Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • September 13, 2024 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) September 13, 2024 Volume 42, Issue 1 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 SEPT. 27— News copy and photos: Due SEPT. 17, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due SEPT. 17, 10 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Sept. 14 Mass for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (EOHS), 5:30 p.m Sept. 15 Anniversary Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, 2 p.m. Sept. 17 ICSC Mass, New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, 5:15 p.m. Sept. 19 Finance Council Meeting, Pastoral Center, Biloxi, 2 p.m. Sept. 20 Mass & School Visit, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Biloxi, 9:30 a.m. Sept. 21 SVdP Holy Hour, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Long Beach, 10 a.m. Sept. 22 SVdP Ozanam Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, 11 a.m. Sept. 24 San Miguel Mission, Saltillo, -29 Mexico BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi While they were eating, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the cov- enant, which will be shed for many (Mark 14:22-24). On November 18, 1977, I was ordained a priest in the cathedral of Corpus Christi, Texas. Over these 46 years, I have had the great privilege of celebrating Mass almost every day, which I estimate to be approxi- mately 22,000 Masses. Just thinking about it takes my breath away. My love for the Eucharist truly ignited when I entered the minor seminary in high school and continued to grow throughout my formation for the priesthood. Mama taught me to pray, and the Jesuits taught me to study and how to pray with medita- tion and contemplation. Being able to pray in a chapel that included a three-story image of The Immaculate Conception and the privilege of setting up and serving at Mass brought me closer to our Lord in the Eucharist. One of the things I struggled with before I was ordained a priest was a feeling of unworthiness. I did not think I was wor- thy to be able to hold the Body and Blood of Christ in my hands. Absolutely not. However, during my retreat before ordina- tion, the Lord Jesus quietly said to me in prayer, “Don’t worry. It’s ok. I’ll be there.” That assurance form Jesus fortified me to Bishop Kihneman The Eucharist: A Love Story say yes to being ordained a priest: “I’ll be there.” And He has been, and He is! I experi- ence Jesus’ presence in many ways during the sacrifice of the Mass. I have experi- enced His suffering, His peace, and His glory seeming to explode off the Altar. When you doubt, I can assure you without hesitation that Jesus is there! Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus is there! This is incredible. The Gospel of Saint Mark is the first gospel written and records the celebration of the Eucharist when Jesus gathers with His disciples. That moment in the upper room, Jesus gives Himself to us very per- sonally out of deep love for us. It is a key moment that changed everything for every- one, especially for me and for you. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross Himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him (John 19:17- 18a). Every Mass is an opportunity for us to learn from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus teaches us in that moment of sacrifi- cial love how we are to love. He gives us His body and His blood on the Altar -- lays down His life -- out of love for you and for me. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). We follow Jesus’ example when we bring our suffering to the Altar and offer it for those we love and for all who are in need. -- If you have a relationship that is struggling or that the love seems to have faded, infuse it with daily sacrifice. Uniting our sacrifices on behalf of another with Jesus’ sacrifice will allow the fruits of Jesus’ sacrifice to breathe new life and love into our relationships with each other. Sacrificial love is transformative. We live in a world that does everything it can to avoid pain and suffering and sees no value in sacrifice for another. We know that our suffering united with the salvific suffering of our Lord brings meaning into our lives. It unites us in a world divided and teaches us how to love in a world filled with hate. Sacrifice that comes from love is something the world does not understand. When we participate in the Mass, Jesus shares with us His suffering and death so that we can also share in His Resurrection and eternal life with Him in heaven. When we receive His body and His blood, Jesus gives us Himself out of love so that we can become one with Him. Every time we cel- ebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass, we are called to believe that Jesus is truly present, that the bread and the wine we offer becomes the body and blood of Jesus. So, when we approach the Altar to receive holy communion and the minister says, “The body of Christ,” we mean the literal body of Christ, not a symbol. It is the same body He sacrificed for us on the cross, the same body that rose from the dead, and the same body that ascended to the Father. And when we hear, “the blood of Christ,” it is the same blood He offered His apostles at the Last Supper, the same blood that poured from His side as he hung on the cross. SEE BISHOP KIHNEMAN PAGE 7