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    <title>Vida Nueva - noticias y recursos para inmigrantes hispanos en Los Angeles - Arquidiocesis:ARZOBISPO JOSÉ GOMEZ (ENGLISH)</title>
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      	  <title> A TRULY ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ 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 need to pray that more men and women will hear this special call of Jesus Christ — to leave their families]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6704/a-truly-alternative-lifestyle]]></link> 
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      	  <title> A TIME FOR CATHOLIC ACTION AND CATHOLIC VOICES</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Last Thursday in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a remarkable address to a group of visiting American bishops.

Our Holy Father praised America’s founders for their commitment to religious liberty and their belief that Judeo-Christian moral teachings are essential to shaping citizens and democratic institutions. 

The Pope warned that our heritage of religious freedom faces “grave threats” from the “radical secularism” of political and cultural opinion leaders who are “increasingly hostile to Christianity.” 

Last Friday, the day after the Pope’s address, our federal government issued a ruling that confirmed his worst fears about our country’s anti-religious and anti-Christian]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6703/a-time-for-catholic-action-and-catholic-voices]]></link> 
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      	  <title> DEFENDING THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ This Saturday evening, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m., I will celebrate a Requiem Mass for the Unborn at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. 

I will be joined at the altar by my brother bishops and priests. And I hope that many of you will also be able to join us to remember the lives lost to abortion and to pray for greater respect for life in our day. 

The Mass is being held on the vigil of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that created a legal right to abortion in our country.

For nearly 40 years since then, abortion has been the law of our land. The “right to choose” abortion has become an expectation of freedom, something men and women presume — like]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6702/defending-the-truth-about-life]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THE NEW EVANGELIZATION BEGINS WITH US</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ In this new year, say a prayer for the renewal of our Catholic Church.
 
The world today needs to hear the Gospel message in a new way. And the world today is looking to the Church — to each one of us — for the word of life and hope, for the truth that sets us free.
  
Jesus is the answer to every question in every human heart. And only his Church can show people the way to live and the path to true happiness.

But as St. Paul asked a long time ago: How can people believe in Jesus if they’ve never heard about him? And how will they hear about him unless someone tells them? 

We are the ones — every one of us in his Church — who have to tell the world about Jesus and about the joy of]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6701/the-new-evangelization-begins-with-us]]></link> 
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      	  <title> A NEW YEAR AND THE TIME OF OUR LIVES</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Happy New Year, my friends! I hope this Christmas was a season of joy and blessings for you and your families.
 
This was my first Christmas as the new Archbishop, so for me it was a time of special grace. 

It was beautiful to see such great numbers of people coming to church for Christmas Mass. I witnessed this in our celebrations at the Cathedral. And we saw the same thing in parishes all over the Archdiocese. I’ve heard from my brother bishops that across the country Christmas Masses were very well attended.
 
So many people coming to worship God for the gift of his Son! What a sign of the spiritual strength of our Catholic faith! 

It is a sign that in the face of the troubles]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6700/a-new-year-and-the-time-of-our-lives]]></link> 
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      	  <title> CHRISTMAS AND THE GIFT OF LOVE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Christmas is a gift. I have felt that way since I was a child. 

Growing up, my parents always made Christmas a time of wonder and joy for my sisters and I.
 There was a certain spirit in the air; everything seemed somehow more alive, as if the world was filled with new possibilities. 

We prayed with a little more devotion and spent more time together as a family — getting the house ready, decorating the Christmas tree; we always built a family Nativity scene for the baby Jesus.

We celebrated the nine days of Las Posadas, feeling very close to the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph as we accompanied them on their journey to Bethlehem. And, of course, there was Christmas Eve and the]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6699/christmas-and-the-gift-of-love]]></link> 
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      	  <title> OUR HOPE IN ADVENT</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Advent is a beautiful season of hope and joy, when we know that Jesus Christ has come to earth and that God is with us always. 

This year, my joy is tempered with some sadness, because I know that for many of our brothers and sisters, here in Los Angeles and throughout California and our country, this is a time of anxiety and distress.

Many are out of work or do not have enough work to make a decent living. Many have had their families broken up and are living in poverty because of their uncertain immigration status.
 
