The following is a column written by Archbishop Jose Gomez and published in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Tidings, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, which was consecrated on Sept. 2, 2002.
Every church has a story to tell. It tells the story of the people who built it. It reflects where they have come from, the times they are living in, their struggles and sacrifices, and what they are hoping for.
Every church tells a story of faith. Because people gather there as a family of faith. They gather as children of God, made brothers and sisters by their faith in Jesus Christ. And they gather in the presence of God. So every church is a house of God and also a household of faith.
It has always struck me that “Church” is the name that Christians give to the buildings we worship in; but it is also the name we give to ourselves. We worship Jesus Christ in a church. And we are his Church.
In the words of Jesus and the apostles’ writings, his Catholic Church is often described as a building. We are “God’s building.” We are “God’s temple” — built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ and the foundations of his twelve apostles.
In the Scriptures, St. Peter and his successors as Pope are described as the “rock” upon which Christ is building his Church. The apostles and their successors, the bishops, are compared to “skilled master builders.” And each one of us is a “living stone” who is called to build up the “spiritual house” of his Church.
A cathedral is a very special church. Like every church, it is a house of prayer for a family of faith. It is the place where we meet the living God. But it is also something greater.
A cathedral is the bishop’s “seat” (his cathedra in Latin). And because the bishop’s ministry forms the foundation of Christ’s Church on earth, every cathedral is a sign of the Kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim and to establish.
The builders of our Cathedral placed themselves in the service of this great story of salvation. And this is a task for every one of us. We are called to continue building on the foundations they laid.
In every age and every place, the cathedral is the first church, the mother church, and the foundation that generates and unites all the other churches in the great mission that Jesus entrusted to his Church.
This weekend we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the consecration of our Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on September 2, 2002.
This is a very special moment in the life of our local Church. And it is a moving experience for me. Because I was not here for the building of this Cathedral. Yet in his grace, God has entrusted me with responsibility for this “seat.” He has called me to work with his grace and to build on the strong foundations laid by those who have gone before me.
This is the way it is in the Church. We are always God’s fellow-workers. We are always working with his grace, building on foundations set down by others.
The builders of our Cathedral never saw Jesus. They never talked to him. They were born 20 centuries too late for that. Yet they heard his Gospel. It came to them through the witness of others who went before them. It came to them through the “living stones” of his Church, built on Christ and the foundation of the apostles.
The apostles spread the faith from Galilee and Jerusalem throughout Europe and Asia. Their successors sent missionaries to Mexico and the New World. And these missionaries evangelized California, and brought the faith to this city they named for Our Lady of the Angels.
The builders of our Cathedral placed themselves in the service of this great story of salvation. And this is a task for every one of us. We are called to continue building on the foundations they laid.
God wants each one of us to be a living stone in his Church. He is calling us to do our part and to participate in his great plan of redemption for the world. We are here to build for God and with God. We are here to serve the mission of his Church.
As a sign of our faith as “living stones,” we are also dedicating this weekend a new Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, located inside the Cathedral.
I pray that this new shrine will serve as a sign of our dedication to the Church’s mission of the new evangelization of our city and our continent.
As we pray for one another this week, let’s pray that this anniversary and this new shrine will inspire us to live our faith with new joy and new strength.
Let’s ask Our Lady of the Angels to make our Cathedral — and every church in this great Archdiocese — a place where the family of God is nourished, and where new generations can meet the living God and know his mercy and salvation.
Among the builders of that Church are some of the worst pro-abortion, pro-sodomite public figures known today.
You don’t need to believe me, just go look at the so called “Honor Wall” in the plaza of that Cathedral. You will find such “luminaries” as Mrs. and Mrs. (now divorced) Arnold Schwartzeneger, they donated that bronze door; Ex-Mayor Richard Riordan, The head of the Studio that made the “Last Temptations of Christ”, etc. etc. ad nauseam.
Anyone who sees the so called image of what is proposed as Our Lady knows how bad that is. The artist for that was an apostate Catholic. That hangs above the Schwartzenger doors.
