15th Sunday Ordinary Time – Year A

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: July 12, 2026

If someone was to ask you, what they should do to become Holy, how would you answer them? If you were to ask me, how do you become holy? I would say, “one of the best ways to become holy is to hang around with holy people.” The good influence of other good people of faith is the good soil we need to allow the seeds of the Gospel to grow in us.

This also should make us ask ourselves, what kind of soil am I for others? Are you good soil for the faith of others? When people are around you, when they see your life of faith, does it provide good soil for God’s Word in them?

This is also the reason why the Church canonizes certain believers as Saints. Not for their sake, not to honour them, but for our sake. When we read about the Saints, when we look at their example, they can be models who inspire us. Just as it is helpful for us to hang around with holy people, it is helpful for us who desire to be holy to be in the presence of the Saints of the Church. The Saints are like good soil for the seeds of Gospel to grow within us.

On July 2 of this year, in Vietnam, Fr. Francis Xavier Diep was Beatified. He was a Catholic priest who was martyred for his faith about 80 years ago. It was the first ever Beatification to take place in Vietnam. About 70,000 Vietnamese people came for this event. Many Catholics, but also many people of other faiths who were also inspired by his life. They were inspired by this priest and his life of faith.

His great act was his refusal to abandon the people of his parish, even when he was threatened and faced mortal danger. He remained with his flock even when the situation became very dark and dangerous. He proclaimed the Gospel by his very presence and by remaining with his flock even to giving his life.

A good model for any parish priest, Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines, who celebrated the Beatification in Vietnam, said in his homily that “the ultimate truth is a person who refuses to leave when things get ‘unfavourable.’” A good model for all of us in our relationships.

Spouses who are committed to each other, parents who care for their children with dedication, friends who stay with their friends in their darkest moments, people who refuse to give in to corruption or lack of truth. Each Catholic who remains within the church even when struggling with faith or faced with challenges.

Holiness is not abstract, it is the very difficult call to be faithful, to refuse to leave when things become difficult. Blessed Fr. Diep lived the Gospel in a visible way by his very life. This produced good soil for the faith of many people, it continues to do that even 80 years later. You and I are to live our faith in such a way that when others are around us, when others see how we live, it will be good soil for their faith.

In a world full of violence, division, hatred, lies, we people of faith need to offer the world something different by our very lives. People of peace, unity, mercy, forgiveness. By your life, be a light in our world.

Who are the people that influence you in a way that provides good soil for your faith? How do you provide good soil for the faith of others?