The following is adapted from the archbishop’s Jan. 18 address to the 11th annual OneLife LA family festival, which this year was focused on supporting those affected by the wildfires.
These days we are being purified, we are being tested by fire. Our city is being tested, and our Church, the family of God.
In good times and hard times, we always need to turn to the Word of God.
So, these days I’ve been spending time with God’s Word. I’ve been trying to discern his will and understand his purposes.
The Scriptures say that in days of old, God came to his people in fire.
He called to Moses from the burning bush. He came to Israel at Horeb, as the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, as it was wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom.
And the Lord God spoke to his people there, from the fire. He promised to love them forever, and never to fail or forget them.
The voice of the Lord is still speaking to us from the midst of these fires. He is still promising his love. Our challenge is to listen for his voice.
The wildfires and windstorms swept away loved ones and homes, they swept away parishes, neighborhoods, and livelihoods. People’s possessions and precious memories have been reduced to ash, their futures left uncertain.
I know some of you lost everything. My heart weeps for you and your families and for all our neighbors.
But keep this in your heart and never forget: You are precious in the Lord’s eyes. Every one of you. God loves you with a love beyond telling.
St. Paul said that nothing can ever separate us from the love of Jesus Christ! Not trial or tribulation, not famine or persecution. And not fire.
In all these things, we can overcome, with the strength of the One who loves us until the end. We need to trust that in everything God is working for the good with those who love him, according to his purposes.
We remember the story from Scripture about how the prophet Elijah was chased by his enemies. God told him to climb the mountain, and he would pass by and speak to him.
Elijah felt abandoned. He couldn’t see God anywhere.
Then a violent wind came that ripped through the mountain, shattering everything in its wake. After that came an earthquake. Then a fire.
The Lord was not in the windstorm. Or the earthquake. And he was not in the fire.
But after the fire, Scripture says, there came a still, small Voice, a tiny whispering sound.
Out of these fires, we need to listen for that still small Voice. God is calling to us now, even if it sounds like only a whisper.
In times like this we realize life is precious, but life is also fragile. What we have, we could lose in an instant. So, we should live for God, enjoy every moment, and never take anyone or anything in our lives for granted.
Now is the hour for Christian witness. We need to stand together in hope! Support one another, sacrifice for one another, take care of one another!
This is the spirit we’ve tried to foster over the years through OneLife LA.
OneLife LA was never meant to be just an event. It was meant to start a movement.
OneLife LA is the dream of a community of love where every human life is sacred, and every life is cared for, from the moment a person is conceived in the womb until the moment their life reaches its natural end.
We need this spirit now to renew our city and our Church.
In this moment, the Lord is calling us to be good friends and good neighbors, to bring his love to those who are suffering.
Let us go, always forward with faith and hope in God: One life, one love, one LA!
Let’s ask our Blessed Mother to protect and guide us. In her tender love, may she help us to hear that still small Voice of her Son speaking in these days of fire.
Our Lady, Queen of Angels: Be a mother to us all!
