August 31, 2025: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

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1. 0:03Over 150 years ago,
2. 0:06a Scottish scientist named Sir James
3. 0:09Simpson made a discovery that changed
4. 0:12the world.
5. 0:15He found that chloroform could be used
6. 0:17to put patients to sleep during surgery.
7. 0:21Imagine the fear and agony
8. 0:26that before this discovery,
9. 0:29operations performed on people wide
10. 0:32awake.
11. 0:34Simpsons discovery spared countless
12. 0:36lives and untold suffering. He rightly
13. 0:41became very famous.
14. 0:44But near the end of his life giving a
15. 0:46lecture in Edinburg, a student asked him
16. 0:49what his greatest discovery was.
17. 0:53Everyone of course was expecting him to
18. 0:55say chloroform.
19. 0:58Instead, he stunned them all. He said,
20. 1:01"My greatest discovery was that I am a
21. 1:03sinner and that I am in need of Jesus
22. 1:06Christ to save me."
23. 1:09That my brothers and sisters is
24. 1:11humility.
25. 1:13And humility is exactly what leaps from
26. 1:16today's readings. It is the theme for
27. 1:18this weekend.
28. 1:20Jesus tells a parable, a man who grabs
29. 1:23the highest seat at a banquet only to be
30. 1:27embarrassed by asking him to move to a
31. 1:30lower position.
32. 1:34Everyone who exalts himself will be
33. 1:36humbled and the one who humbles himself
34. 1:38will be exalted.
35. 1:40So Jesus tells us in the gospel.
36. 1:44St. Bernard of Clairvo was once asked
37. 1:47what are the three greatest virtues of
38. 1:49Christian living.
39. 1:51His answer humility,
40. 1:55humility and humility.
41. 1:58But humility is one of the most
42. 2:00misunderstood virtues.
43. 2:03Many confuse it with weakness or self
44. 2:07low self-esteem or pretending you're not
45. 2:10good at something when really you are.
46. 2:14That's not humility. That's pride
47. 2:16wearing a mask.
48. 2:20I saw it once in Rome after a parish
49. 2:22concert. A priest's friend of mine
50. 2:24congratulated a young violinist saying
51. 2:27to him, "That was absolutely beautiful.
52. 2:31You are so talented." And the boy
53. 2:34quickly replied, "Oh, it was nothing. I
54. 2:37I'm really not very good."
55. 2:40It sounded humble, but it wasn't.
56. 2:44It was false humility because the truth
57. 2:47is the poor the performance was very
58. 2:49good
59. 2:51was beautiful and it was denying the
60. 2:54gift that God had given him.
61. 2:57Real humility would have have been to
62. 3:00say thank you God has been very good to
63. 3:04me. Do you see the difference?
64. 3:07False humility denies the gift.
65. 3:11True humility acknowledges it but
66. 3:14returns the glory to the giver.
67. 3:18And sometimes humility is even quieter.
68. 3:21Just this past week, I found myself
69. 3:24trying to help someone in a very
70. 3:26delicate situation.
71. 3:28I reached out to someone who had the
72. 3:30ability to help. Without hesitation, he
73. 3:33said, "I'm on it." The very next day,
74. 3:36the issue was resolved. No fanfare, no
75. 3:40announcement, no need for recognition.
76. 3:43Just quiet service done well for the
77. 3:46good of someone else. That too is
78. 3:49humility and action. Living not for
79. 3:52applause but for or not even living for
80. 3:55self-promotion but living for service,
81. 3:57service of other.
82. 4:00But humility also demands we face hard
83. 4:03truths.
84. 4:05The first truth is this. There is a God
85. 4:09and you are not him.
86. 4:11That sounds obvious, but look around.
87. 4:14How many lives How many lives live as if
88. 4:18they are their own God?
89. 4:21I decide what's right. I live by my own
90. 4:25truth. That's not freedom. That's the
91. 4:29oldest lie in the book. It was the lie
92. 4:32of the serpent in Eden. It was a pride
93. 4:35of Adam and Eve when they said, "We will
94. 4:38not serve."
95. 4:40It was a pride of Satan himself. I will
96. 4:42not serve in Milton's paradise.
97. 4:45And it is a pride alive in every human
98. 4:48heart. Every time we say, "God, I know
99. 4:51what you're asking me, but I'm going to
100. 4:52do what I want anyway."
101. 4:55Pride does not liberate us. Pride
102. 4:58enslaves us.
103. 5:01The second truth is that we are dust.
104. 5:04Humility comes from the Latin word
105. 5:06hummus, earth, soil, dust.
106. 5:10On Ash Wednesday, we hear, "Remember,
107. 5:13you are dust and to dust you shall
108. 5:15return. No matter who you are, how
109. 5:18wealthy, how powerful, one day you will
110. 5:21return to the earth."