It is hard to think of spiritual realities when there are so many material worries, when the future seems uncertain and it is hard just to make it through every]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6698/our-hope-in-advent]]></link> 
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      	  <title> GUADALUPANOS AND THE CONTINENT OF HOPE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Next week, on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate a special Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica for our brothers and sisters of Latin America.

Our Holy Father wants to show his solidarity with the nations of what he calls the “Continent of Hope,” where about 40 percent of all of the world’s Catholics now live.
 
This historic event is a reminder of the universal nature of our Catholic Church, as one family God drawn from all nations and peoples. And this occasion should cause us also to reflect on the importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe as “Mother of the Americas.”

Most of us are familiar with the drama that took place on Tepeyac]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6696/guadalupanos-and-the-continent-of-hope]]></link> 
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      	  <title> ADVENT IS A TIME OF ACTION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ The coming of Jesus Christ changes everything. 
The first Christians spoke of his coming with great joy — as a new creation, as a bright morning star rising in their hearts. “Behold,” said Jesus, “I make all things new!”
 
God is not far removed from our lives or from our world! 

This is the good news of the Gospel. He is close to each one of us in his mercy and love. No matter where we go, we are always in his loving presence. We just need eyes to see, and light to scatter some of the darkness. We need to awaken our sleeping hearts. 

One of the earliest Christian hymns is found in the Letter to the Ephesians: 

Awake, O sleeper!

And arise from the dead!

And Christ shall]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6695/advent-is-a-time-of-action]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THANKSGIVING IN ACTION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ I am writing this column from the other side of the country. I’m in Baltimore, attending the annual meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops. These gatherings are important for the life of our American Church. For me personally, it is also a good chance to join with our Auxiliary Bishops of Los Angeles and to meet with our friends and brother bishops from around the country. 

Every year, the bishops’ meeting has a different “feel,” as different issues rise to the surface for us to address as pastors and shepherds of the Church in this country.
 
This year, there has been a lot of discussion — privately among bishops and in the public speeches and reports — about the secularization of our]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6694/thanksgiving-in-action]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS AND THE HOPE OF ASSISI</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Near the end of the Fifth Crusade, in August 1219, St. Francis of Assisi traveled to Egypt to meet with a Muslim leader, Sultan Malik al-Kamil.
 
We do not know what the two talked about. But almost since that day, St. Francis’ name has been linked to two strong desires of our human hearts — peace among peoples and dialogue among religious believers.
 
Recently, Pope Benedict XVI invoked the spirit of St. Francis by inviting representatives of the world’s religions and Christian denominations to Assisi for a “day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world.”
 
Our Holy Father was recalling the 25th anniversary of the historic meeting of world religions at]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6693/the-spirit-of-st-francis-and-the-hope-of-assisi]]></link> 
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      	  <title> OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF THE LIVING</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ For our Church, the month of November always begins with two beautiful feasts of remembrance and hope — All Saints and All Souls.
 
In this month, the Church calls us to raise our hearts and minds to seek the things that are above! We are called to remember that going to Heaven is the goal that God desires for each of our lives. 

Our God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. 

God did not make death, we know this. He wants only life for his children. Death entered our world through our sinfulness. But death does not have to be the final word in anyone’s life. Because Jesus Christ has conquered sin and destroyed death. 

God’s love is stronger than death. 
Jesus]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6692/our-god-is-the-god-of-the-living]]></link> 
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      	  <title> REFLECTING ON THE GIFT OF FAITH</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Our faith in Jesus Christ is a beautiful treasure and a precious gift. 

But we need to always remember that our faith is a gift. We received it.
 
That means none of us came to our faith alone. None of us knows the love of Jesus Christ because we thought it up by ourselves. We know Jesus and we became children of God because someone else knew him first and told us about him. Because someone else had faith before us. 

This is the beauty of the family of the Church. This is the mystery of the Communion of Saints. St. Paul said, “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”

This tells us something more about our faith. Faith is a gift that God gives to each one — but this]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6691/reflecting-on-the-gift-of-faith]]></link> 
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      	  <title> DEFENDING OUR FIRST FREEDOM</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ We are slowly losing our sense of religious liberty in America.
 
Our government and courts no longer seem to value the public role of religion or recognize religious freedom as a basic human right.

