‘A Savior is born for you’
CHARLOTTE — Christmas is the feast of God’s love, Bishop Peter Jugis preached at Midnight Mass in the early hours of Dec. 25 at St. Patrick Cathedral.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis emphasized the depth of God’s love for humanity in that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to be our Savior.
“All during Jesus’ public life, we see that self-giving love manifested, demonstrated over and over again in every word that He speaks, every one of His teachings, every miracle that He works – even to the point of his suffering, crucifixion and death – all of this is done because of His love for us,” Bishop Jugis explained.
He pointed out that in the Gospel reading from Luke 1:1-14, the Angel announces that a Savior has been born for us.
“The Angel says a Savior has been born for your sake, for you,” Bishop Jugis said. “And God does delight in doing this for you. He delights in showing you His love, manifested in His only begotten Son, Jesus.”
Christmas is the feast of God’s love for us, he continued.
“This love demands a response. Christmas calls us to respond in love, to God’s great love that He is showering upon us. That is the grace of Christmas, to move our hearts to greater love for God and for others. It does work,” Bishop Jugis asserted.
“This grace of Christmas we see evident all around us happening at Christmas time – how we seem to be even more loving, more kind, more generous in our service and giving of ourselves to others. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit is active.
“We call it the virtue of charity, one of the fruits of the Spirt. Charity, to love God above all things for His own sake, and to love our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. That is the love that God has placed into our hearts and that we are called to demonstrate and to return to Him and also to our brothers and sisters,” Bishop Jugis said.
“We all know that really is the path to happiness. Love God. This is what Jesus teaches us over and over again. Love God who has loved you so much,” he enjoined those present.
“It really is the path to happiness to give of ourselves in service and love to others. This is the response that Christmas asks of each one of us. After all, we were made to love God and it is natural that we should find happiness and find fulfillment the more that we do love Him and put that foundation of love of God in our heart into service for others,” he said.
Bishop Jugis noted that our love of neighbor is a beautiful expression of the love of God that we have in our hearts.
He encouraged the faithful to ask Our Lord this Christmas to stretch us to give more of ourselves in love to Him and to demonstrate our love for God in practical ways and in addition to demonstrate that love to others. And also ask Our Lord to stretch us to greater charity towards others
“Yes, it is the feast of God’s love for us and the Child in the manger is the convincing sign of how much He is willing to do for us and how much He delights in loving us and giving us His all,” Bishop Jugis concluded.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter. Photos provided by James J. Sarkis
