LOS ANGELES — As Catholics entered Holy Week March 28, during Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Archbishop José H. Gomez reflected on how again the celebration is happening in the midst of a pandemic.
“The lesson for us again in this Holy Week is to have trust in God’s mercy, in his providence. God’s plans for us are all for love, for life, for our happiness and joy,” Archbishop Gomez said.
“Holy Week makes us ‘witnesses’ of our Lord’s love for us. Let us ask for the grace this week, to testify to the love we have witnessed,” he said. “Let us open our hearts to one another, as he has opened his heart for us.”
Following COVID-19 precautions, some Catholics gathered at the Cathedral for the Mass, with the archbishop greeting them with palms as they came in. Many followed the Mass via livestream.
“My brothers and sisters, whatever crosses we carry in our lives, whatever hardships we face, we need to know that Jesus is walking with us,” the archbishop added. “Whatever hardships we face, we need to know that Jesus is walking with us. ... We are carrying his cross with him, like Simon, the Cyrenian.”
Carrying the cross with Christ “does not take away the pain or the fear” or “spare us the disappointments and losses in our lives,” he said, “but it tells us that our pain is not the last word of the story. God will wipe away every tear. If we carry our cross with him, he will lead us to the resurrection.”
Archbishop Gomez, who is president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, urged Catholics that as they began Holy Week to “ask for the grace to enter into these mysteries in a deep and personal way.”
“Let us truly accompany Jesus and Mary our Blessed Mother on this final journey,” he said. “As we walk this path with Jesus and Mary, we remember that everything that happens in these final moments of our Lord’s earthly life – happens according to God’s plan of salvation.”
As he noted, the day’s Gospel ended “with our Lord suffering and dying on the cross, feeling abandoned and alone. Everything appears to be lost – but it’s not!”
Believers know the “end of the story,” Archbishop Gomez said. “God wins in the end!”
Stay Connected With Us