Scholars like Harvard’s Mary Ann Glendon and Michael Sandel have observed that the right to hold and express religious beliefs is nowadays treated as only one of many private lifestyle options that a person can choose from.

These trends are the reason the U.S. Catholic bishops recently established a new Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. 

My brother bishops and I are deeply concerned that our individual liberty and the Church’s freedom to carry out her mission are threatened today]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6432/defending-our-first-freedom]]></link> 
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      	  <title> IN HARD TIMES</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ We are in hard times. All around us, we have the numbers to prove it. 
 
Last month, our government reported that more than 46 million Americans, about 15 percent of our neighbors, are living in poverty. The percentage here in California is higher — more than 16 percent. Here in Los Angeles County it is higher still. One in six of our brothers and sisters is officially “poor.” 

Every one of these “numbers” is a person, a child of God who was created for a purpose in God’s plan.
 
So it is sad and worrying to see so many without work, or without enough work to be employed all the time, or unable to earn enough to pay their bills. 

These hard times have exposed deep problems with our]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6431/in-hard-times]]></link> 
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      	  <title> A PEOPLE OF AND FOR LIFE </title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of life. Jesus said: “I came so that all might have life and have it to the full.” 

The U.S. Catholic bishops have chosen these words of Jesus as the theme for this year’s celebration of October as Respect Life Month. 

This month let us pray together as a Church to ask God’s mercy to stop every offense against the sanctity and dignity of the human person. Let’s ask God to open the eyes of our brothers and sisters so they are able to see that all life is sacred.

Blessed John Paul II said that as Christians we are called to be people of life and for life.

Our religion, in a beautiful and mysterious way, is deeply identified with human life.]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6430/a-people-of-and-for-life]]></link> 
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      	  <title> ‘WHERE GOD IS, THERE IS A FUTURE’</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ I know that many of you followed the news of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI’s recent trip to his homeland of Germany with great interest. So did I.
 
I was inspired and challenged by his message — which was not only intended for the people of Germany, but for all of us.

The theme our Holy Father gave to his visit was: “Where God is, there is a future.”
In his addresses and homilies, he repeated that the real problem in our world today is secularization — the many pressures to drive God out of our society and out of our lives. 
The Pope said we need to know God in order to know who we are and the true meaning of our lives --- because the human person is made in the image of God. And]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6429/where-god-is-there-is-a-future]]></link> 
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      	  <title> CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ARE THE HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ As the new school year begins, I’ve been thinking about how important Catholic schools are to our nation’s future.
 
Here in Los Angeles, our Catholic schools are making a major contribution to the region’s social fabric and the common good. We serve 80,000 students, which makes us the third largest school system in California. Nearly 70 percent of our students are ethnic minorities. Over one-third come from families living below the poverty line.
 
What our students are achieving is really amazing. And this story is being repeated in Catholic schools all across our country. 

With more than 2 million students nationwide, Catholic schools make up the nation’s largest private school]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6428/catholic-schools-are-the-hope-for-our-future]]></link> 
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      	  <title> WHAT WE PRAY SHAPES WHAT WE BELIEVE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ At World Youth Day last month, Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, gave us a new “doctor” of the Church — St. John of Avila, a 16th-century priest and spiritual writer. 

St. John used to say that the Mass contains the whole history of salvation. In the Mass, he once wrote: “You will see a semblance of the love shown in our Lord’s incarnation, nativity, life and death … These mysteries are renewed in the Holy Sacrifice of the altar.”

The new translation of the Mass that we will begin using this Advent helps us to better express and experience this beautiful truth.

In the Mass, each one of us receives the gift of communion with God in the Body and Blood of his Son. That was the purpose]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6427/what-we-pray-shapes-what-we-believe]]></link> 
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      	  <title> WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?
</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ What happens at Mass?
 
We have a beautiful moment in these next few months to pray and reflect on this question, as we anticipate Advent, when we will start using a new translation of our Mass prayers.

The Mass is ever ancient and ever new. Many of the prayers we hear and say in the Mass were written before the ninth century. Many are taken almost word-for-word from the sacred Scriptures or adapted from the preaching of the early Church Fathers. 

We should go to Mass every week aware that we are sharing in the spiritual worship that has nourished the family of God since the day of the Resurrection.

