Gulf Pine Catholic • December 19, 2025 3 Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) December 19, 2025 Volume 43, Issue 7 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 McCusker —BILLING — Shirley McCusker —CIRCULATION— Robin Peeler —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 —EMAIL— News: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org Production / Advertising: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Billing: smccusker@biloxidiocese.org Circulation: rpeeler@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 JAN. 16— News copy and photos: Due JAN. 6, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due JAN. 6, 10 a.m. of God being born to us as a savior, human and divine -- Christ the Lord, the anointed, the one who was promised to come by all of the prophets, the one who God revealed to us as our savior and Lord. It is a moment for us to embrace the love of God very personally because the birth of Jesus is really meant as a very personal moment. He invites us to let Him into our hearts, to let His love touch us, bless us, be with us and lift us up so that, no matter what is going on in our lives, no matter what is taking place right now in our lives, He is there for us. He is there to touch us with love, especially an infant’s love. A powerful contemporary example comes from Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Catholic survivor of the Rwandan genocide. During the months she spent hiding in a small bathroom, terrified and unsure she would live, she prayed the Rosary constantly and meditated on the mystery of Christ -- God becoming a child and entering a world marked by suffering. She later said it was the humility and mercy of Jesus, born in a manger, that helped her forgive those who had taken everything from her. That encounter with the love of Christ not only sustained her through the darkest moments but transformed her into a witness of peace and forgiveness for the world. Wow! What a moment to have that special child Jesus touch us with His love and bless us with His grace. So, as a people of God in the Diocese of Biloxi, let us share faith together this Christmas. Let us make this Christmas one in which we are filled with God’s blessing and God’s love. SEE BISHOP’S SPANISH COLUMN, PAGE 4 Dec. 24 Midnight Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, 11 p.m. Jan. 6, 2026 Mass & School Visit, Sacred Heart Elementary, D’Iberville, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8, 2026 Mass & School Visit, Sacred Heart High School, Hattiesburg, 9:30 a.m. Jan. 13-23,2026 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi The Birth of Jesus In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.* She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the Bishop Kihneman night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Lk 2: 1-14). St. Luke gives us a wonderful, inspiring recollection of the birth of our savior. It is truly a moment for us to celebrate, a moment for us to be reminded of the love of God being born into this life, the love “Glory to God in the Highest: Reflecting on the Birth of Our Savior”
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