Christmas

from Monitor Magazine January 2021

From the Bishop

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrates Mass on Christmas Eve in St. Gregory the Great Church, Hamilton Square. He is assisted by Deacon Joe Latini, left. Father Jason Parzynski, right, served as the Bishop’s master of ceremonies.

‘Let Christmas open your eyes, hearts to hope,’

Bishop preaches in Christmas homilies

BY JENNIFER MAURO  Managing Editor

Acknowledging the challenges the pandemic-stricken world has experienced in the past year, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., urged every faithful person to look to the hope Christmas brings.

“This Christmas is an invitation to us and to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to let the mystery in, to let it warm our hearts and make them feel new, to let it influence our way of looking at the world he came to save, to give ‘glory to God’ as we embrace one another – although at a distance, although online, although livestreamed yet no less real or compelling – in love, in compassion, in forgiveness, in mercy,” Bishop O’Connell preached during the Christmas Eve  “Christmas Vigil Mass he celebrated Dec. 24 in St. is truly the Gregory the Great Church, Hamilton Square, and midnight Mass in St. Rose feast of Church, Belmar. The Bishop spoke of how those God's infinite Christmas graces will come alive in and mercy.”  around every faithful person, because “they always have since that first Christmas and always will.”

Faithful across the Diocese tuned in via livestream video for both Masses, which were accompanied by cherished Christmas hymns and carols, creating a sense of warmth and familiarity in an otherwise unconventional year.

Joining the Bishop at the altar in St. Rose Church were Msgr. Edward Arnister, pastor, Father Christopher Dayton, parochial vicar, and Father Bishop O'Connell celebrates midnight Mass in David Baratelli St. Rose Church, Belmar. The Mass was liveof the Archdio- streamed. Screenshot photo cese of Newark and chaplain in Newark Liberty International Airport. Father Jason Parzynski, diocesan vocations director, served as the Bishop’s master of ceremonies at both Masses. In St. Gregory the Great, Deacon Joe Latini assisted, and Father Michael Hall, pastor, helped administer Holy Communion.

Christmas, Bishop O’Connell preached, is truly the feast of God’s infinite mercy.

“Could there have been any greater mercy shown to us unhappy men than that which led the Creator of the heavens to come down among us, and the Creator of the earth to take on our mortal body?” Bishop O’Connell said, quoting from St. Augustine of Hippo. “That same mercy led the Lord of the world to assume the nature of a servant, so that, being himself bread, he would suffer hunger; being himself fullness, he would thirst; being himself power, he would know weakness; being himself salvation, he would experience our woundedness, and being himself life, he would die. All this he did to satisfy our hunger, alleviate our longing, strengthen our weaknesses, wipe out our sins and enkindle our charity.”

St. Monica Church, Jackson

Corpus Christi Church, Willingboro

Parishes find ways to keep Christmas Masses safe and prayerful

St. Catharine Church, Holmdel

Creativity was at the heart of how parishes across the Diocese approached the celebration of Christmas in a pandemic year. Whether it was adding Masses or using multiple locations – such as parish halls and school gymnasiums – top priority was given to ensuring that the faithful could attend in-person Masses in a safe and socially distanced manner. Parishes also continued to accommodate those who preferred outdoor, in-car and livestreamed Masses. At the heart of each celebration, however, was the knowledge that “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2)