Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • January 7, 2022 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) January 7, 2022 Volume 39, Issue 10 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 Photography: 228-201-2132 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 JAN. 21 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due JAN. 13, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due JAN. 13, 10 a.m. Jan. 9-13 Region V Bishop’s Retreat, Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center Jan. 18 School Visit & Mass, Our Lady Academy, Our Lady of the Gulf Church, Bay St. Louis, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 20 School Visit & Mass, Resurrection Elementary School, Sacred Heart Church, Pascagoula, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26 School Visit & Mass, Holy Trinity Elementary School, Our Lady of the Gulf Church, Bay St. Louis, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 28 School Visit & Mass, St. James Elementary School, St. James Church, Gulfport, 8:30 a.m. BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:12-17). In Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, he calls us “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,” and that is who we are! Every single one of us who are baptized in Christ Jesus; we are God’s chosen ones. What a Bishop Kihneman We are Family -- God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved ner are both beautiful ways for families to pray together. Reading and contemplating the Word of God together is another way to enhance family prayer time and grow your personal relationship with Jesus. The truth of the Word of God that we proclaim at church is brought into our homes and hearts so that the Word of God can abide in us wherever we may be. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16a). We are family together, and together hear His call to holiness and to share His love. As families in our modern world, we will have moments when our selfishness comes out. It is then that we are invited to grow and “let the peace of Christ control [our] hearts” (Col. 3:15a). I was visiting a family many years ago at Christmas. It was a very good visit and they were a very close family. You could tell that the gift of a video game was going to be a problem because all the kids wanted to play with that game. The game belonged to one of them, and back then, there were only two controllers. The inevi- table happened. We heard squabbling back and forth from upstairs. Then one of the kids comes flying down the stairs, angry and upset. “They won’t let me play!” he said. “Why not?” his parents asked. “Because I’m too slow,” he responded. “I haven’t figured it out yet.” The parents went upstairs and were able, with some “gentleness and patience,” to broker peace and forgiveness among the children. Not all discord within our families are as simple as kids arguing over who gets to play with a beloved toy. When we pray together as a family, and allow the peace of Christ to enter our relationships, we are able to overcome the challenges and difficulties as a family of God. Even in the midst of our struggles, we are called to be a holy family together. We are called as married couples, as single people, as divorced couples, as widowed, as clergy, as Religious -- we are all called to be part of the Holy Family. Through our baptisms, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, marked as “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Col. 3:12a). We are part of the Holy Family of God and we bring into this New Year the invitation to let the love of that first Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, to pour over us and fill us with the strength we need to be witnesses to Christ. “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). Happy New Year! Prayers and Blessings to all! SEE BISHOP’S MESSAGE IN SPANISH, PAGE 4 gift! St. Paul tells us that we are holy and beloved by God. The invitation to all of us, personally and within our families, is to live as His chosen ones and to be a people who strive to grow in faith and holiness “with gratitude in [our] hearts to God” (Col. 3:16b). The images we see of the Holy Family -- from their journey to Bethlehem, the Nativity scene, the Flight into Egypt, and others, show us tranquil faces of an ideal family who seem totally at peace with each other and who share perfect love, but the suf- fering and challenges they faced were very real. This idealized image can make us think that we cannot achieve holiness and perfec- tion in our own lives and families with our own suffering and challenges. It can be hard for us to envision ourselves in this ‘perfect’ way due to our failings, shortcomings, and situations. Would you call your family per- fect or holy right now in your present cir- cumstances? Saint Paul reminds us to “put on love, that is, the bond of perfection” (Col. 3:14). Let us foster love and service ren- dered in the Lord so that we can become another Christ in our families with “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another” (Col 3:12b). How do we begin? We start with our prayer life, individually and together as couples and families. Praying the Rosary together and mealtime prayer that includes reflection and discussion over din-