Most Reverend José H. Gomez Archbishop of Los Angeles
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels January 22, 2022
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,1
In this beautiful liturgy, we continue our celebration of the Gospel of life, which we began this morning in our OneLife LA procession and family festival.
I am grateful to all of you who came out today to proclaim the beautiful truth that all human life is sacred.
In this requiem Mass tonight, we mourn the innocent lives that were taken in Los Angeles through the evil of abortion.
In their presence, in the memory of these little ones, we commit ourselves once more to the noble struggle for the rights of the unborn child. We commit ourselves to the task of creating an America where human life is cherished and cared for, an America where the family is recognized as the true foundation of society.
Our first reading that we heard this evening, from the Book of Nehemiah, invites us to reflect on God’s Law.
As we heard, the people have returned from their long exile in Babylon and they are gathered to hear the priest Ezra read from what the Scripture calls “the book of the Law of God.”
And our reading tells us that the people wept “when they heard the words of the Law.” They wept because they understood — that they had not been living as God intended them to live.
My brothers and sisters, in the presence of these little ones who were lost, we weep tonight, as well. And for the same reason. We weep because we have not lived as God taught us to live.
At the heart of God’s Law are the Ten Commandments, as we know, that he delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai — you shall have no other gods before me; you shall not kill; honor your father and your mother, and the rest.
The Ten Commandments formed the foundation of Western civilization, they shaped the assumptions of America’s founding documents.
From our history, we know the tragedy: when our human laws do not reflect God’s Law, it leads to terrible evils and injustice. We have seen this with slavery, and with segregation. We have seen this with abortion, and with euthanasia.
So, tonight especially we pray for our nation, and for our leaders, and for ourselves. We are asking our Lord tonight to renew in our hearts the desire to fulfill the promise of America.
As we know, America’s founders believed that all men and women are created by God with a sacred dignity, and endowed with undeniable rights to life, liberty, and equality. They believed that the only purpose of government was to promote and protect those sacred rights.
So my dear brothers and sisters, yes, we have a mission to fulfill the beautiful promises of our founders. We have this mission, not only as Americans. We have this mission as Catholics, as Christians.
In the Gospel tonight, we heard those ringing words from Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … to bring glad tidings to the poor … to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”
This was Our Lord’s mission and this is also the mission that he entrusts to his Church in every age and in every place.
Jesus suffered and died to raise up every person to new life, to the glorious liberty of the children of God. 2
By his love, Jesus revealed to us the great mystery and dignity of the human person — who is made in the image of God, redeemed by the blood of God’s only Son, born on earth but destined for heaven. He revealed the truth that we all are brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of Our Father in heaven.
And tonight, Jesus is calling us once again to proclaim these glad tidings to our nation, to open our neighbors’ eyes to see — the beauty and sanctity of every human life.
He is calling us to liberate our neighbors from the oppression of individualism and indifference.
And St. Paul tells us in the second reading that we are all one body, that we are “Christ’s body.”
That means that as Catholics, as Christians, we can never be satisfied when any member of Christ’s body is suffering. We cannot rest while there are some in our society who are being denied their God-given rights and dignity.
For nearly fifty years now, our nation has refused to recognize the most basic right of the unborn child — the right to life, the foundation of every other human right.
But then my brothers and sisters, the words of Ezra tonight give us hope. He told the people of Israel. “Do not be sad, do not weep. … Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.”
And yes, I can see the day coming when the dignity and rights of the unborn child will finally be respected and protected!
Until then, we need to continue the work of building a culture of compassion and care, working for a society where each of us can live in the freedom that our Creator calls us to live.
Let us ask for the grace to love others as Jesus loves them. Let us ask for the grace to make our homes and our parishes — beautiful sanctuaries of love for everyone, for women in need, for children, and for families. Let us make our hearts a sanctuary of love and compassion for all who are weak and vulnerable.
Our Lord Jesus has entrusted this great work to all of us – to each one of us!
And as we have heard tonight, rejoicing in the Lord, must be our strength. Again: “Do not be sad, do not weep. … Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.” Trusting in his mercy, trusting in his Providence, trusting in his great plan of love and salvation.
So my brothers and sisters, let us continue always forward in hope.
And may our Blessed Mother Mary give us strength in this moment to build the civilization of love that Jesus calls us to, and that our nation’s founding documents promise.
1. Readings (3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time): Neh. 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10; Ps. 19:8–10,15; 1 Cor. 12:12–30; Luke 1:1–4; 4:14–21.