Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • June 23, 2023 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) June 23, 2023 Volume 40, Issue 22 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 JULY 7 EDITION— News copy and photos: Due JUNE 28, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due APRIL 28, 10 a.m. June 29 Finance Council Meeting, Pastoral Center, Biloxi, 2 p.m. July 1-8 Retreat Bishop Kihneman Eucharistic Revival -- The Year of the Parish (Part 2) -- Invigorating Worship BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of Biloxi Our Sunday Liturgies, our Masses, and other forms of worship, are an encounter with Jesus Christ and are critical to the life of our faith and to our community of faith. They should communicate our values as the Body of Christ and should lead us all into falling in love with the Eucharist, Jesus. When we celebrate the Most Holy Eucharist, in addition to bringing ourselves and our families, Jesus also asks us to bring our neighbor. During the Eucharistic Revival, we are particularly asked to invite/bring a fallen away Catholic back to Mass ! I ask you inten- tionally pray about this and ask the Lord to reveal the person He wants you to invite back to Mass, and then invite them! The cel- ebration of the Eucharist is meant to be such an encounter with Jesus Christ and His Church that not only do we want to share His love, but we cannot help but share it. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, we began the Year of the Parish as part of the National Eucharistic Revival . Many parishes and mis- sions held Eucharistic Processions to herald the year and bring the truth to parishioners and our communities of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. One of the areas of focus for the Year of the Parish is to foster Eucharistic devotion among parishioners through reinvigorating our worship. You can help with the reinvigo- ration of worship in your parish by your participation. The laity are not spectators at Mass and we all must do our part. The responsibility does not only belong to our priests and deacons. You ask, “What can I do to reinvigorate worship at my parish?” All of us are called to form a welcoming community in our par- ishes, missions, chapels, and schools. During our drive to church, engage in prayer and include anyone riding with you to begin to prepare ourselves for Mass. A welcoming atmosphere can begin sim- ply with hospitality. We start in the parking lot before we even enter the church, we can share a smile and word of welcome at the entrance of the church, we can lend a hand to parents with little ones or someone with mobility challenges, we sing and pray out loud the parts of the Mass, we attentively listen to the Word of God and the Homily, we show reverence and truly participate during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, remain in church through the final blessing and send- ing, and then we continue with our fellow- ship after Mass and our return to the parking lot. These encounters help form an environ- ment where people want to return to experi- ence the love of God made visible through our actions. Music is a large part of our worship of our Lord. St. Augustine said, “The one who sings prays twice.” One of the joys of being your bishop is celebrating Masses at the dif- ferent parishes. Good music that is reverent and inspiring significantly enhances the wor- ship experience. Children’s choirs are a par- ticular blessing and when children raise their voices in worship, it is pure joy! A small parish or mission may not have the resources of a musician or large choir, but voices raised in worship together a cappella are beautiful when the whole congregation participates, no matter the size. Beauty is an instant draw to our senses, and in addition to the beauty found in music, a beautiful space that is suited to sacred cel- ebration can also be part of our worship, and the faithful are usually a big part of keeping our worship space clean and beautiful: “The tradition of decorating or not decorating the church for liturgical seasons and feasts heightens the awareness of the festive, sol- emn, or penitential nature of these seasons. Human minds and hearts are stimulated by the sounds, sights, and fragrances of liturgi- cal seasons, which combine to create power- ful, lasting impressions of the rich and abun- dant graces unique to each of the seasons” (USCCB, Built of Living Stones: Art, Environment, and Worship , 2007, No. 123). I would add that the impressions are also unique to each of our parishes, missions, chapels, and schools. We encounter God in many ways, but two of the most profound are through His Word and through the Eucharist, which are Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him as life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not over- come it. … And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5, 14). Sometimes we show up for Mass and our disposition is to just be present. Jesus wants our presence to be sure, but more than that, He wants our participation! We can partici- pate more fully by preparing for Mass by meditating on the Scriptures daily and par- ticularly by contemplating the Readings before Mass. You will be surprised at how alive and rich the readings become when we have taken the time to pray with the Scriptures before Mass and when we truly listen and receive His Word. Our relationship with the Eucharist is central to our faith. There is so much that transpires during the celebration of the Eucharist, and many things are indescrib- able. I will attempt to describe and share with you some of my experiences and ways for you to participate more fully. SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN, PAGE 13