By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Mass for the 25th Anniversary of Our Lady Of Guadalupe Parish. Doral, FL Sept 1, 2026.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today, we gather with hearts overflowing with gratitude to celebrate a monumental milestone—the Silver Jubilee of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Twenty-five years is a generation of faith. It represents a quarter-century of baptisms, marriages, confessions, and regular Sunday liturgies where the community of Doral has gathered to encounter the living God.
But as we look around this beautiful church—now also elevated to the dignity of an Archdiocesan Shrine—we must remember that this community existed before this church was built. Before we could build a church made up of brick and mortar, we had to build the church made up of living stones. We remember with gratitude Fr. Joaquin Rodriguez and Msgr. Tomas Marin and their groundbreaking work with the first parishioners, the first living stones of Our Lady of Guadalupe here in Doral.
En el Evangelio de hoy, tomado de Lucas 4, 31-37, vemos a Jesús entrar en Cafarnaúm. La gente queda asombrada porque Él enseña con verdadera autoridad, y demuestra esa autoridad expulsando a un espíritu impuro con una simple orden: «¡Cállate y sal de él!».
Durante 25 años, la parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Doral ha sido el lugar donde se ha proclamado esa misma palabra de Jesús, llena de autoridad y poder sanador.
Cada sacramento celebrado, cada oración ofrecida y cada alma reconfortada en esta parroquia a lo largo del último cuarto de siglo constituye una continuación del ministerio de Jesús en Cafarnaúm. Cuando la comunidad se reúne, Cristo sigue expulsando las tinieblas de la desesperanza, sanando a los corazones afligidos y llevando la paz a nuestras vidas.
For twenty-five years, this parish has been our Capernaum. Within these walls, the same authoritative, healing voice of Jesus in Capernaum has echoed day after day. When you brought your children to the baptismal font, Jesus spoke words of adoption and eternal life. When you sat in the confessional, broken by sin, Jesus spoke with authority through the priest, saying, "I absolve you." When you stood by the bedside of a dying loved one, or when you came to the altar carrying heavy burdens of anxiety or grief, it was the powerful word of Christ that sustained you, driving away the demons of despair and fear.
But as we celebrate this Silver Jubilee, we do so under a very specific title and a maternal gaze: Our Lady of Guadalupe.
We cannot separate the authority of Christ from the maternal care of Mary. In fact, Mary’s entire existence reflects her submission to the authoritative word of God. When the Angel Gabriel appeared to her, she gave her Fiat: "Let it be done to me according to your word." And at the wedding at Cana, her final recorded words in Sacred Scripture point us directly to her Son’s authority: "Do whatever he tells you."
When Our Lady appeared to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac, she did not come to preach a new Gospel. She came to bring the authoritative, healing love of her Son to a continent torn by pain and division. She wrapped Juan Diego in her mantle, a mantle of protection and stars, and asked a question that still echoes in our hearts today: "Am I not here, I who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?"
Durante veinticinco años, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ha sido la madre de esta parroquia, guiándonos —con discreción, pero con gran fuerza— hacia el sagrario, señalando siempre no hacia sí misma, sino hacia su Hijo. Ha visto a esta parroquia crecer, pasando de ser una pequeña comunidad para convertirse en un gran hogar espiritual: un refugio para los inmigrantes, un santuario para las familias y, ahora, un santuario oficial para los peregrinos.
Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, let us pray that this shrine remains a place where the brokenhearted are healed, where the oppressed find spiritual liberation, and where the gospel is preached with such clarity and power that all who enter will say, "Truly, the Lord is in this place."
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Patrona de nuestra parroquia y santuario, ruega por nosotros. Amén.
