Blog - March 2018

March 31, 2018: "Throughout history, as we heard this evening, God has been calling his people to follow him, like Abraham. He has been leading his people, as he led Moses and the children of Israel out of Egypt."

March 30, 2018: "Today once again we walk the lonely road with our Lord. And we remember, that everything that happens to him — he does it for us. When we see Jesus lifted up on the Cross, we see how much God loves us. How much he loves you, personally, and me, personal. The Cross is the mark of God’s love. For all time, his love is expressed in the form of the cross."

March 29, 2018: "Archbishop José H. Gomez signed new protocols acknowledging that Native Americans of California, as the First People of the Land, deserve special recognition and pastoral concern. The guidelines and parameters serve to welcome and include diverse indigenous traditional perspectives to enrich the prayer, faith, traditions and ceremonies of the Church and its institutions and facilities throughout the tri-county Archdiocese of Los Angeles."

March 26, 2018: "Tonight we remember our baptism, when the priest anointed us with the holy chrism....We are anointed in Baptism to be priests and prophets — to be a people who seek to make God’s Kingdom come into this world."

March 25, 2018: "In the liturgy today, we are asked to play the part of the people in the crowds that follow Jesus and welcome him into Jerusalem. So sometimes, we are the ones who go with him, waving palm branches and singing hymns as he enters into Jerusalem. But some other times, we are also part of the crowd when they turn on Jesus and begin to reject him and call for his death. Sometimes, we are the ones shouting, “Crucify him.”"

March 18, 2018: "The powerful readings of today’s liturgy remind us that it will not be long until Easter Sunday. The beautiful Gospel story about Lazarus and his sisters, it is a story about you and me — and about the promise of salvation that Jesus brings. In the Gospel today, Jesus puts this question to Martha. He says to her: “Your brother will rise.” But then he challenges her. He asks her: “Do you believe this?”"

March 15, 2018: "We are called to be saints to go to Heaven because saints are in Heaven. So we are in the processes of, by the grace of God, being able to be saints. But we can say that we are called to be saints."

June 9, 2018:, the first apostles appointed deacons to serve the family of God. Today, my dear brothers, we carry on that sacred tradition. Through prayer and the laying of hands that comes from the apostles, your names will be written in that long line of deacons that begins with these first heroic men who we hear about today — St. Stephen, St. Philip and the rest."

March 4, 2018: "We are almost half-way on our Lenten journey. And the scene we have just witnessed in today’s Gospel is strong. Jesus comes to drive the money-changers out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This is one of the scenes in the Gospel that often gets misunderstood. Jesus, as we know, is not performing some violent protest. Jesus rejects violence. His way is always the way of love and self-sacrifice."