Sermon in English, by someone else, but a natural, real life read out.



Transcription using AI, which may not be exactly the same: 

Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew.

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples this parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. Having agreed with some for one denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them: ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ And they went. Going out again about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did the same. And going out about the eleventh hour, he still found others standing there. And he said to them: ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They answered him: ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them: ‘You too go into my vineyard.’

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward: ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first.’ So those who had come about the eleventh hour came and each received one denarius. When the first came, they thought they would receive more; but they too received one denarius each. And on receiving it, they murmured against the householder, saying: ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said: ‘Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what is yours and go. I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

Thus the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear brothers, dear faithful, tomorrow is the feast of the Purification. The ceremony will begin in the upper chapel at 9:45. It is a beautiful ceremony of the Church. Whoever can, should come, but obviously many have work and will not be able to come. I forgot here, it was hidden, a proclamation in favor of God and of Holy Mother Church: wishing to marry are Vinícius Oliveira CTO and Ana Clara Costa de Souza. Therefore, let it be known to all that he is single, born in Belo Horizonte, baptized in the Parish of All Saints, Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, son of Arlindo Moreira CTO and Denise Pires de Oliveira Couton. She was born in Belo Horizonte, baptized in the Parish of Saint Paul of the Cross, Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, daughter of José Maria da Souza Pimenta and Aparecida da Conceição Costa. Therefore, we warn everyone and each one that if anyone knows of any consanguinity or affinity or spiritual kinship or any other impediment that may exist between them, whoever thinks that both are prevented from contracting matrimony should reveal it as soon as possible to the priest in charge of this chapel. This is announced for the first time.

After Mass, after the thanksgiving, there will be a conference intended especially for fathers of families and for men in general, but others may also attend if they wish, about Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ. It is necessary to know the enemies of the Church in order to defend her better. So this will be a first conference; we will have others. The spiritual life normally cannot go forward if there is no intellectual life. And if we do not try to know what the Church wants to teach us about modern errors and those who spread them, we are not in our place, like a soldier out of place, like in today’s Gospel that speaks of those who are idle. A soldier for whom the war has already begun, but he is on vacation, strolling around, he is not in his place, he is idle. So let us not be idle people. The Church needs your help in various ways, above all through the union of our soul with God, which is the principal thing. But fathers of families must understand a little better the gravity of the situation. This will be a first conference; we can have others to show what the Church says about this institution, this secret society which is Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ.

But today’s Gospel speaks to us about the householder who goes out at daybreak to hire workers. The householder represents God, and the workers are us. And Saint Gregory the Great shows that these are the six ages of the world. From the moment Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, God did not abandon them and went to call them. And their names are in the martyrology. They answered the call of Our Lord, converted, and lived a whole life of penance, but also received the grace of God and the consolations of God. Then He goes to call the children of Adam and Eve. One answers the call, Abel; the other does not, Cain. This is indeed the image of the Church and of the enemies of the Church, including Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ. And then He continues to call until Noah, the patriarchs; He calls souls. After Noah until Abraham, He continues to call men. From Abraham, the constitution of the people of Israel, the Jєωιѕн people. He continues to call all the saints of the Old Testament, before Abraham and after Abraham. And so it goes until Our Lord and until our own times. Our Lord calls souls.

But I want to speak to you about the ages of the life of each one of us. We also have ages. The first infancy is when Our Lord called us through baptism, in most cases. Even when we were very small, newborn, Our Lord calls us. He sends the workers; He calls souls. The priest went and baptized the child, baptized each one of us. It is a call: “I call you to my vineyard,” that is, to His Church. What an immense grace. Saint Teresa never stopped thanking God for the grace of her baptism, by which we become members of the Church. It is a grace we do not think about much, because we are a bit distracted. But we should thank God every day.

Then comes early childhood, when one is very small; then comes the use of reason, and we can call it a second childhood if we wish. There our reason awakens. What did we do when reason awakened? Which side did we go to? Even if we did not go to the good side—because it is a mystery of our will—a small child already leans more to one side than the other. The child’s will is very much in the hands of the parents. So a father who lets a child watch soap operas on television from very small has a grave, grave responsibility, and God will ask for an account. Because if a child is born into a family where the parents do not respect each other, insult each other, all this has grave consequences for the child. Even a very small child absorbs a lot. So if there is a Catholic environment, that call will echo in the child’s heart. That does not mean the child is necessarily good. The mystery of free will and grace surpasses us completely. But we know we must help children orient themselves toward God; it is a total obligation. Those who are not married in the Church cannot communicate this orientation to God to their children, since they themselves are disoriented, gravely disoriented, oriented contrary to the laws of God.

