Christian Service Awards 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
March 17, 2021

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

I’m very happy to be with all of you today to celebrate this year’s Christian Service Awards. 

As we all know, with the pandemic, everything has changed. I guess it’s different so we had another one of these Mass for Christian Service Awards yesterday, so you who were here yesterday the homily is probably going to sound familiar to you all. 

So that’s the way it is these days. And we used to have the Church, the Cathedral packed with people for this beautiful celebration, but today we have some limits. 

So it is great to be with all of you in this beautiful moment, celebrating these Christian Service Award Masses — I think they give us a sign that we are slowly returning to “normal.” Or to the “new normal,” whatever that will be. 

And today I especially want to congratulate all of you — the winners of the Christian Service Awards this year!

As I said yesterday, you make us proud, and you inspire us because service is the work of love.

And love is what it means to be a Christian, a Catholic. Jesus gave us this simple and beautiful command — to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And love, as we know, is not just a feeling — love, real love is an action. We demonstrate our love by doing works of love, works of service. 

And that’s what we are reflecting on today as you receive this award. 

So also, as you know, as I said before, we are in this season of Lent. And Lent, as we all know, is a time of conversion, for getting deeper in our relationship with God. 

It’s interesting but just like yesterday, the readings from Sacred Scripture today, give us a beautiful picture of the love of God. 

The prophet Isaiah today tells us in the first reading that God will lead us — like prisoners, out of darkness into freedom. We will never be hungry or thirsty. He will make a way for us and show us mercy. 

And then we have that beautiful promise — it is a beautiful and personal promise that our Lord God makes to each one of us.

As we just heard in the first reading of today’s Mass: 

“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

My dear brothers and sisters, we should never forget that we are children of God, sons and daughters of God. God is our Father, he loves us with a love that we cannot even imagine.

So that will be our first reflection today, just thinking of how important it is for us to understand that God is our Father. And he’s with us always.  

Jesus tells us today in the Gospel: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”

God is with us, Jesus is walking by our side. In his love for us, he is always working in our lives.  

As St. Patrick said, he said: “God shows me how to have faith, and how to have faith in him. Forever. As one who is never to be doubted.”

God is our Father. Jesus is with us, walking by our side, always. 

It’s also interesting that what Jesus says today in the passage of the Gospel. He says: “For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.”

So now Jesus does — he’s doing what God the Father wants him to do. And when we think about that, Jesus doing God the Father’s works. 

So I think it is important for us, so important for us, to look at Jesus. That’s the secret of life. To live like we see Jesus living. 

You know it sounds like something that is very challenging, but obviously we have to do it in our very personal way and trusting in the help of the grace of God. 

But the first thing that is important for us, it’s obvious to all of us, is that we need to know better the life of Jesus. 

And we do that, if we take time maybe every day, to read a passage of the Gospel. Just for a little bit every day. Trying to get to know Jesus more and more, looking at what he is doing and trying to imitate him. 

And then at the same time, it’s important not only to listen to Jesus, but also to watch how he acts. Watch what he does. 

And when we look at it — when we read the Gospels and know the life of Jesus better — we notice that Jesus is always looking at other people, talking to them. Listening to them. 

That’s a beautiful lesson for each one of us. Because the love that Jesus is showing us begins in looking and listening. 

Sounds easy, but we know it’s challenging. With the grace of God, we can do it! 

And all of you who are receiving the award today are showing us that it’s possible to really be there, making life better for the people around us, especially at our families and also in the people that we meet in our daily life. 

Then Jesus talks today in the Gospel about giving life and raising the dead. He says: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.”

This is the kind of love that Jesus wants from us. Obviously, we cannot raise people from the dead. But we give life to others. With our words, we can offer hope and encouragement. By our actions, we can lend a helping hand. 

Today, let us especially ask for the grace to be intentional about love. It will really make a huge difference in our personal lives, and in the lives of the people that we love and the people that we serve, 

Finally, this Friday is going to be a historic day. We celebrate, on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, but this year, as we know is the Year of St. Joseph declared by Pope Francis. And I was reflecting on how this is the first time in the history of the Church that an entire year has been dedicated to St. Joseph. 

And Pope Francis has done that because he really believes that St. Joseph is a saint for our times, St. Joseph has a special message for all of us during this challenging time. 

St. Joseph was not a celebrity or somebody that everybody knew. Nobody knew him, except our Blessed Mother Mary and Jesus, the people in his family, his neighbors, the people he worked with. 

And in a sense, it’s similar to who we are. We are not celebrities. The people that know us are the people in our families, in friends and coworkers. But we are also called, as St. Joseph was, to make a difference, right where we are. To love and to care for one another. 

And also Pope Francis is asking us, and it starts this Friday on the Feast of St. Joseph, to reflect on the importance of family life — “the joy of family love.” 

Because the family is where we learn to love, where we learn to serve God and to serve others. 

So it is a beautiful time, and I hope that as we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph on Friday, we reflect how important it is in our daily life to share with people the beautiful love and presence of God in our lives and in the lives of the people that we are dealing with. 

Let’s ask today especially St. Joseph for his intercession, to St. Patrick for his intercession. And also ask the intercession of Mary our Blessed Mother, the Lady of the Angels. May they help us to love God and to offer Christian service to our brothers and sisters.

1. Readings (Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent): Isa. 49:8-15; John 5:17-30.