Celebrating Mass on New Year's Day, Bishop Ruggieri extends a wish for true peace
From those experiencing their very first new year to those who have seen many come and go, hundreds joined Bishop James Ruggieri for a New Year’s Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland.
On January 1, the Catholic Church celebrates both the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace. And it was a heartfelt wish for peace that the bishop extended to those gathered.
“The line that really strikes me today, as we begin this new year of grace, is ‘The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace,’” the bishop said, referencing the Mass’s first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. “In this particular reading, the word ‘peace’ is not just something very superficial or even emotional. According to the note in the New American Bible, it translates to the Hebrew word ‘shalom,’ which we’re familiar with to some degree, but it includes this idea of happiness, good health, prosperity, friendship, and general well-being … I pray for that same reality for all of us: for you, for me, for our diocese, for the state of Maine, in this new year of grace, this jubilee of hope.”
The bishop said that such peace does not come from happenstance but from the decisions that we make. He pointed to the divine will of God, who chose to send his son to redeem us.
“St. Paul writes, ‘When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.’ From that simple line of Scripture, ‘When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,’ we can derive that salvation, our salvation, our redemption in Christ is a result of a divine decision. God chose to become man. ‘The Word became flesh,’ we are told in John's Gospel. This wasn't an accident. It wasn't circumstantial,” the bishop said. “God the Father desired to redeem us and desired to do so in the manner in which he did.”
Bishop Ruggieri also pointed to the decisions of Mary and Joseph, both of whom followed their hearts: Mary in agreeing to bear God’s son and Joseph, who, guided by the angel, did not abandon her.
The bishop said that from the moment that Jesus was conceived, Mary showed a deep love for her child, one that also strengthened her relationship with Joseph. The bishop said her example is one from which we can learn.
“Mary shows us that loving Jesus with an authentic, real love enhances and strengthens our love for one another, those significant people in our lives,” the bishop said. “Engaging with Jesus through the Holy Spirit helps us to learn what true love is all about. The Holy Spirit, working through Scriptures, working through prayer, working through life experiences, is able to show us how to love, and in turn, we can love others, those significant people in our lives, more – more selflessly and in a manner that gives life to both ourselves and the ones we love.”
As we begin the Jubilee Year of Hope, the bishop invited everyone to join him in enrolling in what he called “the school of love of the Holy Spirit.”
“Let the Spirit teach us how to love,” he said. “If we do, our other significant relationships will improve, will become more life-giving, and we will truly experience, through them, shalom, true peace.”
