August 25, 2024 Homily: Fr Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:05Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of
2. 0:06mass, today we conclude the five weeks
3. 0:09of the bread of life discourse. This is
4. 0:11the last of John's chapter 6 that we'll
5. 0:14be in. Next week, we'll be back to the
6. 0:16Gospel of Mark.
7. 0:19But this John's chapter 6 presents us
8. 0:22with a powerful and challenging moment
9. 0:24in ministry. In the ministry of Jesus,
10. 0:29we hear how many of his disciples
11. 0:31struggled with his teaching.
12. 0:34And what Jesus has been teaching up to
13. 0:36this moment is, "I am the bread of life.
14. 0:40Unless you eat my flesh and drink my
15. 0:43blood, you will not have life. Those who
16. 0:46eat my flesh and drink my blood will
17. 0:49have eternal life."
18. 0:52And some of the disciples struggled with
19. 0:54this teaching. Some of the disciples,
20. 0:58they found the teaching to be too hard,
21. 1:00to be difficult,
22. 1:02and some, as you heard, chose to turn
23. 1:05away.
24. 1:07I remember when I was a seminarian, I we
25. 1:09would go around to different high
26. 1:11schools with the Sarah Club, and we
27. 1:13would go and give our testimonies, our
28. 1:16witness. We would talk to different uh
29. 1:18young men and women about the priesthood
30. 1:20and religious life, and even married
31. 1:22vocation. And we had one of the women
32. 1:24who would go around with me and she gave
33. 1:26this story of how she was raised
34. 1:29Protestant, a very strict, beautiful
35. 1:32Protestant family, but she knew the
36. 1:34Bible backwards and forward. And she
37. 1:37felt that it was in her life, her
38. 1:39vocation to go to hospitals and read the
39. 1:42Bible to people.
40. 1:44One day she's walking out of an elderly
41. 1:47man's room and the nurse says to her,
42. 1:49"You know the man that you're visiting
43. 1:51is every day is a Catholic priest. He's
44. 1:54blind, but um he's here recovering, but
45. 1:57he's a a Catholic priest." She says,
46. 1:59"Oh, I didn't know that." And so she
47. 2:01would come and read the Bible to him.
48. 2:04They became friendly and so much so that
49. 2:07she asked her husband, "Listen, do you
50. 2:08think we could bring him home so that we
51. 2:10can help him to continue to recover?
52. 2:14And they did. They brought him home. And
53. 2:16so she would read the Bible to him. And
54. 2:19one day this priest says to her, "Would
55. 2:22you read to me John's chapter 6?" And
56. 2:25they were reading together John's
57. 2:26chapter 6, just like we have all these
58. 2:28weeks. And then the priest says, "Could
59. 2:32you read to me verse 66?"
60. 2:35And then in verse 66 it says, "And those
61. 2:38who did not believe or those who could
62. 2:41not accept his teaching left him." And
63. 2:45the priest turns to her and said, "And
64. 2:47that is you. You have left Jesus because
65. 2:51you don't believe. Either you believe or
66. 2:54you don't believe."
67. 2:56And from that moment on, she said it was
68. 2:58like a an arrow had struck her heart and
69. 3:01she wanted to know this eukaristic
70. 3:03Jesus.
71. 3:06They found this teaching to be
72. 3:08difficult. And as I said, many of his
73. 3:11disciples went back to their former ways
74. 3:13of life.
75. 3:16Yet in the midst of this, Peter responds
76. 3:18to Jesus saying,"Lord, to whom shall we
77. 3:21go?
78. 3:23You have the words of eternal life."
79. 3:26They're saying, "We believe and we want
80. 3:28to stay with you." The commitment is
81. 3:30there.
