Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “See what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” Today, the church celebrates All Saints Day. Who are the saints? We may be thinking of the many canonized saints we know of, like St. Therese, St. Ambrose, St. Benedict, St. John Paul II and so on. These were people who lived a life of holiness and faithfulness to the Lord. Their holiness was very visible such that when they died, the church began their canonization process. But seriously, who is a saint? In a simple description, a saint is someone who is in heaven with God. There are many of these who are unknown to us, only known to God. They are not canonized by the church, but they are in full union with Jesus after they died. Now, do you want to be in heaven with God when you die?  If your answer is yes, then you need to seriously think about holiness. Because if not heaven, it will be hell. Our late Pope Francis said, “To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a...

 Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones.” Our true and permanent home is heaven. We are destined to be citizens of heaven. For now, we are just sojourners on earth, pilgrims making our way towards home. I enjoy reading and hearing stories of people who have had near-death experiences. One common thing they report is that heaven is beautiful, and it is familiar. They usually describe it as the feeling of returning home, surrounded by people they know, being totally at ease and at peace. This image of heaven is pure joy. Those who live a virtuous life on earth, who keep their hearts united with God, are already preparing to live in that home. Heaven is not a foreign place for the faithful; it’s the fulfillment of what we yearn for deep inside of us. If we follow Jesus closely, we are already learning to live the heavenly life, experiencing and sharing the love and mercy of God and being in communion with God al...

 “The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal.” Last week’s readings touched on the theme of prayer, this theme continues in our readings this Sunday. Throughout the week, I often see people coming quietly into our church to pray during different times of the day. Some light candles, some kneel before the statue of Our Lady of the World, and some just sit before the tabernacle in silence. A few come from nearby offices during their break from work to spend a few minutes with Jesus or with Mary. There are also those who are homeless, some are patients or their visitors from the hospitals. Different states of life, different prayer intentions, yet all come with faith in God. This is truly a house of prayer. All are welcome. As proclaimed in the first reading, God has no favorites. Rich or poor, young or old, well or sick, strong or weak, God welcomes all and hears al...

 “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.” What a hopeful and assuring message. Even though our bodies are weakened by sin and subject to death, the Spirit of God within us is alive and active. But note the one condition: if Christ is in you! The Father and the Son have given us this precious gift, the Holy Spirit, the divine helper who will dwell in our hearts if we accept Jesus Christ into our lives. If we follow the timeline of our salvation story, all of us are now living in the era of the Holy Spirit. God the Father has revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets. Then in the fullness of time, God the Son came into the world and revealed to us the Father’s love. Before returning to heaven, Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to be our companion, our guide, and our strength till the end of time. And from then, the Holy Spirit has been active in the world, in the church and in o...

 “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” Honestly, this is me. And this is many people too. It captures so perfectly the weakness of our human condition. Deep in our hearts, we want to do good, to be good, to please God. We want to live according to His will.  We want to stay close to Him and live holy lives. Yet, the sin that entered the world through Adam and Eve still acts up within us. Our human nature is wounded, and even when our soul longs to do good, our worldly desires and habits pull us in the opposite direction. It is interesting to note that it is St. Paul who wrote this line. Paul was one of the greatest apostles and missionaries in history, it is hard to imagine that even the great St. Paul had struggled to do good and fight evil, what more could be expected of us? This is comforting. It reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles. Even the saints, the apostles, the holiest men and women, had wrestled with sin and temptation. Spi...

 “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” Really? Yes, absolutely true. There is no doubt that sin is increasing in the world, at least in terms of modern technology. I make this observation based on what priests hear in the confessional. One hundred years ago, people did not confess sins related to television. Thirty years ago, there were no sins involving the internet. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have sins connected to smartphones. Ten years ago, we didn’t have sins committed due to social media. And just a few years ago, no one mentioned sins related to artificial intelligence. From time to time, I have encountered and had to ask the penitents to explain certain words they used in confession and which did not even exist a decade ago! They were new to me, but I am sure Jesus was not stumped like me. Sins come in new forms, but the reality of sin remains the same. Yet, St. Paul reminds us that as sin increases, grace overflows even more. Along with these new challenge...

