Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • September 15, 2023 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) September 15, 2023 Volume 41, Issue 2 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 —BILLING — Aimee M c Lendon —CIRCULATION— Robin Peeler —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 Billing: 228-702-2127 Circulation: 228-702-2100 Photography: 228-201-2132 —EMAIL— News: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org Production / Advertising: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Billing: amclendon@biloxidiocese.org Circulation: rpeeler@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 SEPT. 29— News copy and photos: Due SEPT. 21, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due SEPT. 21, 10 a.m. Sept. 18-21 Mission Bishops’ Conference, Chicago Sept. 24 SVdP Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, 11 a.m. Sept. 25-30 Visit to St. Miguel, Saltillo, Mexico Bishop Kihneman Be open to the gift of the Holy Spirit BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of Biloxi Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. (Prayer to the Holy Spirit) In my previous column, I talked about how, through our baptism, we enter into a very special personal relationship with the Triune God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As St. Paul reminds us in his letter to Titus, “He saved us, not because of any works of righ- teousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Through baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, sanctifying our souls and enabling us to live as Intentional Disciples. Once we are baptized, we are not left to fend for ourselves on our spiritual journey. Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus assured us He would not abandon us, not leave us orphans. “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name -- He will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you” (John 14: 26). The Holy Spirit helps us discern right from wrong, empowers us to make wise choices and grants us the courage to stand firm in our beliefs amidst the challenges of the world. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and take control of our life. The Holy Spirit is a divine gift that ignites our faith, empowers our jour- ney, and guides us in becoming true disciples of Christ. The Holy Spirit speaks to each of us in different ways. It fills us with God’s grace. It leads us and guides us. It helps us to recognize and utilize our God-given gifts or charisms. It helps us recognize who we are called to minister to, and who we are called to pray for. Through prayer, we talk and we learn to listen to God. As we listen and grow in rela- tionship, we develop a sense of God leading us to pray for individuals. During the day, I will have moments when I spontaneously say a prayer for someone. It is a powerful moment of the Holy Spirit working in and through me and it is something that all of us can enjoy if we are open to the Holy Spirit. The early apostolic Church was on fire with the gifts of the Holy Spirit! That is one of the things that I feel many of us miss out on in the Church today -- that sense of apos- tolic zeal. Jesus tells us before His ascension in the Acts of the Apostles 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” There were about 120 persons in the upper room when the time of Pentecost was fulfilled and from the sky “a noise like a strong driving wind” filled the house, and then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4) As modern Catholics, we have not focused on the Holy Spirit -- how it has been gifted to us and moves within us, how we can call on the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we can be an instrument of healing or to bring the Word of God to others -- Scripture calls it prophecy. The Parable of the Seeds, which can be found in chapter 8 of Luke’s Gospel, chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, and chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel was an important story for the early Church and for us. Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of God, and it is also the gift of faith. The seed that fell on the path did not last long. It was eaten by birds and was gone. It represents the people who hear the Word, but as soon as the distractions of the world press in, they are gone. The seeds on rocky ground have no root and wither away. The Word is heard, but when we do not pray with the Word and develop a relationship with God, it is easy to go back to our old ways. The seeds among thorns are the ones who hear the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches and pleasure choke the word and it bears no fruit. It seems our world is filled with thorns that are trying to choke and divide us. I am sure we all have friends and family members who struggle to keep the Word of God and their faith central to their lives. Even we can waffle in our relationship, and it usually happens when we let other things come before our time with God. We need to provide the rich soil for the seed of the Word and of faith. We are able to overcome these challenges to remain true to the Word of God in our lives when we keep true to our com- mitment of time with our Lord through the Sacraments, with His Word, and in prayer. Jesus Christ speaks to each of us very personally. Jesus loves each of us and invites us to walk with Him hand in hand through our entire life. He gives us two great com- mandments: To love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we take the time in prayer every day, seek the guidance of and are open to the Holy Spirit, and if we follow these com- mandments with everything that happens in our life, we will find our way. We will know the truth. We will know Jesus Christ on a very personal level. And, when we come to know Jesus in this personal way, we will be led to draw others out of the messiness of their lives and into a personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I feel that as a Church and as a Diocese, we are being led back to embrace apostolic times, and that we need to be open to the Holy Spirit -- be open to the gifts that have been given to us through our Baptism and Confirmation. We should be seeing the sanc- tifying Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which I will talk about in my next column, at work all around us and through us. They are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowl- edge, piety, and fear of God. Let us pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit together! SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN IN SPANISH, PAGE 6