Dear sisters and brothers: Bom dia! 

Thank you, Bishop Ornelas, for your words and thank you all for your presence and prayer. We prayed the Rosary, a beautiful and lively prayer, because it puts us in contact with the life of Jesus and Mary. And we meditated on the joyful mysteries, which remind us that the Church can only be a joyful home. The little chapel in which we find ourselves is like a beautiful image of the Church: welcoming, without doors. The Church has no doors, so that everyone can enter. And here too we can insist that everyone can enter. Because this is the mother's house, and a mother's heart is always open to all her children. Everyone, everyone, everyone. Without exception.  

We are here, under the motherly gaze of Mary. We are here as Church. Mother Church. To go on pilgrimage is a Marian trait, because the first one to make a pilgrimage after the annunciation of Jesus was Mary. She departed with haste and only her very old cousin noticed she was pregnant.. It's a bit of a loose translation, but the Gospel says "She went out in haste". We would say, she ran out. She ran out in her eagerness to help and to be present. There are so many names for Mary, but one that we can use is this: the virgin who runs out. Every time there is a problem, every time we invoke her, she does not delay. She comes. She hurries. Our Lady in a hurry. Do you like that? Let's say it all together. Our Lady in a hurry. She's in a hurry because she's a mother. 'Apressada'. In Portuguese we say 'apressada', Monsignor Ornelas told me. Nossa Senhora 'Apressada'. She accompanies the life of Jesus, and does not hide after the Resurrection. She accompanies the disciples, waiting for the Holy Spirit and accompanies the Church that begins to grow after Pentecost. Our Lady in a hurry and our Lady who accompanies. She always accompanies. She is never the protagonist. Mary's gesture of welcoming is twofold: first she welcomes, and then like this, because this? She points to Jesus. In her life, Mary does nothing but point to Jesus. Do what he tells you. Follow Jesus. These are the two gestures of Mary. Let’s think about this: she does not welcome everyone, she points to Jesus. And she does this in a bit of a hurry. 'Apressada'. Our Lady in a hurry, who welcomes us all and points us to Jesus. Every time we come here we remember this. Mary who made herself present in a special way. So that the unbelieving hearts of so many would be opened to Jesus. With her presence she does not point to Jesus. Always with this, she points to Jesus. And today she is here among us, she is always among us, because of her we feel much closer. Mary in a hurry. 

Friends, Jesus loves us to the point that He identifies with us and asks us to collaborate with Him. And Mary points out to us what Jesus asks of us. To walk in life, collaborating with Him. 

Today I would like us to look at the image of Mary and each one of us to think about what Mary is saying to me as a Mother. To what is she pointing with her finger? She points us to Jesus and sometimes she also points at something that is not working well in our hearts. But she is always pointing. Mother, where are you directing me? Let's have a short moment of silence and each one of us in our heart, say: Mother, what where are you directing me? What is there in my life that concerns you? What is there in my life that moves you? What is there in my life that interests you? You point it out. At that time, she points to our hearts so that Jesus can come and, just as she directs us, she can direct Jesus to our hearts. 

Dear brothers and sisters, let us feel today the presence of Mary, our mother. The mother who always looks at what Jesus tells her. She points us to Jesus. The mother who tells Jesus to do what people are asking of Him. That is Mary. That is our mother. Our Lady in a hurry to be close to us. May she bless us all. Amen.