THOUSANDS HONOR OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AT ANNUAL MUSICAL TRIBUTE AND MASS AT CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

December 12, 2019  |  By: newsroom  |  Press Releases  |  

Thousands of faithful packed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles tonight in a celebration honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe that culminated with midnight Mass celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez.

“And this is Mary’s mission for you and me. She is asking us to do what she does — she is asking us to bring Jesus into every corner of our lives!” said Archbishop Gomez during the homily. “She is asking us to bring his love into our homes, to make our Lord present in our conversations, in the way we care for one another. She is asking us to carry Jesus into our schools, into the places where we work, into our society. You bring Jesus into your life, I bring Jesus into mine. If we all do this — the world will be filled with the love of Jesus!”

The event was held on the eve of the Virgin of Guadalupe Feast Day, December 11, following a tradition in Mexico City where millions gather at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe where the tilma (cloak of St. Juan Diego where the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared) is displayed. A half-inch square relic of the tilma, the only known piece in the United States, is enshrined at a gilded chapel inside the Cathedral.

Tonight’s celebration began on the Cathedral Plaza at 6 p.m. with Aztec and Matachines dancers. During this time, the faithful venerated the tilma relic through offerings of prayer and flowers.

At 10 p.m., the celebration moved inside the Cathedral for a Rosary led by emcees Ernesto Vega and Lianna Rebolledo, and other invited guests, accompanied by Cathedral’s Spanish Choir.

This year’s musical tribute, or serenata, included the following performers: William Garza, a millennial Mexican regional singer, will be performing with his own band, La Banda Ahuis. Jacky Ibarra, a Los Angeles native, will be serenading the Virgen de Guadalupe at the Cathedral for the 12th consecutive year. Chris Reza, Los Angeles Police Department officer is known in Boyle Heights as the “mariachi policeman.” Julian Torres, mariachi singer and songwriter. He is currently promoting his newly released EP “Época de Oro.” Nancy Sanchez’s music is a blend of her cultures; it contains a mix of Jazz, Mexican folklore and pop. Nancy recently signed with one of the largest music publishers in the world, Universal Music Publishing. Her music has been featured in the STARZ original series VIDA, Nickelodeon’s National Hispanic Heritage Month campaign, and in the FX series Mayan MC. Cheli Madrid, originally from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, and one of the new talents of the Mexican regional genre. Mariachi Los Toros began as a childhood dream of their director Carlos Parra in September 2001. They are a group of young professional musicians who have had the opportunity to perform at important festivals and concerts, including KCET’s Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. 

The festivities concluded with a midnight Mass presided by Archbishop Gomez (homily as prepared follows in English and Spanish).

The celebration recalls the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico, in December 1531, when she left her image on his tilma, or cloak. A relic, or piece of the tilma inside the Cathedral was a present to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from the Archbishop of Mexico City in appreciation and friendship after Los Angeles Archbishop John J. Cantwell led a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in the early 1940s. Given the natural agave fibers used to make the tilma, experts say it is miraculous that the relic at the Cathedral in Los Angeles, and the rest of the tilma in Mexico City, have survived for almost five centuries.

The celebration was livestreamed on the Cathedral’s Facebook and YouTube channels, www.facebook.com/olacathedral, www.youtube.com/olacathedral. For more information, please visit https://guadalupela.com/.

For photos of the celebration, please visit https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mtSNTXib9blEgl35w3CpT5vwyXCGnwat?usp=sharing.

 

Homily — Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe[i]

 

Most Reverend José H. Gomez

Archbishop of Los Angeles

 

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

December 12, 2019

 

My dear brothers and sisters,

We gather again tonight to give praise to God for Holy Mary, our Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

As we hear in our readings tonight, she is the Ark of the New Covenant, the Daughter of Zion! She comes in flashes of lightning, in thunder — all of creation trembling before the great Queen of Heaven, crowned with stars, the Lord of hosts dwelling within her womb.

She comes bearing Jesus, so that the nations will gather to him! And we are children of this great Queen, all of us!