We know the story of that first Easter: how the risen Jesus met two disciples on]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6426/what-happens-at-mass]]></link> 
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      	  <title> WELCOMING THE NEW MASS TRANSLATION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ This coming Advent, Catholics throughout the English-speaking world will begin using a new translation for the prayers that we say in the Mass. 
  
This new, third edition of the Roman Missal is the fruit of many years of work by the Vatican and bishops in America, Canada, England and elsewhere, working with the Vatican’s Vox Clara Committee and the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). 

The translators did a beautiful job. They have given us prayers that will help us to lift up our hearts and minds to give glory and praise to God in language that is reverent and inspiring.

This is not a new Mass. It is a new translation of the ancient Latin prayers of the]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6425/welcoming-the-new-mass-translation]]></link> 
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      	  <title> HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Earlier this week, I celebrated the 33rd anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood.
My priesthood has been the profound joy and privilege of my life. I give thanks to God every day for this gift he has given me — to be a priest! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

I am grateful for all of your prayers for me. And I thank our Lord Jesus Christ every day for the privilege of being able to serve you. 

I hope you had a great summer. I certainly did. It was a very busy summer — but at the same time refreshing, renewing and inspiring. 

My summer started, as you all know, with our pilgrimage to Rome in June. There I received my metropolitan Archbishop’s pallium from our Holy Father Pope]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6424/how-i-spent-my-summer]]></link> 
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      	  <title> IMMIGRATION AND THE “NEXT AMERICA”: PERSPECTIVES FROM OUR HISTORY</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Our political debate about immigration in America frustrates me. Often I think we are just talking around the edges of the real issues. 

Both sides of this argument are inspired by a beautiful, patriotic idea of America’s history and values. But lately I’ve been starting to wonder: What America are we really talking about?
 
America is changing and it has been changing for a long time. The forces of globalization are changing our economy and forcing us to rethink the scope and purpose of our government. Threats from outside enemies are changing our sense of national sovereignty.
 
America is changing on the inside, too.
 
We have a legal structure that allows, and even pays for, the]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6243/immigration-and-the-next-america-perspectives-from-our]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THE PERMANENT DEACON’S MISSION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ But all of us in our Christian lives are entrusted with a mission to serve our brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ. Each of us is called to take Jesus as our model and to imitate him by serving the Church and all mankind. 
 
However, those who are to be ordained to the permanent diaconate are called by God and set apart to a divinely instituted ministry of service in his Church.
 
In ordination, Jesus welcomes these men to sacramental ministry in his Church — not as servants, but as friends. 

My prayer is that every man ordained to the permanent diaconate will enter deeply into this friendship with all his heart and all his soul. I pray that he will accept this beautiful]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6242/the-permanent-deacon-s-mission]]></link> 
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      	  <title> LESSONS FROM MARY MAGDALENE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ The universal Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene on July 22. I love her story. It is a beautiful story of how God’s love can change lives. 

We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene --- just a few lines in the Bible. But that tells us everything we need to know.
 
She was one of the women who followed Jesus Christ and helped him in his ministry. These women went from town to town with him. They saw Jesus heal the sick and work miracles. They heard his preaching and teaching. 

St. Mary Magdalene believed in Jesus’ promises. That no matter what sins we have in our lives, God is ready to forgive us. 

The Scriptures tell us she was possessed by seven demons. But Jesus]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6241/lessons-from-mary-magdalene]]></link> 
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      	  <title> TO LIVE EACH DAY WITH DIGNITY</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ The euthanasia movement in our country is gaining strength and momentum. The reasons for this are complicated. 

But at its root, this movement is driven by fears that many of us share. The fear of pain, suffering and death. The fear that one day we might lose our mental capacity or bodily functions. The fear of becoming a burden on others. Or of being left alone to die in some institution, hooked up to expensive machines.

With our American population getting older and people living longer, we are already starting to see economic pressures to ration health care among the elderly and the terminally ill. This, in a culture that already too much judges a person’s “worth” on the basis of]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6193/to-live-each-day-with-dignity]]></link> 
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      	  <title> WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR AMERICA</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ I am praying for you this week from the Eternal City of Rome!

