ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ BLESSED MOTHERS DURING MASS TODAY LIVESTREAMED FROM THE CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS
May 10, 2020  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

–Cathedral’s Masses in the upcoming week will include prayer intentions for all mothers, living and deceased; candles donated through the Mother’s Day Candle Program will remain lit and placed in front of the image of the Virgin Mary throughout the week—

As we all continue with the ongoing pandemic “stay-at-home” order, and as Catholics dedicate May to Mary, Mother of Jesus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles continues to honor all mothers at its parishes throughout the three counties it comprises (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura) through livestreamed Masses today. Archbishop José H. Gomez blessed all mothers during the Mass he celebrated in English at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 10 a.m. Fr. Paúl Velázquez, Cathedral’s associate pastor, blessed mothers during the Mass in Spanish at 7 a.m. Videos of both Masses are available at https://lacatholics.org/mothers-day/ and Archbishop Gomez’s full homily is available athttps://lacatholics.org/2020/05/10/mothers-day-homily/. For photos, please visit https://angelusnews.com/photos-videos/#. Credit: Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“These are challenging times for our families, especially for our mothers and grandmothers. In many beautiful ways, our families have become domestic churches in this time of coronavirus, and we know that our mothers are the heart of every home,” said Archbishop Gomez. “Yes, you have even greater responsibilities now, especially those who are raising young children during this lockdown. We pray for all of you today in a special way and we thank you for your love.”

Hundreds of red roses donated by the Catholic Cemeteries and Mortuaries that adorned the images of Our Lady  Mary, Mother of the Church, and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the Cathedral’s sanctuary, were a remembrance of each mother who could not be present at the Cathedral to receive her own flower, as it has been a tradition year after year. 

“This year we couldn’t offer flowers to each mother, but as you can see we have a couple hundred roses here, so each of these roses are also donated in your honor and we remember you this morning,” said Fr. David Gallardo, Cathedral’s pastor.

“The flowers are here, so we are together in this special moment, especially honoring Mary, Our Blessed Mother,” added Archbishop Gomez, who led, as he has done in daily Masses during this time of coronavirus, a special prayer for the intercession of the Virgin of Guadalupe for an end of the pandemic.

Families are invited to participate in the special Cathedral Candle Program for Mother’s Day. Donations and prayer requests can be made online athttp://www.olacathedral.org/candles/. The candles will remain lit and placed in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Cathedral’s sanctuary, and the Archbishop, Cathedral’s priests and staff will keep the prayer intentions in their daily prayers. Each day, from May 11-15, one of the daily Masses will be offered for the intentions of all mothers, living and deceased.

A Litany to the Virgin Mary was sung at the end of the Mass in English, and a Rosary prayer, a Litany to the Virgin Mary and “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday song tohonor the Virgin Mary, was dedicated to mothers during the Mass in Spanish.

For more information, visit https://lacatholics.org/mothers-day/.

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Due to gathering and social distancing restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Holy Mass is being livestreamed from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angles 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 andTwitter. Video footage and photographs (credit: Angelus News) of Masses celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez are also available. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest and most diverse Catholic Archdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics, serving the three counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara. For thelatest news, events and to subscribe for media alerts visit media.la-archdiocese.org.