Bishop Jugis celebrates midnight Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. (Photo by James Sarkis.)CHARLOTTE — Processing beneath a framework of exterior scaffolding and in through the main doors of St. Patrick Cathedral on a cold winter’s night, Bishop Peter Jugis carried the statue of the Holy Infant into Midnight Mass Dec. 25.
He gave the honor of placing the Baby Jesus in His creche to Deacon Peter Rusciolelli, one of the cathedral’s seminarians who will be ordained to the priesthood this summer. They knelt in silent prayer adoring the Holy Infant for several moments, marking the advent of Christmas.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis explained that the Birth of the Savior is the proclamation of God’s love for us. “So amazing is His love for us that He decides to come Himself, personally, to be with us as man. This is the amazing message of Christmas, the message of God becoming man for us, so much does He love us."
“How can we honor Christmas? How can we honor this holy day, and this holy season? Should we not do what we can to imitate God’s love that we are celebrating today?” he asked.
“St. John tells us: ‘God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life’ (John 3:16). God so loved the world, and not only ‘loved’ in the past tense, but ‘loves’ in the present tense. And, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and not only ‘gave’ in the past tense, but ‘gives’ in the present,” Bishop Jugis noted.
“He gives his Son to you again at Christmas,” Bishop Jugis said. “He gives his Son to you in the Eucharistic Mystery. Let us imitate this love in our daily lives.”
Bishop Jugis also noted that St. John says: ‘Beloved, if God has loved us so, we also must love one another’ (1 John 4:11). “Love is charity toward our neighbor; kindness; respect for others, who are also, like ourselves, created in the image and likeness of God. Love is serving others out of love for Christ,” he explained.
“At Christmas we are in the presence of a great mystery. God, as St. Paul says, is invisible (Col 1:15), and as St. John says, ‘No one has ever seen God’ (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12), but at Christmas we celebrate that God decides to make Himself visible by becoming man.”
Bishop Jugis recalled that in Old Testament times, God sent great prophets, and also angels, to do His work while Himself remaining hidden, but now the time had come for Him to come Himself, personally. “He decided to be visible to us, not as an apparition that lasts only a little while and then vanishes, but visible as real, physical, tangible flesh and blood like us,” he said.
“For nine months God remained hidden in the Blessed Virgin’s womb, but at Christmas God is born, and He comes forth from the Virgin’s womb. This is the Mystery of the Incarnation. This is our Christian faith which we joyfully profess. ‘By the Holy Spirit, [He] was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man,’” Bishop Jugis said.
He enjoined the faithful, saying, “Let us honor this great feast of Christmas, this great feast of God’s love for us, by imitating His love in our daily lives.”
— SueAnn Howell