Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 28, 2023 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) April 28, 2023 Volume 40, Issue 18 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 MAY 12 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due MAY 4, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due MAY 4, 10 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule April 28-30 Equestrian Order of Holy Sepulchre, Atlanta, GA April 29 Chaplains’ Meeting, Knights of Columbus Convention, 9:30 am May 2 Confirmation, Hispanic Community, Sacred Heart Parish, Hattiesburg, 6 p.m. May 4 Confirmation, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Biloxi, 6 p.m. May 5 Deacon Retreat -- Rescue Project, Our Lady of Hope Retreat Center, 5 p.m. May 6 Confirmation, Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Biloxi, 5 p.m. May 7 Confirmation, St. Michael Parish, Biloxi, 10 a.m. May 9 Confirmation, Sacred Heart Parish, D’Iberville, 6 p.m. May 11 Graduation, Sacred Heart High School, Hattiesburg, 6 p.m. May 12 Graduation, St. Patrick High School, Biloxi, 5 p.m. May 14 Rite to Candidacy Seminarians Chris Collins and Jacob Lott and Rite of Lector, PJ Necaise, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, 11 a.m. BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of Biloxi “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” (John 10:1-4) My motto, chosen after I received the call from the Apostolic Nuncio telling me that Pope Francis had chosen me to be the Bishop of Biloxi, is “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This is of course, Psalm 23, but the Scripture that touched my heart to choose this motto is John 10:1-21, The Good Shepherd . When you read John 10:1-4 quoted above, what stirs you in this reading? It makes me think of the voices we hear daily. Who are the voices you and your family listen to most frequently, who would be on your list? Whose voice are you and your family members listening to? Do you know who and what your children are listening to? Being able to recognize our Shepherd’s Bishop Kihneman The voice of the Good Shepherd As we enter into John’s Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter and Jesus says to us, “the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers” (John 10:3b-5, emphasis added). The dilemma has become for many of us, perhaps especially young people because they have grown up always having social media, that we listen to the voices of the world so often that we follow the stranger instead of our Good Shepherd! These are truly voices of strangers that we do not know and that cannot know us or care for us. We no longer run away from the “stranger”, instead, we believe them as if they are from someone we can trust. Our familiarity with voices of this world has drowned out for many the voice of our Good Shepherd. Many of us follow the voice of these strangers rather than our Lord. In order for us to know when our true Shepherd speaks to us, we begin by listening daily in prayer. This takes practice. We must read His word, we must give Him time to speak to us, and we must listen to Him when He speaks. In addition to listening to the Word of God at Mass, we should set time apart and read and/or listen to Scripture daily. One of my favorite ways to pray with Scripture is to read or listen to a passage of Scripture several times, and between each reading choose what stands out to me, whether a word or phrase or image, and then I contemplate the word, phrase, or image. What do I think the Lord is saying to me, and how do I respond to His Word? This Lectio Divina prayer form can be done individually, as a couple, and/or as a family. We often use this form of prayer at the beginning of meetings at the Chancery. I have observed so often that it seems it must be common that people who eat a meal together are not sharing themselves or their time with each other. They are gathered around the table and are either looking at their phones, or if there is a television in the room, it has everyone’s attention. I have witnessed people who are sitting at the same table together texting rather than speaking to each other. We should allow Christ to touch our lives through our interactions with one another. SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN, PAGE 7 voice takes some work on our part. It is difficult to hear His voice when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the voices of the world, a reality that is hostile to our faith and hostile to a life rooted in Christ. These voices are no longer “outside” as they were when I was growing up to be met when we walked out the doors of our homes to face the world, but they are in our living rooms, in our bedrooms, in our hands, and in our earbuds.