On the Solemnity of St. Peter and Paul, I received my Metropolitan Archbishop’s pallium from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

I’m in Rome with some 300 pilgrims from our Archdiocese. In our visits to the holy sites, I’ve been praying about our Christian mission in the great metropolis of Los Angeles.
 
I’ve been reflecting about how we are all heirs of America’s first evangelization.
 
The Christian faith was brought to this land by Spanish missionaries centuries before the American Revolution. And I have been reading some of the history of our state and region. 

Juan Rodr&#237;guez Cabrillo, a Catholic from Spain, was]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6191/what-is-most-important-for-america]]></link> 
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      	  <title> WE NEED TO STAND UP FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES </title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ There was a time not too long ago, when American society encouraged family values and tried to strengthen the bonds of parents and children. Recent events in our state and nation remind us that’s not always the case anymore. 

The family is God’s first beautiful gift to us. Because each one of us came into this world as the fruit of a mother and a father’s love.

This married love is the heart of every true family. In this love, we see the heart of God who is Love. 

The Spanish missionaries who brought the faith to this country made paintings depicting the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph being watched over by the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The family on]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6192/we-need-to-stand-up-for-parents-and-families]]></link> 
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      	  <title> A SYMBOL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD’S LOVE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ I’m just returning from Seattle and the annual mid-year meeting of the United States Catholic bishops. It was a prayerful and very productive gathering. 

Right now I’m getting ready to go to Rome. There I will receive my Metropolitan Archbishop’s pallium from the hands of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in a ceremony to be held at St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul Apostles. 

This is a moment of special grace for me. 

I am traveling to Rome with nearly 300 pilgrims from our Archdiocese, as well as with my sisters and other family members and friends. I will carry your intentions with me as we spend a week on pilgrimage, praying at the]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6190/a-symbol-of-the-good-shepherd-s-love]]></link> 
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      	  <title> CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET AND THE COMMON GOOD</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ As I write, Gov. Jerry Brown and California lawmakers are up against a constitutional deadline to pass a state budget.
  
But our state faces fiscal problems that go far beyond this latest crisis. That’s one reason my brother bishops and I have issued a new statement of moral principles, “In Search of the Common Good,” to help guide state leaders and our fellow citizens. 

A budget is more than a spending plan. 
As we say in this new statement, the budget raises “profound moral questions about who we are as a society, how we view our future and whether … we can look beyond our own self-interest to the interest of the larger society.” 

Bishops are pastors of souls, not politicians.]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6189/california-s-budget-and-the-common-good]]></link> 
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      	  <title> EVANGELIZING THE DIGITAL CONTINENT</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Are you on Facebook? I am now. 

Not long after I put up my “public figure” page on Facebook, more than 800 people have “liked” it — from all over the world. 

Some are old friends, others are new friends. It is exciting to meet so many people who want to share their faith in Jesus Christ and their love for his Church. Already I have new people to pray for and new people to pray for me and our great Archdiocese. 

This new world of social media, mobile devices, and digital technologies, is very interesting to me. 

I started my Facebook page, and my new Twitter account, because as a bishop I am called to be a servant of souls and a servant of the Gospel. The Church must always be]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6188/evangelizing-the-digital-continent]]></link> 
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      	  <title> GIVING THE GIFT OF EDUCATION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Education was always very important in my family. My father was a medical doctor. My mother also went to college, which was not very common for women in the 1930s.
 
My parents used to always say that the best thing they could ever do for my sisters and I was to give us an education. And I will always be grateful to my parents for that gift of my education. 

Through the Archdiocese’s Catholic Education Foundation, we are giving that important gift to young people who otherwise would have no access to this education.

In the 24 years since Cardinal Roger Mahony founded it, the Foundation has provided 110,000 tuition awards totaling $108 million to our poorest families.

Today we have]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6187/giving-the-gift-of-education]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THE FASTEST YEAR IN MY LIFE</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ It was during the annual Holy Mass for Cultures last September. 

I looked around at all the beautiful diversity of nationalities and ethnic groups, all gathered to worship Jesus Christ. And I thought to myself: I am not in San Antonio anymore!

This has been a year of grace for me. And this year has gone by faster than any year in my life. This week, on May 26, I marked the first anniversary of my Mass of Reception here.
  
