SAN DIEGO — The diocese celebrated the “All Are Welcome” Mass at St. John Evangelist Parish, San Diego, on July 14.
Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano presided at the Mass to raise awareness of the gift that Jesus is for everyone.
The following are thoughts Bishop Bejarano shared during his homily:
This Sunday, the second reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians, spoke about how God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing, and that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy.
The call to holiness is for everyone because we all are in need of redemption and salvation. But to respond to this call, we must be aware of the amazing love of God, who chose us first.
It is amazing to know how much God values us. As we have sung today, “I praise You, for I am wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Each one of us is wonderfully made.
When we are valued, we feel good and happy because we know we are loved.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus welcomed everyone, even His enemies. As a Church, we must do the same: welcome everyone, without any distinction. As Pope Francis says, “Todos, todos, todos.”
Unfortunately, as a Church, sometimes we have not loved as God loves us.
Last year, I went to a workshop organized by New Way Ministries. It was not until I heard the stories of those present that I realized the pain, the sorrow, the stigma and trauma that we have caused others because we don’t accept them, because we tell them that they do not belong, because we judge them.
I apologize for the pain and distress that I and the Church have caused many of you. I apologize for the stigmatization and trauma we have caused others, because we have told them that they are not valued and that they are not worthy of the love of God.
Like Jesus, who in today’s Gospel sent the 12 Apostles for mission, so Jesus sends us to any home where we are welcomed. But before we get welcomed, we must also welcome. The members of the Church many times have unwelcomed the homeless, the prisoner, the immigrant, the mentally ill, the LGBTQ, the one who speaks a different language or has a different skin color. We are in danger of seeing them as “they” instead of “us.”
The Church is a welcoming body for everyone who wants to get closer to Jesus. In this body, there is only “us.”
