BRIDGEPORT— Bishop Frank J. Caggiano prayed for peace and thanked employees for their service at the Annual pre-Christmas Mass for the Diocesan Curia at the Catholic Center.
The Mass brings together Catholic Center employees, priests and deacons with Bishop Caggiano serving as the principal celebrant.
Fr. Peter Lenox, Vicar for Liturgy and Worship, delivered the homily on the Gospel of Luke (1:39-45), the account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Fr. Lenox said that both Elizabeth and Mary were prepared to believe because they put their faith in God and not in the things of this world. He added that people too often look toward answers and behaviors that offer false promises that will not sustain them.
During the universal prayer those in attendance prayed, “Universal Prayer, “Lord Jesus, come to us in love. Help us set our hearts where they will find fulfillment and not betrayal.”
In brief remarks following Mass, the Bishop thanked Catholic Center staff members for the work they do throughout the year to support the mission of renewal in the diocese. He encouraged Catholic them to count their blessings during Christmas, and to seek rest that restores them.
“There is a time for work and there’s a time to rest. Please God these days will be a time of rest for you, spending it with your family and just really enjoying the blessing of the Lord’s birth.”
The Bishop finished his remarks by urging people to pray for peace in the Holy Land and throughout the world.
“As we gather closer and closer to Christmas, my heart and my mind just cannot escape the fact that in the place where the Prince of Peace was born, there are so many people who are suffering from war and violence. It breaks our common hearts. Let’s continue to pray for peace in the land that we called Holy, the land where the Lord chose to be born into the world, where his death and resurrection have given us hope. Let us pray that by next Christmas, all those who suffer there will have the same blessings we are about to enjoy with our families, that they can live their lives in peace and enjoy the great gift of the Prince of Peace.
Liturgical Musicians for the Mass were Dr. William H. Atwood, Diocesan Director of Music Ministry and Laura Intravia, Canto, who sang beautifully throughout the Mass including Gesu Bambino, the Communion Solo.
