On April 5, Archbishop Gomez led more than 6,000 Catholics in a “pilgrimage of hope,” a seven-mile procession with holy relics from nearly two dozen of the Church’s saints, from All Souls Church in Alhambra to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where he celebrated Mass. The following is adapted from his homily.
Today has been a glorious celebration of the Church’s hope, the hope of the whole family of God here in Los Angeles.
As you know, we have been walking in the company of saints, who are present with us in their holy relics, now before us at this altar.
It’s amazing to think of all the historic saints in our midst, from the holy apostles who walked with the Lord, to St. Junípero Serra, the holy missionary who established the faith here in Los Angeles.
We are also in the presence of the Church’s newest saints: the young millennial Carlo Acutis, who will be canonized after Easter, and Pier Frassati, who will be canonized in August!
My brothers and sisters, in these saints that we’ve been walking with today, we see the universal call to holiness, from the Church’s first beginnings until right now.
And I think it’s important to remember that we are called to the same holiness, the same heroic virtue, the same mission. Our vocation and destiny is to join them. We are created to become saints ourselves and to live forever with God in the love that never ends.
This is our hope as Catholics.
In the Gospel that we just heard, the people are amazed at Jesus’ teaching. Some say he’s a prophet; others, the Messiah. “Never before has anyone spoken like this man,” they say.
Nobody has ever spoken like Jesus because he is the living God who has come into our midst; come to show us his face, come to open his heart to us.
In taking human flesh, Jesus shows us what it means to be a human being, a human person. He shows us who we are, and what we are made for, and why we are here.
The beautiful truth that he reveals is that God knows our name; he has loved us from before all ages, and he will love us to the end. That’s why Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. Because he loves us more than we could ever imagine.
And Jesus saves our lives for a reason!
Jesus has a job for each one of us, for you and for me. He wants each of us to be a part of his beautiful project of redemption.
One of the saints said: “I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created. I have my mission — I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.”
This is the truth for everyone in the Church. Jesus has a mission for all of us.
In this Jubilee Year, it’s important for us to reflect on how Jesus is calling us to be his instruments, to be heroes of hope! In our parishes and schools; in our communities, and in our homes. We are called to be missionaries of hope.
And that’s the way in which we are going to make a difference in our families and in our society.
So, Jesus is sending us into the world to share the hope that we have in him.
Jesus is also calling us to show our world what hope looks like in action.
We need to lift up our neighbors in need, feed the hungry, and welcome the stranger. We need to work for peace and build up our families and communities. In all things, we need to love others so they will know that they are loved by God.
That’s what I wanted to share with you today, that really this call of hope is personal for each one of us. And it is a beautiful mission!
So, let’s ask Mary our Blessed Mother for her intercession today — that we can be those heroes of hope! And let us commit ourselves again today to becoming the saints that we are created to be.
We ask our Blessed Mother, Queen of the Angels and Star of Hope, to guide us as we seek always to follow in the way of her Son!