There is already one pro-abortion movie actor buried there in the basement! I understand that Riordan is the probable next one!
The tabernacle can only be seen by the faithful ( a requirement by the Holy See) if one has the gift of X-Ray vision, it is behind a brick wall!
I could go on and on, but this will suffice for now.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Kenneth, I didn’t know who that was above the bronze door. I looked and looked and looked. Nothing registered. You mean to tell me that is Our Lady??!!?? I hold no opinion on the inside of the church, except that i could not find the tabernacle; but for the sake of clarity, could that image be swapped out for a recognizable one? I would be willing to donate a few coins for the purpose.
Dan,
Yes that statue of a short sleeved, with a at the knees dress, butch haircut, with her hands in the wrong position, is supposed to be Our Blessed Mother. I remember well the first call I got about it, that person in disgust identified it as a statue of a butch Virgin Mary, and he was mostly correct! It was created by an apostate latino Catholic that Mahony picked.
I wish I could write differently, but so far Archbishop Gomez has been a big dissappointment!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Yes, The Respect Life Ministry is STILL waiting for guidance from the Archbishop
The dress is full length. Her hair is long and braided in the back. She stands on the moon. Her hands are in the position similar to Our Lady of Grace. She seems to be in prayer with her eyes closed. The image is online. You can Google it.
k,
Either it has changed, which is doubtful, or you are looking at it with Rose colored glasses. I have seen it first hand many a time!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Are you talking about the statue of Our Lady of Los Angeles outside over the bronze doors?
The statue was made by Robert Graham, late husband of Anjelica Huston. He also made the doors. If you go on Amazon there is a book about it that you can search through. It explains that he made her arms bare to show that she was a worker. It also says that the original design had her holding the infant Jesus and Cardinal Mahoney said that Our Lady of the Angels would be her after her ascension so he did not want her holding the Infant. There was another revision also before the Cardinal approved the statue. Her facial features were made as a combination of the ethnicities in Los Angeles. Obviously a lot of thought and work went into the Cathedral and the statue. I remember on a visit to LA that as we drove by it, I asked someone if it was a school or a prison. So it is a unique building.
Correction: after her Assumption.
No disrespect intended, k, but my view of the statue was from the ground, and from that angle I had no idea what I was looking at. What perspective one gains by looking at pictures might well be different. I asked another person I met who that was above the door, and she didn’t know either. So I was not alone in my ignorance.
One shouldn’t have to guess what’s up when one is visiting a cathedral. It, that is, the cathedral, is itself supposed to be a sermon, inside and out, of our faith. Inside? t take a via media. I have been to Masses there. Didn’t like the 100 or so liturgical dancers at one of these Masses, but that’s independent of the building’s interior. Certainly its huge size makes for grand and beautiful ceremony. That I have seen. Outside? Probabaly the ugliest thing I have ever seen.
You clearly have never been to the Cathedral…
You have seen photos on the Internet, but you have never seen photos showing angles that show the BVM’s braided long hair and her feminine looks.
If you had seen the Cathedral in person, you wouldn’t be making such silly comments. God visit COLA rather than basing your judgments on other peoples’ photographs.
Rodda,
I have been there many a time and with priests and an Archbishop!
When we had a Website, we featured it on the Website.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Given your comments I simply don’t believe you…
The Jewish people in Jesus’ time were always finding fault with him. It was a Gentile who declared “I find no fault in him.” The Gentile, of course, did not have the same high standards as the Jewish people.
I prefer to call the statue of the entrance doors as “Ugly Mary”
Interesting article…
I was never a huge fan of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (COLA.) There are several elements that I really like, but the Post Modern Architecture and the construction cost kept me from really embracing it. Then I attended the Easter Vigil Mass last year.
It was a remarkable experience to stand in the dark plaza in front of a large bonfire with 3K other Catholics. It was awesome to follow the Pascal Candle into the dark cathedral illuminated only by (unseen) lights shining on COLA’s real alabaster windows and light pipes.
