Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • October 15, 2021 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) October 15, 2021 Volume 39, Issue 4 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. 29 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due OCT. 21, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due OCT. 21, 10 a.m. Oct. 17 Mass, Opening of Synod Process, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 11 a.m. Oct. 18 -21 Priests’ Convocation, St. Augustine Seminary, Bay St. Louis Oct. 22 Deacons’ Convocation, St. -24 Augustine Seminary, Bay St. Louis Oct. 22 Mass, Cursillo Movement Regional Conference, Our Lady of Fatima, 6 p.m. Keynote, Our Lady of Fatima, 8 p.m. Oct. 26 St. Stanislaus School Mass & Visit, OLG Church & St. Stanislaus, 8:30 a.m. Oct. 27 Bishops’ Evangelizing Dioceses -29 Conference, Stubenville Oct. 30 Lumen Christi Awards, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 4 p.m. Oct. 31 Mass, St. Mary Parish, Gautier, 11 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Diocese of Biloxi launches dramatic new evangelization initiative with publication of ‘Missio Nostra (Our Mission)’ BY CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS Special to Gulf Pine Catholic After years of watching cultural trends in the U.S. Church and the nation overall, Bishop Louis F. Kihneman of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi came to a stark realization a few years ago. He realized that in order to survive and flourish in an increasingly secular climate, he said, the Church needs to completely change the way it does things, moving from what Bishop Kihneman calls a “culture of maintenance to one of mission.” A dramatic new evangelization initiative launched earlier this year in the Biloxi dio- cese aims to transform Catholic life in south- ern Mississippi along these lines. Called “Missio Nostra (Our Mission)” , it outlines a vision that makes active discipleship the cen- tral goal for every Catholic individual, fam- ily, parish, school and ministry. It’s a massive new undertaking that will demand buy-in from everyone in the Diocese to be effective, and will require changes in the day-to-day workings of many ministries and programs, ranging from the Rite of Christian Initiation to religious education, youth ministry and Catholic schools. However complex it might seem, how- ever, Missio Nostra is based around one of the foundations of Christianity itself: the Great Commission. This is the much-quoted excerpt fromMatthew 28:16-20 where Christ tells his apostles to go and make disciples of all nations. Evangelization, Bishop Kihneman said, is the key to the very reason the Catholic Church exists, and as a result every Catholic must make it a priority. The best way to make this happen, he said, is to make the formation of disciples an ongoing part of each person’s life in the Church. “I’ve been a priest almost 44 years and a bishop for four years, and over the years after looking at many different programs, I finally realized that with the Great Commission, Jesus is talking to us about a process, not a program,” Bishop Kihneman said in a recent interview. “Jesus is asking us four basic questions with the Commission: Are you making disciples? Are you baptiz- ing all nations? Are you teaching folks all He has commanded us, and are you teaching people that He is with us until the end of the age? Those questions have been burned into my heart over time. We really need to take a hard look at our parishes, schools, ministries and institutions and see how we are answer- ing those questions.” Ministries and programs that can’t answer those questions in the affirmative aren’t con- tributing to the healthy growth of the Church and need to change the way they are doing things in order tomake the Great Commission a priority, Bishop Kihneman said. This is especially important in light of recent statis- tics that show that more than 85 percent of Catholic youth are leaving the Church, and 75 percent of those entering the Church through the RCIA process eventually leave after five years. Bishop Kihneman worked with other leaders in the Diocese to lay out the vision for “Missio Nostra” in a comprehensive pastoral guide that is available for viewing and download on the diocesan website: biloxidiocese.org/missio-nostra. The guide includes contributions from many diocesan departments and lays out clear, concise directions on how discipleship can and should become an integral part of the daily life of the Church for individuals, families, parishes and other institutions. It describes ways parents can increase the love of the faith in their children and teach them how to share their faith with others, stresses the importance of building discipleship through strong liturgies, and lays out ways that discipleship can be promoted through youth ministry and daily communication in parishes. To combat the loss of the faithful, Missio Nostra also calls for extensive focus on meeting young people and those joining the Church where they are. SEE MISSIO NOSTRA , PAGE 8