ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ SENDS HOLY WEEK MESSAGE TO CATHOLICS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES
April 5, 2020  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

—Archbishop urges the faithful to make their homes a ‘domestic church’ where they can pray the Rosary, read the Bible with their children or watch the livestreaming of Masses as a family-—

Archbishop José H. Gomez has sent a message of hope to the faithful and offers reflection and practical advice, as today Catholics around the world and in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles enter into an unprecedented Holy Week, afflicted by uncertainty and many struggling with historic changes, including no public Masses and celebration of the sacraments, due to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic.

“This Holy Week will be different. Our churches may be closed, but Christ is not quarantined and his Gospel is not in chains,” wrote Archbishop Gomez in the Holy Week column, “Our churches may be closed but Christ is not quarantined,” published in the Archdiocese’s multimedia news platform Angelus News. “Our Lord’s heart remains open to every man and woman. Even though we cannot worship together, each of us can seek him in the tabernacle of our own hearts. Because he loves us, and because his love can never change, we should not be afraid, even in this time of trial and testing. In these mysteries that we remember this week, let us renew our faith in his love.

“Future generations will look back on this as the long Lent of 2020, a time when disease and death suddenly darkened the whole earth,” Archbishop said. “But we know that our Redeemer lives. Even in this extraordinary and challenging moment, we give thanks for what Jesus Christ has done for us by his life, death, and resurrection. Even now, we marvel at the beautiful mystery of our salvation, how precious each one of us is in the eyes of God.”

In his column, Archbishop Gomez expresses his solidarity with all Catholics who are “troubled and hurting by the loss of the Eucharist and the consolation of the sacraments,” and he calls the faithful to “bear the burden with patience and charity, united as one family of God.”

In his writing, Archbishop Gomez reminds Catholics to approach the season and the challenging times recurring to practical advice offered by Pope Francis through social media, and even to the Church’s ancient traditions, such as the ‘perfect contrition,’ when a person’s sins are forgiven when he or she shows his/her love for God through acts of love and the person commits to confess with a priest as soon as it is possible; or to make their homes a domestic church where parents can pray the Rosary, read the Bible with their children, or watch the livestream of the Mass as a family.

He urges the faithful to pray for those who are sick of coronavirus, and for those who are suffering from the loss of their job or business, and “for the men and women who are risking their health to provide essential services in this time of need.”

The version of the column in Spanish can be found here, https://angelusnews.com/archbishops-esp/cristo-no-esta-en-cuarentena/.

On Good Friday (April 10) Archbishop Gomez will lead a National Prayer of the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for an end of the coronavirus pandemic, on behalf of the bishops in the United States. The prayer will be livestreamed from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 9 a.m. PST.

In addition to liturgical celebrations, the Archdiocese has asked noted Catholic author, Mike Aquilina, to provide original spiritual reflections for every day of this Holy Week. For his reflections, for a schedule of Holy Week Masses, and more information, please visit https://lacatholics.org/holyweek/ or https://lacatholics.org/semanasanta/. For updates on the Archdiocese’s efforts to help prevent Covid-19, visit https://lacatholics.org/emergency/.

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Due to gathering and social distancing restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no media access at the Cathedral. A feed of all services and events from the Cathedral will be provided via livestream on the LA Catholics Facebook page and https://lacatholics.org/mass-for-the-homebound/. Masses are streamed live Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. in Spanish and 8 a.m. in English; and Sunday at 7 a.m. in Spanish and 10 a.m. in English. Latest video footage and photographs are available on Archdiocese social channels @lacatholics on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter and upon request (credit: Angelus News). The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest and most diverse CatholicArchdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics, serving the three counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara. For the latest news, events and to subscribe for media alerts visit media.la-archdiocese.org.