Walking up COLA’s ambulatory with 3,000 others was breathtaking. After everyone was in place, COLA was lit by the 3K candles the faithful were holding. To see the light stream from the Pascal Candle in the back of COLA through to the front of the building was beautiful.
The full immersion baptisms surrounded by thousands of people were equally beautiful. It was really something that I feel fortunate to have been present for. COLA is very well suited to celebrate the liturgy.
I think other fancy cathedrals are very good at showcasing themselves. I think COLA does a far better job of showing the actual liturgy. I still don’t know that any cathedral I would design would look exactly like COLA but it would certainly contain several elements that are part of COLA. Elements that made the Easter Vigil Mass perhaps the most meaningful Mass I have ever attended. Thank you Archbishop Gomez.
Never again will I listen to the Nattering Nabobs of Negativity here and elsewhere who seem to derive an almost lustful pleasure from skewering COLA with their hate and ignorance. Most have never set foot inside COLA let alone attended a solemn Mass there. Their opinions are without merit.
Ah the typically liberal only your views hold merit, yes I take pleasure at accussing any thats smacks of modernity, especially this monstrosity. I have seen many cathedrals and this thing should be torn down and replaced with a cathedral modelled on the one in Chartes France,, COLA gives glory to man, as the liberals planned it to do…
I agree with Canisius. Every time I pass that building traveling back and forth from San Diego to Central Calif. My sentiments exactly. Tear that place down. It reminds me so much of the condo’s at Pajaro Dunes. Definitely man centered. Equal to the golden calf.
You suggest a consecrated Catholic cathedral should be torn down because the view you get of it from the highway displeases you. How utterly ludicrous.
I’m hardly a “liberal.” Stop it already. Stop applying that slur to anyone you disagree with.
The fact is you know nothing about COLA. I strongly believe you have never driven by the edifice much less went inside or attended a Mass there.
Your opinion on this matter means absolutely nothing to me.
The feeling is mutual….
Rodda, I so agree with your comment. Whenever I worked across the street from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, at the Criminal Courts Building, and happened to have a lunch hour that allowed me the time, I would attend noon Mass at the COLA. I watched it being built as I worked in L.A. and at first was appalled at the modern architecture. However, after attending Mass there, my attitude changed. The pure minimalism is beautiful beyond belief – not that I want ALL churches to look that way, but one or two have their place and do direct one to the Mass. (That said, I love my home Church in San Diego, Our Lady of the Rosary, which is just the opposite in architecture and outstandingly beautiful). In describing the beauty of the COLA, I tell everyone about the Belgium tapestries. As you process to the altar, they are on your left and right. They are Saints, and THEY are processing to the altar, also! Gorgeous! If you look carefully, some of them are UNNAMED: Old people, young people, black, white, Asian people, etc. These unnamed people are the Saints YET TO BE. Does that not give you chills? It IS hard describe but has to be seen. As far as the sinners that donated to the Church: How many (as an example) European cathedrals were built with donations from sinners? You mean ALL those Cathedrals were built by pure, holy people? I thought the Church was made up of sinners. To everyone that has the opportunity: Visit the COLA with an open mind. You just may find great beauty. P.S.: I soooo miss L.A. and wish I could go back!!
Thanks, Laura. It’s nice to see the opinions of someone else who actually knows COLA. Someone who has actually taken time to attend Masses there.
Some of the comments on this thread are appalling. The same comments driven by the same photos off the Internet and the same hatred for Roger Cardinal Mahony.
COLA doesn’t do a very good job of showing itself off — and that’s what some get stuck on. But it does a wonderful job in showing off the actual celebration of the Mass and other liturgies.
Rodda, what is your view of the carved figure of Vishnu on the entrance door to the cathedral?
You mean the carved figure of the BVM?
It certainly improved when I saw it in person from many different angles, rather than based my judgement on the same snapshots from the Internet.
