Blog

March 3, 2023: "We pray that as Bishop Dave walked with Jesus and served him with his life, now in death may he share in the fullness of his resurrection, in the love that never ends."

March 1, 2023: "As we know, Bishop Dave loved and served Jesus with all his heart and all his strength, and like Jesus, he loved his brothers and sisters “to the end,” with a special love for those who are often forgotten and those who live on society’s margins."

February 26, 2023: "And on this first Sunday of Lent, our readings set before us the whole human history, the beautiful narrative of salvation — from the first man and woman to the “last Adam” — the “new man” in whom we are given the power to become children of God and a new creation."

February 23, 2023: "In the first reading we just heard, we heard the ancient words of Moses. And then he tells us: “Choose life!” This is what God wants for each one of us. Life in all its fullness and richness. Life, and life abundant, Jesus said. God wants us, each one of us, to have a beautiful life. God wants you to have a blessed life, a life filled with love, and family, and friends."

February 22, 2023: "Bishop Dave was a man who loved Jesus Christ, and he gave his whole life to following Jesus, to being his friend, and to helping others to find Jesus. This is what we are all looking for. We all are looking for that. We are all born with the desire to be happy, the desire to find love and joy and the meaning of our lives. And the truth is — only when we meet Jesus do we find the happiness that we are looking for. Bishop Dave knew this truth. And he wanted everyone to know this truth, too. And he showed us how beautiful life can be, when we love Jesus and live for him."

February 20, 2023: "Every day he worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant, and to all those living on society’s margins. He was a good priest and a good bishop, and a man of peace. And we are very sad to lose him."

February 19, 2023: "That is who Bishop Dave was. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a beautiful devotion to Mary, our Blessed Mother. We all miss him very much. May he rest in peace."

February 19, 2023: "We learned early this morning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office that they have determined that the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell yesterday was a homicide. We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news."

February 18, 2023: "I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly. It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness."

February 5, 2023: "Whenever Jesus starts a sentence with the words, “you are,” I think we need to pay special attention. Because he is telling us something important about our purpose in life, the purpose of our mission. And our purpose is just this: to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world."

January 29, 2023: "Sisters, thank you. You are a special gift for all of us. Every day. We rely on your prayers, more than you can ever know. And we are all grateful for your generous love for Jesus, and your witness to his love in your ministries of catechesis and charity, in your compassion for the poor and the sick."

January 22, 2023: "We ask that God grant wisdom and prudence to law enforcement and public officials working to make sense of the violence and keep our communities safe.And we pray for peace. Peace in the hearts of those who are troubled. Peace in the hearts of those who are afraid and hurting today, and peace for those whose faith has been shaken."

January 21, 2023: "We all want to live in a society where human life is cherished and welcomed, where everyone can live with dignity — from conception to natural death. This is a spiritual movement. A movement of the hearts and minds and souls. The movement for life is a movement for love."

January 22, 2023: "Jesus shows us the path in today’s passage of the Gospel, in his beautiful teaching of the “Beatitudes.” So we have to think of the Beatitudes as a “blueprint,” — as a “guidebook” — for how we grow in holiness."

January 21, 2023: "Tonight, we are praying for all those little ones, who never had the chance to be born. We pray tonight that the love they could not find on earth, they now find in heaven, wrapped in the loving arms of the Father. We also pray tonight for a new awakening of love — in our hearts, and in the hearts of our neighbors."

January 9, 2023: "In the waters of baptism, our Pope Emeritus died with Jesus. We pray now that he shares with him in the fullness of his resurrection, in the love that never ends. In his encyclical on hope, Benedict gave us a profound vision of heaven. Heaven, he said, was not some place high in the clouds, or some never-ending passing of days on a calendar."

January 5, 2023: "In my experience, Pope Benedict was a gentle soul, a beautiful man. It is true that he was a great teacher and biblical theologian, and one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Church and Western civilization. But I will remember him, most of all, for his kindness to me and his deep humility."

January 1, 2023: "Mary was thinking about Jesus all the time. And that’s how we ought to live, reflecting on Our Lord’s words and deeds in the Gospels, pondering the mysteries of his life, seeking to know his will for us. Trying always to follow his path for our lives, which is a path of love and compassion."

December 25, 2022: "Tonight, the God who is love comes down to be close to us, to become one of us — to share in our lives, in our joys and in our struggles. Christmas, my dear brothers and sisters, is the great feast of the “humility of God.” We don’t think about God as being humble, but he is. And to know that truth is to understand the deepest mystery of Christmas, the deepest mystery of God’s love for us."

December 21, 2022: "We pray tonight that the home they could not find on earth, they now find in heaven, secure in the merciful arms of God. The question that we just heard from the scriptures is universal: “Who is my neighbor?” It’s a question for every time and place. It’s a question for this moment in Los Angeles."