Ash Wednesday 2023

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
February 22, 2023

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

Today, once again, we enter the beautiful and holy season of Lent.

And our hearts are heavy today. It has been a very sad time for the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

As we know, we have lost a beloved friend and a holy priest, Bishop David O’Connell. And we continue to pray for the repose of his soul, and for consolation of his family and for all of us in Los Angeles.

But even as we grieve, we give thanks for his life.

Because Bishop Dave was a man who loved Jesus Christ, and he gave his whole life to following Jesus, to being his friend, and to helping others to find Jesus.

This is what we are all looking for. We all are looking for that. We are all born with the desire to be happy, the desire to find love and joy and the meaning of our lives.

And the truth is — only when we meet Jesus do we find the happiness that we are looking for.

Bishop Dave knew this truth. And he wanted everyone to know this truth, too. And he showed us how beautiful life can be, when we love Jesus and live for him.
 
So, as we begin this holy season, we ask Bishop Dave’s intercession now from heaven. I know that he is as eager to help us from heaven as he was eager to help us here on earth.

So we ask him to pray for us — for all of us, especially during this Lenten season. Because it’s a good time that we, especially, be able to open our hearts and reflect on our lives, and on our own relationship with Jesus Christ.

So let’s keep praying for him and asking his intercession — for each one of us, our families, and everyone in Los Angeles.

So in the first reading that we heard, the prophet Joel brings us an invitation from the Lord.

The Lord says: “Return to me with your whole heart .… Return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness.”

Lent is the season for returning, coming home to the Father.

The beautiful symbol of this Lenten season is the prodigal son, who wandered far away from his father’s house, who went astray and fell into sin and bad living.

But then this son came to his senses and went back home and confessed his sorrow to his father. And his father welcomed him back in love, with open arms.²

My dear brothers and sisters, this is the story of our own life — your life and mine. And it is the beautiful promise that we have from Jesus Christ. In Christ, we can be “reconciled with God,” as St. Paul says in the second reading today. 

So these forty days of Lent are a journey to the cross, where Jesus once again wants to speak to our hearts, he wants to tell us: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”³

So, we ask for that grace today, as Lent begins.

We ask Our Lord for his forgiveness. We ask to be made worthy of his sacrifice for us. We pray as we did in our psalm today: “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”  

Our Christian life is a journey of conversion. It is the work of a lifetime, to return to the Lord, to accept his forgiveness, and to live in his love.

And in our Gospel today, Jesus teaches us the path that we have to follow — the path of prayer, fasting, and works of mercy.

As we know, these three practices should be part of our daily lives as Catholics. Praying every day; making sacrifices and little offerings to God; being generous and merciful towards others.

This is a beautiful way to live. It is the way of peace, and the way of mercy, and the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.

So, let’s make this Lent a time for learning again the power of conversion, beginning again, in our lives.

In our prayer this Lent, let us pray from the heart, “Forgive us our trespasses.” Let us return to the sacrament of Confession, coming back to our Father like the prodigal son, confessing our sins and our need for his mercy.

In our fasting this Lent, let us “fast” from dwelling on old hurts and resentments, from harboring grudges.

And in our almsgiving, our works of mercy, let us be generous in trying to give others the benefit of the doubt. Let us be quick in making life better for others and cheerful in finding ways to be more generous in serving others.

My brothers and sisters, if we practice these habits of conversion during Lent, then I know we will grow in holiness and in our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

And I know we will be able to meet him on Easter, with a clean heart and a new spirit to celebrate his resurrection.

Let us keep praying for one another. Let us especially keep praying for Bishop Dave and his family, and for all of us who mourn him.

And as we enter into our Lenten journey, let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Mercy.

May she help us to answer with a generous heart, our Lord’s invitation to return to him with all our heart. Amen.