Friday after Epiphany: Mass for those Affected by Wildfires

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
 Archbishop of Los Angeles 

Incarnation Catholic Church
 Glendale, California 
 January 10, 2025

My brothers and sisters in Christ,^[1]

In reflecting, these days — what a difficult and challenging this time has been for all of us, for our city, our county, and our local Church. So many people, many of them that we know and that are close to us that are suffering so much as a consequence of the fires. 

And still we know that the fires are burning and the damage continues to be devastating. Challenging, It’s difficult to understand why — why is it possible that we go through this situations?

And today I’ve also been reflecting how precious every life is, and at the same time, how fragile life is. It’s a challenge. It’s a difficult moment I think for all of us in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see this reality. 

Of course in times like this, we can be tempted to question God’s love for us, to wonder where he is while good people are suffering. 

 

Why does God let evil things happen? Why does he allow natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, and earthquakes and floods? 

 And of course as we know, and I’ve been saying, there is not an east answer. But that doesn’t mean that there are no answers. 

 

And I think as we reflect on the readings of today’s Mass, we see how even when there are challenging things in the life of people, God is there. 

 

Today we see in a special way, in the passage of the Gospel and in the beautiful story of Jesus healing the man with leprosy. 

 

I am always moved by the conversation that Jesus has with this man. As we just heard:

 

“When [the leper] saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, ‘Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’” 

 

So the story of the Gospel today is the story of God’s love for every person. What Jesus “wills” to the leper is what he wants for each one of us.

 

Jesus came into this world to bring this good news, to proclaim God’s love and to reveal his love. In Jesus, we see the face of God. We see the love of God in human flesh. 

 

And that’s what we’ve been reflecting on how this is what we celebrate in the Christmas season, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

And that’s what came to my mind, and I’ve been saying it in the different Masses that we celebrated — and we are trying to celebrate a Mass in each one of the regions where the fires are happening — so it’s reflecting on how Jesus told us that there’s no sparrow that falls from the sky that God does not know about and care about. And then he reminds us: You are worth more than many sparrows.^[2] 

 

So as we go through this difficult situation, we have to remember that we are loved by God. That we are loved so much that he gave his only Son for us. That we are worth the price of God’s own Son. 

 

It is the beautiful truth of our faith. It is why we are here, so we should never forget that. 

 

And especially during this challenging time, we need to reflect on how this is the reality of humanity, of society. There a times that are wonderful and excellent, and there are challenging times in our lives. 

 

We don’t know why these disasters happen. But we do know that Our Father holds this world, and each of our lives, in his loving hands. And we do know that everything he does, he does out of love for us, and for our salvation. 

 

St. John tells us today in that first reading of today’s Mass: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 

 

It is not an easy answer, but it is the truth. 

 

God loves us, and that he sent his Son into this world to show us his love. And the love of Jesus must always be our model, and especially now.  

 

So my dear brothers and sisters, in this challenging moment, love is what is being asked of us. 

 

In this moment, God is calling each one of us to be the instruments through which he shows his love and compassion to those who are suffering. 

 

We must be the ones who bring comfort to our neighbors in this time of disaster. And we must be the ones also who stand by their side and help them to rebuild and go forward with courage and faith and hope in God.  

 

That’s our mission at this time, in this moment, to pray for them and try to do all we can to support the people that are suffering so much. 

 

In the different Masses that I have celebrated, there is always a number of people that have lost their homes. They have nothing at this moment. We have to be there — that’s our mission and that’s why we are here. Because we are praying for them and we are trying to do all we can to make sure that they feel the love of God in their lives. 

 

Today we also have to keep in mind and support our firefighters, police, and first responders. These heroic men and women bear such a tremendous burden during these disasters. Let us pray for them and strengthen them in their essential work of service to our brothers and sisters and our communities. 

 

So today, in this celebration of the Holy Mass, let us renew our commitment to love as Jesus loves. That’s a beautiful resolution for each one of us. 

We entrust ourselves to our Blessed Mother Mary, the Queen of Angels. 

May she help us to always feel the love of God in our lives and to share that love with our, especially in their suffering.