August 17, 2025 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03A few years ago, I saw a video of a
2. 0:06young marathon runner who had collapsed
3. 0:09just a hundred feet or 100 yards from
4. 0:12the finish line. His legs refused to
5. 0:16work and he fell face first in the dirt.
6. 0:21Crawling on his hands and knees, he
7. 0:23tried desperately to move forward.
8. 0:27Just behind him came another runner.
9. 0:30Instead of passing him by, this man bent
10. 0:33down, lifted him up, and carried him
11. 0:36step by step across the finish line.
12. 0:40I don't know if you saw it. The the
13. 0:42image went viral. It was a video people
14. 0:44were passing around, but it became viral
15. 0:48not because of the time on the clock,
16. 0:52but because it showed something our
17. 0:54culture hardly celebrates anymore.
18. 0:58The courage to finish no matter the
19. 1:00pain.
20. 1:03The courage to finish and the love to
21. 1:05help another one reach that goal.
22. 1:10I want you to picture this morning.
23. 1:13I want you to picture yourself in that
24. 1:15stadium.
25. 1:17You're running. The air is heavy. Your
26. 1:19lungs are burning. You want to give up,
27. 1:23but the finish line is just ahead.
28. 1:27And you hear a roar.
29. 1:30Not from sports fans,
30. 1:33but from the saints.
31. 1:35Abraham, Moses, Peter, Mary Magdalene,
32. 1:40your own godg grandparents who died in
33. 1:43the faith. They're all crying out,
34. 1:46"Don't quit.
35. 1:48Keep going.
36. 1:50You can make it. The prize is worth it."
37. 1:54That's the image that we have this
38. 1:57morning from the letter to the Hebrews
39. 2:00written to Christians who were bleeding
40. 2:03for the faith.
41. 2:05They were being arrested, mocked,
42. 2:09martyed in Nero's Rome.
43. 2:12And yet the author urges them, since
44. 2:15we're surrounded by so great a cloud of
45. 2:18witnesses,
46. 2:20let us rid ourselves of every sin that
47. 2:23clings to us and persevere in running
48. 2:26the race that lies before us, keeping
49. 2:29our eyes fixed on Jesus.
50. 2:32Think about that.
51. 2:35The early Christians lived in absolute
52. 2:38terror.
53. 2:39Terror of being denounced,
54. 2:42being brought forth.
55. 2:46Tactus, the Roman historian,
56. 2:49describes, and you can read this is all
57. 2:52history,
58. 2:53describes how Nero made Christians human
59. 2:56torches.
60. 2:58They would be tarred and then set on
61. 3:00fire. They would be put on sticks,
62. 3:04burned alive so that they could light up
63. 3:06his gardens.
64. 3:08And still these Christians
65. 3:11would run the race.
66. 3:13They did not quit.
67. 3:16Now fast forward to us. Our persecution
68. 3:20looks different.
69. 3:22We're not thrown to the lions.
70. 3:25But let's be honest, being faithful
71. 3:27today is hard. I've mentioned this many
72. 3:31times. Whoever tells you that being a
73. 3:33Christian is easy is lying to you.
74. 3:37Why? Because the culture the culture
75. 3:40mocks us. Universities sneer at the
76. 3:44faith. Social media ridicules anything
77. 3:47holy.
78. 3:49Even families push back.
79. 3:52And so many Catholics give in to the
80. 3:54world
81. 3:56lukewarm faith.
82. 3:59going through the motions, doing just
83. 4:02enough, taking comfort in the lie.
84. 4:05There's no real sin.
85. 4:08Everyone goes to heaven.
86. 4:12That's not what the scriptures teach us.
87. 4:15If heaven were automatic, Jesus would
88. 4:18not warn us so strongly in the gospels.
89. 4:23The readings would not urge us to strip
90. 4:25away every sin, every burden so that we
91. 4:28can run with endurance.
92. 4:31If there were no danger of losing the
93. 4:34prize,
94. 4:35then the race would be meaningless.
95. 4:39But the truth is this, salvation is real
96. 4:44and so is damnation.
97. 4:47The stakes are eternal.
98. 4:51So, how do we run?
99. 4:54Hebrew gives us two commands.
100. 4:59He says, "Rid yourself of every sin.
101. 5:03No runner competes with a backpack of
102. 5:06bricks on them." That would be
103. 5:08ridiculous.
104. 5:10But how many of us are weighed down with
105. 5:13our behaviors,
106. 5:15with our pride, with our greed, with our
107. 5:18lust, our laziness, our resentment, our
108. 5:22judgmental ways.