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” So true. Jesus warns us to guard against all greed, not just greed for money, but also for power, recognition, control, comfort and possessions. Even simple possessions, with greed, become obsessions. Greed blinds the soul. It makes us believe we need more and more, when we already have enough. At the end of our lives, what we had will not define us, nor give us any advantage at all for entry into heaven. But here, Jesus is saying, having too much might even disadvantage us. The rich man in today’s Gospel was a wealthy man, so distinguished was his wealth that he was simply known as a rich man, there was nothing else that could define him. Then God blessed him with even more. But instead of sharing his abundance, which will not affect his lifestyle in any way, he decided to build bigger barns to store it all for himself. Greed consumed him. He forgot that all his wealth was n...

 “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?” These questions from Jesus in today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on the secret of a powerful prayer. What makes prayers powerful? When we pray for a particular intention, and the intention is fulfilled, we conclude that the prayer was powerful. Jesus questions us to reflect and realize that God is the generous One, who gives us the rights to call out to Him, day and night. God is the patient one, who will answer our prayers timely – His time, not ours. Recently past, one of my sisters told me of a problematic situation she has been trying hard to resolve, but it didn’t. I then suggested to her to pray the novena to our Lady, Undoer of Knots, and she did, she prayed the novena faithfully. Then last week, she called me with great excitement. “The prayer worked!” Her intentions were fulfilled, her prayers were answered according to her wish. Like her, many of ...

“Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” This line from today’s Gospel captures the mission Jesus gave to His seventy-two disciples. He sent them out two by two, trusting completely in divine providence. Tradition tells us that St. Luke, whose feast we celebrate today, was among these seventy-two. Jesus’ instruction was clear: they were to depend entirely on God. No extra money, no supplies, no comfort just faith and obedience. It sounds difficult, but throughout history, we’ve seen countless saints who lived this way: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Teresa, and many others who relied fully on God’s providence and never lacked what they truly needed. In the first reading, St. Paul writes to Timothy and mentions St. Luke. He laments that many of his companions abandoned him, but says with great affection, “Only Luke is with me.” Luke stayed faithful to Paul even when others walked away. Luke was not on...

 “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” This Gospel acclamation perfectly captured the heart of today’s readings – ‘give thanks’. We heard the story of the ten lepers who were healed, but only one Samaritan returned to give thanks. That small act of gratitude was the key to his salvation. As I grew older, I also became more grateful. There were many things I didn’t appreciate when I was younger. I didn’t know how to appreciate the simplicity of my family’s life, the way my parents disciplined us, the schools my parents chose for us, all the church activities they made us attend, and many more. But decades later today, I looked back and realized my parents knew what was best for us, and I am now grateful. The siblings I used to fight with often are now my greatest blessings and closest friends. I sometimes wish I had been more thankful, more kind, more obedient. Gratitude makes relationships stronger and life more joyful. But even on...

 “She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.” What a beautiful image. Our Lord Jesus was speaking, and Mary was sitting close by at His feet, watching Him and listening with full attention. No distractions, no interruptions, she was fully present before Him, receiving, absorbing, taking in everything He was saying. Years ago, when I was in my home diocese working at the chancery office, since I was not attached to a parish, I would celebrate Sunday Mass at a convent for the nuns. After Mass, they would always invite me for breakfast. And a few of the elderly nuns would keep serving food to my table, and each one would keep asking me if I need more food, drinks or other things. They were busy serving me.  Naturally, I’m a shy person, so having many of them surrounding me and constantly checking on me made me even more nervous. I could not really enjoy the food. Deep down, I wished they would just sit around the table to eat together...

