Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 5, 2019 23 Diocesan Events From page 2 The winning tickets will be drawn at this year’s Uncorked and Uncapped Beer and Wine Tasting event, held at our Sacred Heart Center on May 11. If you are present at it and win, you will receive extra spending money at $1,000 for the European cruise, $300 for the New York trip or $100 for the New Orleans weekend. May 11 7th Annual Uncorked and Uncapped Beer & Wine Tasting BILOXI -- Nativity BVM Cathedral will host its 7th annual Uncorked & Uncapped Craft Beer and Wine Tasting in the Sacred Heart Center. The event will fea- ture an expansive silent auction, food, an assortment of craft beer and wine, and live music. Prices for the tick- ets are: $50 for 1 ticket, $90 for two tickets or $450 for a table of 10. Tickets are now available. May 18 Raffle and Family Fun Day BILOXI -- Take a chance and win some great prizes at the Blessed Seelos’ Raffle and Family Fun Day, Sat., May 18, 3-6:30 p.m., which include ten $100 restaurant gift certificates, vacation packages, a 45” T.V., 50 pound 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. June 7-15 Silent Ignatian Directed Retreats at Spring Hill College MOBILE, AL -- As part of the Summer Institute of Christian Spirituality, Spring Hill College will offer individually directed silent retreats following the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius on our 380-acre campus in Mobile, AL. Participants may register for either three, five or eight full days of retreat. The eight-day retreat begins with a short orientation on Fri., June 7, 7:30 p.m. and ends after lunch Sat., June 15. Eight-day retreatants will begin their first full retreat day on June 8. Five- and three-day retreats may be taken for any five or three consecutive days during this time period; retreatants should arrive for the orientation session on the previous evening at 7 p.m. Directors will be staff and graduates of Spring Hill’s Certificate of Spiritual Direction program. Retreatants will be housed in single occupancy rooms; three meals are provided each full day of the retreat. In the words of one of the recent directors, the silent Ignatian directed retreat offers “the opportunity to be refreshed with a renewed balance, centered in God, and to set priorities that nurture one’s true self, found in God. As a retreat director, it has been a great joy for me to witness God’s presence and loving touch in the lives of retreatants.” Visit www.shc.edu/sics for registration information. June 10 Financial Peace University is coming! PERKINSTON -- Having issues with spending and saving? Need help developing a budget, or saving for retirement? Are you tired of all the monthly debt pay- ments? Need to save for your kids’ college? Do you wish you could give more? Dave Ramsey’s FPU class addresses these concerns and much more. The class will be offered at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church, Perkinston, on Mon. nights at 6 p.m. starting Mon. June 10; there are nine total lessons. The class is open to parishioners and non-parishioners. Cost is about $110/family. Contact Ed Brennan at (228) 234- 7601 for details To register: visit https://fpu.com/1088069. You can purchase a kit at that time if you need one. Abigail Wiest, a junior at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Hattiesburg has scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. Abigail is the daughter of Dr. Andrew and Jill Wiest of Hattiesburg. Wiest is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Beta Club and NSHSS. She also participates in varsity cheer, basketball and softball. Also, she holds three state titles in “National History Day”, and her winning docu- mentary has been published in the International Journal of Naval History . Weist is a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Rick Muli, her dual credit college algebra teacher said, “In my 42 years of teaching, I have been blessed to have a few truly superior students. Abigail ranks right up there… dedicated, interested, and extremely diligent. She continues to make me proud.” Steven Miller, her Algebra three (3) teacher com- mented: “Abigail is the student epitome of how hard work and dedication pays off. She absolutely deserves the 36 and any other successes that come her way. I am incredibly proud of her, and I am blessed to have taught her!” Wiest Wiest scores a 36 on ACT Mother Teresa said the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, the cry of the innocent unborn. Abortion is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child. So, what can we do? First and fore- most, we must dare to speak out. We must be mindful that silence is consent. As Catholics, we must strive to change the hearts and minds of people though prayer, education, and God’s grace. We must pray for the miraculous conversion of minds to choose life over death. How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? We must persuade her with love and by offer- ing support. We must fight abortion by spreading the word that “Adoption is the Option”. We must continue to march for the right to life until protection of the weak and most vulnerable is the law of this land. The response to our mission for these billboards has been overwhelming! Our original goal was $23,000 for the two billboards on Interstate 10. We collected $25,365 from the generous parishioners of St. James Parish and from Our Lady of Fatima Parish. We are now trying to raise enough money to spread our mes- sage on two digital billboards on Highway 90. If you would like to donate for two digital bill- boards on Highway 90, please send a check to St. James Catholic Church, 366 Cowan Road, Gulfport, MS 39507; Our Lady of Fatima Church, 2090 Pass Road, Biloxi, MS 39531; or Sacred Heart Church, 10446 Lemoyne Blvd, D’Iberville, MS 39540. Please put the words “Pro-Life” in the memo line of the check. All donations are tax deductible. If you would like to be part of the Pro-Life Ministry and donate your time and/ or talents to protecting the life of the unborn, please contact any of the three churches, and leave your name and number. If your church would like to have someone speak about this worthy cause, please contact Our Lady of Fatima Parish Office at (228) 388-3887. The cry of the unborn is getting louder. With your help and with God’s grace, we will WIN in the fight for life. Billboards From page 9 CFR Franciscan Father Gabriel Bakkar of New Jersey, standing, left, talks to participants meeting in small groups during the ‘Spiritual Bootcamp” held March 22-24 at St. Thomas Aquinas in Hattiesburg. The event was co-hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas Church, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) and Eagle Catholic. The focus of the three-day event was third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Father Bakkar said he hoped the programming offered through the sessions would “stir the flames of the gift of the holy spirit, and to help those taking part remember how each of us are called to be faithful and vibrant instruments of the Lord.” Photo/David Tisdale St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Hattiesburg