Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • November 26, 2021 8 The Official 2022 Directory of the Diocese of Biloxi $10 Place Your Order Now! To receive your copies, you must pre-order. Deadline for pre-orders Dec. 20, 2021. Delivery January 2022! Directory includes information about diocesan ministries and services, parishes, Mass schedules, schools, priests, deacons, seminarians, sisters, and brothers. Mail coupon & check to: Gulf Pine Catholic, 1790 Popps Ferry Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532 NAME _____________________________________________________ ADDRESS __________________________________________________ CITY________________________ STATE_________ ZIP___________ No. of directories ordered _______ Amount enclosed______ Make checks ($10 per directory) payable to: Gulf Pine Catholic clip & mail # 11-26-21 Additional sponsor of the 2021 Respect Life supplement: The Gulf Pine Catholic staff & the people of the Diocese of Biloxi applaud the Knights of Columbus’ educational efforts to promote the respect & dignity of the human person. Council #9094, D’Iberville “Holy Bible.” Are we really a people of the Word of God? Do we read or listen to and pray with the Scripture? As Roman Catholics, we have a tendency to leave the Bible to hearing it read during Mass. We were very good at reading and studying the Scripture in the first years of the Church, but as individuals we have not focused on Scripture study for the past 50 years. We have to get back to reading the Word of God and letting God speak to us through his Word. Lectio Divina and Imaginative or Ignatian Prayer are wonderful ways to let the Scriptures speak to us. “Fasting.” Do we Fast and do penance and allow God to come into our lives in a new and fresh way? Our Lady invites us to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. We can fast from food, the internet, television, social media, or another method of fasting that will help us deepen our spiritual lives and bring us closer to those we love, especially Our Lord. Penance is an integral part of reconciliation. In Medjugorje, we climbed Cross Mountain and prayed the Stations of the Cross all the way to the top of the mountain. We brought with us our prayer intentions to the cross on top of the mountain, which has a relic of the True Cross inside it. Then we brought the intentions to St. James Parish Church in Medjugorje. “Confession.” Do we bring all our sins to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and seek His forgive- ness? Do we make time and space for God in our lives? Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation can be a powerful healing moment in our lives, and for the pil- grims that travel to Medjugorje, it is a prominent part of healing. As many as 80 confessionals are around the exterior of the Church, where priests who speak many different languages give all pilgrims a chance for con- version and healing. As part of the healing process, we celebrated Mass and blessed throats at St. Blaise Church in Dubrovnik. In Divine Mercy Church, located in a village near Medjugorje, we anointed the sick and had a healing service after celebrating Mass. The invitation to follow Jesus is personal. Jesus looks upon every single one of us in love and says to us, “Follow me.” On the way, we get to meet His Mother. On the way, we get to meet His apostles. On the way, we get to meet His saints. On the way, we get to meet all the martyrs that have gone before us. On the way, we get to meet the cloud of witnesses that are before the Lord and they say to us Follow Him and be loved by Him. On our pilgrimage, we were able to visit the conference at Cenacolo, which is for young men suffering from serious addictions. They witnessed to us their stories of conversion and how the Lord is working in their lives through prayer, the sacraments, work, pen- ance, sacrifice, and through a community that chal- lenges them to the truth. These young men have made the decision to follow the Lord while carrying the heavy cross of addiction and recovery. In St. Mark’s Gospel, the young man went away sad because he had a lot of wealth and so he went home. I have often wondered, if, when he got back to his house with all of his wealth and possessions, he realized that he was missing something, and that the invitation from our Lord was an invitation of deep love? Did he change his mind -- and for each of us who receive that same invitation -- have we changed our lives through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance, Prayer/ Rosary, Fasting, Scripture, and by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist? SEE BISHOP’S SPANISH MESSAGE, PAGE 4 Bishop’s Message From page 3 Pray for all those who are suffering from the results of hurricanes, earthquakes, Covid and war. Pray for peace on earth!