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Griselda Torres was evacuating during the Eaton Fire when a phone call gave her the news: her parish was on fire.
For Torres, the faith formation director at Sacred Heart Church in Altadena, the call was “like a blow to my stomach.”
She worked there, knew the parishioners. She lived only a few blocks away. She had lived in the area nearly all of her life.
Thanks to some swift action by a deacon and other helpers, they narrowly helped save Sacred Heart from being engulfed in flames.
But another phone call came as a second gut punch: Her own house was on fire. And this time, there was no saving it.
As Archbishop José H. Gomez celebrated a bilingual Mass Jan. 9 at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel’s Chapel of the Annunciation for fire victims, firefighters, and first responders, Torres sat in the pew, listening to his words of comfort.
“In times like this, we can be tempted to question God’s love for us, to wonder where he is while good people are suffering,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Why does God let evil things happen? Why does he allow natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, and earthquakes and floods?
“There is no easy answer. But that doesn’t mean that there are no answers.”
For Torres, the message from the Mass — and all that she’d experienced — was clear: God was giving her a chance for something new.
“God has a plan,” she said. “He didn’t do this because I did something wrong. It’s just he has something new for me and for my family, and we just have to have faith that it will be something positive.”
Hundreds gathered at the mission for the second of three Masses presided over by Archbishop Gomez, who was also joined by Auxiliary Bishops Matthew Elshoff and Brian Nunes. Earlier in the day, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels hosted a Mass featuring Corpus Christi victims — whose parish burned down — and another was scheduled at Incarnation Church in Glendale on Jan. 10.
The Masses were celebrated in each of the respective pastoral regions affected by the several fires that have wreaked havoc on Southern California.
Sitting nearby Torres was Deacon José Luis Díaz and his wife, Maria Esther, who helped save Sacred Heart from burning.
Although the couple’s Altadena home was spared from the flames, they’ve been staying at the evacuation shelter set up at the Pasadena Convention Center.
“Sometimes when you see something on the news, you view it as happening in the distance to somebody else. But when it affects you, it’s a very different situation,” said Maria Esther in an interview before the Mass.
José Luis said that while he and his wife are grieving for affected parishioners, they’ve also been inspired by the faith and the resilience of the Sacred Heart community during this ordeal.
Before coming to Mass, Sacred Heart pastor Father Gilbert Guzmán blessed parishioners staying at the evacuation center. Afterward, they prayed the rosary together.
“Praying helps us a lot because it makes us spiritually stronger and it motivates us to continue moving forward even in the face of adversity,” José Luis said. “Even through the challenges, people are giving thanks to God for still being alive and being able to move forward.”
In remarks during the Mass, Guzmán said the faith of the victims he visited at the evacuation center surprised even him.
“I give thanks to all of you for your prayers and your support for the people in Altadena, those who are still not able to go home and for those where there is no home to go to. So our prayers are with them as they rebuild their homes and as they rebuild their lives.”
Many in the crowd attended the Mass to provide solidarity to a community that’s suffering.
Bill Pilkington, a deacon at St. Gregory the Great Church in Whittier, knows firsthand how fire can change a person’s life. For 40 years, he ran his Pizzamania restaurant in Whittier before an arsonist burned it down in September 2024.
“I hate to say that I know what they’re going through because it was a business — businesses can be replaced — but it wrecked a lot of people’s lives,” Pilkington said. “So when these started, it’s a tough thing.
“When there’s a fire, there’s no wealth or poor, there’s just tearing people’s lives apart.”
Capt. Eddie Brock of the San Gabriel Police Department attended the Mass in full uniform.
Brock said that disasters like these can serve as opportunities for people to take a spiritual “inventory” and turn back to God if they’ve strayed.
“The door is never closed that we can’t come back,” he said. “One kind word. One yield. Hold the door for someone. One small spark can set off the flame of love if we’re open to it.”
For the Díazes, the fires have provided them with an opportunity to bring consolation and prayer to their faith community, and to answer God’s call to be charitable to others.
“It’s important that we answer those calls to help each other,” José Luis said. “I think that’s exactly what the love of God is — helping each other mutually in any way we can.”
Maria Esther said that her parish has historically been a close-knit community, where the faithful care deeply for one another — in good times and bad.
“Even though we may not know each other, there is union, there is harmony,” she said.
She said she is confident that the Sacred Heart community will rebound and will emerge from the ashes stronger, and still united.
“No matter what happens, no matter the trials that come our way, we stand together,” she said. “And we always will.”
