Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 1, 2024 9 228-539-9800 www.RiemannFamily.com Gulfport Pass Christian West Jackson County Biloxi Long Beach Hancock County The third prayer is the prayer of the spirit. If you need a special grace in your life right now, if we need His touch to lift our spirits and fill us with the grace we need, whether it is wisdom or understanding, knowledge or counsel, courage, piety, fear of the Lord, or any of the Gifts of the Spirit, pray for these gifts and a healing of our spirit. If you have been wounded in spirit in any way, say to Him again, “Lord, if you will it, you can make me clean.” Then, let Him touch and bring healing to your spirit and, in a special way, hear Him say to us, “I do will it. Be cleansed.” The compassion of our Lord for the leper is the same compassion the Lord has for each of us when we approach Him and seek His healing and forgiveness, and His compassion is offered to each of us when we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Remember as you pray for the Lord’s healing touch to reach into our minds, our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits, to offer sincere prayers of praise and thanksgiving. And when we approach the Altar to receive Jesus’ body and His blood, it is a moment when Jesus becomes one with us in our body and blood and we become one with Jesus in His body and blood. He touches us and we touch Him, and when we approach Him with openness, we allow Him to work within us and bring to us cleansing, healing, and peace. Let us pray for the grace of that openness every time we receive the body and blood of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist. SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN IN SPANISH, PAGE 6 Bishop’s Column From page 3 To advertise in the Gulf Pine Catholic , call 228-702-2109 for more information, or email smccusker@biloxidio- cese.org. The newspaper is mailed to over 16,500 Catholic homes every other week. National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to include shrines, secular landmarks, diocesan events BY MARIAWIERING ( OSV News ) -- On May 18-19, groups of eight young adults will leave San Francisco; New Ha- ven, Connecticut; San Juan, Texas; and Itasca State Park in Minnesota. For eight weeks they’ll travel, mostly on foot, along four routes through major U.S. cities, small towns and countryside toward Indianapolis, where they’re expected to arrive July 16, the day before the opening of the National Eucharistic Congress. Together, they’ll cover more than 6,500 miles over 27 states and 65 dioceses. With them every step of the way will be the Eucharist, held in a spe- cially designed monstrance, or reserved in a sup- port vehicle’s tabernacle. The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is a ma- jor prelude to the National Eucharistic Congress, which expects to bring together tens of thousands of Catholics July 17-21 in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium for worship, speakers and Eucharist-cen- tered events. The pilgrimage and the congress are part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three- year initiative of the U.S. Catholic bishops that be- gan in 2022 with the aim of deepening Catholics’ love for the Eucharist. “A cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before,” said Tim Glem- kowski, CEO of the Denver-based National Eu- charistic Congress, Inc., in a February 22 media release announcing updated routes and related events. “It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with lo- cal parish communities at stops all along the way.” The pilgrimage’s four groups of Perpetual Pil- grims are young adults ages 19-29 selected in an application process to travel the full length of each route. Their names will be announced March 11. People who wish to travel as a “day pilgrim” or attend a pilgrimage-related event along the routes may register online at www.eucharisticpilgrimage. org. Day pilgrims must make their own arrange- ments for meals, transportation and lodging, as needed. Each route passes religious and secular land- marks, including Folsom State Prison in Califor- nia, Ellis Island in New York, the campuses of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Bene- dictine College in Kansas, and the shrines of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin, the Most Blessed Sacrament in Alabama, and St. Elizabeth Ann Se- ton in Maryland. Dioceses that the routes cross through have planned special events to welcome the pilgrims. Detailed event information for these events and each of the routes -- the St. Junipero Serra Route from the West, St. Juan Diego Route from the South, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route from the East and Marian Route from the North -- will be posted at www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org. Pilgrimage events will include Masses, Eucha- ristic adoration and prayer, as well as service proj- ects. All public events are free. Supporting the Perpetual Pilgrims spiritually will be a “rotating cadre” of 30 Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Father Roger Landry of the Dio- cese of Fall River, Massachusetts, plans to accom- pany the Seton Route pilgrims for the entire route. “Following Jesus and praying through cities and rural towns is going to be life changing for the church across America,” Glemkowski said. “I per- sonally cannot wait to participate in this pilgrim- age!” Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.