Bishop Nelson Perez spent his first Christmas in the Diocese of Cleveland celebrating with the faithful at several liturgies.
First, he celebrated the Christmas Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland during a traditional liturgy.
His next stop on Christmas Eve was at St. Agnes/Our Lady of Fatima Parish on Cleveland?s East Side, where he celebrated a liturgy filled with singing and clapping to traditional and contemporary African-American hymns and music.
The Christmas celebration was highlighted by a performance of liturgical dance by the Children's Liturgical dancers and by the choir, which the bishop
noted had sung at his installation in September.
Bishop Perez also greeted worshipers as they left the cathedral after the 10 p.m. Christmas Mass at Night on Dec. 24.
The third Christmas liturgy he celebrated was the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day at St. John Cathedral. The Cathedral Choir, directed by Greg Heislman, sang both before and during the liturgy.
The theme of bishop?s Christmas message at each liturgy was joy and hope. He told the congregations that the Christ Child entered a world with many problems more than 2,000 years ago and that he is born into our lives today amid our ups and downs.
He said the first Christmas was not perfect, unlike what we might see in pictures or portrayed on stage, recalling how teenage Mary had to tell her parents that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Mary also had to explain to Joseph that it was not his child, but the Holy Spirit?s.
?The story doesn?t change; we do,? the bishop said, adding, ?Where does the story find us??
He said some people are happy and some are health, but some might be sick. However, Jesus finds us where we are.
?And no one impacted the world more than this one man, Jesus of Nazareth,? he said.
The congregants and the bishop exchanged Christmas greetings after the liturgies. Bishop Perez also spent time chatting and posing for photos with many of the faithful.