 “How could you do such a thing! They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them.” Jonah, the prophet of God, didn’t want to follow God’s plan and tried to hide away from Him. How foolish of him! How could anyone think they could ever hide themselves from the Lord? In Psalm 139 we read: “If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell beyond the sea, even there your hand guides me, your right hand holds me fast.” God is everywhere. He follows and watches over us, not because we are His prisoners but because He loves us. He stays close to us, not because He wants to control us but because He wants to guide us. He wants to be available for us when we call out to Him for help. And of course, He has a plan for us to also be His messenger to help and save others. That was the plan He had for Jonah, but Jonah rejected the plan and tried to escape. Obviously, it did not work. The story of Jonah shows us clearly what would happen when we try to go against God’s will or avoi...

 “For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.” These powerful words from the prophet Habakkuk point towards hope. Hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises, despite the people’s failures. Habakkuk is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Old Testament, a small book of just three chapters, but every line is theologically deep. Habakkuk lived in the 7th century before the Babylonian exile. He saw the kingdom of Judah sinking in moral decay, corruption, and spiritual emptiness. The kings were weak, the people disobedient, and the once glorious nation of Israel was on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, nearby nation Babylon was rising in power and strength, and ruthlessness. Habakkuk could see what was coming, and it terrified him. He wrestled with God in prayer. “Lord, how long?” he cried. Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? And God’s answer was simple yet...

“Behold, I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.” Last week, during one of my classes at Holy Family, I asked the 4th graders, “How many of you are afraid of the devil?” Every single one of them raised their hands. And so, I ask you too, how many of you are afraid of the devil? I suppose it is normal to fear the devil, thinking he has powers which we do not have. But do you know what the devil is afraid of? The next slide I showed the class was a quote from St. John Bosco: “There are two things that the devil is deadly afraid of: fervent Communion and frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament.” Isn’t that good news for all of us here? If we do these two things, the devil will be more afraid of us than we are of him. But note the emphasis St. John Bosco made, it is ‘fervent communion’ and ‘frequent visits’. The truth is, the devil is jealous of us because we are God’s beloved children. We are created...

 “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.” When I was a seminarian studying in Rome, one difficulty I faced yearly was the renewal of the stay permit. It was to be renewed every year, but it required three months to process. So effectively, I had to send in a new application after nine months of getting the permit previously. The cycle repeats year after year. However, it was not a straightforward process. The office that processed those permits was notorious for rejecting applications. Every year, my application would be rejected once or twice for minor reasons. It was only years later that I discovered by chance, those applications which got approved immediately without any problem were not perfect applications, but had extra enclosures along with the applications, something like a €50 note. I could have done the same, but I didn’t. I took consolation then that the office was not rejecting me nor my applications. In reality, it was rejecting integrit...

 “But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.” This is such an assuring powerful message from God, from today’s first reading. Our God is fiercely protective of us, His beloved creation. I am sure some of us may have personally experienced God’s protective love, His wall of fire encircling us, defending, guarding, sheltering us from harm and hurt that may destroy our souls. His goal is to save humanity, and in response, in line with His love for us, we are called to be His hands and feet, to extend His protective love towards others. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, a saint who made God’s love visible in concrete ways. He fed, clothed and sheltered the very deprived and forgotten people, especially the imprisoned slaves with generous charity, providing for their very basic needs of a human person. His mission continues, through Vincentian priests, sisters, brothers, and lay members who serve the in nearl...

 “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now?” This passage from the prophet Haggai was written after the dedication of the second Temple. The exile in Babylon lasted about 70 years. Many Israelites who returned and were in their 80s or 90s, had seen the original temple built by Solomon in their youth. They could still remember its former glory. In our own parish, there are also people who remember the “former glory” of our Cathedral. Msgr. Beeson is one such person. He saw St. Ambrose Cathedral in its original beauty. Our Cathedral is still beautiful today, but it does look different now, some features and designs have faded or are worn out. If we have the resources, perhaps we would try to restore some of these to preserve the legacy left behind by our forefathers. But when Jesus spoke of the Temple, He was referring to His own body. And later, St. Paul would teach that our bodies too are temples of the Holy Spirit. That brings us to ...