Rodda… and the comments continue. I am stunned, actually, at the blind ignorance I am seeing on this issue! Stunned! What is wrong with these people? I am definitely NOT a modernist, but this Church IS beautiful, and these writers refuse to even visit it before making an informed comment. Did they hear or read anything we said?? Go INSIDE the building and THEN state your viewpoint – your opinions will then have validity. Passing it on the freeway doesn’t count. That’s like a Protestant forming their opinion of Catholics from what someone else says. Has education totally died in this country? Does anyone get out of high school with critical thinking ability any more? Or even college? These are stone-age thinkers at their best.
To be honest Laura, when I look at COLA (particularly if it’s via photos or video and not in person), it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing structure. If I stop there and combine that with its expensive price tag it becomes difficult to embrace.
Many do just that. They judge COLA based on on some on-line snapshots, the cost, their hatred for Roger Cardinal Mahony.
However some do take it a bit farther. They attend daily Masses at COLA. They make it a point to attend a free pipe organ concert or two and then a few Sunday Masses. Slowly they begin to realize that while COLA may not be intrinsically beautiful, it does do a beautiful job (far better than another other US cathedral I have been in) of facilitating the celebration of Catholic liturgies. Then they attend a big even Mass and they are blown away. They finally “get it.”
I long attended COLA not because I like the structure but because I appreciate the Masses celebrated there — particularly by Archbishop Gomez. After last Easter I have begun to appreciate the structure as well.
The comments I read here are classical conditioned/knee-jerk responses. There is a terrible dearth of critical thinking in both extremes of the Church today. About all we can do is pray that the scales one day be lifted from their eyes.
Thanks again for your honest comments.
I remember somebody somewhere was going off on a tangent because COLA has no “right angles.” He was very upset about that. What he didn’t grasp was that right angles were avoided (at considerable cost) for a very important reason.
If there are no right angles, it makes it difficult for our our eyes/brains to realize we are sitting inside of a box as with other churches. Our eyes cannot figure out where things begin and end. It gives the illusion of endless space.
Laura, the building looks like a condo complex or apartment building. Can you see the difference in religion between minimalist Catholicism and abundant Catholicism?
“Never again will I listen to the” nattering nabobs of negativity” Interesting!
A poster named Matthew used those exact unique words “nattering nabobs of negativity” on May 31st @1:19 when defending the purchase of the Crystal Cathedral. Topic “The Timing of this is wrong”. Didn’t the Holy Father just talk about insincerity? Does CCD have posters who are duplicitously using multiple names so that their personal opinions look like they are coming from more individuals than there really are?
It’s a very well known (to most) phrase coined by former VP Spiro Agnew. It certainly applies to you in this context.
Rodda,
Where is your humility? Even Spiro Agnew, (may God rest his soul) would have viewed this building as being extremely unattractive for a Catholic Church. Is this particular Cathedral one of the churches mentioned in Michael Rose’s book titled, ‘Ugly as Sin’?
Here is a much more fitting quote from Spiro Agnew that certainly applies.
“A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.”
I had that problem where a poster said something to me and then posted back saying “what I meant was”… and used a different name. This same poster once said thank you to another poster using a third name. Sometimes posters change names permanently or temporarily. I guess if you are trying to deceive it would be bad.
This is a true story.
One time, when I was going to San Conrado Mission, as I approached the Rog Mahal, I was listening on my car radio to some beautul chant from an English Benedictine Monastery. Just before I got to the RogMahal my radio went blank, after I had passed the Rogmahal at about the same distance my radio came back on with the beautiful traditional music, circumstance, maybe not!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Someone could interpret that to mean that God was telling you that you could enjoy the old, embrace the new, then go back to the old if you wished. Did you interpret it to mean that God did not like the Cathedral?
At least the good bishop has a great sense of humor, now, he should just have this building torn down and replace it with a real Church. One could easily say that this hunk of horror shows the world just how bad of shape the American “catholic church” is really in. Just plain ugliness, much as what is coming out of Hell-lywood nowadays!! +JMJ+
Agree with JMJ
Too bad you make such silly comments without ever having attended Mass at COLA.
Rodda,
As is often, you speak of that of which you know not!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
I don’t think it’s a matter of a “great sense of humor.” I think it’s a matter of being an excellent shepherd.
