6th Sunday of Easter 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
May 9, 2021

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

First of all, I want to, again, congratulate mothers on this beautiful Mother’s Day! So Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

We pray today with gratitude for all our mothers, those who are with us and those who have gone on before us. We thank them for the gift of life, the gift of faith. 

It is beautiful that we remember our mothers and grandmothers — those strong women who gave us life and brought us up in this world. And to remember in a personal and deep way our mothers are our first teachers in the ways of love, which is the whole meaning of life, as we heard today in our second reading: “Love is of God, everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.”

So we thank our mothers today and we ask God to bless them for their example of love, and for showing us the way to God. 

And we have a special blessing for all mothers at the end of our prayers — after our Profession of Faith.

So as I said before we offer this Mass especially for all of you and your families. 

So as we turn to our readings for today, we are coming to the end of this glorious season of Easter, this period in which we remember the 50 days that our Risen Lord spent with his disciples before ascending into heaven. 

And our first reading today shows us, in a most powerful way, God’s universal purpose in sending Jesus Christ into the world.

As we heard in that first reading, St. Peter and his disciples go to the house of Cornelius, who is a Roman soldier. 

I think it is important to understand that Cornelius and his family are not Jewish, they are Gentiles which, as we know, is the name given to all those peoples of the world outside of the people of Israel. 

And that is the point! God’s plan in Jesus was to bring his salvation to every nation.

As we know, in our society today, we see many divisions and oppositions. But this is not what God intends. In his creation, in his redemption, there is a nobility and unity in the human race. We are different peoples, we are different nationalities and races and languages. 

But in Jesus Christ, in his Church, what was once separated and scattered has been restored and reunited. By his cross and resurrection, Jesus has gathered into one all the peoples of the earth, making us one family. 

So remember that God does not just share his love and mercy only with some people. He does not prefer one race more than another. 

St. Peter says in that first reading of today’s Mass: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”

So my brothers and sisters, the story of Corneilus and his family today tells us that God is ready to pour out the gift of his Holy Spirit on everyone! No matter who they are. No matter where they come from. 

God loves us all with a Father’s love. He wants every family to be a part of his family, the Church. All of us have a common origin and a common destiny. We are all children of God. Sons and daughters of God. 

So today I think it is important for us to reflect on this beautiful plan of God for humanity. And also that in the Catholic Church, we see God’s “original intention,” because the Church has a worldwide, universal character. We truly are a home for all peoples, a family of the nations. 

And then we also have to remember that we have a mission. To continue to grow the family of God. Jesus commanded his Church to proclaim the truth of his love to every nation under heaven. And that command, my brothers and sisters, applies to every one of us in the Church. 

In the passage of the Gospel today, Jesus is speaking to each one of us when he says: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”

So Jesus is telling us today that our lives need to be “fruitful.” Then there is something that he wants us to do with our lives. 

And as we know, that is what Jesus tells his disciples in today’s passage of the Gospel — his new commandment. 

This is my commandment: 
Love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this:
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

“You are my friends,” he says, “and you do what I command you.”

And probably a good question for all of us is: What is the fruit of love? 

My brothers and sisters, we know it is love. So we need to love, we need to share the love of God that we have been given. We need to share that love with every person that we come in contact with, beginning with those in our families. 

Especially, I will say, in this moment when in our society there is so much fear. There is division. We need all of us to be Easter people. We need to work to unite all things in Christ! We need to proclaim the unity of all peoples in the love of God.

That’s what Jesus is sending us out to do, just like he sent out St. Peter and the first apostles. Just as he sends out missionaries and disciples in every age. 

So let’s reflect on that this week especially — thinking of how each one of us is a part of God’s beautiful plan of love, for the salvation of the nations. 

And each one of us should play our part in that plan by sharing his love in the circumstances of our own lives. 

Maybe that’s a good practical resolution for us this week, as we prepare to celebrate the Ascension of our Lord next Sunday. Just find the little ways to show love, little ways to make a difference, to do good, to help people. 

Especially in these days during the month of May, that we know is the month of Mary our Blessed Mother. And let’s especially ask her for her intercession — that we may be able to do those little things of love in our daily life. 

And as we remember our mothers today, we obviously remember Mary our Blessed Mother who is our mother and the mother of every person. 

Let’s keep in mind also that our Holy Father Pope Francis has asked us in this month of May — the month of Mary — to pray the rosary every day, especially praying for the end of the pandemic. Maybe we can find the time, in our families, to pray the rosary as a family during these days, asking for that special intention. That God gives us the grace of the intercession of our Blessed Mother to end this time of the pandemic. 

And let us ask our Blessed Mother to intercede for us and to help us to follow her Son on the path of love and to bear good fruits through the love we show for others.  

1. Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Ps. 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17.