Gulf Pine Catholic
8 Gulf Pine Catholic • October 25, 2024 Choose life! Pray, Pray, Pray! CHOOSE LIFE! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! These are the powerful words that were chosen by a team of parishio- ners at St. James Catholic Church in Gulfport, to be the Pro-Life Billboard Initiative’s slogan. Also, a beautiful picture of our Blessed Mother holding baby Jesus was included on the bill- board. The billboard was created to promote the Right to Life and pray for its support nationwide. Our mission is to change the minds of women on their way to abortion clinics to CHOOSE LIFE . The bill- boards are being placed in strategic locations near our busy highways and near abortion clinics across America. We also ask the local priest, if possible, to bless the billboard once it is put up near an abortion clinic. The three words, “PRAY, PRAY, PRAY,” are referred to in the messages by our Blessed Mother in Medjugorje. This wonderful design with Our Lady and baby Jesus encourages those who are passing by to pray to stop the abortion of the many lives perishing every day. The first bill- board was raised on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, 2019. We have been very blessed in our pro-life minis- try since 2019. With the help of our Mother and the donations of the parishioners on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we have put up 62 billboards in 21 states including states such as California, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona, Indiana, and New Mexico, to name a few. Our billboard locations, at one time in Mississippi, were as follows: Bay St. Louis, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Tupelo, Pearl, Southaven, Ridgeland, Flo- wood, Meridian, Canton and Clinton. The pro-life group also placed a banner on a CTA bus on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Vector Media in New Orleans, LA, during Mardi Gras, which was viewed by millions of people. Banners were also carried at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., January 2020, by coast Catholic teenagers and had national TV coverage. Digital billboards were placed along the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Cruising the Coast and 403,863 impressions (views) were added during this five-day period. Articles were written about our pro-life ministry in the Catholic Commander , Diocese of Baton Rouge; Georgia Bulletin , Atlanta GA; The Catholic Virginian , Richmond, VA; Tennessee Register , Nashville, TN; The Voice , Diocese of Birmingham, AL. Also, an article was written by the Catholic Pro-Life Community in the Diocese of Dallas and published on their Facebook page along with St. Elizabeth Seaton Roman Catholic Church Facebook page in Sun City, Arizona. The Gulf Pine Catholic , Diocese of Biloxi, and The Mississippi Catholic , Diocese of Jackson, MS, also wrote articles about our ministry as we traveled through the states erecting our pro- life billboards. Who could forget that our beautiful billboard in 2020 on Cowan Road/Highway 90, was hit by Hurricane Zeta’s 100 mph winds and was unscathed while the other billboards were twisted and dam- aged. The billboards are making a difference in ways that are unknown. After a pro-life talk at a church, our group was approached by a woman from an adoption agency who said, “I want y’all to know there was a lady headed to Mobile, AL, to get an abortion pill.” She said she saw your billboard and turned around and came to the adoption center and said, “I want to put my baby up for adoption.” This movement is also attracting people from all walks and stations of life. A doctor driving on a highway in Baton Rouge, LA, noticed our bill- boards and he loved them so much he wanted to pay to have one placed in Hammond, LA, where he lives. In addition, a teenager mowed lawns and baby sat to raise money to donate to our pro-life billboards. A local church on the Gulf Coast has also decided to pay for the billboard in their parish yearly. It is also not unusual to receive a call at 9 p.m. from a parishioner who lives out of town and the night before the bill- board is due to expire, wants to pay for the renewal of the billboard. A couple moved from Washington, D.C., to the Coast after seeing our billboard and said, “This is where we want to live!” The success of this initiative is credited to the Blessed Mother. She has guided us in the directions where our billboards are needed the most. Now, Bishop Louis F. Kihneman, III, has placed us under the umbrella of the Diocese of Biloxi. Our newly appointed coordinator is Deacon Sean Fink. Almost two years ago, we partnered with the State of Mississippi and created a license plate with the same picture as our billboard and it reads “PROTECT LIFE!” A part of the proceeds from the tag comes back to the Diocese of Biloxi and we use this money to support our billboards. The picture of the Blessed Mother on the car tag will be a blessing and a reminder of the sanctity of life to you and all who see it on the back of your car. When it is time to renew your car tag, please consider purchasing ours. The sale of license plates will help support the Pro-Life Billboard Ministry . Ask for the “Diocese of Biloxi” tag at your local tax collector’s office. For more information, contact Diocese of Biloxi Pro Life at (228) 207-2797. The Pro-Life Billboard team would like to thank all parishioners in the diocese for their prayers, sup- port, and generosity. Our success would not be pos- sible without you. Abortion continues and is aggressively promoted at the Federal level. Our billboards must continue to end the tragedy of abortion. If you feel led to donate to our billboards, please make your check out to: Diocese of Biloxi Pro Life, 1790 Popps Ferry Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532 or Venmo@DioceseofBiloxi- ProLife. “A child is God’s greatest gift to the family, to the nation, to the world. The child is a life from God, created in the image of God, created for great things, to love and to be loved.” Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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