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Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez
Archbishop of San Antonio

  1/28/2006  

 

 

My sisters and brothers in Christ,
 
We gather this morning for the celebration of Mass to ask for the
promotion of the Culture of life in the world, especially in our country.
Modern society is threatened by the culture of death, mainly with the
crime of Abortion but also by euthanasia, violence, war, the death
penalty, etc. 
 
We come to ask for God’s mercy to stop the abuse of life and that people
at the beginning of the 21st Century value the gift of life as it is a gift of
God. Pope Benedict XVI just this week, with the publication of his first
encyclical letter helps us to understand that love of God and our fellow
man, challenges us to go beyond the status quo, building a just society,
shaped by love, that will give dignity and freedom to each person.
 
We are celebrating this Mass on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas,
whose life was dedicated to preaching the truth. He preached the truths
of the faith through his theological writings as well as through his life.
So, it is a good time to ask for the grace to help people to seek the truth.
The truth of the human person, the truth of life, the truth of human
nature and, I would say especially, the truth of the respect for life from
conception to natural death. 
 
The readings of the Mass are very interesting and help us to see two
aspects of our mission as People of life and for life in the words of Pope
John Paul II in his Encyclical letter The Gospel of Life.
 
 
 
 
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The 1st reading from the Book of Samuel relates David’s repentance of
his sin with great sorrow. I’m sure that one way or another we can relate
to it. Sin is a reality in human life. We all are sinners. But, sorrow and
repentance are also part of human life. As we consider the value of life
and the horror of Abortion, we have to also pray for repentance and
sorrow. As we all know, real healing only comes through contrition. 
 
We cannot forget that Jesus came to earth to redeem us from our sins.
The Catholic Church is a place of redemption, of forgiveness. I want to
thank the priest of the Archdiocese that dedicate many hours to the
ministry of reconciliation. 
 
I hope and pray that we can continue it and increase it because we all
need it. I also would like to thank everyone involved in Project Rachel
for their service to people that are in need of comfort and reconciliation
after the tragedy of abortion.
 
Then the passage of the Gospel calls us for an increase in faith. The
disciples were faced with the possibility of their boat sinking; they call
out in desperation to Jesus who was asleep in the stern. The calm and
peacefulness of Jesus was just the opposite to the agitated state of the
Apostles. Finally they woke him up; he calmed the storm but in the
process he challenged their faith: “why are you terrified? Do you not yet
have faith?”
 
What a beautiful lesson for us! Sometimes as we work for the Culture of
life, it seems that Jesus is asleep. He’s not! He wants us to have more
faith and persevere in our mission of evangelizing the culture with our
personal witness and our ongoing effort to educate the people in the
truth of the Gospel. 
 
 
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So today, with a renewed faith we commit ourselves to continue our
mission, in the words of Pope John Paul II: “to preach the Gospel of
life, to celebrate it in the Liturgy and in our whole existence, and to
serve it with the various programs and structures which support and
promote life" (n. 79)
 
Because, “We need to bring the Gospel of life to the heart of every man
and woman and to make it penetrate every part of society” (n. 80)
 
Finally we commit ourselves to the Celebrating the Gospel of life
(nn. 83 -86) "Because we have been sent into the world as a ‘people for
life’ our proclamation must also become a genuine celebration of the
Gospel of life"
 
"To celebrate the Gospel of life means to celebrate the God of life, the
God who gives life" (n. 84). We can always do it through daily prayer...
praise and bless God and the reception of the Sacraments that make us
sharers in divine life
 
We ask the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Blessed Mother.
 
"O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do
we entrust the cause of life... Grant that all who believe in your Son may
proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our
time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives... Amen.
(n. 105)