Reflection at the National Catholic Youth Conference General Assembly

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Long Beach, California
November 10, 2022

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

First of all, welcome to NCYC 2022!

It is a great blessing for all of us to welcome all of you to Long Beach and to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. So I think there is a tradition that when the one who is giving the homily says NC, (YC) alright you got it!

So as we prepare this evening to renew our baptismal promises tonight, our readings take us back through salvation history.

We hear of the first days of creation, when God made water to cover the earth. We hear of the world’s new beginning after the great flood, as the waters gradually withdraw from the face of the earth.

We also heard how God liberated the children of Israel, parting the waters of the sea. And in our Gospel, we had that great story of Jesus appearing to the apostles as they face a frightful storm in the open waters of the sea.  

These readings are part of a beautiful story. Really, a love story. The story of the Bible is one long story about God’s love for his people, and his desire to build his Kingdom, the family of God on earth.

So as we hear these readings tonight, we realize — that our lives have a deeper meaning. Your life and my life are caught up in this great story of salvation history.

Our baptism was the most important day of our life, even if most of us were too little to remember it.

Our baptism made us a part of God’s family. This is who we are! You are God’s beloved son, God’s beloved daughter! I hope that you forget get it. 

We are precious to God, every one of us. The challenge for each of us is really to believe in God’s love, to trust in his love, and to build our lives on the foundation of this love.

Conversion to Jesus Christ is something that takes a lifetime. It means making a daily decision for Jesus — to do things his way, not our way. It means letting Jesus love you, and you loving him back — with all your heart.

Jesus is speaking to each one of you personally tonight in the Gospel. He says: “Take courage. It is I; do not be afraid.”

We know that it’s not easy to live as a child of God. It’s hard to live our faith in this culture. You know that. As I do. But my brothers and sisters, we are in this together. We know that our culture tells us, every day in a thousand different ways, that it would be easier for us if we stopped believing in God, if we stopped trying to live like Jesus teaches.

That’s what this Gospel tonight is about. This reading is about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The boat is the Church, the apostles in the boat are you and me, all of us who have been baptized and are trying to live our faith in Jesus.

So what the Gospel tells us tonight is that following Jesus, being a Catholic — often it’s like being in a small boat, far from land, with the waves and the wind against us. You and I, every day, we face the storms of living in a hostile culture, a culture where we face all kinds of pressures. And yes, we can get frightened by the challenges, by the moral darkness that we see our world. We can be discouraged by our failings and weakness.

But Jesus comes to us, especially in the challenging moments of our lives, in the darkest part of the night. And he says to us, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”

In the Gospel, Jesus invites St. Peter to walk with him —yes to walk with him on the water. And of course, we know that’s impossible. But with Jesus, all things are possible.

And it’s amazing, St. Peter is doing it, for a time. But then you know what happened: St. Peter got scared. He looked around, he saw the waves and the wind.

But as long as he kept his eyes centered Jesus, Peter was doing fine. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus, he started to doubt; and then he started sinking.

So my dear friends: tonight, Our Lord is calling to you, just as he called to Peter: “Come.” Just that word. “Come.”

Go to him now, he calls you. He’s calling you to go deeper in your friendship with him. Deeper in your baptismal commitments, your baptismal identity as a son of God, a daughter of God.

If you follow him, and trust in him, if you live by his words and his will — he will give you the strength to do beautiful things with your life.

And he will never leave you, never let you sink. Just call on him in your weakness, in your struggles, just as Peter did. You have to say, “Lord, save me!” And be sure that he will. Always!

So tonight, as we renew our baptismal promises, let us ask Our Blessed Mother Mary to help us give our lives, more and more, to her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.