Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • September 27, 2024 3 Gulf Pine Catholic (ISSN No. 0746-3804) September 27, 2024 Volume 42, 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 — 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 OCT. 11— News copy and photos: Due OCT. 1, 4 p.m. Advertising: Completed Ad and/or copy due OCT. 1, 10 a.m. Bishop Kihneman’s Schedule Sept. 30- Priest Convocation, St. Oct. 3 Augustine, Kelley Retreat Center Oct. 5 Deacon Convocation, Pastoral Center Oct. 8 Presbyteral Council, 10:30 am Oct. 9 Mass and School Visit, Sacred Heart Elementary, Hattiesburg Oct. 10 St. Joesph Seminary & Notre Dame Seminary Board Meetings, Notre Dame Seminary, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 11 School Staff Retreat Day, St. Patrick Catholic High School Oct. 12 Pastor and Parish Leadership Team Retreat Day Oct. 13 Red Mass, Nativity BVM Cathedral, 11 a.m. BY BISHOP LOUIS F. KIHNEMAN III Bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi “Without silence, God disappears in the noise. And this noise becomes all the more obsessive because God is absent.” -- Cardinal Robert Sarah, “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise” At a recent retreat with brother bish- ops, I was reminded that we often let the distractions and noise of the world inter- fere in our mission so much so that we can get sidetracked from our goals. These distractions are often important issues, but they can lead us to lose focus of what is truly important. In our daily lives, it can be easy for any of us to become overwhelmed by the noise that surrounds us from the secular world, including what we listen to in our cars, what we watch on TV, and all the infor- mation and misinformation we have at our fingertips through our cell phones, tablets, and computers. How do we, as followers of Christ, Bishop Kihneman The importance of daily prayer navigate these distractions and refocus our hearts and minds to God? To keep my heart and mind focused on God, I am faithful to my commitment to daily prayer, and I rec- ommend you start there. St. Luke tells us that Jesus “would withdraw to deserted places to pray” (5:16) . If Jesus, who is fully God and fully man needed time for solitude and prayer, how much more do we need to make time for prayer? We all need to take the time daily to turn off all the distractions and focus on prayer. In his book, Cardinal Sarah sug- gests seeking solitude, just as Jesus did when He withdrew from the crowds to spend some intimate time in conversation with God. Where can we find places of solitude? It could be a quiet space in our home, a favorite spot on the beach or in the woods, or what better place than in church before the tabernacle or in an adoration chapel. If you say you do not have time, start with committing to 5 minutes daily and increase the time, minute by minute if nec- essary, as you grow in relationship with our Lord. You can begin by prayerfully dis- cerning what your ideal prayer time would be (perhaps a Holy hour or holy half-hour) and also discern what is your minimum commitment (such as 5, 10, or 15 minutes). Strive for the ideal daily, but do not neglect to maintain your minimum -- this can keep you on track and keep you committed when things are hectic. St. Francis de Sales once said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy -- then we need an hour.” If we can be as intentional in our daily prayer life as we are with our televi- sion time or scrolling through our phones and tablets, we will be in great shape. Personally, I like to start and end each day in prayer. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, ‘Good morning, God,’ and the other is to say, ‘Good God, morning’!” What better way to start the day than with God in prayer. Some of my favorite ways to pray are Intercessory Prayer, Lectio Divina , Imaginative Prayer, and V isio Divina . I have found that people praying for me in Intercessory Prayer and when I pray for others and over others, it is a source of consolation, a source of grace, and an expression of our love relationship together with Jesus Christ. The next three methods of prayer are prayed with scripture. God speaks to us through his Word and prayer with scripture is a beautiful way to get to know God’s voice. When I read and pray with scripture, I often use the technique called Lectio Divina , especially with the daily readings. I rarely have a day that the word of God doesn’t explode for me in Lectio Divina . It helps me with my daily preaching, it helps me in my personal faith development, and it gives me grace through the Word that I need to be able to share the love of Jesus Christ with others, to be His minister, to be His disciple, to be His priest, and to be His bishop. I was taught Imaginative Prayer by the Jesuits when I was in the seminary. I learned to practice the Ignatian prayer of imagination using the senses with the scripture. All through my years in the sem- inary and as a priest, this prayer form has helped me to experience and to image the word of God in a way that makes it very personal and very real. It has enabled me to both hear the word of God and be touched by and drawn into the heart of Jesus. Many times His love is palpable. It allows me to hear the word of God as a true love letter to me and to fall in love with a God who loves me, loves us all. SEE BISHOP’S COLUMN, PAGE 9