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A TRULY ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE
VIDA NUEVA
2/3/2012
THE TIDINGS
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....
VIDA NUEVA
2/3/2012
THE TIDINGS
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A TIME FOR CATHOLIC ACTION AND CATHOLIC VOICES
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 drif....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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DEFENDING THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 — lik....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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THE NEW EVANGELIZATION BEGINS WITH US
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 o....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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A NEW YEAR AND THE TIME OF OUR LIVES
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDNGS
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....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDNGS
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CHRISTMAS AND THE GIFT OF LOVE
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 Nocheb....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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OUR HOPE IN ADVENT
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 day.....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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GUADALUPANOS AND THE CONTINENT OF HOPE
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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 H....
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
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ADVENT IS A TIME OF ACTION
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
The coming of Jesus Christ changes everything.
The first Christians spoke of his coming with gre....
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THANKSGIVING IN ACTION
VIDA NUEVA
THE TIDINGS
I am writing this column from the other side of the country. I’m in Baltimore, attending the annua....
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