Sunday March 2, 2025 Homily: Fr Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02well as I mentioned at the beginning of
2. 0:03mass today's Gospel brings us to the
3. 0:06closing words of Jesus's sermon on the
4. 0:10plane a sermon full of radical wisdom
5. 0:14deep truth and life changing
6. 0:18teachings but as he concludes this
7. 0:21discourse our Lord turns his attention
8. 0:24to something equally essential to our
9. 0:27spiritual
10. 0:28life in the way that we grow in
11. 0:31Holiness a person's true character is
12. 0:34revealed through their actions and their
13. 0:37words I'm going to repeat
14. 0:40that a person's true character is
15. 0:43revealed through their actions and their
16. 0:47words it's striking that after such
17. 0:49profound teachings last weekend you'll
18. 0:53re you
19. 0:54recall the Lord was teaching us on
20. 0:57loving our enemies the danger of
21. 1:00judgment and the call to build our lives
22. 1:03on a solid
23. 1:05foundation but Jesus today ends with a
24. 1:09warning he warns us about the blind
25. 1:11leading the
26. 1:13blind those who think they know and
27. 1:16present themselves as experts and guides
28. 1:18to God's kingdom but who lack the very
29. 1:21wisdom they claim to
30. 1:24offer Jesus tells us in no uncertain
31. 1:27terms a disciple is not above o his
32. 1:31teacher but when fully trained we'll be
33. 1:34like his
34. 1:36teacher so what does this mean for
35. 1:39us especially just before
36. 1:42lent in essence Jesus is reminding us of
37. 1:45the danger of following the wrong
38. 1:49people giving way to voices that mislead
39. 1:53or
40. 1:55distract we live in a world where there
41. 1:57are many voices
42. 1:59many teachers
43. 2:02influencers guides all claiming to know
44. 2:05a way to peace to fulfillment or to
45. 2:09Enlightenment I know what you
46. 2:12need but Jesus makes it abundantly clear
47. 2:15that there's a difference between a
48. 2:17teacher who proclaims truth and a
49. 2:20teacher who lives the
50. 2:23truth and yet in today's world it seems
51. 2:25that everyone considers themselves an
52. 2:28expert
53. 2:30we're bombarded by Voices opinions on
54. 2:33everything from how to live and how to
55. 2:37believe everyone has an advice everyone
56. 2:41wants to correct someone to impose their
57. 2:45perspective to tell someone else that
58. 2:47they're doing it wrong or you're
59. 2:49believing in a in a in a system that's
60. 2:52wrong we live in a culture where people
61. 2:54are always searching for the next best
62. 2:58thing think about it if you go on
63. 3:00vacation you're asking people what's the
64. 3:02best hotel to stay at what's the best
65. 3:04restaurant we should go to the best
66. 3:06vacation spot the best school the best
67. 3:09career move the next best trend what
68. 3:13next upgrade should I do the next best
69. 3:18breakthrough we search and search and
70. 3:23search but what so many fail to realize
71. 3:26is that this Relentless Pursuit is not
72. 3:29just about getting the best
73. 3:32experience it's an attempt to fill a
74. 3:35void a void that only God can
75. 3:39fill because you see we were made for
76. 3:42him we were hardwired for him it's in
77. 3:45our DNA whether we realize it or
78. 3:48acknowledge it it's there that longing
79. 3:51that drives people to chase after the N
80. 3:54next best thing at its core this longing
81. 3:57for meaning this longing for purpose for
82. 4:00something
83. 4:02Eternal and yet so many people try to
84. 4:05satisfy this hunger with things that
85. 4:09will never
86. 4:10last with Pleasures that
87. 4:14fade with advice that leads them in
88. 4:19circles Jesus doesn't just tell us to
89. 4:21beware of false
90. 4:23Witnesses he tells us to look to the
91. 4:26fruit of their lives a good tree will
92. 4:29prod produce good
93. 4:31fruit can a blind man lead a blind man
94. 4:36Jesus asks will they not both fall into
95. 4:39a
96. 4:40pit likewise a teacher who has not
97. 4:43encountered the Light of Christ cannot
98. 4:45bring anyone to Salvation I can't give
99. 4:48you what I don't
100. 4:52have they may sound convincing people
101. 4:55who are misleading you but they cannot
102. 4:57guide us to the kingdom of God
103. 5:02but how do we know if someone is truly
104. 5:04walking in the ways of the Lord how do
105. 5:07we Ser how do we discern the
106. 5:10authenticity of advice and
107. 5:13guidance well the answer lies in Jesus's
108. 5:16next
109. 5:18words he says why do you see the speck
110. 5:21in your brother's eye but do not notice
111. 5:23the beam in your own
112. 5:26eye before we point the faults in others
113. 5:30before we try to lead others in a
114. 5:32different way give certain advice to
115. 5:35someone we need to look at our own
116. 5:37imperfections and our own
117. 5:40weaknesses why because it's about
118. 5:43humility a true teacher is one who
119. 5:45recognizes their own
120. 5:47Brokenness and in that Brokenness has
121. 5:50encountered the healing power of
122. 5:52Christ a true teacher someone who guides
123. 5:57acknowledges that they too need a SA
