Queen of Angels Mass 2023

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
August 26, 2023

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

Today, we remember the founding of our great city today under the mantle of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula, Our Lady the Queen of Angels.

This is the beautiful image that we have in our second reading today, as we just heard: “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Holy Mary is the Queen of Heaven, the Lady of All Creation! Clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet, all the angels and saints, the prophets, apostles, and martyrs — all pay her homage.

And so do we.

She is the Mother of God, and we are her children, each one of us. She is one mother, and we are many peoples! And today we come to her, from every nation, in faith and filial love.

Today we are celebrating, once again, the beautiful diverse cultures and peoples and languages that make up the one family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

We turn our eyes to Our Lady today, just as St. Junípero Serra and his brother Franciscans did, just as that first generation of Angelenos from San Gabriel Mission did, including our Tongva brothers and sisters, the first peoples of this land.

We stand before her, and we implore her intercession for our city, for our country, for all our countries, and the whole world. We pray today especially for our families and our children. We ask her, Mary Our Blessed Mother, to turn to her eyes of mercy toward us, to look upon us in her maternal care.

And as we know, Mary always brings us Jesus.

So we rejoice today, with the prophet in the first reading of today’s Mass: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, upon his shoulder dominion rests.”

We know that in God’s plan this Child born to Mary is “destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.”

So my dear brothers and sisters, Our Lady still longs for her Son to be born in every human heart. In your heart and mine. In the hearts of every one of our loved ones, and in the hearts of every one of our neighbors.

Pope Francis, this past week, talked about the beautiful story of St. Juan Diego. Our Lady of Guadalupe came to him at the dawn of faith in the Americas. We know how she asked him to help her to spread the love of Jesus throughout the land.

Pope Francis said: “Let us dwell then on the testimony of St. Juan Diego, who is the messenger, this young man, this indigenous man who received the revelation of Mary, the messenger of our Lady of Guadalupe.”²

As we all know, Our Lady spoke to him with such tender, motherly love. She said these words to him:

“Listen, my youngest and dearest son … I have no lack of servants, no lack of messengers, to whom I can give the task of bearing my word. … But it is very necessary that you personally go … that my wish may become a reality.”³

My dear brothers and sisters, I think, and I believe that Our Blessed Mother is speaking those same words to all of us, to you and to me, in this generation.

It is very necessary that we go out, each one of us personally, and make our Mother’s wishes real — now, in our time and in our place.

Just as Mary said “yes” to the angel Gabriel in the Gospel today, she is calling each of us to say “yes.”

We all know Mary’s beautiful words by heart: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

So today, in this celebration of the Eucharist, let us ask for the grace to make these words our own, to live these words in our own lives. Let us ask for the grace to “yes,” as Mary did — to do the will of God in our lives, and to bring Jesus into the world.

Our Lady is calling us to continue the mission to Los Angeles, and we need to answer her call. It is urgent. So many souls are waiting to know Jesus, and so many are lost without him! And these souls may never meet Jesus unless we are the ones who introduce them to the love of Jesus in their life.

Yes, my dear brothers and sisters: We are apostles, missionaries, we are servants and messengers. Just like St. Juan Diego, just like St. Junípero Serra and those first Angelenos from Mission San Gabriel.

And we have a part to play that no one else can play! It is so beautiful to speak to others about Jesus, to tell others about our love for him and Our Blessed Mother. This is the true meaning of our lives: to love Jesus and to share our love for him with others.

So let’s, especially today, ask for that grace — to really be messengers of the love of God and the love of Mary Our Blessed Mother for everyone.

And if we do it really speaking from our heart, if we offer our love with real affection in every situation, if we bring peace wherever we can. If we do these things, then my dear brothers and sisters, Jesus will do the rest! He will make Our Lady’s wish a reality. Through each one of us.

So, let us make that our prayer today! And every day! To be faithful sons and daughters of God and ask Mary Our Blessed Mother for her intercession.

Let us remember that Mary Our Blessed Mother is always interceding for us with Jesus. Let us ask her to help us to grow in our love for her and in our love for her Son.

Holy Mary, Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Church, pray for us!