Homilies

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...

Today we begin with Mother Church the sixth week of Ordinary Time, which will be short because we will begin Lent next Wednesday, preparing ourselves for the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ at Easter. Today the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about the definitive interpretation of the Law of Moses given by Jesus to His disciples, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. The Law was a concrete expression of divine justice and Jewish wisdom in the defense of life. Jesus said that the righteousness of His disciples should be greater than the righteousness of the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. The purpose of the Law of Moses was to fulfill divine justice. In the Judaism of Jesus' time, the teachers of the Law were the legitimate interpreters and transmitters of the Law of Moses, and the Pharisees were a radical religious group that considered themselves faithful observers of the Law. It is worth remembering that Jesus was neither a teacher of the Law...

Today we begin the fifth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. With open minds and hearts, let us welcome the person of Jesus Christ, who touches us deeply with His teachings and works full of wisdom and love. Today the evangelist Matthew speaks to us of salt and light, elements with which Jesus referred to the missionary vocation of His disciples. Matthew is continuing the Sermon on the Mount, begun last Sunday, which extends from chapter 5 to 7. Seeing what His disciples could not see in themselves, Jesus affirmed that they were created by God to positively impact the lives of people in society. Just as salt gives flavor to food and light illuminates the interior of a house, the disciples – through faith accompanied by charity – would help people understand the meaning of life and suffering, opening them to hope. Salt and light, in the right quantity and intensity, positively impact food and the interior of a house. In excess, both salt and light are bothersome. In addition to gi...

* HOMILY * [02/02/26] (Fr. Kleber Luiz Cardoso, css) How time flies! Forty days ago we celebrated Christmas, the birth of the Lord Jesus! On February 2nd, the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is also the World Day of Consecrated Religious Life. Today the evangelist Luke tells us about the elderly righteous man Simeon and the elderly prophetess Anna in the temple of Jerusalem. The context was the presentation of Jesus by Mary and Joseph forty days after His birth. The Law of Moses said that parents should consecrate their firstborn son to God in the temple of Jerusalem, after the days of the mother's purification were over. Simeon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recognized that Jesus was the Christ of the Lord. Anna, who worshiped God night and day with fasting and prayer, gave thanks to God and spoke of Jesus to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke concludes by saying that the Holy Family returned to Nazareth in Galilee, and that Jes...

We begin the fourth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church, and at the same time, the month of February. Today, the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about the Beatitudes, beginning the Sermon on the Mount. From Matthew's perspective, Jesus was the new Moses. In this sense, just as the Jews learned the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai (Horeb), now Christians received the definitive interpretation of the Law through Jesus Christ, also on a mountain. The Beatitudes are the life project, both of Christ and of Christians, with a logic that inverts social values. What is despised by society is valued by God, who consoles the sad and raises up the fallen, in line with justice and mercy. Without a doubt, Jesus is the blessed one par excellence. Jesus dedicated His life to serving the needy of His time. They were the greatest beneficiaries of Jesus' redemptive action. We, Christians, on the one hand, should be blessed, as Jesus is, we should participate in His blessedness, we should live as...