82. 3:32Peter's response is a profound
83. 3:34declaration of faith. Despite the
84. 3:37difficulties of Jesus's teaching, Peter
85. 3:39recognizes that Jesus is the source of
86. 3:43eternal life. He understands that there
87. 3:45is no other place to turn to. This
88. 3:49sentiment of trust and commitment is
89. 3:52something that we're called to reflect
90. 3:54upon deeply today
91. 3:57and it resonates with our journey of
92. 3:58faith as and our call to support and
93. 4:02build up the kingdom of God.
94. 4:05In reflecting on this gospel, I'm
95. 4:08reminded on the journey that we have all
96. 4:10been on here at St. Augustine's. And
97. 4:14today's I I think I mentioned this two
98. 4:16weeks ago, but today I want to give sort
99. 4:18of the state of the parish homaly.
100. 4:25You know, when I first arrived at our
101. 4:26parish, we were facing a daunting uh
102. 4:30debt. We had a debt of 1.7 million.
103. 4:35It was hard to imagine how we could ever
104. 4:37overcome such a challenge.
105. 4:40But through your generosity, through
106. 4:42your prayers, and unwavering support, we
107. 4:46have accomplished something incredible.
108. 4:48We've cleared our debt. And today, I'm
109. 4:52proud to tell you that our parish is
110. 4:54debt-free.
111. 4:56Our achievements,
112. 5:01our achievements are not just financial.
113. 5:04They reflect the vibrant and growing
114. 5:07community that we've built together. I
115. 5:09got to tell you when I go around the
116. 5:11arch diocese or even outside the arch
117. 5:13diocese I had a I had someone in Rome
118. 5:15tell me listen I'm hearing all these
119. 5:17great things that are happening at St.
120. 5:18Augustine, what is the secret sauce?
121. 5:21Like, how are you able to do this? It's
122. 5:24not me, it's the Holy Spirit, but it's
123. 5:27also you.
124. 5:29We've created a true family in Christ
125. 5:32here where we come together, and it's a
126. 5:36blessing to witness the deep bonds of
127. 5:38love and support that you have for each
128. 5:40other.
129. 5:41And as I look ahead, I'm excited to
130. 5:43share that we're moving forward with
131. 5:44several significant projects that will
132. 5:47enhance our parish life and continue our
133. 5:50mission to build up the kingdom.
134. 5:53We're planning a parking lot on the west
135. 5:55side of our property. You know, the
136. 5:57grassy area that's on the west side of
137. 6:00our office building. We need that much
138. 6:04uh we need that extra parking space to
139. 6:08make our facilities more accessible and
140. 6:10to have more room for folks that are
141. 6:11coming in. Additionally, we're designing
142. 6:14a new office building that will provide
143. 6:16space for CCD programs, Bible studies,
144. 6:20classrooms to teach, and essential
145. 6:24spaces for parish activities.
146. 6:27As you know, our facilities are no
147. 6:29longer ade adequate for the vibrant
148. 6:32ministries we offer. You've been to the
149. 6:34bathrooms, you've been to the kitchen.
150. 6:36We desperately need to upgrade and to um
151. 6:42provide a new space.
152. 6:44Part of that plan is also to have a
153. 6:46beautiful permanent roof structure that
154. 6:48will will be over the inner courtyard.
155. 6:52But as you know, we have also been able
156. 6:55to success successfully repair and
157. 6:57renovate both the parish hall and the
158. 7:00main church, which has been significant
159. 7:02improvements to our parish. The parish
160. 7:06hall, once in need of considerable
161. 7:08attention, now stands as a welcoming
162. 7:11space for many of our activities, for
163. 7:13fellowship and for community events. The
164. 7:17main church here where we are where we
165. 7:20gather for the celebration of the
166. 7:21eukarist has been revitalized and it
167. 7:24reflects the sacred purpose for which it
168. 7:26was built. Having a space worthy of
169. 7:29celebrating mass is crucial.
170. 7:32It enhances our worship experience and
171. 7:34allows us to gather in a setting that
172. 7:37honors the sacredness of the liturgy.