111. 5:24That should humble all of us. And yet,
112. 5:28humility is not only about confronting
113. 5:30our nothingness. It also opens our eyes
114. 5:33to this the astonishing truth of who we
115. 5:36are in God's eyes.
116. 5:39St. Paul says God proves his love for us
117. 5:43in that while we are still sinners,
118. 5:46Christ died for us.
119. 5:49Meaning he didn't wait until we got it
120. 5:51right. He loved us even at our worst
121. 5:55moments. He loves us when we are at our
122. 5:58lowest, when we are rebellious.
123. 6:02That is the paradox.
124. 6:04Humility means knowing we are nothing
125. 6:07without God and everything with him.
126. 6:11It means knowing we're small yet chosen.
127. 6:14Knowing we are dust yet crowned with
128. 6:17glory.
129. 6:19And what does this mean for us today?
130. 6:21How do we live this out?
131. 6:24Well, it means we need to stop
132. 6:26pretending.
133. 6:28Stop grasping for honors. Stop
134. 6:30scrambling for the best seat. Stop
135. 6:33comparing ourselves to others.
136. 6:36Stop worrying about other what others
137. 6:38think of us. Why? Because pray pride
138. 6:42makes us slaves.
139. 6:44Slaves to the opinion of others. Slaves
140. 6:47to the our own restless ambition.
141. 6:51Humility sets us free.
142. 6:54Once you know your worth comes from God
143. 6:57and not from human applause, you are set
144. 7:00free.
145. 7:02Once you know Christ has already exalted
146. 7:05you, you don't need to exalt yourself.
147. 7:09That is freedom of humility.
148. 7:12And humility changes how we treat
149. 7:14others.
150. 7:15Jesus says, "When you hold a banquet,
151. 7:17don't invite your friends or wealthy
152. 7:19neighbors, but the poor and the
153. 7:21crippled, the lame, the blind.
154. 7:24Stop living only for those who can repay
155. 7:26you.
156. 7:29True humility bends low to lift others
157. 7:32up.
158. 7:34True humility welcomes those who cannot
159. 7:36give you anything back because that is
160. 7:38how God has loved us.
161. 7:42So today this gospel is not about table
162. 7:44etiquette.
163. 7:46It is a spiritual alarm clock. And Jesus
164. 7:49is saying wake up.
165. 7:51Stop living as if you are the center of
166. 7:53the universe. Stop exalting yourself.
167. 7:56Stop playing games with pride. Choose
168. 8:00humility.
169. 8:02Choose holiness.
170. 8:04Choose freedom.
171. 8:06And remember, God has given each one of
172. 8:09us a role in his kingdom, a mission in
173. 8:12his plan, a vocation in his church. None
174. 8:15of us is here by accident.
175. 8:18And the question is not whether you have
176. 8:20a calling. The question is whether are
177. 8:23you living that calling out
178. 8:26or does just one day bleed into the
179. 8:28next.
180. 8:30You have purpose. A father or mother
181. 8:33pouring themselves out for their
182. 8:34children. A student using their talent
183. 8:37with integrity. A business owner
184. 8:40treating employees with fairness and
185. 8:42kindness. A priest laying down his life
186. 8:45for his people.
187. 8:47Each vocation is an assignment from God
188. 8:50himself. I have chosen you.
189. 8:55Humility means saying yes to that
190. 8:57mission and doing it with your your
191. 9:00whole heart.
192. 9:02Not for applause, not for glory, but
193. 9:05because it would is because it is what
194. 9:06God has entrusted you with.
195. 9:09And when you live that way, I guarantee
196. 9:12you, you will be free.
197. 9:16free from comparison,
198. 9:18free from jealousy, free from the
199. 9:20restlessness that you need to prove
200. 9:23yourself.
201. 9:24You're simply doing what God has asked
202. 9:26you. And that is enough.
203. 9:30Because in the end, my brothers and
204. 9:32sisters, there's only two paths.
205. 9:35Two paths that are open to us. To exalt
206. 9:38ourselves
207. 9:39and then later later will come. You will
208. 9:42be humbled or humble ourselves and be
209. 9:45exalted. The choice is ours.
210. 9:49Sir James Simpson said his greatest
211. 9:52discovery was realizing he was a sinner
212. 9:54in need of Christ.
213. 9:56That discovery brought him humility
214. 10:00and humility brought him freedom.
215. 10:03May it be also for us. May we discover
216. 10:06the truth about who we are. dust,
217. 10:10sinners, nothing without God. And yet we
218. 10:13are his beloved, crowned with glory,
219. 10:17redeemed by the blood of Christ,
220. 10:19destined for eternity.
221. 10:22That is the truth. That is humility. And
222. 10:26that is the truth that will set you
223. 10:28free. Amen.