July 6, 2025 Homily: Fr Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03There's a film from the 90s that's
2. 0:05always stayed with me. I think you know
3. 0:08by now that I love movies and I was
4. 0:10thinking last night I think I'm going to
5. 0:12uh put on my Instagram the maybe some a
6. 0:15summer watch list, some of my favorite
7. 0:17movies that um you could watch this
8. 0:19summer, but
9. 0:20this movie has always stayed with me.
10. 0:22It's called Mr. Holland's Opus. Maybe
11. 0:24you've seen it.
12. 0:26It's the story of a man named Glenn
13. 0:28Holland,
14. 0:30a talented musician with this dream that
15. 0:33burns inside of him from his youth,
16. 0:37a dream that he longed to compose one
17. 0:40great symphony.
18. 0:43Something magnificent that would echo
19. 0:46through great concert halls long before
20. 0:49he was gone, long after he was gone.
21. 0:53But so as life happens,
22. 0:58bills are due, responsibilities are
23. 1:00knocking on the door,
24. 1:02he takes a job as a high school teacher,
25. 1:05a music teacher,
26. 1:07telling himself that he will only teach
27. 1:10for about four years so that he can set
28. 1:12aside enough money so that he can
29. 1:14finally sit down and finish his
30. 1:16masterpiece.
31. 1:18But then comes the baby and the
32. 1:21mortgage,
33. 1:22then the steady daily demands of that
34. 1:26tug at all of us,
35. 1:28the dream kept slipping further and
36. 1:30further out of reach.
37. 1:33Yet here's what's remarkable about the
38. 1:35story.
39. 1:37The more Mr. Holland gave himself to
40. 1:40this job, a job he never wanted,
41. 1:44the more he poured himself into the kids
42. 1:47in front of him.
43. 1:49And it is there that he begins to
44. 1:51discover a vocation that he had not
45. 1:54planned for.
46. 1:56He didn't just teach them about scales
47. 1:59and notes, he taught them to believe
48. 2:01they mattered.
49. 2:03To stand tall when the world was trying
50. 2:06to keep them quiet or small, to find the
51. 2:09gifts in themselves that they never saw
52. 2:12before.
53. 2:1530 years goes by.
54. 2:17The grand symphony was never written.
55. 2:21At least not the way that he pictured
56. 2:23it.
57. 2:25But on his final day, he is at the
58. 2:27school and the auditorium is overflowing
59. 2:30with generations
60. 2:33who came to honor him.
61. 2:36They praised him by playing a a small
62. 2:38piece he had been scribbling away in the
63. 2:40quiet moments over the years.
64. 2:43And then one of his former students, the
65. 2:46governor of the state, says something
66. 2:48I've never forgotten. She says,
67. 2:51"You have been a terrific success.
68. 2:55Look around you.
69. 2:57There's not a life in this room you
70. 2:58haven't touched.
71. 3:00We are your symphony, Mr. Holland.
72. 3:04We are the melodies and the notes of
73. 3:06your opus.
74. 3:08We are the music of your life."
75. 3:13That line echoes something Jesus tells
76. 3:16us in the gospel today.
77. 3:19Something
78. 3:21we would do well to take serious.
79. 3:25The Lord says the harvest is plenty, but
80. 3:27the laborers are few.
81. 3:30We tend to think that a great life must
82. 3:32be something that the world notices.
83. 3:35Something of heroic achievement or on a
84. 3:38grand scale.
85. 3:40Our lives must be this splashy
86. 3:43legacy with our name on it.
87. 3:46We imagine the big mission,
88. 3:49the book that we will write, the
89. 3:50foundation that we'll
90. 3:53the impression that we will leave, and
91. 3:55the bold dream we'll chase. Someday
92. 3:58it'll happen.
93. 4:01But the real harvest,
94. 4:03the harvest that Jesus is talking to us
95. 4:05about today, is rarely built on
96. 4:08headlines or awards.
97. 4:11It is woven woven out of our daily
98. 4:14faithfulness, small sacrifices every
99. 4:17single day, showing up for others when
100. 4:20even when it's hard, choosing love when
101. 4:23when it's uncomfortable or inconvenient.
102. 4:27When Jesus sends out the 72 disciples,
103. 4:30he didn't hand them a blueprint for the
104. 4:32empire. He didn't give them security or
105. 4:36guarantees, no backup plan.
106. 4:39He didn't give them any guarantees that
107. 4:41it would be an easy plan.
108. 4:44He simply said, "Go.
109. 4:46Go proclaim that the kingdom of God is
110. 4:48near. Heal. Bring about peace."
111. 4:54They went out with empty hands, with
112. 4:56hearts wide open, and they changed
113. 4:59lives, not because they were powerful
114. 5:02or perfect,
115. 5:04but because they trusted in him. They
116. 5:07trusted in him enough to live for him
117. 5:10right now in that very moment.
118. 5:13Jesus' words today are not just for
119. 5:15priest or missionary or some special
120. 5:18class of holy people.
121. 5:21They are for every single one of us
122. 5:24who dare to call him Lord.
123. 5:28We keep telling ourselves later,
124. 5:30"Someday I'll be involved in the church.
125. 5:33I'll be involved in the mission of the
126. 5:35church when life slows down, when the
127. 5:37kids get older, when I retire, when I
128. 5:40know more, when I have more,
129. 5:42and when I have more time, or even when
130. 5:45I'm a better person, then I'll give my
131. 5:47time to the Lord.