 “At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.” How do you pray? Today’s first reading gives us a beautiful description of how priest Ezra prayed. He considered himself ‘wretched’, totally unworthy of God and His mercy. This expressed his deep reverence for the vast greatness and graciousness of God. He fell on his knees with outstretched arms. This expressed his total surrender, obedience and submission to the ultimate good and perfect will of God. Ezra’s humble prayer disposition is beautiful. He prayed with a deep, sincere, and remorseful heart, laid bare before God, bearing the guilt of his people, yet completely appreciative and grateful for God’s forgiveness. He offered this prayer after the completion and dedication of the rebuilt Temple. The broken temple now rebuilt signified a reconciled relationship with God. Now the Israelites can worship in God’s h...

 “For the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.” That was quite a massive sacrifice! But if we check back, during the dedication of the first temple, King Solomon offered even greater numbers of sacrificial animals: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep and goats. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded that during festival times, as many as 250,000 animals were sacrificed in the temple in a single day. But did God really delight in such sacrifices? Not in the way the people thought He would. Again and again, through the prophets, God reminded His people: “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” and “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Yet the Israelites convinced themselves that piling up sacrifices was the way to please God. Those offerings, by themselves, did not draw them closer to Him, and did not draw God clos...

 “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” Somehow, priests in general have a special sub-vocation for building projects. Ezra was a priest, and he too was rebuilding the temple which was destroyed by the Babylonians; thus, this book of Ezra paid much attention to this concern. Back in my home diocese, there was a parish priest who decided to build a new church for his parish which was in a very poor area. He knew his parishioners couldn’t give much money, so he gave each family some banana seedlings according to the size of their farms. Some got only two, some got up to fifty. And he told them: “Grow them, harvest them, sell them, and bring the money back to build the church.” That was indeed “seed money”. When the people saw the results and how they could further contribute to building their new church, they became more involved and creative. The mothers started making mango pickles and other v...

 “Keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In this month’s Catholic Mirror, Fr. Ron Rolheiser shared a story about a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. At the celebration, the husband said: “When we got married 50 years ago, we didn’t have much. But we had an unconscious trust that if we lived by the Ten Commandments and the laws of the Church, then things would turn out all right, and I think, they did.” Fifty years of marriage is not just “all right”, many of you who are married would know, it is hard work. And truly, very often God’s grace is at work harder than the couple. So fifty years of marriage is a testimony to a life of faith and full of God’s grace. The Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses and the Israelites thousands of years ago are still relevant for us today, guiding us every step of our faith life. The challenge is that human nature resists compliance and obedience to commands. We don’t like r...

 “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” This arrangement, spoken from the Cross, may look like a simple and practical arrangement for the care of His surviving mother, but truly, it carries a deeper and profound truth. It is one of the ‘seven last words of Jesus’. Quite naturally and obviously, He entrusted the care of His beloved Mother to someone reliable and obedient. He gave her to John. And at the same time, He also entrusted the continued nurturing of John, His beloved disciple, to His Mother. Jesus had no earthly possessions which will wither and end to leave behind. What He left, as a lasting forever legacy to His disciples and as a gift of eternity to all believers to come, was the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. Now from the Cross, He is giving to the whole of humanity something personal: His own Mother,  whom He took His human flesh and blood from when she carried Him in her womb. Why John the beloved ap...

“That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.” I love the song “Christ is my firm foundation.” Not only the music, but also the words are so powerful. Christian life is nothing less than a life rooted in Christ. We are not simply following a set of principles or moral laws. We are following a person, the living Christ who died for us, who rose for us, and who calls us to walk in His footsteps. A life rooted in Christ means we live as He lived, and we die as He died, for love. We imitate His sacrificial love by carrying our own crosses every day. And when our life is built on this solid foundation, nothing can shake us. No temptation, no worldly lies, no passing ideology promising an “easier” way of peace can destroy us. We live in a world full of confusion. Sadly, even some Christians today follow worldly ideologies and then try to ...