Brothers and sisters, we are made to live in Paradise. But as it was with Adam and Eve, our first parents, sin gets in the way.

This is the human story — it is the story of humanity and the story of every one of us. There is nobody here tonight who does not have sin or weakness. All of us fall short of the glory, the holiness that God wants from us.

But Almighty God in his mercy prepared for us a remedy. The Virgin was in the mind of God from before creation, from all eternity.

She is given to us as the Immaculate One “full of grace,” born to bring us our Savior, the Holy One who will set us free from the chains of sin. He is the All-Merciful One, and she is the Mother of Mercy.

We all know the ancient prayer, the “Hail, Holy Queen.” We cry to her, poor banished children of Eve, and she turns her eyes of mercy toward us. In our exile she shows us the blessed fruit of her womb, the Child Jesus.  

In the last few days, as I was praying to Our Blessed Mother, as I was reflecting again on the beautiful “Nican Mophua,” which tells of her coming to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac.

I was thinking about her humility, her tender love for even the least of us, her children.

She was the Queen of Heaven and yet she bends down to show herself to a humble person, a poor man of the people. Not to the bishops, not to the nobility. In fact, Juan Diego begs her to choose someone more high-class, more respected in society.

But she tells him, no. She has a mission for him, and only he can carry it out. She speaks to him sweetly, calls him to come closer to her.

And I was thinking about her first words to Juan Diego: “Listen, my dearest and youngest son … where are you going?”

And I think that Our Lady’s question is also for us. Where are we going? With all our fears and uncertainties, with all our miseries and responsibilities?

Do we know that our Holy Mother goes with us, that we are always and forever precious and protected in her eyes?

Yes, it is true! She is the Mother of all of us. We can cry to her, we can share with her our joys and sorrows. We can trust in her protection! Who we are, where we are going, all our troubles and sufferings — everything lies within her merciful and compassionate gaze.

She gives us our mission, just as she gave Juan Diego his. It is a humble mission, but it is noble — because it comes from Our Lady! And, as with Juan Diego, no one else can do the mission that is entrusted to you.

It is the mission that we hear tonight in the Gospel, the story of the Visitation that we all know so well.

Mary brings Jesus to Elizabeth. This is always Mary’s work: to carry Jesus into the world, to make his presence known among us. It is a quiet presence, often a hidden presence. God comes to us in silence and humility. Always! If we look for him in dramatic signs and wonders, we will miss him.

Jesus comes always in the humble power of quiet love. Just as he enters Elizabeth’s house with Mary. Elizabeth was filled with joy when Mary entered the room. She was filled with joy because Jesus was there.

And this is Mary’s mission for you and me. She is asking us to do what she does — she is asking us to bring Jesus into every corner of our lives!

She is asking us to bring his love into our homes, to make our Lord present in our conversations, in the way we care for one another. She is asking us to carry Jesus into our schools, into the places where we work, into our society.

You bring Jesus into your life, I bring Jesus into mine. If we all do this — the world will be filled with the love of Jesus!

This is Our Lady’s wish! We need to carry out her precious will for us, even when the road is painful.

Juan Diego was an ordinary man with many burdens and responsibilities. He was taking care of his uncle Juan Bernardino, who as we know, was sick and dying. Many of you are caring for loved ones who are ill. We balance so many duties in our families.

Juan Diego had his faith challenged — people calling him a liar, treating him badly, casting him out and telling him that what he believed was not real.

This is a reality for us, too. We live every day in a society that denies the truth of our religion, we are every day breathing an atmosphere of secularism that tells us that God does not matter, that God is not alive. 

We face the same challenges that St. Juan Diego faced. All of us. But tonight, we can stand strong because we know the promise of the Virgin. She will reward us for our labors, for serving her. Just as she did with Juan Diego.

Let us keep the words of her promise always in your heart: “Am I not your mother? Are you not under my shadow and gaze? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not sheltered underneath my mantle, under the embrace of my arms?”[ii]

Dear Guadalupanos, Our Lady is sending us tonight, just as she sent St. Juan Diego. She is sending us with beautiful flowers in our arms, to carry her beloved image with us, to spread the beautiful fragrance of her love in the world.

