This is a transcript of the homily given at the Mass to Open the Year of Faith at Cathedral Guadalupe, October 14, 2012. Photo credit: Texas Catholic.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Two thousand years ago a young disciple of Jesus Christ came up to him and said “What must I do to possess eternal life?” and Jesus answered him in the words of the scripture that we have just read today. “You must know God, you must love God, and you must make the word of God become a reality in the world.” Fifty years ago, Blessed John XXIII, in his address to convene the Vatican Council, made the same comment. He said the world needs to know God, needs to listen to His word, and needs to put His word into practice.
We gather today to officially begin in our diocese this Year of Faith. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict wrote a letter almost one year ago called Porta Fidei or the “Door of Faith” in which he asked us all to take one year of our lives to reexamine and to convince ourselves that we too are on that journey towards eternal life. We too need to know what it is we are asked to do.