Gulf Pine Catholic

2 Gulf Pine Catholic • December 25, 2020 D IOCESAN E VENTS Jan. 7 An Hour of Grace BILOXI -- BILOXI -- Blessed Seelos Church will host an Hour of Grace Thur., Jan. 7, at 6 p.m. During Hour of Grace, we adore His presence and open ourselves to His Graces which flow from the Eucharist. Abandon yourself to Jesus in this “Sacrament of Love.” He will refresh you! The more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will come away feeling renewed and healed! We will continue to follow the “safe distancing” policy. Please wear your mask while in church. For more information, please call (228) 435-0007. Jan. 14 Jeff Cavins Story of Salvation Bible Study (Online) Online or by phone: Want to learn more about the Bible? Beginning Thurs., Jan. 14, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., you are invited to join an informal, informative, easy-to-understand and well-delivered DVD presentation of the 12 periods of the Bible. You will learn how to read and understand the Bible in a way that will transform your life! Even if you miss a session, you will be able to access the materials and stay current on your own time. To register and for more informa- tion, email wanda.biblestudies@gmail. com (Wanda Freeland) Feb. 4 Jesus: The Way, the Truth and the Life (Jeff Cavins and others) (Online) Online or by phone: Seeking a deeper experience this Lent? Come join us for this study beginning Thurs., Feb. 4, 2021, 10-11:30 a.m. Filmed on loca- tion in the Holy Land, you will encoun- ter Jesus in a way that will inspire and empower your entire life as you come to know Him and love Him in a more inti- mate and personal way. Even if you miss a session, you will be able to access the materials and stay current on your own time. To register and for more informa- tion, email wanda.biblestudies@gmail. com VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ap- pealing for a worldwide commit- ment to initiating a “culture of care” for one another and for the environ- ment, Pope Francis again called on nations to divert money from their military budgets to create a global fund to end hunger and promote development in the world’s poorest nations. “How many resources are spent on weaponry, especially nuclear weapons, that could be used for more significant priorities such as ensuring the safety of individuals, the promotion of peace and integral human develop- ment, the fight against poverty and the provision of health care,” he wrote in his message for World Peace Day 2021. The Catholic Church celebrates World Peace Day Jan. 1; the pope’s message, which will be distributed to heads of state and government around the world, was released by the Vatican Dec. 17. The theme the pope chose for the 2021 celebration was: “A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace.” Pope Francis had suggested the idea of a global fund using money diverted from spending on weaponry in his encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship.” In the document, released in early Octo- ber, he had written: “With the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favor de- velopment in the most impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not resort to violent or illusory solu- tions, or have to leave their countries in order to seek a more dignified life.” In his peace day message, the pope said the CO- VID-19 pandemic had aggravated “deeply interrelated crises like those of climate, food, the economy and mi- gration” and caused “great suffering and hardship” for millions of people around the world. Along with inspiring examples of selfless and gener- ous assistance to others, especially on the part of health care and other “essential workers,” Pope Francis said, the pandemic also brought “a surge in various forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and wars and conflicts that bring only death and destruction in their wake.” Working for the common good with a special com- mitment to helping the poor is part of a “culture of care” that can bring peace, stability and greater prosperity to all, he wrote. And it is the only way “to combat the cul- ture of indifference, waste and confrontation so preva- lent in our time.” The Catholic Church’s long history of defending human dignity and offering concrete assistance to in- dividuals and communities, he said, led to the develop- ment of its social teaching, which elaborates a series of “principles, criteria and proposals that can serve as a ‘grammar’ of care: commitment to promoting the dig- nity of each human person, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, the pursuit of the common good and con- cern for protection of creation.” “When the barque of humanity, tossed by the storm of the current crisis, struggles to advance toward a calmer and more serene horizon,” he wrote, “the ‘rud- der’ of human dignity and the ‘compass’ of fundamental social principles can enable us together to steer a sure course.” Those principles, the pope said, insist that each hu- man being has rights and duties, that no person is dis- cardable, that no one can thrive alone without harm- ing others and that everyone has a claim on the goods needed to live a dignified life. “Consequently, our plans and projects should al- ways take into account their effects on the entire human family and consider their consequences for the present and for coming generations,” he wrote. Solidarity is a central aspect of a “culture of care,” a consequence of recognizing the human dignity of oth- ers and is an essential component of building lasting peace, the pope said: “solidarity concretely expresses our love for others, not as a vague sentiment but as a ‘firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.’” Echoing many of the themes presented in “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis said an attitude of solidarity sees other people not as obstacles or means to an end but “as our neighbors, companions on our journey, called like ourselves to partake of the banquet of life to which all are equally invited by God.” Presenting the pope’s message during an online news conference, Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said, “To care is to know how to value, that is, to rec- ognize the individual as a person with dignity that must be cared for” and whose access to the basic necessities is guaranteed “because the goods of creation are meant for all.” Christine Jeangey, an official at the dicastery, told reporters human dignity includes “the right of access to health care, which is as much a corollary of the right to life as the right to food and drinkable water; the right to work, decent working conditions and social security; the right to adequate housing; and the right to quality education, based on the recognition and appreciation of the dignity of each human person and the rights that flow from it, which is one of the pillars of democratic societies.” Pope again calls for diverting funds from weapons to fighting hunger Pope Francis The Holy Father Speaks