132. 5:49But what if we're honest that later is
133. 5:52just a polite word for never?
134. 5:56Why? Because I don't want to step out of
135. 5:57my comfort zone. I want to control every
136. 6:00aspect of my life.
137. 6:03The tragedy is that so many people drift
138. 6:05through life waiting for that perfect
139. 6:07moment to give themselves to God.
140. 6:10And when that moment, if that moment
141. 6:11ever comes, the harvest then passes them
142. 6:14by.
143. 6:16Look at the people that Jesus sends out.
144. 6:18These 72 people, they're ordinary
145. 6:20people, men and women. They're not
146. 6:22theologians, no degrees, no special
147. 6:24credentials, no foolproof plan.
148. 6:28They just had faith.
149. 6:30They had enough faith to trust that if
150. 6:32they stepped out, he would meet them
151. 6:34there.
152. 6:36The kingdom of God is near because you
153. 6:38carry it.
154. 6:40When you forgive someone you've wounded,
155. 6:42the kingdom of God is near.
156. 6:45When you feed the hungry, stand up for
157. 6:46the void voiceless, when you check on
158. 6:49someone that's lonely, when you speak
159. 6:51truth with kindness, the kingdom of God
160. 6:53is near.
161. 6:55When you invite that someone who has
162. 6:57drifted away from the church to come
163. 6:59back to church with you, the kingdom of
164. 7:01God is near.
165. 7:04Because you see, we live in a world that
166. 7:06is drowning in information. We are
167. 7:08bombarded with information.
168. 7:12But we are starving for real witnesses.
169. 7:15People who are hungry to see that mercy
170. 7:18is possible, that sacrifice still means
171. 7:21something, that love still costs
172. 7:23something. We need Catholics who can be
173. 7:26courageous Christians to stand for the
174. 7:29gospel values.
175. 7:31And here's the quiet miracle of the
176. 7:33vineyard.
177. 7:34The more you labor, the more you
178. 7:36discover that it's not about you, it's
179. 7:38not your strength, it's not your talent,
180. 7:40it's your faithfulness.
181. 7:43You're not the savior. He is God and you
182. 7:46are not.
183. 7:47You are just a seed planter.
184. 7:51And that takes the pressure off.
185. 7:53We are to go out and plant seeds.
186. 7:58But he, the master of the harvest, will
187. 8:00multiply what you place in his hands, no
188. 8:03matter how small it seems to you.
189. 8:08One day, and I promise you this, you
190. 8:11will stand before your maker.
191. 8:14And you will see what your ordinary
192. 8:16faithfulness really built. Either it
193. 8:18built absolutely nothing,
194. 8:21or it built a great harvest.
195. 8:24You will see people you inspired, the
196. 8:27children you raised in faith, the
197. 8:29co-workers you who were despairing and
198. 8:32you softened their touch, the neighbor
199. 8:35who saw Christ because you showed up
200. 8:37when you didn't have to.
201. 8:39You'll hear the Lord say, "Look around.
202. 8:41All of these people, you touched their
203. 8:43lives with your kindness and with your
204. 8:44help.
205. 8:46Well done."
206. 8:48So, how do we do this?
207. 8:50Well, we need to begin today, right now.
208. 8:53Not tomorrow, not when things are
209. 8:55better, when things are not so difficult
210. 8:58or so busy, right now.
211. 9:01Open your eyes to the field that is
212. 9:03right in front of you, your spouse, your
213. 9:06children, your aging parents, your
214. 9:09co-workers, your friends. There is a
215. 9:11harvest right in front of you.
216. 9:15Every soul is a fitting fertile soil for
217. 9:19the seeds of the gospel.
218. 9:22Second, stop playing safe.
219. 9:25Stop waiting for someone else to do it.
220. 9:28Make that phone call. Offer your help to
221. 9:31volunteer. Offer an invitation to go out
222. 9:35and meet someone where they are lonely
223. 9:37or depressed. Show up when it's
224. 9:39uncomfortable. Get involved where you've
225. 9:41been too shy or too busy to help. Ask
226. 9:44the Holy Spirit, "Lord, where do you
227. 9:46want me to go?" And then go.
228. 9:50Third, pray. Pray for courage.
229. 9:53Pray for more laborers. Pray that our
230. 9:56young people have the guts to listen to
231. 9:58God calling them to the priesthood or to
232. 10:01religious life.
233. 10:03Pray that our families will raise
234. 10:05children who know that faith is not just
235. 10:07a Sunday hobby,
236. 10:09but the heartbeat of everything we do
237. 10:11and how it shapes our lives.
238. 10:14And finally, trust.
239. 10:16You may never see the finished
240. 10:17masterpiece in this life,
241. 10:20but trust that the master composer is
242. 10:22weaving every note of your life, your
243. 10:25patience, your sacrifice, your hidden
244. 10:28yeses into something beautiful eternal.
245. 10:33So, my brothers and sisters, one day may
246. 10:35we stand in that great auditorium of
247. 10:38heaven.
248. 10:40And that the Lord may say to us, "Look
249. 10:42around. All of these people you helped.
250. 10:44All of these people you were kind to.
251. 10:47All of these people you because of you,
252. 10:50you made a difference in their life.
253. 10:53This was your harvest. Well done."
254. 10:56So, go.
255. 10:58The harvest is ready right in front of
256. 11:00you. The laborers are few. May we be
257. 11:03among the few who have the courage to
258. 11:05say, "Yes, Lord, send me." Amen.
259. 11:09Amen.