Ordinations to the Permanent Diaconate 2024

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
 
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
June 8, 2024
 
My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹
 
We gather this morning with great joy to celebrate the ordination of our brothers to be deacons for the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 
 
Brothers, thank you for answering the Lord’s call to follow him in this beautiful ministry of service and love. I also want to thank your wives and families, who will accompany you every day on your journey as deacons.
 
Today, Jesus is claiming you to be his own. He is setting his “seal” on your heart. From this moment on, your life belongs to Jesus in a special way.
 
You heard his words in the Gospel, and he is speaking directly to your heart. He says: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. … I have called you friends” 
 
Brothers, each of you is being called to a life of friendship with the living God. And each of you is being called today to a life of service in persona Christi Servi, “in the person of Christ the Servant.”
 
By your ordination, you are being called to a relationship with Jesus that is rare and beautiful, and only a few are entrusted to share it.
 
As you heard Jesus say today: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.”
 
Your whole life was destined, in a special way, for this moment. That is why we heard that first reading from the prophet Jeremiah.
 
Like the prophet, before the Lord formed you in the womb, he knew you, and he had a plan for your life.
 
Before you were born, the Lord dedicated you and appointed you to be his deacons. To serve as he serves. To give your life for the sake of his Gospel.
 
So Jesus is sending you out today to carry on his mission. He’s telling you today: “Go and bear fruit that will remain.” 
 
He’s saying, “To whomever I send you, you shall go, whatever I command you, you shall speak.”
 
There’s a whole world out there that’s waiting to hear the preaching of the words of God, the good news of God’s love.
 
We all know that! We can see it in our parishes, in our neighborhoods. All around us we can see that there are people who are troubled and distracted by the trials of life. 
 
And Jesus wants, especially you, to meet these people, every single one of them! He wants to serve these people, he wants to lead them into his love, which is what every heart is longing for. 
 
And my brothers, he wants to meet these people and serve these people through you, and your ministry. 
 
So, go and proclaim his love! Serve with a generous heart! 
 
St. Peter tells us today: “Above all, let your love for one another be intense.” 
 
This is great advice! Serve with love and let your love be intense! Because by your service of love, you will lead others to discover God’s love. 
 
This is our vocation, for all of us, my dear brothers and sisters, but especially for you. We are here to love God and love one another.  
 
And we have to remember: there is no true love without sacrifice. As Jesus tells you today: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
 
And especially for you as deacons, Jesus calls you friends, and when you are friends with someone you want to be a part of their life, you want to be like that person, you want to see yourself in that person.
 
So make Jesus your model and teacher in the ways of love. So I urge you to keep going deeper, meditating his life and words in the Gospels, identifying yourself more every day with him and his mission. 
 
So that’s also the call for all of us — getting to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. Knowing his life, imitating his life, and bringing the life of Jesus to the people of our time. 
 
So today we share Jesus’ joy with you. You will enter into the joy of the Master, as we heard today in the passage of the Gospel: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
 
So we entrust your ministry to Holy Mary, the Mother of the Church, and Queen of the Angels. We ask her to watch over you and your families. 
 
And it’s beautiful that today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We ask her to watch over you and your families. 
 
And may our Blessed Mother help our new deacons and all of us to love and serve her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 1. Readings: Jer. 1:4–9; 1 Pet. 4:7b–11; John 15:9–17.