The last all school Liturgy of the year came with a variety of feelings. Seniors were sitting together celebrating their last Mass as a school before graduation, while other students were full of excitement as summer was fast approaching. Despite these distractions, the air still had a holy presence to it and students were ready to celebrate the Mass. A multitude of priests from different parishes were filing into the gym, joining the celebration.

The gym floor reflected the energy and light, glimmering with the reflections of the many faces in the area. Among those many faces included Bishop McElroy’s, who was celebrating his first Mass after being newly appointed as the Bishop of San Diego.

Bishop Robert W. McElroy, who was installed as the San Diego Diocese’s Bishop on April 15, celebrated Mass a week later at Cathedral Catholic High School on April 23, 2015. During the Mass, he started his homily relating the documentary Rich Hill to students’ faith life.

The documentary Rich Hill focuses on the lives of three teenage boys in the town Rich Hill, Missouri. Bishop McElroy specifically talked about Andrew Jewell, one of the teenagers. Andrew, a gifted football player, struggled frequently in life. He moved many times and his mom was deathly sick. When Andrew was asked how he made sense of his life, he said, “In the end, in a very real way, Jesus makes sense of my life.”

Bishop McElroy focused on three major aspects of how Jesus makes sense of our lives in his homily:

1) God cares about us individually.

To highlight this statement, Bishop McElroy brought up the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left 99 sheep to rescue just one lost sheep. Bishop McElroy stated at first that he did not quite understand why a shepherd would endanger 99 sheep to rescue one. He even joked “You probably wouldn’t get a job recommendation if you lost the 99 [sheep] and found [just the] one.”

However, after talking to a shepherd, Bishop McElroy understood that a shepherd going back for one sheep makes a lot of sense and was a sign to the other sheep. “When the shepherd comes back with [the one sheep], it communicates to all the sheep that he loves them that much” said Bishop McElroy.

2) When we mess up, God forgives us. God’s response is mercy, love, and compassion toward us.

Bishop McElroy said that judgement is a warped element and that it isn’t the way of God. Instead of judging others, we should respond with love, mercy, and forgiveness.

3) God has something important for us to have in our life.

He stresses that we all have a purpose in life. At each point in our lives, God has something for us to do.

During his homily, Bishop McElroy also said “I was filled with a great sense of joy,” after becoming the Bishop of the San Diego Diocese and to celebrate Mass with the Cathedral community.