Ordinations to the Priesthood 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
June 5, 2021

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially you, my dear brothers who are about to be ordained, ¹

This is a beautiful day, as I was saying before, in the life of the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I am so happy that we can celebrate this moment together, in person!

Thanks be to God!

These months have been difficult for all of us. It has been hard for our priests to be separated from their people. So, as we pray for these men who will be ordained today, let us pray especially for all our priests, as we begin to fully open our parishes and welcome our people back.

So, Patrick, César, Andrew, Sergio, Francis, Ji Hoon, Michael, and Matthew: Today your names will be inscribed in that ancient and noble list written in heaven, the list of those men called throughout history to be the priests of God!

The first reading from the Book of Numbers reminds us that the ministerial priesthood has deep roots in salvation history. The priesthood was part of God’s plan from the beginning, from the foundation of creation.

Today, you will be given to share in the very Spirit of God! In just a few minutes, when we impose our hands on you, the Spirit of the living God will come and rest upon you. Just as God bestowed his Spirit on the elders in the time of Moses.

Treasure this gift, my brothers. Live with gratitude and joy every day!

The Spirit you receive today sets you free — to live no longer for yourself. The priesthood is about leaving yourself behind and giving it all to Jesus, giving him your voice, your hands, and your heart. Proclaiming his Gospel with your life. 

So Jesus is speaking directly to your heart in the Gospel today: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. … I have called you friends. … It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruits that will remain.”

So our Lord has called you today, at this particular moment in salvation history.

I want you to know that you are the second class of priests that I have ordained during this pandemic. So, you are “priests of the pandemic generation,” as I said to the new priests last year. But that’s not just a slogan or nice words. Every generation of priests faces its own unique challenges in terms of evangelization.

The Church’s mission to this generation will be shaped in many ways by the losses and disappointments of these past months. First of all, the loss of loved ones or their livelihoods or their security. But also the fact that many of our neighbors have also lost their faith in God and are struggling to have hope for the future.

As his priests, Our Lord is calling you to lead this generation to a new awakening, a new opening to the reality and power of the living God.

The words of Moses in that first reading, give us a beautiful description of your mission in this moment. As Moses said: “You tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land You have promised.”

This is who you are, my dear brothers! You are ordained to be the fathers of God’s people. You are called to carry his people, and to care for his people with the heart of a father.

Just as St. Joseph was called to care for Jesus and Mary, you are called to protect and nurture the family of God. With compassion and patience, with courage, creativity, and sacrificial love.

God is real, his love is true! And he has a plan of love, a dream for the life of every person! We need to proclaim this great message again in everything we do in the Church.

People need to know the truth — that God reigns and that they are loved; that God wants them and needs them; that their lives have a purpose for the building of his Kingdom.

This is also, my dear brothers, our mission — our apostolic mission: to help people to understand and see God’s love for each one of them.

So our beautiful task is to show people the path to life, the path of true happiness and love, to lead them to the heavenly homeland that God has promised to those who love him.

And of course, my dear brothers, we know that our personal example is always more powerful than any words we speak. So, what St. Paul says today is important advice: “Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience.”

So, my dear brothers, our Lord is calling you now to give your life to him and walk with him, to share in his mission, and to be his friend. As Jesus is humble and gentle and patient with us, I pray that will always treat your people in the same way.

I entrust you and your priestly ministry to the tender care of Mary, our Blessed Mother, our Lady of the Angels and the Mother of the Church.

May you always love Our Lady with true devotion. And may she guide you and keep you close to her Son. That your priesthood might bear rich fruits and awaken many hearts in this generation — to his beautiful promise of love!

And my dear brothers and sisters, let us also pray for our brothers who are ordained today and for all our priests. And let us especially ask Jesus every day that he will call many more men to this beautiful vocation of being his priests.

1. Readings: Num. 11:11b-12, 14-17, 24-25; Ps. 89:21-22, 25, 27; Eph. 4:1-7, 11-13; John 15:9-17.