109. 5:25We drag them with us day after day.
110. 5:29But Christ says to us, "Throw them off.
111. 5:33Run free."
112. 5:36The second part of this is, "Keep your
113. 5:38eyes fixed on Jesus. were told.
114. 5:42Every athlete fixes their eyes on the
115. 5:45finish line.
116. 5:47If you look left or right, if you look
117. 5:49backwards, you're going to fall. The
118. 5:52finish line is Christ himself, the
119. 5:54prize.
120. 5:58And now in the gospel today, Jesus says,
121. 6:00"I have come to set the earth on fire,
122. 6:04and how I wish it were already blazing."
123. 6:08He doesn't want lukewarm embers.
124. 6:12He wants a church on fire. He wants
125. 6:15disciples alive with the spirit burning
126. 6:18with holiness.
127. 6:20But here's the hard truth.
128. 6:23When his fire catches in you,
129. 6:28not everyone's going to like it.
130. 6:31Some of your family won't understand.
131. 6:34Some of your friends will distance
132. 6:36themselves from you. Some will roll
133. 6:39their eyes and call you too religious or
134. 6:42a holy roller.
135. 6:45And some will dismiss you as a fanatic.
136. 6:50That's why Jesus says there will be
137. 6:52division
138. 6:53even among your closest family members.
139. 6:57His fire forces a choice in you.
140. 7:02You cannot burn for Christ and still
141. 7:04live in the world of distractions, a
142. 7:07world that disregards God and sees him
143. 7:10as unimportant.
144. 7:13And yet, how many Catholics settle for
145. 7:15comfort or lukewarm faith?
146. 7:19Quiet mass attendance, but no
147. 7:21conversion. No real conversion, no real
148. 7:24structure or discipline to change ways.
149. 7:28A cross around your neck, but really no
150. 7:31cross in life.
151. 7:34Lighting candles, but no fire in the
152. 7:37heart.
153. 7:40Jesus did not die and rise so that you
154. 7:42could be comfortable.
155. 7:44He came to light a fire,
156. 7:47to engage you.
157. 7:49He came to shake you awake. He came to
158. 7:52burn away your sins and to set your
159. 7:54heart blazing with love and with
160. 7:56courage.
161. 7:59So what do we do when the fire brings
162. 8:01division?
163. 8:04When family pulls back? When friends
164. 8:06mock us? When the culture sneers us?
165. 8:10Well, I say to you, do not be
166. 8:12discouraged.
167. 8:14Do not pull out of the flame.
168. 8:18The saints in the stadiums are all
169. 8:20telling you better to be on fire for God
170. 8:23and mis and be misunderstood by men than
171. 8:26to be comfortable with the crowd and
172. 8:28lose the race.
173. 8:32Why? Because the cloud of witnesses is
174. 8:34real.
175. 8:36They ran before us. They finished well.
176. 8:40They were cheering. They're cheering for
177. 8:42us now.
178. 8:44And Christ, the one who endured the
179. 8:46cross, has conquered death.
180. 8:49He runs beside us. He carries us when we
181. 8:53collapse.
182. 8:55And he's the prize at the finish line.
183. 8:58So I ask you, are you running
184. 9:02or are you still in the stands on the
185. 9:05sidelines?
186. 9:06Are you burning with his fire? Have you
187. 9:09made that commitment once and for all to
188. 9:12change your life to follow Christ
189. 9:16or do you sense that your faith may be
190. 9:18lukewarm?
191. 9:20The world says
192. 9:23the world says to us do whatever you
193. 9:25want.
194. 9:27Christ says come after me.
195. 9:30The world will say to you blend in.
196. 9:33Don't make a fuss.
197. 9:35Christ says, "I came to divide truth
198. 9:38from lies."
199. 9:40Why? Because the world will always tell
200. 9:43you it's not worth it.
201. 9:46The saints cry out, "It's worth
202. 9:48absolutely everything."
203. 9:52So my brothers and sisters, on this
204. 9:54Sunday, on the 20th Sunday of ordinary
205. 9:56time, the message is quite clear and the
206. 9:59message is powerful. Keep going. Reshape
207. 10:02your lives. Restructure your lives. Stay
208. 10:06faithful. Throw off your sins. Go to
209. 10:09confession.
210. 10:11Fix your eyes on Jesus. Let his fire
211. 10:14burn in you. And run. Run with
212. 10:17everything you've got until you reach
213. 10:19the finish line.
214. 10:22Because I promise you, it will be worth
215. 10:24it. Amen.
216. 10:26>> Amen.