“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of
God.” (Mark 1:1)
“Comfort, give comfort to my people.” (Isaiah 40:1)
It
is a singular and undeserved honor to be installed today as the 7th
pastor of Immaculate Conception, this great parish rich with 60 years of
tradition. I thank my former seminary
classmate both as students and as priests, Father Jose Alvarez, who is now my
dean, for representing Archbishop Wenski at this installation, and I also want
to thank the Archbishop for having the faith and confidence in me to lead this
community in what I hope will be many years to come. I know this great honor is bestowed upon me
in the wake of my brother being called home to the Father. One of the first decisions we made as a
family was for me to proceed with this Mass for the good of our family and for
the good of our Church, for the Christian does not hide in the face of death,
but rather must witness to the whole world the power of our faith and be
authentic witnesses of the resurrection.
So today my family celebrates because we are convinced that my brother
is celebrating with us and with our Lord in heaven and definitely having a
better time.
It
is providential that I assume the responsibilities of pastor on the vigil of
our patroness, the Immaculate Conception, and on the Second Sunday of Advent
where the readings talk about beginnings.
During Advent, the Church seeks to lead us back to Jesus Christ, and so
goes my ministry as pastor to lead each of you to a personal and genuine encounter
with our Savior. The first words of the
prophet Isaiah resound in my heart this day in which the Lord says, “Comfort,
give comfort to my people.” What else is
a pastor to do? In the person of the
priest, the people of God should find genuine comfort as if receiving it from
Christ himself whether it be nourishment in the Eucharist, mercy in Confession,
healing in Anointing, or seeking spiritual guidance. In this sacred place, we must always find
comfort particularly from our priests who are called just like John the Baptist
to “go up on to a high mountain [and] cry out at the top of your voice,” for
our preaching every Sunday should set your hearts on fire to go to preach
Christ from your mountains at the top
of your voices. The words that hear in the first reading are
words that the Virgin Mary will hear in tomorrow’s gospel: “Fear not!” As St. John Paul II reminded us over and over
again during his pontificate, do not be afraid to open your hearts to Jesus
Christ.
The
words of the first reading come to the people of Israel as they are liberated
from exile. These words usher in a new
beginning in their relationship with their God.
This theme of beginning is carried over in the gospel as we read from
the first chapter of Mark. He is about
to proclaim the gospel, the Good News, of Jesus Christ the Son of God. This begins with the proclamation of John the
Baptist who, like all things during this Advent season, points to Jesus. Last Monday, Pope Francis laid out a plan for
each of us during Advent: "We ask the Lord, in this
Advent season, to bring us nearer to his mystery and to do so the way that He
wants us to do: the way of humility, the way of meekness, the way of poverty,
the road where we feel sin. So that he can come to save us, to free us. May the
Lord give us this grace. "
It is from this place of
humility, meekness, and poverty that I am called to serve each of you. It is by washing your feet, preaching to you,
feeding you, crying with you, laughing with you, dancing with you, walking with
you, playing with you, praying with you, and being with you that I authentically
become your pastor, for as the Holy Father tells us: the pastor must smell like his sheep. I am challenged this day and every day to
make this Jesus we hear about real to each of you and to each of the souls
entrusted to my care within this great city who never enter this Church and who
do not know who Jesus is. Now is the
time to share this Good News. Now is the
time for you to help me in proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. This time of Advent when we place our
nativity scenes outside our homes is the perfect time for people to recognize,
accept, and proclaim this Jesus that has entered into our lives. We can’t sit idly by as the world turns and
not proclaim this message. As my 7th
grade students are found of saying: “y’all need Jesus!” We need to be a parish that goes outside our
comfort zone to proclaim Christ. We need
to give genuine witness in our homes, in our schools, everywhere of the
presence of Christ in our lives.
Advent is indeed a time of new
beginnings. It is a time in which we
rediscover the joy of knowing Jesus Christ.
And like John the Baptist and the Blessed Mother, I am called to be in
everything I do and say, a humble servant who points you in the direction of
Christ and says, “He is mightier than I.”
His might delivers us from evil and brings us a joy that we are
compelled to share with the world. It is
a joy that I hope I share with you, my parish family, every single day.
Recognize this Jesus. Accept this Jesus. Proclaim this Jesus. May our Blessed Mother who was the first to
accept this Divine Word, guide us as a parish community. To her maternal care and protection I entrust
my ministry as your pastor so that she may always lead me and lead us to the
heart of her Son, Jesus Christ.
