January 1, 2026 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01On this first day of a new year, the
2. 0:04church does something both simple but
3. 0:07very profound.
4. 0:09While the world rushes ahead, setting
5. 0:11goals, making plans, turning the page,
6. 0:15starting a new chapter, the church
7. 0:17pauses.
8. 0:19She places a woman before us, a mother,
9. 0:23and she gives her the boldest and most
10. 0:26daring title that she has ever defended.
11. 0:30Mary, mother of God, the Theotocos.
12. 0:35This is not sentimentality.
13. 0:38This is theological.
14. 0:41The child Mary carried in her womb is
15. 0:44not merely a wise teacher, a moral
16. 0:48example, a one who will be the founder
17. 0:51of a new religion.
18. 0:54No, he's the eternal son of the father,
19. 0:57God from God, light from light, true God
20. 1:00from true God.
21. 1:02And because the one she bore is truly
22. 1:05God,
23. 1:07the church insists without hesitation
24. 1:09and without compromise that Mary is
25. 1:13truly the mother of God.
26. 1:16Why does this matter?
27. 1:19Well, because everything we believe
28. 1:21about Jesus is protected here.
29. 1:25If Mary is not the mother of God,
30. 1:28then Jesus is not fully God.
31. 1:32And if Jesus is not fully God, then our
32. 1:35salvation is reduced to inspiration
33. 1:38rather than redemption.
34. 1:41Mary stands at the cross word crossroads
35. 1:44of truth, not drawing attention to
36. 1:47herself, but safeguarding the truth of
37. 1:50her son.
38. 1:52Both her motherhood is not confined to
39. 1:54Bethlehem.
40. 1:56It unfolds across the entire mystery of
41. 1:59Christ from Nazareth to Kaa, from Kaa to
42. 2:04Cal to Calvary, from Calvary to the
43. 2:07upper room and then from the upper room
44. 2:10into the life of the church and into our
45. 2:13very lives.
46. 2:16At Nazareth, Mary gave birth to the
47. 2:18word. The flesh becomes word. She
48. 2:22teaches Jesus to speak,
49. 2:25to pray the psalms, to trust the father.
50. 2:29The humanity of Christ, the humanity
51. 2:32that saves us was formed under her
52. 2:35loving gaze.
53. 2:37God entrusted his son to a woman
54. 2:41at Kaa. She teaches the church her first
55. 2:43lesson in disciplehip. What does she
56. 2:45tell? She says, "Do whatever he tells
57. 2:47you."
58. 2:49She does not center herself. She points
59. 2:52to the obedience to trust to surrender.
60. 2:57Marian devotion that does not lead us to
61. 3:00a deeper obedience to Christ is not a
62. 3:03Marian devotion at all.
63. 3:06And at Calvary, her motherhood reaches
64. 3:09its deepest expression.
65. 3:11She does not flee in suffering. She does
66. 3:14not flee in in fear. She stands firm
67. 3:20watching.
68. 3:22She consents again. This time is not to
69. 3:25giving birth to but to letting go to
70. 3:28accepting the will of God. And from the
71. 3:31cross, Jesus spoke words that changes
72. 3:34history.
73. 3:36From the cross, Jesus tells us, "Behold
74. 3:38your mother. This is your mother."
75. 3:41And in that moment, Mary becomes the
76. 3:43mother of the beloved disciple. and
77. 3:46therefore the mother of all who would
78. 3:48follow her son.
79. 3:51This is not symbolic.
80. 3:53It's not honorary.
81. 3:56We're talking about real life.
82. 3:59Mary is a mother in the order of grace.
83. 4:03She intercedes. She accompanies. She
84. 4:06forms Christ within us just as once she
85. 4:09formed him within her womb.
86. 4:12That's why the church begins every new
87. 4:15year under her gaze because we do not
88. 4:18enter the future alone.
89. 4:22As we begin 2026, many of us come with
90. 4:25mixed hearts.
91. 4:27Gratitude for the past year, for all
92. 4:31that we have learned and all that we
93. 4:33have endured.
94. 4:35Many may have regret for what we have
95. 4:37lost or mistakes that have been made.
96. 4:40anxieties about what lies ahead. The
97. 4:43temptation at the start of a new year is
98. 4:45always the same. To believe that the
99. 4:48change will come through sheer effort,
100. 4:51better habits, a stronger resolve, more
101. 4:55discipline.
102. 4:57But the gospel gives us a deeper truth.
103. 5:00Real transformation only comes through
104. 5:03God's grace.
105. 5:06Mary teaches us this. She did not save
106. 5:09the world by strategy or strength. She
107. 5:12saves the world by receiving God by
108. 5:15allowing Christ to take flesh within
109. 5:17her. And that is the question she places
110. 5:20before us today.
111. 5:23Will Christ take flesh in you this year
112. 5:26in a very concrete way?
113. 5:30Not in a vague way but in a very
114. 5:33intentional way through prayer, through
115. 5:36fasting, through repentance, obedience,
116. 5:40trust.
117. 5:42This is where Mary and devotion becomes
118. 5:44demanding in the best sense of the word.
119. 5:47The word Mary will not allow us to
120. 5:50remain superficial.
121. 5:53She draws us into silence. She draws us
122. 5:55into depth, into fidelity, into daily
123. 5:58conversion.
124. 6:01So on this new year, I want to challenge
125. 6:03you.
126. 6:05As your pastor, as your brother in
127. 6:07Christ, do not let this year be
128. 6:11spiritually accidental.
129. 6:14Make one resolution that will outlast
130. 6:17every other one.
131. 6:19Pray the rosary daily.
132. 6:23daily.
133. 6:25Not because it's easy, not because it's
134. 6:28sentimental,
135. 6:30but because it's powerful.
136. 6:33St. John Paul II said that praying the
137. 6:35rosary is learning to see Christ through
138. 6:37Mary's eyes.
139. 6:40Mystery by mystery, she schools us. She
140. 6:44schools our hearts, teaching us how to
141. 6:46face joy and sorrow, suffering and glory
142. 6:49as she did.
143. 6:52The rosary forms disciples.
144. 6:55The rosary forces us to step back, to
145. 6:58take a deep breath, and to pause and
146. 7:00understand what we're meditating on. The
147. 7:04rosary has the power to anchor families,
148. 7:07converts hearts, to change his history
149. 7:09quietly.
150. 7:12We have to understand that Mary is not
151. 7:14the treasure.
152. 7:16Christ is,
153. 7:18but she's the key.
154. 7:20We choose her because he chose her. We
155. 7:24trust her because he trusted her. We
156. 7:27receive her from the cross because he
157. 7:29gave her to us.
158. 7:32So today on this new year as it begins,
159. 7:35do what the church has always done.
160. 7:38Place yourself in her care, but do it
161. 7:42intentionally.
162. 7:44and trust your family to her and trust
163. 7:47your fears, your hopes.
164. 7:50She will not replace Christ, but she
165. 7:53will bring you to him.
166. 7:56And she will teach you how to say the
167. 7:58one word that opens the future, the one
168. 8:01word that will allow grace to work. The
169. 8:03one word that can make all of 2026 holy.
170. 8:07And that word is yes, Lord.
171. 8:10Yes, Lord. I I desire to do your will.
172. 8:14Yes.
173. 8:17Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us
174. 8:20now and at the hour of our death. Amen.