Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • October 1 2021 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) October 1, 2021 Volume 39, Issue 3 The GULF PINE CATHOLIC , published every other week, is an official publication of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi. Editorial offices are located at 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532. Periodical postage paid at Gulfport, MS. —POSTMASTER— Send address changes to: The GULF PINE CATHOLIC 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 —PUBLISHER— Most Rev. Louis F. Kihneman —EDITOR— Terry Dickson —PRODUCTION/ ADVERTISING — Shirley M c Cusker —CIRCULATION— Aimee McLendon —PHOTOGRAPHY— Juliana Skelton —OFFICEHOURS— 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday —PHONE NUMBERS— Editor: 228-702-2126 Production/Advertising: 228-702-2109 Circulation: 228-702-2127 FAX: 228-702-2128 —EMAIL— News: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org Production / Advertising: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Circulation: amclendon@biloxidiocese.org Photography: jskelton@biloxidiocese.org —OFFICEAND MAILINGADDRESS — 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 —WEBSITE— www.biloxidiocese.org —SUBSCRIPTIONS — Subscription rate is $18 per year. When changing address, renewing or inquiring about a subscription, customer should include a recent address label with old address and new address. Allow three weeks for changes of address. —DEADLINES for OCT. 15 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due OCT. 7, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due OCT. 7, 10 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Oct. 3 100th Anniversary Mass, Sacred Heart Parish, D’Iberville, 11 a.m. Oct. 5-13 Medjugorje Pilgrimage Oct. 14 Seminary Board Meetings, Notre Dame Seminary, 10 a.m. Oct. 17 Mass, Opening of Synod Process, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 11 a.m. BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi The next general assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be held at the Vatican in October 2023. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for the gathering is: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.” In May, the Holy Father announced a revi- sion to the synod process to allow for wide- spread consultations with laypeople on the diocesan level. The pope will formally open the synod process at the Vatican Oct. 9-10 and the bish- op of every diocese will open the process in his diocese on Oct. 17. I will officially open the diocesan phase of the synod that day at the 11 a.m. Mass at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral. If you are unable to attend, you can watch the Mass via livestreaming through the Diocese of Biloxi’s YouTube page. The Mass will also be simulcast on our Facebook page. The diocesan phase will go through April 2022. On the front page of this issue of the Gulf Pine Catholic , you will find a story from Catholic News Service that provides a general outline of the synodal process. On the local level, we are beginning to assemble a team of clergy, religious and laity that will help to define what the diocesan phase of the synod will look like going forward. We will provide updates on how the process is unfolding in the Gulf Pine Catholic , on our diocesan website (www.biloxidiocese.org) and on our social Bishop Kihneman For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission the Church, being the household of God as the Family of God as an evangelizing community which includes listening and accompaniment together, walking with one another, and dis- cerning the Spirit to grow in love and Joy as a people of the Eucharist. Let us pray for an overflow of the Spirit to be able to evangelize all and to interpret the movement of the Spirit in the midst of challenges and difficulties. Let us pray for the success of the synod. The Vatican recommends the following prayer: Prayer for the Synod: Adsumus Sancte Spiritus Every session of the Second Vatican Council began with the prayer Adsumus Sancte Spiritus , the first word of the original Latin, meaning, “We stand before You, Holy Spirit,” which has been historically used at Councils, Synods and other Church gather- ings for hundreds of years, and is attributed to Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560-4 April 636). As we embrace this Synodal Process, this prayer invites the Holy Spirit to be at work in us so that we may be a community and a people of grace. For the Synodal journey from 2021 to 2023, we propose to the following simplified version, [1] so that any group or liturgical assembly can pray it more easily. We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name. With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen. SEE SPANISH TRANSLATION, PAGE 4 media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter , and in direct communications with our parishes, schools and other institutions. What is a synod? It’s a meeting of bishops from all over the world established by Pope Paul VI in his apostolic letter, Apostolica Sollicitudo , on September 15, 1965, in response to the desire of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council to discuss doctrinal or pastoral matters. Synods offer suggestions to the pope, which may or may not become official teachings at a later time. Literally speaking the word “synod,” derived from two Greek words syn meaning “together” and hodos meaning “road” or “way,” means a “coming together.” During Pope Francis’s tenure in office, he has convened synods on the family, youth and, most recently, one focusing on the Church in the Pan-Amazon region. This synod will be an introspection of sorts in that it will examine the synodal process. As Pope Francis so eloquently states, “The Synodal Church restores the horizon from which the sun Christ rises: erecting hierarchical monuments means covering it. The shepherds walk with the people: we shepherds walk with the people, sometimes in front, sometimes in the middle, sometimes behind. The good shepherd must move like this: in front to guide, in the middle to encourage and not to forget the smell of the flock, behind because the people also have a ‘nose.’ He has a nose for finding new ways for the journey, or for finding the lost road.” Just as the shepherd walks with the peo- ple, we are called to walk with one another, to accompany one another as we fulfill our mis- sion mandated in Matthew 28: To Go and Make Disciples . This is a pivotal moment for