Our Christian faith is a faith of joy.
Joy is the note we hear in all the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection.

“They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.”
“The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

One my favorite Easter scenes is from Luke’s Gospel. Jesus appears out of nowhere to his disciples in Jerusalem. And Luke reports that they “disbelieved for joy and wondered.”

In other words: The disciples saw Jesus and they were so happy they could hardly believe their eyes.

This is the way Easter should make us…

I’ve had an intense but amazing week. Our archdiocesan Religious Education Congress was a big success.

I celebrated two Masses for a total of 16,000 young people. I took part in an on-line “chat” with young Catholics. I saw many old friends and met many new friends from all across the country. I prayed and learned a lot and I came away inspired.

For me, this Congress shows the vitality of the Church in our country. There was such passion and energy! I’m grateful to know so many men and women, young and old, from every nationality — all dedicated to Jesus Christ and the…

This is a big week for our local Church.

Beginning this Thursday, March 22, we will be hosting our 45th annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress at the Anaheim Convention Center. This amazing four-day event will attract more than 40,000 catechists, religious educators and teachers from across the country.

This is the biggest gathering of its kind in America and probably in the world. There are about 280 workshops and talks this year — on topics ranging from spirituality and music to biblical studies and catechesis.

The REC is a great service that our Archdiocese offers to…

He may have been, he admits with a smile, “scared to death” when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the fifth archbishop of Los Angeles. But today — nearly two years after his appointment was announced, and one year on the job — Archbishop José H. Gomez declares, happily, “I am very happy to be here.”

The native of Monterrey, Mexico, who turned 60 last Dec. 26, has spent the past 21 months (including nine as coadjutor archbishop) getting acquainted with all that the archdiocese to offer, both the joys (“So many people are excited about learning about the faith”) as well as…

Our brother César Chávez would have turned 85 this month.

Time fades and memories dim and younger generations can feel far away from the concerns of those who have gone before us. But we should not let that happen with him.

César was one of our nation’s great civil rights pioneers. He was a courageous fighter for the dignity of our Hispanic people — especially the poor and those who labored in the “factories in the fields.”

He was a man whose public convictions were rooted in prayer and shaped by his deep Catholic faith.

He once said, “I don’t think that I could…

We are almost at the halfway point along the road in our Lenten journey.

Time moves fast! I hope you are making good progress on the resolutions you set for yourself this Lent.

Lent is not meant to be about temporary fixes or short-term self-denials. We are not giving up sugar in our coffee just so we can look forward to how good it’s going to taste when Lent is over. We don’t give up eating dessert just so we can lose a little weight.

All the little denials and sacrifices we make are meant to help us grow and get stronger in our spiritual lives. We need to look at our Lenten…

We begin each Lent under the humble sign of ashes that symbolize dust:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return!

Lent reminds us that life is brief. We are here on this earth only for a little while. One day our mortal bodies will turn to dust.

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI also makes this point in his Lenten message for this year: “The time granted us in this life is precious for discerning and performing good works in the love of God.”

Our life may be short. But we are called to fill our lives with meaning and beauty through our faithfulness and love…

Our Christian life is a pilgrimage of faith.
It is all about following Jesus Christ through the desert of this world to the promised land of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is all about going wherever our Father calls us and wherever his Spirit leads us. Even to places where we might not want to go. Even to places where we never expected to find ourselves.

Lent reminds us that we need to always be growing in virtue and holiness so we have the strength we need to continue along our pilgrim way.

That is why we begin every Lent by reliving Jesus’ own journey into the desert. It is…

The federal government’s new mandate — requiring Catholic charities, schools, universities and hospitals to supply employees with health insurance that covers birth control, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs — has become maybe the most controversial issue of our day.

I’ve been inspired by the unified reaction from our Catholic community. The bishops of almost every diocese in the country have spoken out. So have our largest Catholic institutions. Many individual Catholics — of every political opinion — have united in opposition.

Other religious groups and many…

Over the past two weekends, I’ve been privileged to celebrate Masses in honor of our great Archdiocese’s religious brothers and sisters.

These consecrated men and women inspire me by their fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church. I am humbled by their witness — their ministries of prayer, education and charity; their closeness to the poor and sick. I met one saintly sister who has been a religious for 80 years!

And earlier this week, on Feb. 2, on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, we joined the universal Church in celebrating the World Day for Consecrated Life.

We…