Bishop Solis' first weekend: Rite of Election, Sunday Masses in the cathedral

Friday, Mar. 17, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of people filled the Cathedral of the Madeleine on March 12 at 11 a.m. as the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis celebrated his first Sunday Mass as Bishop of Salt Lake City.  

The Mass was concelebrated by Father Martin Diaz and Father Jorge Roldan, rector and parochial vicar, respectively, of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Deacon Lynn Johnson assisted.

Bishop Solis, who was installed five days earlier, introduced himself to the congregation, then devoted his homily to the Gospel reading, St. Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration of Jesus.

The Transfiguration is an important event for all Jesus’ disciples, the bishop said. “It gives us a glimpse of God’s glory and majesty. It reveals the Trinity: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man Jesus, the Spirit in the shining cloud.”

In modern life, people try to transform themselves by diet, exercise or medical procedures, Bishop Solis said, but Lent calls Catholics to a transformation of the heart, not of physical appearance. “The season of Lent, then, is a great opportunity for all of us to make an effort to become listeners of God’s words and of God’s voice, and to subject ourselves to a period of prayer and communication with God.”

To do this, the bishop suggested that the congregation reflect on the following questions: Who is Jesus in your life? Do we believe in him as the son of God? Do we embrace him as our Lord and Savior? More importantly, do we listen to him? Are we attentive to his voice, and are our hearts open to what he tells us? 

Telephones, computers and other forms of recreation pull people away from focusing on the loving God, the bishop said; it is only through prayer “that we give God a chance to talk to us so that we will be able to listen to him.”

Lent is a time to undertake a transformation, the bishop said, but “Transfiguration does not happen magically and instantly. … Unfortunately, my dear friends, you cannot buy in the supermarket Christian power, where you add water and you become instant saints and instant Christians. The road to transfiguration was defined by Jesus. It is the way of sacrifice, the way of the Cross, in union with his suffering and death, that we may rise and achieve eternal life with him. And I hope that in doing so, seeking and invoking the grace of God, we may be given all of the necessary graces and help we need, that we can transfigure and change ourselves so that while we are transformed, the word of God the Father in heaven will be revealed to us and be heard. We are God’s chosen ones. May we have the grace to achieve our transfiguration to be more Christ-like, children of and disciples of Jesus, our Lord.”