By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Mass for the first profession of vows of two brothers of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral, FL. Oct. 7, 2025.
Today, October 7th, marks two years since the horrific terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas. Let us not fail to take note of this and to pray for an end to all wars but especially this war in the Land we call Holy. Today’s feast marks the victory at Lepanto of the Papal navies over the Muslims who were threatening the invasion of Italy and Europe in 1571. So the feast is also called the feast of Our Lady of Victory.
But today is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and is the anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Miami in 1958, 67 years ago. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is a special patroness of the Archdiocese as she is of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. And so, it is a propitious date to receive the first vows of these two new brothers who are ready after a suitable time of formation, discernment and prayer are ready to commit themselves to a life of consecrated service to God and the Church by taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience – and a fourth vow proper to charism of the Servants - of total Marian availability.
Religious brothers, like religious sisters, are members of Christ’s faith. That is, they are members of the laity who following the will of God and their community's rules live lives consecrated to God. They live in community, they follow the same rule of life, and their lives are characterized by prayer, work, and service to the needs of their communities and the wider world. One becomes a brother not to find oneself but to find Christ. They seek to respond to the task given by the Master; “Abide in my love.” (John 15:9)
The world – and too often the faithful – see the vows as simply renunciations. However, they are more than that – for the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, each in its own unique way, is a specific acceptance of the Mystery of Christ lived out within the Church. The vows do not constrain or limit your freedoms; the vows make true freedom possible. Poverty frees you from burdens of possessions; chastity liberates you from slavery to vice, and obedience gives you the freedom to serve. So, to promise to follow what are called the evangelical counsels is in no way a limiting of freedom or a diminishment of one’s life or possibilities; rather the vows that these brothers solemnly make today are what make it possible for them, with a Marian availability, to cooperate in Christ’s work of redemption.
Mary's life can be summed up with four words found in the Gospels. The first word, taken from the Gospel we have just heard, is “Fiat” — May it be done to me according to your word. This is Mary's “yes” to the proposal God made to her through the Angel Gabriel.
A second word is “Magnificat” – “my soul magnifies the Lord,” as one translation renders it. “Magnificat” describes then Mary's response to God's grace at work in her life.Then, a third word, “Conservabat” — Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart; and a final word, “Stabat,” which describes her standing faithfully at the foot of the cross watching her son die for humanity. Fiat, Magnificat, Conservabat, Stabat: Mary's life in a nutshell. These words are also descriptive of the vocation of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts.
But since Mary’s “Fiat” made her the first disciple or Christian, these words also set forth a pattern for each of us to follow in our own lives. We too are called to say “Yes” to God's plan for our lives, and our response to that plan lived out concretely in our lives should also “magnify the Lord.” We too are to keep the Word alive in our hearts, meditating on the things that God has done for us; and to stand with Christ, especially to stand with him in the poor, the suffering, the persecuted.
Learn from Mary. And by praying the Rosary, you will enter into Mary's school of thought and "hold Mary's hand while gazing at Jesus," learning from her example of love, obedience, and faith as you reflect on her life with her son.
Brothers, by responding courageously to your vocation – and through many months of formation and prayer – you have allowed the Lord to work “on you” and “in you.” May the Lord continue to work “through you” for his greater glory and honor and for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May you imitate the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 30-37), the man who became brother to the other man who needed him.
