Written by Archbishop José H. Gomez Friday, 01 November issue of the Tidings, the archdiocese paper of Los Angeles.
It’s so good to be home!
My pilgrimage was a special time of grace. Thank you for your prayers! I was praying for you all the time — and with great intensity at the holy sites of our salvation, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
I really felt I wasn’t making this pilgrimage by myself, or with only my fellow pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Through our mutual prayers and sacrifices, I felt we were accompanying one another on this faith journey.
In this Year of Faith, I feel blessed to go back to the “sources” of our faith in the Holy Land.
I know I’ll never read the Gospels or pray the Rosary the same way again.
Already, my prayer has a new urgency since being on my knees in the place where Jesus was born. Since following those same roads as his first disciples, and standing in the places where they heard his teaching and witnessed his miracles. What a difference it makes to pray where his Blessed Mother watched him die and where the angels appeared to announce his rising from the dead.
In these places, I sensed the reality of heaven touching earth and the divine becoming human. I realized once more the great hope that Jesus gave us when he established his Church on the “rock” of St. Peter.
I come away with new joy and new desire to serve the Church’s mission — to proclaim his Gospel to everyone and to make God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
So it was perfect and providential that my journey ended in Rome, the eternal city, where I was blessed to have a private audience with Pope Francis, St. Peter’s apostolic successor and Christ’s vicar on earth.
This was my second meeting with the Pope. I had the privilege to celebrate a morning Mass with the Pope back in April, shortly after his election.
Our Holy Father is the first Pope from the Americas and he has a deep passion for the new evangelization. So I brought him a gift from all of us — a book on the California missions by Msgr. Francis Weber, our Archdiocesan archivist emeritus. I brought him the Spanish translation.
And it was a joy to speak with the Pope in Spanish, which is our native tongue.
The Pope gave me a warm welcome and we talked for about 40 minutes. I told him we were praying for him and that we’re all excited by his ministry and grateful for his extraordinary example of tireless dedication to the Church and the world. He thanked us for our prayers and asked for more prayers!
He asked me many questions about Los Angeles. He was so happy to hear about the faith of our Catholic people, especially our young people, and the growth we are experiencing in priestly vocations.
I asked the Pope if he had a special message for us. Without hesitation, he responded that we should have a great devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary. He said that if we turn to Mary, she will help us in every way and with every difficulty….
To read the entire column, click here.
It seems to me that these Bishops & AB do a lot of traveling. They should stay home and attend to the problems in their dioceses. If they do not, then one of these days they are going to wake up and find that there are not too many people left to contribute to the Bishops appeal and regular collections.
Pleasant Hallmark Card type column, but it raises questions not answered:
1. What does it cost for Abp Gomez and his L.A. colleagues to fly to Israel and to Rome and back?
2. What nice hotels and restaurants did they stay at?
3. Did the Pope and Gomez discuss when to defrock Cardinal Mahony?
4. Did Gomez get on his knees to beg forgiveness for continuing the annual Education Congress which invites and pays dissenters to speak to teachers of CCD and Catholic schools?
5. Did they talk about doing more to stop the killing of unborn babies ? Did the Pope tell Gomez to get on his knees and pray in front of Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles?
WE LOOK FORWARD TO ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ’S ANSWERS.
Archbishop Gomez writes: “Already, my prayer has a *new urgency* since being on my knees in the place where Jesus was born. Since following those same roads as his first disciples, and standing in the places where they heard his teaching and witnessed his miracles. What a difference it makes to pray where his Blessed Mother watched him die and where the angels appeared to announce his rising from the dead.” New Urgency means to quickly address the priorities that Our Lady has warned mankind about. Why is this not being done? Actions always speak louder than unfulfilled words.
continued
May the *new urgency* be directed towards guarding and implementing the deposit of faith and the salvation of souls instead of the urgency of sending out of heretical representatives to explain and push Obamacare at certain parishes. Our Lady of Akita Japan talked about compromising the faith. The messages of Fatima and Akita were directed towards the salvation of souls. There are many approved apparitions. Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, Beauraing. God sent his Blessed Mother to ask men to amend their sinful lives. Why is that request being ignored. Actions speak louder that words. It is beautiful to say that you love Our Lady. It is even more beautiful when you listen to Our Lady by helping all sinners amend their lives. You do this by guarding and teaching the deposit of the faith.
In the final vision, Our Lady of Beauraing reportedly asked one of the children called Fernande: “Do you love My Son?” and she replied “Yes”. She then asked her “Do you love Me?” and she again answered “Yes”. The Lady then stated: “Then sacrifice yourself for me.” This Apparition along with Banneux make up the two Apparitions of Our Lady warning us about World War II.
The Blessed Mother is still watching. There is NOT one approved apparition where Our Lady told visionaries to tell their Bishops to worry about the urgency of implementing the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare or Health Insurance at local parishes.
Catherine, surely you jest! The whole gospel demands that we treat our neighbors as ourselves, as God would treat us. As followers of Christ we cannot stand by while millions of His people are without health care. As followers of Christ we must have programs that help provide safe basic care to all of His people. To support health care only for those who can afford it is not the way Christ would have us treat our fellow travelers on this short journey.
Bob One, liberalism is quite tiresome, especially about healthcare… 95 percent of the population of the US has (or had) some kind of health coverage based on their individual needs. Now since the monstrosity of Obamacare, millions — I repeat millions — are losing their coverage and now finding they cannot find comparable plans that they can afford.
Liberals could mess up a cup of coffee if given the chance, and good intentions do not count. The government destroys nearly everything it goes near. The powers that be want complete control over us, but you refuse to see this. My hope is that this law is repealed and thrown into a paper shredder.
Bob One,
The real tragedy behind your post is that you are not jesting. You are on a mission and that mission has absolutely nothing to do with truly caring about the spiritual and physical well being of Christ’s lambs. Father John Hardon SJ said that there was a powerful diabolical mechanism in place that is seeking to destroy the ONE great impediment to having complete secular freedom. Bob One, Your posts seem to steadily reflect the hidden undermining components of the large wrecking ball that has been deliberately smashing away the fullness of the Truth. The powerful impediment that the father of lies is seeking to destroy IS the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Bob One, If the “whole gospel” had been being taught and followed for the last 50+ years then Obama would have NEVER been selected as a candidate if he had been selling the same evil immorality that he is selling today. If the “whole” gospel was being taught today then people would be wiser with the supernatural aid of sanctifying grace. If the “whole gospel” had been taught then even Barack Obama might repent and become a saint. If the “whole gospel” had been taught and lived then Catholics would recognize that the rotting apple does not roll far from the diseased tree that bears bad fruit. The slimy worms inside the rotten fruits of Obamacare are clearly being exposed. Apart from God, (Who is the “WHOLE TRUTH” and those TRUTHS are contained in the CCC Second Edition) you can do NOTHING! You can rattle the gates Bob but to no lasting avail. “In The End My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph.”