Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • December 9, 2022 11 Collection: December 10-11 Elderly religious need your help. Like those pictured, nearly 25,000 senior sisters, brothers, and religious order priests have devoted their lives to prayer and ministry-educating the young, tending the sick, aiding the needy, and more. Yet years of serving for little or no pay have left a profound shortage in retirement savings. Your support of the Retirement Fund for Religious helps furnish care, medicine, and other necessities. Please give generously. Please give at your local parish. Visit retiredreligious.org/2022photos to meet the religious pictured. © 2022 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. • All rights reserved • Photo: Jim Judkis Give generously in your parish collection, or send donation to: Retirement Fund for Religious c/o Diocese of Biloxi 1790 Popps Ferry Rd. Biloxi, MS 39532 A small portion of collection pays for this advertisement. retiredreligious.org “I have the unique perspective of not only work- ing with Linda as a catechist but also as a parent,” Grieg said. “As a catechist, Linda always supported us. She always made sure that we knew that we were appreciated. Her thoughtful Christmas gifts always brought a smile. She made sure that we had the mate- rials we needed to teach the children about our beauti- ful faith. I have grown so much as a Catholic since I became a catechist working with her. “As a parent, Linda has my heart. You could tell that she loved the children and that she cared a great deal about their faith formation. She showed my fam- ily so much love. As my daughter received her Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, Linda surprised me by asking what I thought about my spe- cial needs son doing the same. It had been something that had been on my mind and in my heart, so the following year, she made it happen.” Oster said Holtorf’s unwavering commitment to her students was always reassuring to him. “She greeted them, welcomed them as they arrived on Wednesday evenings, and watched over them after- ward until their parents picked them up,” he said. “She also had her own children in the same age group as ours, so it was a source of strength to know that she and (Linda’s husband) Ron understood the tempta- tions out there for this generation and the challenges that parents face.” Inspired by the lessons of her own faith journey, Holtorf poured all of herself into her work. “I was motivated to give them as much as we could give them, plus I didn’t want them to experi- ence that break in faith like I did,” she said. “I didn’t want them to miss out on anything – and whenever parents asked for suggestions on how to reinforce or extend our instruction and programing outside the classroom, I was able to provide guidance. “The Catholic faith is such a beautiful faith,” she explained. “We’ve got structure and scripture, tradi- tions, and encounters through our own faith journey. In fact, we started concentrating the last three years on encounters with Christ.” Though she is retiring, Holtorf will continue to serve her parish in other ways. “I’ve still got a foot in the door” she said, noting she will continue to serve on the parish’s Bereavement Committee, as a Eucharistic minister, a facilitator for a Credo class, and as a volunteer cook for the meals a group of parishioners provide for the homeless. Previously, she also served on the Synod Committee for both the diocese and the parish, among other roles. Retired DRE From page 10 From the staff of the Gulf Pine Catholic, have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!