124. 6:01savior a disciple in this context and
125. 6:04we're all Desiring to be a good disciple
126. 6:08of Christ is someone committed not just
127. 6:10to hearing the truth but to living the
128. 6:14truth to embodying that truth in our
129. 6:17everyday
130. 6:19life a true disciple of Christ is
131. 6:21someone who his life is continually
132. 6:23being transformed by God's grace someone
133. 6:27who through the power of the Holy Spirit
134. 6:29see seeks to become more like Christ
135. 6:31every day Lord I want to follow
136. 6:35you and as that disciple matures in
137. 6:38faith they are then able to guide others
138. 6:42I want what you have let me share with
139. 6:45you what Christ has done in my life not
140. 6:48from a position of superiority but a
141. 6:51place of Truth and experience and
142. 6:56humility so what does this mean for all
143. 6:58of us
144. 7:01especially for those who may be new to
145. 7:02the faith new to coming into the parish
146. 7:06or those who have been walking with
147. 7:08Christ for a long time what does this
148. 7:12mean well it means that we need to be
149. 7:15intentional needs to be we need to be
150. 7:18intentional about who we follow and who
151. 7:20we soci who we socialize with means we
152. 7:25have to examine our own hearts and
153. 7:26discern the voices that we're listening
154. 7:28to
155. 7:30are we following Christ's voice are we
156. 7:33following the voices of those who lead
157. 7:35us down Paths of self-righteousness
158. 7:37judgment and empty
159. 7:40promises we are all called to be
160. 7:43disciples and every one of us is called
161. 7:46to be a witness a witness to the faith
162. 7:49our faith cannot be about simply hearing
163. 7:52good news and then letting them fall on
164. 7:54deaf
165. 7:55ears our faith has to be about being
166. 7:58radically changed Changed by Christ that
167. 8:01we have been transformed and people can
168. 8:04see that
169. 8:07transformation that his love his grace
170. 8:10his Mercy has penetrate our
171. 8:13being we're called to be living
172. 8:15Witnesses of his truth not just to talk
173. 8:18about it talk is
174. 8:21cheap so as we go out into the world we
175. 8:24must ask ourselves what kind of
176. 8:26Witnesses are we becoming
177. 8:29are we pointing people to the truth does
178. 8:32that does my example Inspire anyone to
179. 8:37follow Jesus are we leading with
180. 8:40humility and love or with judgment and
181. 8:44pride are we allowing the Holy Spirit to
182. 8:47transform us to live our lives to become
183. 8:50an invitation to others to encounter the
184. 8:52love of
185. 8:53Christ so this week Jesus gives us both
186. 8:56a challenge and an invitation
187. 9:01the challenge is to evaluate the people
188. 9:03we follow and to ensure that they are
189. 9:06truly leading us to
190. 9:08Christ the invitation is to become a
191. 9:10witness ourselves a guide who points
192. 9:12others to love Jesus not just through
193. 9:16words but through the way that we live
194. 9:18our lives lives that have been radically
195. 9:21transformed by the
196. 9:25gospel in 1568 Peter bergell the Elder
197. 9:28painted this amazing painter I would
198. 9:32recommend you that you Google it it's
199. 9:34entitled the blind leading the blind and
200. 9:36it depicts this haunting uh procession
201. 9:40of blind men being following following
202. 9:42one another into this
203. 9:45pit the leader has already fallen yet
204. 9:48others continue to fall right behind him
205. 9:52unaware of their impending fate and in
206. 9:56the painting you can see this church in
207. 9:57the background almost to say that they
208. 9:59just passed it on
209. 10:01by but unlike the blind men who followed
210. 10:04each other into
211. 10:06ruin we need to
212. 10:08choose every single day we wake up in
213. 10:11the morning and we choose to walk with
214. 10:13spiritual Eyes Wide Open Hand in Hand
215. 10:16trusting that God will illuminate our
216. 10:19path if you keep Christ at the
217. 10:23center you will not stumble into
218. 10:25darkness because he will guide you True
219. 10:29Discipleship begins not with perfect
220. 10:32knowledge but with a heart that has been
221. 10:34touched by love a heart that has
222. 10:37experienced his
223. 10:39Mercy only when we surrender to him only
224. 10:42when we allow him to teach us
225. 10:44surrounding ourselves with people that
226. 10:47compel
227. 10:49us to move forward in
228. 10:52Holiness and when we do we find
229. 10:55ourselves then leading others not by
230. 10:57judgment or condemnation but by freedom
231. 11:00of Christ the freedom that is found in a
232. 11:03life lived in
233. 11:05Grace and so my brothers and sisters the
234. 11:08challenge for this week is is
235. 11:10this who are you
236. 11:13following who are you listening to what
237. 11:16are the voices that are are are invading
238. 11:19you are that you are surrounded by and
239. 11:22are these voices leading you to Christ
240. 11:25or are you just part of the blind
241. 11:28leading the blind amen