Mass with Los Angeles Delegation to National Catholic Youth Conference

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Long Beach, California
November 10, 2022

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

It’s great to be with you all today for this celebration of the Eucharist and especially, as I was saying, as we are starting for the first time, in Los Angeles, NCYC.

I remember that when I went to NCYC in Indianapolis several years ago, so everybody when I was saying NC they said: YC! Alright. So this is really NCYC.

So it is a beautiful celebration of faith with young people from different dioceses and parishes. And I think for all of us in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles it’s a great blessing to welcome so many young people from other places.

Today, as I was saying, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Leo the Great, he was one of the popes in the fifth century and he also was a doctor of the Church, and the first pope who left sermons for us to read.

And in one of his sermons, he said: “Christians, remember your dignity and know that you share in God’s own nature. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s Kingdom.”

Remember your dignity and know that you are sharing in God’s own nature. This is the beautiful reality of our lives.  

Jesus tells us today in the Gospel: “For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”

So this is why Jesus came into this world. He came to bring his kingdom. And his kingdom is all of us — each one of us. His kingdom is the Church, it’s the family of God that we all belong to.

When we were baptized, we became — in the most beautiful way possible, a beloved son or beloved daughter of God.

Jesus is reminding us tonight is that his kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. His kingdom spiritual — it’s a kingdom of the heart.

Jesus wants to rule in love over every human heart! He wants to be the king of your heart and my heart, and he wants to be the Lord of our lives.

So as I was thinking of this beautiful reality — that we’re part of the family of God in such a special way — what do we do that would be really special that can help us to really become proud members of the holy Church?

And I think the best way to do it is to have a deep devotion to the Eucharist and the holy Mass.

It is an amazing truth that the King of the universe, the God who created the sun and the moon, and everything in heaven and on earth —comes to meet us, comes to give himself to us in bread and wine, to be our food.

It is beautiful and it’s true. And our God comes to be with us, out of love for each one of us, again for you and for me.

So when we think of what is the best way, as I was saying, just think of the importance of being at the Eucharist, understanding what it is, receiving the holy Communion and being an extraordinary part of Jesus who wants to be with us.

Jesus says today in the Gospel: “The Son of Man … must first suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.” When we think about that, we understand that he suffered everything for us.

And we remember his love, his suffering for us — he is especially present when we do it as we celebrate the Eucharist.

Jesus gave all that he had, he gave everything for us. And he is still giving his life for us — in his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.

You know I can share with you that probably one of the things that make a greater difference in my life is when I was a teenager — for different situations in my family — my dad started going to daily Mass.

And obviously for me — why is he doing that? What’s wrong with him? But that really caught my attention.

But then I started to do the same — try to, whenever it was possible, try to go to daily Mass. And that made a huge difference in my life.

So I think if we think of what is the best way to really open our hearts to Jesus and become close friends with him and grow in our love for God and for everyone else — I think the best way to do it is trying to, at least every Sunday, make sure that we go to Mass and are well prepared to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

And another practical suggestion is that every time we receive the Eucharist, we need think about how much Jesus loves us and maybe just say, “Thank you, Lord!” And asking him to make each one of us more aware of his presence in our lives. Asking him to help us see his presence hidden in the people that we meet every day. And asking for the grace to be able to give ourselves to others, as he gave himself for us.

So in that way then, we can really open our hearts to the presence of Jesus in our lives. And as Jesus says also in today’s Gospel: "The Kingdom of God is among you."

Well, it is true. Every single moment of our lives we are in the presence of God.

So today, let us ask for that beautiful grace and, at the same time, see the importance of having this beautiful mission to share with everybody else — the beauty of God’s love for each one of us. That’s our mission.

We need to share the love of God – the love that is in our hearts for God — with everybody else. And we do it through the way that we live, through the way that we are merciful, and with generosity try to make life better for everybody else close to us.

So let’s ask for the grace that his Kingdom might grow within us.

Let’s also ask the intercession of Mary our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Heaven. May she make her Son to dwell more deeply in our hearts, that we might love him more and follow him more closely.