Let us continue to do her precious will! 

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, ¡ruega por nosotros!

¡Que Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva San Juan Diego!

¡Que viva San Junípero Serra!

¡Que viva Cristo Rey!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

 

 

Homilía – Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe^[iii]

 

Mons. José H. Gómez

Arzobispo de Los Ángeles

 

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles

12 de diciembre de 2019

 

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas,

¡Esta noche nuevamente estamos reunidos para alabar a Dios celebrando a Santa María de Guadalupe, nuestra Madre Santísima!

Como pudimos escuchar en nuestras lecturas de esta noche, ¡ella es el Arca de la Nueva Alianza, la Hija de Sión! Ella viene en medio de truenos y relámpagos: toda la creación tiembla ante la gran Reina del Cielo, coronada de estrellas, que lleva en su seno al Señor de los ejércitos.

¡Ella viene trayendo consigo a Jesús, para que las naciones se reúnan en torno a él! ¡Y todos nosotros somos hijos de esta gran Reina!

Hermanos y hermanas, nosotros fuimos creados para vivir en el paraíso. Pero tal como sucedió con Adán y Eva, nuestros primeros padres, el pecado se interpone en el camino.

Esta es la historia humana: es la historia de la humanidad y también la historia de cada uno de nosotros. No hay nadie aquí esta noche que no tenga pecados ni debilidades. Todos nos quedamos cortos con respecto a la gloria y a la santidad que Dios quiere de nosotros.

Pero Dios Todopoderoso, en su misericordia, preparó para nosotros un remedio. La Virgen estuvo en la mente de Dios desde antes de la creación, desde toda la eternidad.

Ella nos ha sido dada como la Inmaculada, la “llena de gracia”, nacida para traernos a nuestro Salvador, al Santo que nos liberará de las cadenas del pecado. Él es el Todo Misericordioso y ella es la Madre de la Misericordia.

Todos conocemos esa antigua oración, la “Salve”. A ella clamamos los desterrados hijos de Eva y ella vuelve a nosotros sus ojos misericordiosos. En nuestro destierro, nos muestra a Jesús, fruto bendito de su vientre.

Esta estos últimos días, al estar rezando a Nuestra Santísima Madre, mientras reflexionaba nuevamente acerca del hermoso “Nican Mophua”, que habla sobre su visita a San Juan Diego en el Tepeyac, estaba pensando en su humildad, en su tierno amor incluso para nosotros, sus hijos los más pequeños.

Siendo ella la Reina del Cielo, sin embargo, se inclinó hacia nosotros para mostrarse a una humilde persona, a un hombre pobre del pueblo. No a los obispos ni a la nobleza. De hecho, Juan Diego le ruega a ella que elija a alguien más, de clase alta, más respetado en la sociedad.

Pero ella le responde que no. Ella tiene una misión para él y solo él puede llevarla a cabo. Ella le habla dulcemente, lo llama para que se acerque a ella.

Y he estado pensando acerca de las primeras palabras que ella le dirigió a Juan Diego: “Escucha, hijo mío, el más querido, el más pequeño… ¿a dónde vas?”

Y pienso que la pregunta de Nuestra Señora también está dirigida a nosotros. ¿A dónde vamos? ¿Con todos nuestros miedos e incertidumbres, con todas nuestras miserias y responsabilidades?

¿Sabemos que nuestra Santa Madre nos acompaña, que desde siempre y por siempre somos preciosos a sus ojos y estamos protegidos por ella?

Sí, ¡es cierto! Ella es la madre de todos nosotros. Podemos clamar a ella, podemos compartir con ella nuestras alegrías y nuestras tristezas. ¡Podemos confiar en su protección! Podemos confiarle lo que somos, hacia dónde nos dirigimos, todos nuestros problemas y sufrimientos: todo se encuentra ante su mirada misericordiosa y compasiva.

