Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress 2022

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
August 13, 2022

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

I hope that you are enjoying the day today. I’m not sure that we have to do it every year, no. Well, we’ll pray about it. 

How fitting that we are concluding this Congress with the celebration of the Holy Mass.

The Eucharist is the mystery of the Almighty God’s presence among us. It is the mystery of our Creator’s love, the mystery of his desire to share his divine life in tender friendship with each one of us.

Qué bonito que terminamos el Congreso con la celebración de la Santa Misa. La Eucaristía es el misterio de la presencia y del amor de Dios por nosotros.

We hear that divine desire in Our Lord’s cry today in the Gospel. Let’s listen to his words again: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great my anguish until it is accomplished.”

As we probably know, our Lord is talking about the cross, about his passion and death. This is what he means by his “baptism.” He is telling us about his deep love for us.

This is how much our life is worth to Jesus! We mean so much to him that he offers his Body and Blood for us. We are worth so much that he will endure the pain of the cross and the shame of the cross —so that we can live forever in the fire of his love.

What a wonderful love this is! How could we ever imagine it? How could we ever be worthy of it?

So my dear brothers and sisters, our life is a gift! And when we receive gifts, we say thank you. When we receive gifts from God, we say thank you in worship, by offering our lives to him in thanksgiving.

This is why Jesus left us the Eucharist and gave us the command,
“Do this in memory of me.”

Las palabras de Jesus en el Evangelio de hoy nos recuerdan que Jesus nos ama tanto que dio su vida por nosotros y el mejor modo de darle gracias es nuestro deseo de venerarlo y ofrecerle nuestra vida.

Por eso Nuestro Señor Jesus nos dejó la Eucaristía y nos dio el mandato: ‘Hagan esto en memoria mía’.

Then, you and I, my dear brothers and sisters, we are a part of the beautiful history of salvation. The Letter to Hebrews, which we heard in the second reading, tells us: “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”

This is true, this is the reality. We need to cultivate this vision, to see everything with the eyes of faith. If we could lift the veil, we would realize that we are in the company of angels and saints, that they are everywhere, all around us.

Just this beautiful tapestry of the communion of saints in our Cathedral helps us to understand that the saints are with us always.

And at the altar in every Mass, heaven and earth meet! Heaven is opened and the earth is lifted up, as we offer the gifts of creation to our Creator.

Y en la segunda lectura de la Misa de hoy, de la Carta a los Hebreos,
se nos dice que estamos “Rodeados, … por la multitud de antepasados nuestros, que dieron prueba de su fe…”

Si vemos con los ojos de la fe somos conscientes de la compañía de los Angeles y de los Santos y en cada Misa, el cielo y la tierra se unen y le ofrecemos a Dios, los regalos de la creación.

In giving us the Eucharist, Jesus gives us a vision for living, a vision for seeing the world and our place in it. And in giving us the Eucharist, Jesus gives our lives a mission.

Every celebration of the Eucharist ends with a commission: Go forth, the Mass is ended! Go and announce the Gospel! Go, and glorify God by your life!

What begins within these walls, is meant to continue outside these walls. The gift that we receive at this holy table, we are called to share with our neighbors.
 
So my dear brothers and sisters, let us become Eucharistic missionaries, messengers of this mystery of God’s mercy!

Al darnos la Eucaristía Jesus nos da una visión para la vida y nos da una misión. Como sabemos, la Misa termina con las palabras, ‘Pueden ir en paz’ ‘En la paz de Cristo, vayan a servir a Dios y a sus hermanos’ ‘Anuncien a todos la alegría del Señor resucitado.’

Lo que se vive aquí en el Templo se tiene que llevar fuera de estas paredes. El regalo que recibimos en el altar, debemos llevarlo a todas las personas que nos rodean.

¡Que seamos misioneros Eucarísticos, mensajeros del misterio de la misericordia de Dios!

Jesus tells us today that if we follow him, we should expect resistance and opposition. He gives us a hard saying in the Gospel: “A father will be divided against his son, and a son against his father.”

As we know: the Gospel is a sign of contradiction; God’s people have always had to struggle and endure hardship. Think of the persecution that the prophet Jeremiah suffered in the first reading of today’s Mass.

So we know that it’s not easy to live our Catholic faith these days, in this moment in our country. But we should never grow weary or lose heart.

That heavenly cloud of witnesses goes with us — praying for us, interceding for us! And Jesus goes with us!

Jesus nos dice en el Evangelio de hoy que si lo seguimos tendremos dificultades. Sabemos que el Evangelio es signo de contradicción, que no es fácil vivir nuestra Fe Católica en estos tiempos, pero nunca debemos desanimarnos.

La ‘multitud de antepasados’ que dieron testimonio, los ángeles y los santos, nos acompañan siempre y Jesus está con nosotros.

So, as we heard in that second reading today, let’s keep going! Always forward in joy, on the path that he sets before us. Let’s “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

May Holy Mary, help us to intensify our love for her son Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Como escuchamos en la segunda lectura de hoy sigamos siempre adelante con alegría ‘fija la mirada en Jesus autor y consumador de nuestra fe’

Que Maria Santísima nos ayude a crecer, cada vez más, en el amor a la presencia real de su Hijo Jesus, en la Sagrada Eucaristía.