173. 7:40The improvements made have not only
174. 7:43restored our beauty of worship
175. 7:45environment, but also it has reinforced
176. 7:48our duty of service, our sense of duty,
177. 7:52the importance of taking care of God's
178. 7:55house, the place where we come to
179. 7:58celebrate our faith.
180. 8:00In addition to the exciting projects,
181. 8:02we're pleased to announce that we have
182. 8:04recently purchased a small musical
183. 8:06organ. It'll go over on this side over
184. 8:09here. This new addition will is a
185. 8:13wonderful enhancement to our worship
186. 8:15services, particularly because our
187. 8:18weddings have increased. When I first
188. 8:20got here to St. Augustine's, we barely
189. 8:22had a wedding. Now, I can tell you we
190. 8:24have lots of weddings, and it's a
191. 8:27beautiful thing to see a bride walking
192. 8:29down the aisle in the bridal march
193. 8:31played by an organ.
194. 8:34To help fund this purchase, we'll be
195. 8:35organizing a small fundraiser and your
196. 8:38support will be greatly appreciated.
197. 8:41But moreover, you you may have seen on
198. 8:44social media, but I'm very excited to
199. 8:47announce officially
200. 8:49that we have purchased a building at the
201. 8:52University of Miami for our Catholic
202. 8:54Campus ministry. It's a building that
203. 8:57was previously owned by the United
204. 8:59Methodist Church, the Wesley Center.
205. 9:02This acquisition is a significant
206. 9:04milestone for our outreach to our
207. 9:06students and young adults, allowing us
208. 9:09to expand our presence and impact on
209. 9:12student life.
210. 9:14It this is a huge moment for St.
211. 9:17Augustine's and I invite you to drive by
212. 9:20the building. It's very easy. You go
213. 9:22down pawns and you make a left on
214. 9:25Stanford into the main entrance of the
215. 9:27University of Miami. You just go down a
216. 9:30little bit on the leftand side, you're
217. 9:31going to see a beautiful new build. Uh
218. 9:34it's a building that we've been
219. 9:35renovating and repairing and fixing up,
220. 9:37but it was the old Wesley Center. It's
221. 9:39now the Catholic Center. So, I invite
222. 9:42you to drive by and see it and feel
223. 9:44proud of what we've been able to
224. 9:46accomplish.
225. 9:47But that's such a central location on
226. 9:50the very um middle there of the campus
227. 9:52where students have to pass right by it.
228. 9:56And so our efforts to evangelize will be
229. 9:59huge.
230. 10:01Catholic campus ministry is on fire. The
231. 10:04new building will have an adoration
232. 10:06chapel and I'm going to invite you to
233. 10:08come and pray there at the new Catholic
234. 10:11center because I want our students to
235. 10:13see that parishioners of St. Augustine's
236. 10:16are there praying for them and
237. 10:17supporting them. Why? Because Catholic
238. 10:20campus ministry is a ministry of St.
239. 10:23Augustine. and we're'll have a code on
240. 10:25the door and I'm going to ask
241. 10:27parishioners to go there and be there in
242. 10:30adoration. It's it's a it's a bigger
243. 10:32room than we have here. We have a
244. 10:35director for campus ministry which is
245. 10:37Michelle Lopez. We have a full-time
246. 10:39chaplain, Father Mario. We have an
247. 10:41associate campus minister, Trish Vega.
248. 10:43And then we have four focus ministry for
249. 10:46focus missionaries. Campus ministry is
250. 10:49on fire. Last year, Focus did a survey.
251. 10:53We were the number one university that
252. 10:54had we had more Bible studies going on
253. 10:58at the same time than any university in
254. 11:00the United States. Something that is
255. 11:03such a beautiful things to see these
256. 11:05college students come and learn about
257. 11:07their faith. Very exciting. However, to
258. 11:10continue these exciting developments and
259. 11:12to maintain the vibrancy of our parish
260. 11:14community, we need your continued
261. 11:17support. Over the last couple years, we
262. 11:20have not made a direct appeal for an
263. 11:24increase in financial contributions. I
264. 11:27don't like to talk about it much. I
265. 11:29think you know what we need to do and
266. 11:32now is the time when I when I felt that
267. 11:35I needed to give you an update of what's
268. 11:37going on and then ask for a finan uh to
269. 11:41tell you about these financial
270. 11:42contributions.