Ella nos da nuestra misión, tal como se la comunicó a Juan Diego. Es una misión humilde, pero noble, ¡porque proviene de Nuestra Señora! Y, como sucedió con Juan Diego, nadie más puede hacer la misión que se les ha confiado a ustedes.

Es la misión sobre la que escuchamos esta noche en el Evangelio, la historia de la Visitación que todos conocemos muy bien.

María le lleva a Jesús a Isabel. Este es siempre el trabajo de María: llevar a Jesús al mundo, dar a conocer su presencia entre nosotros. Es una presencia silenciosa, frecuentemente, una presencia oculta. Dios viene a nosotros en el silencio y en la humildad. ¡Siempre es así! Si lo buscamos en signos y maravillas dramáticos, no lo encontraremos.

Jesús siempre viene en el humilde poder del amor silencioso. De igual modo a como entró con María en la casa de Isabel. E Isabel se llenó de alegría cuando María entró a su casa; se llenó de alegría porque Jesús estaba allí.

Y esta es la misión de María para ustedes y para mí. Ella nos está pidiendo que hagamos lo que ella hace, ¡nos está pidiendo que llevemos a Jesús a todos los sectores de nuestra vida!

Ella nos está pidiendo que llevemos su amor a nuestros hogares, que hagamos presente a nuestro Señor en nuestras conversaciones, en la manera en la que cuidamos los unos de los otros. Ella nos está pidiendo que llevemos a Jesús a nuestras escuelas, a los lugares en los que trabajamos, a nuestra sociedad.

Traer a Jesús a nuestra vida. Cada uno de ustedes a su vida y yo a la mía. Si todos hacemos esto, ¡el mundo estará lleno del amor de Jesús!

¡Este es el deseo de Nuestra Señora! Tenemos que llevar a la práctica su deseo aun cuando el camino sea doloroso.

Juan Diego fue un hombre común y corriente, con muchas preocupaciones y responsabilidades. Él estaba cuidando a su tío Juan Bernardino, quien, como sabemos, estaba enfermo y moribundo.

Muchos de ustedes están cuidando a sus seres queridos que están enfermos. Tenemos que ocuparnos de tantos deberes en nuestras familias…

También la fe de Juan Diego fue desafiada: la gente lo llamó mentiroso, lo trató mal, lo echó fuera diciéndole que lo que él creía, no era real.

Esto también nos sucede a nosotros. Cada día lo vivimos en una sociedad que niega la verdad de nuestra religión. Todos los días respiramos una atmósfera de secularismo que nos dice que Dios no importa, que Dios no está vivo.

Todos nosotros enfrentamos los mismos desafíos que enfrentó San Juan Diego. Pero esta noche, podemos mantenernos firmes porque conocemos la promesa de la Virgen. Ella nos recompensará por nuestros trabajos, por servirla a ella, tal como lo hizo con Juan Diego.

Conserven siempre en su corazón las palabras de su promesa: “¿No estoy yo aquí, que soy tu madre? ¿No estás bajo mi sombra y mi resguardo? ¿Acaso no soy la razón de tu alegría? ¿No estás por ventura en mi regazo? ^[iv]

Queridos Guadalupanos, Nuestra Señora nos envía esta noche, así como envió a San Juan Diego. Ella nos está enviando con hermosas flores en nuestros brazos, para llevar su querida imagen con nosotros, para difundir en el mundo la hermosa fragancia de su amor.

¡Sigamos haciendo su preciosa voluntad!

 

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, ¡ruega por nosotros!

¡Que Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva San Juan Diego!

¡Que viva San Junípero Serra!

¡Que viva Cristo Rey!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

####

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Archdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics. For the latest news, events and to subscribe for media alerts visit media.la-archdiocese.org. Follow us on social media at LACatholics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Video archives and footage of Masses celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez are also available.

[i] Readings: Zec. 2:14–17; Rev. 11:19, 12:1–6, 10; Luke 1:39–48.

[ii] Nican Mopohua, 118–119.

[iii] Lecturas: Zac 2,14–17; Ap 11,19, 12,1–6, 10; Lc 1, 39–48.

[iv] Nican Mopohua, 118–119.