Memorial Day 2024

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
Rosemead, California
May 27, 2024

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

We gather today on this beautiful day of remembrance.

And we thank God for all the men and women, known and unknown, who have given their lives for this country and for our freedoms.

They were not thinking about themselves as they went off to war. They were thinking about their children, about their families. They were thinking about the ideals of this country and their duty as citizens.

Jesus said that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend. The men and women that we remember today had great love.

They laid down their lives to defend the truths that this nation’s founders called “self-evident.” 

The truth that all men and women are created equal. The truth that we are all children of one God, endowed by our Creator with rights that no man and no government can take away. The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

So today we give thanks for their love and their sacrifice. And we trust in God’s mercy. We believe, as we heard this morning from the Book of Wisdom:

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God … [and] they are in peace. … Their hope is full of immortality, and …  they shall be greatly blessed.”

God wants peace for his children. He does not want to see his children suffer or killing one another. Our God, as we know, is the God of peace, and he wants that peace for all of us — for you and for me, and for every person.

That’s what Jesus came to teach us. He promises us today in the Gospel: “Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

Jesus says that the world does not give us peace. Peace comes from within, it comes from the heart. St. Paul tells us that in the second reading: “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts.” 

This is a beautiful prayer. And Paul tells us today all the attitudes that make for a peaceful heart — kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness.

And then he says, “And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.”

So today let us honor the memory of those who have fallen by the way we love. In our homes, in our neighborhoods, in every relationship. We need to build a world where it is easier for people to love. And it starts with each one of us.

The saints also tell us: “Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.” ²

So let us renew our commitment to working together, to being a nation that pursues justice and dignity for every person.

We can work tirelessly to spread understanding, love, and compassion in our land.

So on this beautiful day of remembrance, as we remember those who have fallen, let us pray for all those who are serving our country and are in harm’s way, in places all around the world. 

We pray for them and their families. May the Lord protect them and bring them home safely.   

So let us pray for peace. Peace in our hearts and peace in our world.

And let us go to the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Peace. We ask her prayers for our country, and our world, and for each one of us. And we ask her to help all of us to always be instruments of peace.