Homilies

Today is Palm Sunday. We begin Holy Week with Mother Church, following the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, the result of which was our salvation. Today the evangelist Matthew tells us, on the one hand, of Jesus' humble entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, acclaimed by the crowd of disciples who, filled with joy, praised God and; on the other hand, he tells us of the condemnation, scourging, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus authorized by the religious and political leaders of Jerusalem. There are two passages in the gospel because, at the beginning of Christianity, there were two distinct celebrations on Palm Sunday: a more festive one, at dawn, and a more funereal one, at dusk. Over time, the two celebrations were united, becoming as we know it today. By humbly entering Jerusalem, Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah (9.9) that the just king would come riding a donkey to save his people, unlike the oppressors who rode strong horses. We are also discip...

We begin with Mother Church the fifth week of Lent, in which we prepare for the solemnity of Easter, the resurrection of Christ. Through penance and conversion, we want to pass from the slavery of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God and of life. Today the evangelist John speaks to us of the resurrection of Lazarus, which was the last of the seven signs performed by Jesus, from the perspective of this Gospel, through which He made known that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. In short, Jesus was informed about the illness of His beloved friend Lazarus by his sister Martha. They lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem. Jesus arrived in the city four days after the death of Lazarus, who was already in a tomb in a cave sealed with a stone. Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would rise again, and that He was the resurrection and the life. Whoever believed in Him, even though he died, would live. And everyone who lives and believes in Him would never die. Martha answered Jesus that she...

Today we begin with Mother Church the fourth week of Lent, committed to our personal, family, and community conversion, in view of the celebration of the solemnity of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. Today the evangelist John speaks to us of the healing of the beggar blind from birth on a Sabbath, and his faith in Jesus as the Son of Man. In short, Jesus healed the beggar blind from birth by spitting on the ground and making mud with His saliva. It is a reference to creation, in which the Creator formed man from clay. Deformed by sin, Jesus reforms man through His death and resurrection, destroying sin on the Cross. Jesus presented Himself as the light of the world, and said that evil served so that the works of God might be manifested in favor of the suffering. That is, human needs are an opportune occasion for God to be glorified by the practice of good in love. The Pharisees argued with the beggar who had been healed of his blindness. Some claimed that Jesus did not come from God ...

Today we begin with Mother Church the third week of Lent, our personal, family, and community preparation for the solemnity of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. It is a liturgical season characterized by penance and conversion. March 8th is International Women's Day. May it be an occasion to renew our commitment to respecting women, supporting them in their struggles and achievements in families, in the Church, and in society. Today the evangelist John tells us about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in the city of Sychar. In short, at noon, while His disciples had momentarily left, Jesus was thirsty and asked the Samaritan woman for water to drink, beginning a long and profound dialogue that awakened in her a firm faith. At one point, Jesus offered the Samaritan woman water that would become a spring of water welling up to eternal life—a reference to faith in Christ as the promised Messiah. Jesus revealed Himself as a prophet when He told the Samar...

*HOMILY* [03/01/26] (Fr. Kleber Luiz Cardoso, css) We begin the second week of Lent with Mother Church. Today, the evangelist Matthew speaks to us of the Transfiguration of the Lord (which is the fourth luminous mystery of the Holy Rosary, prayed on Thursdays). The Transfiguration of the Lord has its liturgical feast on August 6th. On a high mountain (Mount Tabor), were Jesus, Peter, James, and John. Jesus' face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. And Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. Peter offered to make a tent for each of the three. And, at that moment, a luminous cloud came and covered them with its shadow. A voice was heard from the cloud saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!" The disciples were terrified and fell face down to the ground. But Jesus encouraged them to get up. Then the disciples saw no one else except Jesus alone. They were commanded by Jesus not to tell anyone about the vision un...

We begin the first week of Lent, this liturgical season of penance and conversion, in view of the solemnity of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter. Today, the evangelist Matthew tells us about Jesus' temptations by the devil in the desert. After being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, went into the desert and was led by the Spirit. In this liturgical season that begins, with Jesus, let us enter the Lenten desert, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. In that desert, for forty days, Jesus was tempted by the devil. And He overcame the diabolical temptations with Scripture. In this Lenten desert, the devil will also tempt us, because he does not want us to convert, to be saved, to return to God. Let us put on the armor of Scripture so that we may not be tempted and may be delivered from evil. The devil tempted Jesus, who had fasted for forty days, proposing a miraculous solution to the problem of hunger. Quoting Scripture, Je...