Homilies and Other Writings

(Homily for March 9 th , 2025, First Sunday of Lent) Lent is recognized as a certain “warfare.” The opening prayer in Ash Wednesday says: “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils , we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.” During the Lenten Season, God prepares us for celebrating the great mysteries of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. This celebration requires us to be purified. The instruments of purification are prayer, penance and almsgiving. The devil knows this, so he will tempt us against penance, prayer and almsgiving. Thus, God and the devil are at war in the battlefield of our souls. As Jesus Himself was tempted, we also will be tempted. 1.   When we speak about the salvation of the soul, we refer to this war and to the possibility of being defeated forever. Salvation, in this sense, means salvation from hell, and from those actions of the devil that may tak...

  How sad it would be to go alone in life, when we are meant to be a joyful crowd going up together towards the House of the Lord! We may be every day surrounded by people; but this happens also in a bus, or in the metro. You are still alone. Everybody around you might even be pressing on you, but this does not make you feel accompanied, or safe. Nobody truly “touches” you (cf. Mark 5:30-31). In the subway we hide ourselves, we protect ourselves. If we have money, we try to keep it close to our body, even inside our jacket, close to our heart. Our face is a “nothing-face,” one that both puts distance and says that everything is OK… even when, deep inside, we may be full of sadness, anxieties, or maybe joys, dreams. But people in the subway are not the ones with whom we can share those things. If you do not protect yourself in a subway, you remain exposed. Exposed perhaps to questions: “What's wrong with you, bro?” Exposed to be robbed of what you love the most… There is some co...