Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • November 8, 2024 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) November 8, 2024 Volume 42, Issue 5 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 — Shirley McCusker —CIRCULATION— Robin Peeler —PHOTOGRAPHY— Juliana Skelton —OFFICEHOURS— 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday —PHONE NUMBERS— Editor: 228-702-2126 Production/Advertising: 228-702-2109 Billing: 228-702-2109 Circulation: 228-702-2100 Photography: 228-201-2132 —EMAIL— News: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org Production / Advertising Billing: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Circulation: rpeeler@biloxidiocese.org Photography: jskelton@biloxidiocese.org —OFFICEAND MAILINGADDRESS — 1790 Popps Ferry Road Biloxi, MS 39532 —WEBSITE— www.gulfpinecatholic.com —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 NOV. 22— News copy and photos: Due NOV. 12, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due NOV. 12, 10 a.m. Nov. 8 New Priest Day, Pastoral Center, Biloxi Nov. 9 Catholic Charities Bishop’s Gala, Beau Rivage, 6 p.m. Nov. 11-14 USCCB Meeting, Baltimore Nov. 17 Mass & Altar Dedication, St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, White Cypress, 8:30 a.m. Nov. 19 Eagle Encounter Night, St. Thomas Aquinas CSA Building, Hattiesburg, 7 p.m. Nov. 20 Mass & School Visit, Sacred Heart Elementary, Sacred Heart Parish, Hattiesburg, 8:30 a.m. Nov. 21 Mass & School Visit, St. Patrick Catholic High School, Biloxi, 8:30 a.m. Nov. 23 Vigil Mass & Feast Day Celebration, Christ the King Mission, Latimer, 4 p.m. Nov. 24 Mass & Feast Day Celebration, Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Biloxi, 10 a.m. BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi Jesus said: “I am the good shep- herd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. (Jn 10:11-18) Jesus is our shepherd and, as a shep- herd, He speaks to us. Do we listen? Do we follow His voice? People ask, “How are we to know when Jesus speaks? How are we to know it is His voice and not the voice of the enemy in disguise?” And we need to take it a step further -- How are we sharing His word with others, especially young people? We learn to discern the voice of God through prayer and spending time in the scriptures reading His Word. Daily. We should begin each day in prayer and find time for scripture during the day to open ourselves up to the voice of the Shepherd. We are His sheep. We are called Bishop Kihneman We are called to be the voice of the Shepherd to shepherd others, but how can we if we do not first hear His voice and follow His word? As sheep, we are part of a flock, and that means we are in the midst of a whole lot of other folks. As such, it is so easy to be distracted by competing and often con- trary voices, but it is His voice that we need to hear in the midst of the noise that is around us in the world. Recently, I spoke to our Catholic school teachers and asked them to imagine the type of noise that their students hear on a daily basis. You may be aware of the noise, but it is significantly loud for the young. It is deafening. The world is selling false promises of happiness. As a person of faith, this is scary. It is one important rea- son we need to be people who can listen to the Shepherd and then speak in His voice to all of our sheep. These are the sheep that He wants in our lives, wherever we may be, whether it is in our schools, parishes, and families where we minister and serve. Yes, some of them may be black sheep but even they are called by Christ to hear His voice in their lives, and we may be called to share His voice! We, as a commu- nity of faith, really do have to be people who are centered in the love of Christ. That is what His voice is meant to bring us, His love. He loves us. This morning, when I got out of bed, the Lord said to me clearly, “I love you!” So, what has the Love of Christ spoken to you in your own lives? Are you giving God an opportunity to speak to you? Through daily prayer? Through His word in the Scripture, espe- cially the Gospels? The Word of God is meant for us. In John’s Gospel, the Good Shepherd tells His sheep it is possible to be influenced by the other side, by evil. It is possible to have evil take root in our own lives. The only way that does not happen is for us to be united completely with Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. That is what it means to be His followers as He speaks to us as the Good Shepherd and invites us to follow Him on the journey to heaven. That is the promise to every single one of us, to share in that heavenly journey. SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN, PAGE 9