. The presenters are Magdalene Abraham and Butch Hitchins from Locus Benedictus Retreat and Spirituality Center in Greenwood, MS. The retreat will include talks and meditations on God’s Love , Praying with Scripture , the Power of Forgiveness , and Prayers of Inner Healing . The retreat is open to all 18 years and over, and there is no cost. Participants will be dismissed for the lunch break. There are area restaurants available. For more information, please contact St. Mary Parish Office, (228) 497-2364. Nov. 10 St. John the Evangelist Drawdown GULFPORT -- St. John the Evangelist Church will hold its Annual $10,000 Drawdown on Sat., Nov. 10. Doors open at 6 p.m. Please join us for great food and drinks, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes and a silent auction. Tickets are $100 and admit four adults. To purchase a ticket or for more information, please contact the Parish Office at (228) 864- 2272. Nov. 10 Krewe of St. Fabian International Fall Festival HATTISBURG -- Mark your calen- dars!! It’s time for the 3rd annual Krewe of St. Fabian International Fall Festival! Join us in the parking lot behind BancorpSouth on the corner of 98 and King Road. This fun filled event will be packed full of live music and entertain- ment with food from around the globe! There will be several food booths, arts and crafts, free children’s games, and much more!! Bring your friends and family and join us for a good time!! Mass will be held under the tent at 4 p.m. the day of the festival. All are wel- come to join! The band lineup for the festival is as follows: 5 p.m., Los Charros , Mexican band originally from Saltillo, Mexico 6 p.m., South , a New Orleans party band 7 p.m., Byrne Brothers , from Donegal, Ireland; 8:00 p.m., South ; 9 p.m., Byrne Brothers . Nov. 11 St. Patrick Open House BILOXI -- St. Patrick is educating scholars, training disciples and support- ing champions. Learn more from the faculty and staff at the St. Patrick Catholic High School Open House on Sun., Nov. 11, from 2-5 p.m. at 18300 St. Patrick Road (Biloxi). RSVP at www. stpatrickhighschool.net/openhouse. Nov. 16 EagleCatholic Raffle HATTIESBURG -- EagleCatholic: USM’s former Catholic Student Association, now EagleCatholic, fund- raising will be holding a raffle, Nov. 16, 6-9 p.m. Prizes totally $12,500 will be awarded. The grand prize is $5,000. All tickets may win multiple times. Tickets are available at the Saint Thomas Aquinas, parish office. To purchase a ticket please contact (601) 264-5192. Ticket includes admission for two, open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres and entertain- ment. It is the first time on record that a hurricane of this intensity had hit the Florida panhandle. Those who surveyed the damage to the towns in Michael’s path said the destruction appeared to them to be more like that from a tornado, as building after building had been flattened. While a Florida military base in the hurricane’s tra- jectory was evacuated and its planes flown hundreds of miles away, prisoners were not evacuated, and many of the region’s poor people found they had nowhere to go until it was too late to get out. The hurricane rose in intensity quickly before hit- ting landfall Oct. 10. Those who stayed behind may have expected Michael to remain a tropical depression. However, fueled by abnormally warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, it rose from a tropical depression to a Category 2 hurricane Oct. 9, before gaining Category 4 status early Oct. 10. As the hurricane neared, the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese posted a prayer to St. Michael on its website. “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil,” the prayer says. “May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and you, O prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast down to hell Satan and the other evil spirits, who prowl through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.” The Diocese of Venice, well south of the storm, had done likewise with a “Hurricane Prayer” that was first posted on the diocesan website, then which migrated to Twitter and retweeted. “O God, master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude. You are still the Master of land and sea,” the prayer begins. “We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control: the Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land, and spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season we turn to you, O loving Father,” it says. “Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, our beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son on our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem, where a stormless eter- nity awaits us. Amen.” Hurricane Michael From page 8 “Do we content ourselves with a few command- ments or do we follow Jesus as lovers, really prepared to leave behind something for him?” the pope asked people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, including the 267 members of the Synod of Bishops and the 34 young people who are observers at the gathering. “A heart unburdened by possessions, that freely loves the Lord, always spreads joy, that joy for which there is so much need today,” Pope Francis said. “Today Jesus invites us to return to the source of joy, which is the encounter with him, the courageous choice to risk everything to follow him, the satisfaction of leaving something behind in order to embrace his way.” Contributing to this story were Carol Glatz, Junno Arocho Esteves and Melissa Vida. Canonization Mass From page 1 Hurricane Michael Relief Catholic Charities of South Mississippi has received numerous calls to assist Hurricane Michael evac- uees with various needs while they are in our area. Monetary or gift card donations are being accepted at any local office or can be mailed to: CCSM Attn: Hurricane Relief 1450 North Street Gulfport, MS 39507. Clothing, furniture, and other material goods are not being accepted at this time. Please continue to pray for those affected by this storm.