I said during that Mass, that being your Archbishop is not a future I could have ever imagined for myself! Our God truly is un Dios de sorpresas — a God of surprises, as well as a God of blessings and tender mercies! 

I am grateful to all of you for opening your]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6186/the-fastest-year-in-my-life]]></link> 
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      	  <title> LIVING AS MARY DID</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ May is Mary’s month. So this is a good time for us to renew our relationship with our Blessed Mother. 

Our relationship with Mary is very important for our spiritual life. We need to love Mary as our mother in order to grow as children of God.
 
Mary’s face was the first face that Jesus saw when he came into this world. Her voice was the first voice he heard. She was with him also at the end of his life. He was looking at her in the moments before he gave up his life for us on the cross. 

The last conversation that Jesus had was with Mary. And it was about us. 

We all remember the scene at the foot of the cross. It is filled with sadness. Jesus sees Mary and the apostle John]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6185/living-as-mary-did]]></link> 
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      	  <title> FOSTERING A CATHOLIC CULTURE IN WHICH MEN CAN HEAR THE VOICE OF CHRIST</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ The priesthood is a gift and a mystery in God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Every priest receives a special calling from God. This calling is an invitation to a life of adventure in the service of God’s plan and his Kingdom.

There can never be enough priests! 

That’s why we pray every day for vocations. We pray in an intensified way every year on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which we celebrate this year on May 15.
 
Jesus Christ was the first one to pray for priestly vocations. 

We remember the touching scene in the Gospel. He has been going to all the cities and villages — teaching, preaching and healing. He is moved to compassion by the people’s desire for God]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6184/fostering-a-catholic-culture-in-which-men-can-hear-the-voice-of]]></link> 
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      	  <title> ‘THE WAYS OF HOLINESS ARE MANY’: REFLECTIONS ON THE WITNESS OF BLESSED POPE JOHN PAUL II</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Blessed John Paul was a gift of God for our time. He was a witness to the power of holiness in history.
 
His beatification will be a beautiful grace for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, for California, and for all the nations of the Americas and the rest of the world. 

I feel connected to him by bonds of filial affection and deep ties of grace. 

I was a new priest, ordained just three months, when he was named Pope in 1978. He called me to be a bishop in 2001 and, not long before his death in 2005, he called me to be an archbishop. 

In 1987, I was privileged, along with dozens of my fellow priests, to celebrate the Eucharist with him for more than 350,000 faithful in San Antonio.]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6183/the-ways-of-holiness-are-many-reflections-on-the-witness-of]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THERE IS ALWAYS A RISING FROM THE ASHES</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ There is always redemption and resurrection — in our Church and in our lives.
 
There is always a rising from the ashes. 
My heart is with our brothers and sisters of St. John Vianney parish in Hacienda Heights. In the fire last Friday night, they lost the sacred space where their faith lives and so many of their family memories were formed and nurtured.

I hope you will join me in making a special place for them in your prayers this Easter season. 

I was privileged to be with the people the next day to celebrate the vigil liturgy for Passion Sunday. I was touched by their courage and resolve, and by the leadership of their brave priests. 

We celebrated Mass in the parish hall. It]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6182/there-is-always-a-rising-from-the-ashes]]></link> 
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      	  <title> THE WORD OF THE CROSS, AND THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ This Sunday we enter into the week of our salvation.
 
Our lives as Catholics flow from the events we remember on Passion Sunday and in the days that follow until Easter.
 
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, his Last Supper, his agony in the Garden, his passion and death on the cross, his resurrection — these events changed the course of world history.
 
Hardly anybody recognized it at the time. Historians of the day took little notice.
 
That’s how it is with the things of God. God moves in hidden and mysterious ways. God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
 
Jesus compared God’s Kingdom to the yeast that makes bread rise and to the tiny seed that]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6181/the-word-of-the-cross-and-the-promise-of-the-resurrection]]></link> 
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      	  <title> FROM ROME: REFLECTIONS ON EVANGELIZING AND WINNING THE VICTORY OF FAITH</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ As I write you this week, I am in Rome for a meeting of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. It is a beautiful time to be in the Eternal City, as we are entering these final weeks of Lent.
 
The Church and the city are alive with activity. Everyone seems to be getting ready for the beatification of our beloved Pope John Paul II, which is set for Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter. 

