America and the immigrant spirit

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On Sept. 29, Archbishop Gomez celebrated the annual “ Mass for All Immigrants ” at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The following is adapted from his homily.

Each year in this beautiful Mass, we celebrate the immigrant spirit of the city of Los Angeles, and the beautiful diversity of peoples that make up the family of God in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and in the Dioceses of Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

We celebrate our journeys to this country, our traditions and cultures. We remember the lands where we were born today, our families and friends. And we share our hopes for the future.

Many of us here this afternoon came to the Southland from some other place that is very far away from here. Some of us came here out of choice, others out of necessity.

All of us came here with our gifts to give, to make a new home, to make a new life!

That’s the story of America, which is a nation of immigrants, one nation formed out of many nationalities and peoples.

And the immigrant spirit is also the spirit of the Catholic Church, which is one pilgrim people, the family of God drawn out of every country, from the ends of the earth.

So, today in this holy Mass, we thank God for his graces and mercies, and we ask his blessings for our families and our communities.

We gather today because we believe in God and because we believe in the promise of this great country.

America has always been exceptional, because it has always been a home for peoples of every land.

This nation has been a beacon of hope, a refuge for peoples who have no place left to turn. America is a nation of nationalities, a nation of migrants and refugees.

So, we come to this altar today to thank God for his blessings on our families and our communities. We come also bearing our burdens, our sorrows, and our dreams. We lay everything down before Jesus on this altar today.

Let’s pray today for the renewal of America’s founding vision of one nation under God, where people from every race and language can live as one, in equality, as brothers and sisters.

In God’s plan of love, each of us has a part to play. We are called, each of us, to be an apostle. That’s what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel today.

Jesus tells us today that we can do even little things to serve him, like offering water to someone who is thirsty.

His words are beautiful: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”

God wants us to do beautiful things with our lives! He wants us to share our faith, share our love, share our traditions. This is how we build his kingdom on earth.

And Jesus is reminding us today that God does not demand grand gestures or big deeds and accomplishments.

We can serve God in our families, in our homes, in our neighborhoods. And we can serve God by even our littlest acts of kindness in our daily lives.

What’s important is that we do everything for Jesus, everything out of love for him, and out of love for others.

If we carry out the duties of our daily lives with our hearts devoted to loving God and loving our neighbor, then we are doing God’s will and we are building his kingdom of love.

And as Jesus tells us today, if we do everything with love, we will not lose our reward. And our reward is heaven, eternal life in the love that never ends! What a beautiful reward that is! So, as we celebrate our beautiful gifts as immigrants and as disciples, let us ask for the grace today to deepen our love for Jesus, and deepen our commitment to serving him.

Let’s keep praying for all the men and women, all the children and families, migrants and refugees all across the globe, who are forced to leave their homes by violence or poverty to search for dignity and a new life.

Let us pray for the leaders of nations, that they will open their hearts and work with sincerity and generosity to help those in need.

And let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help all of us to know that united to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we are all one family, sons and daughters of God who loves us.

Most Reverend José H. Gomez is the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Catholic community. He served as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2019-2022.

You can follow Archbishop Gomez daily via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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