Archbishop Gomez’s focus is on his flock and their relationship with God and not with buildings.
Many could learn from his example…
Its as deformed, as most Catholics understanding of Church teaching….
Particularly you own it would seem…
I have more understanding of Catholic teaching than you could in a thousand years…..
I like the Christmas tree in the picture.
I haven’t seen very many photos of the Cathedral. From yours I now know why! THAT thing is “our” Cathedral. Sheesh!
I liken the sides of it to a “Washboard” that it used to wash away what may be left of the true Faith!
How can something good come from the funds of pro-abortion, pro-sodomite politicians’ money?
There would not even be that large Crucifix standing off to the side of the Altar, if it had not been for the complaints of many that brought a major donor to tell Mahony if he did not have such a Crucifix, he would withdraw his donations.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
“So let us lift our gaze upward! And with great humility and confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each day to grow in the holiness that will make us living stones in the temple which he is even now raising up in the midst of our world.” Pope Benedict XVI April 19, 2008 Homily St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York
Why is the photo of an apartment complex instead of a Cathedral?
Having been to most of the major Cathedrals in Europe, and having worked downtown and having attended mass frequently at the “Old Cathedral”, St Vibiana’s, and having been to the “new” Cathedral a few times, the kindest words, I can think of, are that it is an Architectural disaster,and NOT inspiring and not at all like a traditional Catholic church.
What is that thing?
The person that built the Taj Mahony made sure he was there in person for the tearing down of St. Vibiana’s.
Once I tried to go visit and found an iron gate closed with chain and padlock. It looked like a prison.
i’ve never visited this new cathedral, but the picture above makes it look like something from star trek — something made by THE BORG!
ye gads.
i can only hope it looks better on the inside…or from another angle…or from really far away…
“resistance is futile!”
(famous BORG quote from star trek…)
What nice condo’s we have here…..oops what? This is a church? Ooops sorry my bad, I thought it was a condo complex…
I read the Tidings article on this topic. Unfortunately, Bishop Gomez won’t allow “letters to the editor” to be published anymore in the Tidings so I’ll post my opinion here. Anyway, the article went on to explain how the Cathedral was a great place for the arts. They sure got that one right! To me it is one of the best cultural arts centers I’ve been to! Unfortunately, it also doubles as a Cathedral. The article furthermore touted how the Cathedral is for everyone. The author was so proud to site the numerous funerals which have been held there for non-Catholics in the past 10 years. I wonder if they roll away the crucifix, which is on the floor behind the altar, for these funerals so as not to offend those with different beliefs from ours. Other than that crucifix, there is nothing else in that building, to give one the impression that it is a Catholic facility.
The cathedral is definitely better on the inside than the outside. I suggest constructing a large holographic system on the exterior and projecting a different classic church for a month, then switch to another. January can be Chartres, February St. Peter’s, etc. I personally have walked around the monstrosity 360 degrees, close up and far away. There is no attractive outside view of the complex: every profile is hideous. The unattractiveness completely takes away from the mission design concept: church, walled courtyard, campanile, residences and offices. And why the earth tone color scheme? What California mission looks like that?
The inside is not only memorable for the tapestries and baptistry but also for a well-designed nave, slightly elevated to allow people at the back to see the sanctuary. I’m usually a strong opponent of theater-style seating, but it works in this building given the massive size of the structure. The organ is great. I could do without the iPad being used at the pulpit as a Lectionary. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel is awful. The tabernacle looks like a corroded pipe and the entire space is airless and claustrophobic. I expect Archbishops Mahoney and Gomez to spend a fair amount of time in Purgatory for making the King of Kings reside in such an unsuitable chapel. I find it difficult to believe that anyone who believes in the Real Presence is happy with the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
Not having been in the cathedral for some years, is that joke of a chapel to the victims of sexual abuse still in place? When I first visited, there were these series of collages that my third graders could have done better. I suppose that the photos were of victims. In any case, amateurishly done, an insult to injury to the victims.