271. 11:44And recently I've seen a slight decrease
272. 11:47in our um collection. And so that
273. 11:51sometimes always worries me. But as
274. 11:54important as these projects are and our
275. 11:56need to expand or grow, it is essential
276. 11:58that we all consider how do we
277. 12:00contribute to our daytoday
278. 12:03to the dayto-day parish needs. I've
279. 12:06always learned that people are excited
280. 12:08and are willing to give money for a
281. 12:10certain project. Oh, for a statue or for
282. 12:12an organ or for um whatever it is,
283. 12:14people like that. But I've also learned
284. 12:17that sometimes they're not as excited or
285. 12:20it's harder to convince people to
286. 12:22contribute consistently to maintenance.
287. 12:25It's not as sexy, but it's very
288. 12:28important.
289. 12:30So, I'm currently, if you're currently
290. 12:32giving $20 a week, I'm asking perhaps
291. 12:34you can increase it to 25. If you're
292. 12:37giving $50 a week, maybe increase it to
293. 12:3960.
294. 12:41You get the idea. I'm going to increase
295. 12:44my weekly offering as well. Every
296. 12:47increase, no matter how small, helps. If
297. 12:51we all make it a goal to increase our
298. 12:54weekly contribution, it will make a huge
299. 12:59uh it will make a huge um difference in
300. 13:02the collection
301. 13:03so that we can continue making St.
302. 13:05Augustine's a vibrant center where all
303. 13:07who seek the Lord can find him and those
304. 13:10of our looking for a community of
305. 13:12like-minded Christians and believers
306. 13:15will find a home.
307. 13:18Stewardship is not merely a duty but a
308. 13:20joyful response to God's generosity. All
309. 13:23that God has given us. not giving God
310. 13:26what is left over or giving God what is
311. 13:30my spare change, but really truly making
312. 13:32a commitment to the kingdom of God and
313. 13:36fostering a thriving parish community.
314. 13:39The best way is online giving. If you're
315. 13:42not set up for online giving, I would
316. 13:44ask you to consider it. Online giving
317. 13:47gives a lot of stability and helps us
318. 13:50plan and budget. I'm proud of our
319. 13:53finance council. In fact, I see a couple
320. 13:56of our members here. We meet several
321. 13:58times a year and we make sure that we're
322. 14:00good stewards of every single penny that
323. 14:03comes into St. Augustine's complete
324. 14:06transparency and accountability.
325. 14:09I'm proud of the work that we do on the
326. 14:11finance council.
327. 14:13We're all called to share in this
328. 14:15mission, to invest in the growth of our
329. 14:18parish, and to help build a strong
330. 14:21foundation for the future. Just as Peter
331. 14:24recognized Jesus had the words of
332. 14:26eternal life and chose to stay with him,
333. 14:29let us commit ourselves to our
334. 14:32community. This is where I want to stay.
335. 14:35This is where I want to grow. This is
336. 14:38where I have my life. And so this is
337. 14:40where I want to give my time, talent,
338. 14:43and treasure. To whom else are we to go?
339. 14:49I'm great deeply grateful for your
340. 14:51continued support, for your prayers, for
341. 14:53your faith. Together, let us move
342. 14:56forward with hope and determination
343. 14:58knowing that every effort to support St.
344. 15:01A's is an investment in helping Jesus
345. 15:05bring about the kingdom of God and a
346. 15:08testament to our commitment to I want to
347. 15:10stay with you, Lord.
348. 15:13So, as we finish the bread of life
349. 15:15discourse, I just want to say that I
350. 15:17pray for you every day and that I'm
351. 15:19thankful for almighty God for your
352. 15:21generosity. Amen.