This first childhood is very important. How was it for us? Saint Thérèse says she remembers almost everything from about two years of age. There are people like that; it is rare, but there are. Some remember things from three or four years old. It is interesting. But to remember for what? Awareness of what? To go toward God or against God? That is the whole drama of a human life. There are children who united themselves voluntarily to God very, very early. There were children whose mother was going to be martyred in the first centuries of the Church, and one of them threw herself together with her mother and died burned with her. A very small child already makes a gesture of accepting what Our Lord asks of us. First hour of the morning, as the Gospel says: He went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. A little child grows up and dies with her mother. She heard the call of grace, she corresponded, she died and became a martyr. In early childhood we can also remember the Holy Innocents: they are martyrs who shed their blood for Our Lord. They did not make a voluntary act, but they died for Our Lord, and the Church celebrates them as saints, holy martyrs. We see that there are various ways God calls. The Holy Innocents are a rare way, but He called them and raised them up. God gives His grace in a way of wisdom that we cannot understand or question.

Then, in childhood, to give some examples: Anne de Guigné—we have spoken of her here, I think. When she was small, she was very unbearable, not good. God called her, but she resisted. When a little brother or sister was born—I think it was a little brother—she became so angry because the baby took the parents’ attention that the mother had put him on a rug in the living room. She went quietly, without anyone seeing, and kicked the child in the head. She was already quite big. But look at that heart—God had to call her again, give her a strong call. And what happened? She was touched by grace and became a saint. She is not canonized yet, but she is given as an example of a child who— as Saint Pius X said—there will be saints among children. She died young. And then in early adolescence, from about eight, ten, eleven, she will convert, become faithful to the graces of baptism, to the promises of baptism.

So the ages of a life: sometimes a person does not listen at the first age, but listens at the second, at the third, because God sends new workers. In that case, the workers are father and mother, priests, a person, a friend who says a true word and can help. It is another example of the many ways God has to call souls. And Communion—what converted Anne de Guigné above all was Communion. Communion that Saint Pius X had allowed for children, and there was resistance in France. They said: “No, the custom was around twelve years.” They said: “But Your Holiness is changing customs, changing tradition.” Tradition must be criticized—that is, not everything that comes from the past is necessarily right. Saint Pius X said: “No, this is not right, because it was not so in the beginning.” He was an enlightened pope who knew how to reflect on what must be kept and what must not. What must be kept is what comes from Our Lord. Sometimes rules accuмulate; even in the Benedictine order there were additions that Our Lord wanted removed, and the Church removed them to return to purity.

A cardinal once came to Saint Pius X and said: “Your Holiness, you are going to give Communion to children, but children do not have a notion of the greatness of this sacrament.” Saint Pius X looked at him and said: “And does Your Eminence?” He lowered his head and left.

So God calls. He called Anne de Guigné. He will make her a great saint. Guido of Fontgalland is another boy who was called by God in early adolescence and died in an admirable way. The most beautiful word we can say to God is “yes.” Yes to the call. God calls, as here in the Gospel. God calls at various hours. He goes out all day to hire—to call; it is the same thing.

Then again at another hour He found others and said: “Why are you standing here idle?” What is an idle soul? Idleness, Saint Benedict calls the mother of all vices. Brazilians easily become idle. Easily a Brazilian takes the afternoon to lie in bed, telling jokes to friends all afternoon. Then when the crucial moment comes, he is not prepared. Why? Because he lived in idleness. There is nothing wrong with some distraction, but one cannot stretch it and live idly in relation to what is greater. Then at the tenth hour He said: “Why are you standing here idle all day?” What is it to be idle? It is not to live in the grace of God. It is not to be working for your sanctification and that of your neighbor. To live idle is to stay doing nothing. The word “idle” appears twice in the Gospel. To be doing nothing.

Then these children will wake up to God. And in later adolescence we have Saint Dominic Savio, Saint Pancras, Saint Tarcisius, Saint Agnes—so many who, between twelve and fifteen or sixteen or seventeen, did not remain idle but applied their souls and turned them toward God.

And we must remember: God calls me at all stages of my life. Make a review: God called me when I was small—what do I remember? It is not an obligation, but sometimes it is good to remember to give thanks to God. And when did I correspond? From childhood or not? From early adolescence or not? From later adolescence or not? In adulthood or not? In old age or not? Be careful: at the end there is no more station; the train stops. If you did not get on, you will be left out. So I must wake up. God calls me. And God calls me not only to the Catholic Church, not only to the state of grace, but He calls me to pass from one level to another, higher. Those who do not progress, regress. We are called to take a step, to shift into a higher gear. That is what God wants of us.