Before I left for Rome, I had the enjoyable privilege of visiting a Lakers practice. As you know, I am a big basketball fan. So this was a real treat for me. 

I enjoyed a great morning — watching the team scrimmage, and afterwards talking with players, coaches and people in the Lakers’]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6180/from-rome-reflections-on-evangelizing-and-winning-the-victory]]></link> 
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      	  <title> REMEMBERING CÉSAR CHÁVEZ</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ This week, we join our fellow Californians in honoring the legacy of C&#233;sar Ch&#225;vez, whose holiday we celebrated March 31.

The C&#233;sar Ch&#225;vez we remember was not only a labor leader who helped improve the lives of millions of farm workers (although, of course, this is absolutely true, and we give thanks for his heroic defense of human dignity). 

Yet at the same time we remember that he was a Mexican-American Catholic who testified to Christ and a model of faithful citizenship who worked for social justice. 

I never had the honor of meeting C&#233;sar Ch&#225;vez. Many who worked with him believed he was a saint.
 
And his life has an iconic quality and heroic spirituality that reminds me of the]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6179/remembering-cesar-chavez]]></link> 
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      	  <title> LOOKING FOR THE FACE OF GOD AFTER THE TSUNAMI IN JAPAN</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ With all of you, I continue to watch the events unfolding in Japan with a heavy heart. Amid the ruin and suffering, we are reminded again how precious every life is and how fragile, and how we are all one family in God.

I join you in asking our tender God to grant the survivors grace to persevere and to discover his healing presence as they rebuild their lives. 

Many of our neighbors here in Los Angeles lost loved ones back home in Japan. Others feel helpless as relatives thousands of miles away struggle to carry on. We need to comfort and support our neighbors. We need to help them believe in the power of their prayers. We need to pray that they, too, can find God in this tragedy.]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6178/looking-for-the-face-of-god-after-the-tsunami-in-japan]]></link> 
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      	  <title> READING THE NEW TESTAMENT WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ I am starting to read Pope Benedict XVI’s new book, “Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection” (Ignatius Press, $25).

This is the second volume of our Holy Father’s proposed trilogy on the life and message of Jesus. It is a scholarly work that is beautifully written, deeply spiritual, and inspires meditation and prayer. 

I recommend it highly, especially to theologians, Bible scholars, religious educators, pastors and seminarians. Along with the pope’s 2010 exhortation Verbum Domini (“The Word of the Lord”), the two volumes of “Jesus of Nazareth” are essential for all of us. These works help us appreciate how important the Scriptures are for]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6177/reading-the-new-testament-with-pope-benedict-xvi]]></link> 
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      	  <title> LENT AND THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE PRODIGAL SON</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ Our Lord’s parable of the prodigal son is one of my favorite Scriptures (Luke 15: 11-32).
 
We all know the story.
 
A son leaves his father’s house to go off to a far country. There he squanders his inheritance on bad living. He hits bottom, realizes he was wrong, and is sorry. He returns to his father to seek forgiveness. When his father sees him coming, he runs out to greet him with kisses and embraces. He orders a new robe for his son and a big feast.

I love this story for its drama and emotion. And because it rings true. 

Each of us in our own way is that prodigal son. Sometimes we take our Father’s gifts for granted. Sometimes we try to run away from God, or to live as if he]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6176/lent-and-the-pilgrimage-of-the-prodigal-son]]></link> 
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      	  <title> FOR GREATER THINGS WE WERE BORN</title> 
          <description><![CDATA[ “For greater things we were born.”
 
There are many matters on my heart as I begin my new ministry as your Archbishop.
 
But I keep coming back to these words from Ven. Maria Luisa Josefa de la Pe&#241;a, the refugee from Mexico who founded our Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. 

I find her words express some of my deepest desires for my ministry. 

I want to spread this simple and beautiful truth of the Gospel: That each of us is born from the love of God. That each of us is a child of God who belongs to the family of God, the Church. We are born to be saints — every one of us!

Since I came here last May, I’ve put a lot of miles on my car. I’ve traveled our]]></description> 
      	  <link><![CDATA[http://vida-nueva.com/noticia/6175/for-greater-things-we-were-born]]></link> 
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