Archbishop Gomez to Los Angeles: Never lose the opportunity to be with Jesus Christ.

Tonight, the Fr. Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata attended the welcoming Mass for Archbishop Gomez at St. Christopher's Parish.  Here is a summary of his homily, as taken from the notes of one of the missionaries:   
"The entire Word of God overflows with God's love for us. But the readings today point this out with even greater force.

Wis 11:22-12:2

For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made...
But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

God loves each one of us, and wants to be a part of our life. He does not make mistakes, but rather creates us and by this very fact - that we are His creation - we are loveable and we are loved.

Lk 19:1-10

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."

Zacheus came down quickly. God's love for each one of  us is without limit. Jesus is always passing by, calling us by name... "I want to be with you. I want to eat dinner with you." This Gospel message really is two-fold: 1. Be aware of His love, and 2. Respond to that love. This love and response takes place in three moments.

1. Look for Jesus. Keep looking for Jesus. Zacheus looked out of curiosity, he had everything he "needed", but something drove him to climb that tree. We come here to Church every Sunday. Why? Because we are looking for Jesus. Keep looking.

2. Hear the invitation of Jesus. Sometimes we are too busy to hear the Lord as He extends the invitation. But, he invites all of us.

3. Respond. Pray today to be an apostle of Christ, to love Him, to have the grace to continue to seek Him.  Never lose the opportunity to be with Jesus Christ. Sign up for an hour of Adoration. Pray when you wake up in the morning. Go to Mass. Pray that your response will be creative. Los Angeles is THE place to be, full of creativity.  Let our life with Jesus be as creative, shouldn't it be? We must pray to be creative in finding ways to be with Him and to be His apostles..."

The Archbishop's response when asked about LA diocese? - "It is a beautiful and active place!"