Archbishop Gomez calls on faithful to commit themselves to the common good of the U.S.
Archbishop Gomez calls on faithful to commit themselves to the common good of the U.S. at the Mass in Recognition of all immigrants
Faithful from across Southern California including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Dioceses of San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego united in prayer yesterday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the immigrant spirit of the U.S. at the annual Mass in Recognition of All Immigrants presided by Archbishop José H. Gomez.
“Once again, we come together to celebrate the truth that we are a Church of immigrants, a family of families who have come here from almost every nation on earth,” said Archbishop Gomez the during homily (full text below). “It has been a challenging couple of years for our families and our communities. So, again this year we come and we bring our troubles and burdens, and we place them at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
Bishops, priests, deacons and various women religious communities from throughout Southern California joined Archbishop Gomez in celebrating the Mass and standing in faithful solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters including L.A. Auxiliary Bishops Brian Nunes for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, Marc Tudeau for the San Pedro Pastoral Region and Matthew Elshoff for Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region.
“We ask Him to stay near to us in this time of fear and uncertainty. We ask Him to change the hearts of our leaders, to give them compassion — new eyes to see the humanity of our brothers and sisters who are suffering under our broken immigration system,” Archbishop continued in the homily. “In this 250th anniversary year of America, we pray that the Lord might renew this great nation’s commitment to its founding vision — to be one nation, under God, in which every man and woman can live in equality and freedom.”
The celebration began with a vibrant pre-procession featuring more than a dozen parishes, ministry leaders and advocacy groups/ministries including Pastoral Migratoria L.A., One LA, and the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force. The “Ribbons of Prayer” display was also processed into the Cathedral before the Mass as a visual representation of the prayers offered for those affected by affected by immigration.
The special “Ribbons of Prayer” chapel, dedicated to commemorating the International Day of Migrants and Refugees, will be available will inside of the Cathedral until mid-October. All may continue to offer prayers for anyone affected by immigration by writing the name of the person on a ribbon provided in the chapel and tying the ribbon to a stand in the center of the chapel which also displays works by local sacred artist Lalo Garcia including his painting “El Viaje del Migrante” (“The Migrant’s Journey”).
“We pray that once again, America will see herself as a light of freedom for people of all nations, a home for all peoples, races, and languages,” said Archbishop Gomez in the homily. “And we pray for ourselves, that we commit ourselves to continue to be good neighbors, good parishioners, to continue working with gratitude for the common good of this country we have come to call our home.”
The annual Mass commemorates the Catholic Church’s observance of the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) offers a timely opportunity to reflect on the deep connections between hope, migration, and mission.
Attorney Lisa Ramirez, founding partner of the U.S. Immigration Law Group shared her testimony about her work on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable immigrants, including asylum seekers, trafficking victims, and battered women and children. One LA Leader, Mayra Velarde, also shared her testimony centered on hope especially for immigrant families who may be facing fear, uncertainty, or difficult circumstances.
The Mass livestream is available on the Cathedral’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCbr0SEJtyo. For more information, please visit lifejusticeandpeace.lacatholics.org/immigrationmass.
Photos from the Mass are available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i0fXQSGDtP5q8mgBOnyClvrTavn-ouix?usp=sharing.
Homily — Mass for All Immigrants / 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
September 20, 2026
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
Once again, we come together to celebrate the truth that we are a Church of immigrants, a family of families who have come here from almost every nation on earth.
We are truly a “Church of the world” here in Los Angeles and Southern California, and we welcome all of you who are joining us from the Dioceses of Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego.
It has been a challenging couple of years for our families and our communities. So, again this year we come and we bring our troubles and burdens, and we place them at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that the promises of the Lord are true, just as we heard in today’s liturgy of the Word.
The Lord is gracious and merciful; He has compassion toward all of us. And the Lord is near to us when we call upon Him in truth. So, we call upon Him today.
We ask Him to stay near to us in this time of fear and uncertainty. We ask Him to change the hearts of our leaders, to give them compassion — new eyes to see the humanity of our brothers and sisters who are suffering under our broken immigration system.
In this 250th anniversary year of America, we pray that the Lord might renew this great nation’s commitment to its founding vision — to be one nation, under God, in which every man and woman can live in equality and freedom.
We pray that once again, America will see herself as a light of freedom for people of all nations, a home for all peoples, races, and languages.
And we pray for ourselves, that we commit ourselves to continue to be good neighbors, good parishioners, to continue working with gratitude for the common good of this country we have come to call our home.
Jesus tells us today in the Gospel: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.”
And these are words of hope. The Lord in His mercy is going with us. He is walking with us on the path of our lives. Jesus wants us to have peace in our hearts, to know that He holds our lives, in love, in the palm of His hand.
And Jesus knows that sometimes when we look around us in the world, things don’t always seem fair; that’s what Jesus is talking about in the Gospel today.
God’s ways are not our ways. God does not think like human beings do, as the prophet tells us in the first reading: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.”
And in the Gospel, Jesus challenges us: “Are you envious because I am generous?”
We can never be jealous of the gifts that God bestows on others, we can never be envious of the good fortune, the success that other people achieve in this world.
When we reflect on our own lives, we discover always that God is much more generous, so much more merciful than we could ever imagine. His love, his grace, is a pure gift in our lives.
The Lord is telling us today to stay centered on our own lives, on the work that He has called each one of us to do.
As we know, we are born for a reason, we are here for some purpose. Jesus has called each of us to do beautiful things for Him, beautiful works of service for Him in His “vineyard” on earth.
The message in the Gospel today is that if we dedicate our lives to the service of God and the service of our brothers and sisters, God is going to reward us in an unbelievable way.
We are here for a reason. God wants each of us to make our own contribution to building his kingdom. Your contribution will be different from mine. But God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. He wants you to do something beautiful with your lives.
So, the question for us today is, what is my job in the vineyard? How is God calling me to help grow His family on earth, His kingdom?
For most of us the answer is that our personal “vineyard” is our home, the places where we work, our activities in our community. This is where we serve God, this is where we help one another get to heaven.
Jesus is always with us, working alongside us in the vineyard. We need to keep our eyes open, keep our hearts open to love Him and we will find many ways to serve him everyday.
Our lives are called to be lives of service and love. Love is the way we are called to live.
And there is a lot of work to be done! We need to increase the number of souls who know Jesus and love Him.
We need to make our world better, more like God wants it to be. And this is a beautiful work, to share the love of Jesus and to build His kingdom.
So, today let us ask God for the grace and the strength we need to keep working in His vineyard, all the days of our lives.
And we ask Holy Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to keep us always close to her Son, and to help us to love Jesus and to serve our families in love.
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