 “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.” St. Paul, after his conversion, admitted that all the persecution and executions he carried out before he knew Christ, were done out of ignorance and unbelief. He thought Jesus Christ and His followers were a threat to the Jewish community, he thought Jesus was a fake, and so for the good of the Jewish people, he sought to eliminate them. Paul persecuted Christians because of he did not believe that Jesus was truly the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus Himself was unjustly accused, tortured, and killed although He was spreading His Father’s love to the world because the authorities misunderstood Him and saw Him as a threat to their society and community. Thousands of early Christians were martyred for similar reasons. They held on to their faith, they did not budge when told to deny the Lord, they did not water down the Lord’s teachings under...

Holy Family school Mass Homily   “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Have you ever heard: “You are what you eat”? So be careful what you are always eating… Now have you also heard: “What you think, that you become.” I think there is a lot of truth in this. If you are always thinking about the same things, you will one become more and more like it, or you would behave more and more like the thought. There is a story about Napoleon Bonaparte. Once, he went to a palm reader and asked him to read his hand. The reader told him the usual things, what had happened to his life and so on. But Napoleon interrupted: “Do you see any possibility that I could become a king?” The palm reader replied, “No. Every king has a special line on his hand, but you don’t have it.” And you know what Napoleon did? He immediately took a knife, sliced on his palm, and cut out that special line himself. The palm reader then said, “Yes, you will become an emperor.” Napoleon always dreamed of ...

 “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” We might have heard of this phrase: “What you think, that you become.” This quote has often been attributed to Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and I think there is a lot of truth in it. If you are constantly or regularly thinking about a certain thing, you will over time gravitate towards it, and bring it to reality, either in accomplishment or in imitation. There is a story about Napoleon Bonaparte. Once, he went to a palm reader and asked him to read the lines on his hand to foretell his life in the future. The palm reader told him the regular usual stuff, but Napoleon wanted to know something more important, he interrupted and asked: “Do you see any possibility that I could become a king?” The palm reader replied, “No. Every king has a special line on his palm, but you don’t have it.” Napoleon immediately took a knife, cut his palm, and drew out that special line in his palm for himself. The palm reader then said, “Yes, you wi...

“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” What a perfect example for us to follow! Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, prayed. He who is God the Son, prayed to God the Father. He spent the whole night in prayer before choosing His disciples. In His divinity, Jesus already knew the Father’s will. Yet in His humanity, He is just like us. He needed to spend time with His Father, to pray and to discern to be aligned with God’s will. Jesus shows us a powerful example: we too must pray before making important decisions, to ask God what His will is for us. Sometimes, when we act without consulting Him, we may find ourselves going against His will or going a wrong long way before reaching which lead us through unnecessary suffering or other unbearable consequences. So bring your plans to Jesus, tell Him your hopes, your preferences, your wishes, and He will bless you with the wisdom to choose wise and right. But what if we prayed, heard, followed a...

 “Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” And so on. The list of Jesus’ ancestors goes on. When I looked at today’s Gospel, I initially thought of skipping the genealogy of Jesus and use the shorter option. But I thought again, and I decided on the long version, proclaiming fully the genealogy of Jesus. Why? Back in March, one of my nieces turned 15. As an uncle, I would always ask my nieces and nephews what they would like for their birthdays, so I asked her. She replied, “Uncle, pay $125 for me to do an ancestry test. My dad’s family says his ancestors came from Persia, and I want to know if it’s true.” I agreed. That’s an interesting birthday gift. When the results came back, it showed she was about 3% Persian. A few weeks later, she asked me for another favor. “Uncle, I need you to do the test too, so I can see the picture of my family from mom’s side.” She was so serious about it and kept reminding me every da...