Then comes adulthood. Adulthood is the age of great achievements. Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example; Saint John Bosco, Saint Benedict, Saint Teresa of Ávila—all these saints did great things because they listened to the call. Saint Teresa had a moment when she was not listening. God gave her a jolt so she would listen, and she listened and reformed herself. She had not done anything gravely wrong, but she was not doing well. Our Lord called her attention. So we too should think: am I doing well? If Our Lord were here in front of me, would He praise me? Or would He say: you could be better? Often we can always be better. But sometimes Our Lord does praise. Saint Thérèse once had a dream. She saw a religious named Agnes of Jesus. She found it curious because she had never invoked this saint. And this saint was very kind to her, covered her with her veil. Saint Thérèse asked in the dream: “Is Our Lord pleased with me?” She answered: “Yes, yes.” So Our Lord can be pleased. We make our small efforts, even with imperfections, even with falls, even with defeats mixed with victories. If I have real good will to correspond to God’s grace, Our Lord is pleased. Real good will—not the “good will” of movies or sentimental fiction. A “good boy” in movies does things but does not pray, does not go to Mass, does not confess, does not receive Communion. That is not good will; that is fiction, cinema stuff. In movies the hero is well-behaved, but nobody prays, nobody goes to confession, nobody communicates. That is illusion. Almost everything that comes out of Hollywood is a bit of illusion—if not totally. The cinema is called the sixth art, the last of the arts. It does not appeal to what is highest in man. The word—the Word—reaches farther. Our Lord communicates to us with words. With words we understand the Creed and recite it. The word goes farther than cinema. Cinema has words too, but it also has many other things, and often the film is not good. Even when it is good, Corção said: “It is better to read a book than to see the same story in the cinema.” It is easier to understand. But cinema is easier. Give a book to a child: he looks at the words, does not see images. Give it to an adult: sometimes he does the same—opens, looks at the pictures, closes it, puts it on the shelf. The word demands more from us, but it goes farther.

Returning to adulthood: most saints are adults. The Church has always had some hesitation in canonizing very young children unless they are martyrs. Because a small child’s will is weak and malleable, so heroic virtue is hard to see. But the children of Fatima, Jacinta and Francisco, showed heroic virtue. So there are exceptional cases, but normally the Church prefers adulthood: Saint Pius X, Saint John Bosco, Saint Alphonsus, Saint Paul of the Cross, etc.

Then there is old age, the last stage. Some served God from early on and kept rising. The priest Cruz, for example, a Portuguese priest—his biographer noted that he never had a serious fall; he kept rising and rising. There are cases like Dom Lefebvre, or Simeon the Stylite, or Saint Romuald—Romuald lived to 110 years. So in old age God also calls. And some He calls at the very last hour, like the good thief. He was not old, but it was the last hour. He had no more time, and he corresponded. Someone might say: how does the good thief go to heaven? He only had ten or fifteen minutes or half an hour on the cross. And I who toiled for so many years, like Saint Romuald with 110 years—how is that? The Lord says: I am the master. I give my grace to whom I want. He wanted to give it to the good thief, and He also gives it to whoever corresponds to His call. God is so good that even when we do not listen, He calls again. “I stand at the door and knock.” If they open, I will enter and dine with him. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Most Holy Trinity—comes to us and calls us. Because He wants us to have the infinite grace of entering into the society of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as Saint John says. That is the true society, the only one—not the society of the Freemasons, which is something completely different. Some are not even interested in Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ, nor in the society of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is foolishness. We are all foolish at times. How many times we could be further along if we were more attentive to God’s call. God calls at every moment.

So let us ask God—if we took a saint’s life, it would be interesting to see the graces he received over his life: how he was in childhood, adolescence, adulthood. Some were very bad, like Saint Augustine; he answered the call at about 28 and became the great Saint Augustine. Others were good from early on. It is interesting to see the progress of grace in them. Saint Thérèse was very good, very holy, but she had defects, involuntary defects. One Christmas night she made a leap forward, a leap in quality. She stopped acting based on her feelings and began to act based on Our Lord’s Heart. Then entering Carmel, another leap, and so on.

We should discern God’s call and the progress He wants from us. Because the sign of the Gospel is strong. The Lord is goodness itself, but He is just. No one will be able to say: “Lord, you did not warn me.” He will say: “I did. I said everything that had to be said.” At the end He says: “The last will be first and the first last, for many are called.” Who are called? All are called. God enlightens every man who comes into the world. But will all go to heaven? No. Unfortunately not. Saint Robert Bellarmine says that even among Catholics, the majority do not go to heaven. Why? Did God not call? Of course He did. What did they do? They did not do what was good.

So we must remember God’s mercy, God’s goodness, God’s call. But we must also remember that those who refuse God’s grace will receive what is just. God is not unjust. There is no one in hell who can say: “I am here and I did not deserve it.” That does not exist with God. So let us be generous in listening, grateful, and have holy fear of God. With God one does not play. When God calls, we must go.

There was a monk in the desert with a small community. He favored a brother named Mark. The others were not happy. They went to other elders and complained. The superior prefers one. That cannot be. So they went back. The superior said: “Follow me.” He knocked on one door: “Brother, come.” “I can’t.” Another: “Come.” “I’m busy.” Another: “I’m tired.” Then he knocked on Mark’s door: “Brother, come.” He opened immediately: “Yes.” Then the others said: “We also prefer Mark.” God prefers the one who answers. God wants correspondence.

So let us correspond to God’s grace. May Our Lady help us not to resist God’s voice, but to follow it with simplicity. God only asks that we keep His commandments, love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.