Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “You are lacking in one thing.” Jesus said to the man. That man had many possessions, he probably had everything necessary for a very comfortable life and more. Yet, he was still seeking, he had not found fulfilment. Jesus said that he was lacking in one thing. It must be the thing which would make his life complete, which he would find satisfaction and contentment. What is that one thing? I have a secret to share with you. I have a phobia. I am claustrophobic. One of the places I avoid is the elevator, especially when I am alone. Even with someone in it with me, I would suffer extreme anxiety and fear. I would rather take the stairs if I have a choice.  I know that elevators in this country are very safe, there are definitely more accidents on the roads than in an elevator. But deep in my subconscious mind, I don’t believe I can survive more than a minute in the elevator. Psychologically, I have zero faith in it, even though intellectually I know it is safe. I can never step...

For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022722.cfm There were two brothers who lived debauched lives engaging in terrible deeds. They were notorious yet not at all ashamed. Then one brother died. The surviving brother asked the local pastor to preach at his brother’s funeral. The pastor, aware of the brothers’ background, was reluctant to do it. The brother then promised to donate a big sum of money to the church and begged the pastor to preach with a special request. “Father, in your homily, you just have to say that my brother was a saint.” The pastor thought about it and agreed. The funeral day came. The pastor began his homily, “The man laid in the casket was a rotter; he led a horrible and debauched life. He was truly rotten to the bone. But compared to his brother, he was a saint.” Saintly life or shoddy living – Would the priest at our own funeral have to be paid to tell a lie? It all depends on what kind of fruit we produce from the way we live. Usually, we can...

Preached at Holy Family school mass  Did you hear what the Gospel reading was about? Something very exciting and amazing was happening. Let me repeat that part for you: John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name…” Yes, someone was driving out demons. wow! Can you imagine, the nasty, violent, fierce and frightening spirits entering a human person, controlling his behaviour and making him talk crazy and look mad. Then came the brave man who used Jesus’s name, called out the evil spirit and freed the poor man. What a hero! Now tell me, who has greater power? Is it 1) the evil spirit? 2) the brave man? Or 3) Jesus? Yes, Jesus is the powerful one, His name alone is strong enough to cast out evil spirits because they fear Him so much because He is God. We too can do wonderful things, perform miracles and save souls but only if we fulfil these two conditions: First, we must be friends with Jesus. We must believe in Him and be His followers. Jesus says, “F...

For readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022122.cfm “This kind can only come out through prayer.” The disciples of Jesus failed to drive out the mute spirit possessing the boy. They had used Jesus’ name in other occasions, and it worked, but not this time. My papa was a quiet man, he did not like gossips and told us stories only if they were true and concerned our family. One incident he told us, happened in 1980 in our family farm. January through February was the peak period for harvesting black pepper, coffee and cardamom. We would engage more workers during that period for our farm. At that time, one Hindu lady killed herself and apparently her spirit possessed her relative who was working in our farm. This worker began behaving exactly like the deceased woman. Another worker at that time, who was very active in the charismatic movement in our parish, took upon herself to pray over the possessed woman. She confidently called out: “In the name of Jesus, I comma...

 “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?” Today’s gospel text is very straightforward, the teaching from Jesus can be easily understood, but it is not easy to follow. Who is your enemy? I see two perspectives. One perspective, an enemy is someone who hates me, who hurts and harms me, who tries to destroy me. The one who opposes me. The other perspective sees an enemy as someone whom I hate, whose existence stirs up anger in me, whose efforts I wish to destroy. The one whom I oppose. So, do you have an enemy? One priest, after delivering a powerful homily about forgiving enemies, asked his congregation, “Now, how many of you have decided to forgive your enemies?” The entire congregation held up their hands except one elderly lady. “Mrs. Davis,” the priest asked, “aren’t you willing to forgive your enemies at all?” Looking quite pl...

For Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021722.cfm St. James advised the Christian community, “My brothers and sisters, show no partiality”, with a stern warning, “if you show partiality, you commit sin…” Is it really possible to treat everyone without partiality? My grandfather had more than 50 grandchildren and he loved all as fairly as he could. But he had a favorite - me. He loved me very specially because we had a common interest – gardening. He often praised me for my green thumb as I am quite gifted in this area, and he valued it very much. To him, it is a great talent. He favored me so much that when he was dying, he called me to his bedside to give me his final blessing. He called no one else. In this world, money is highly valued. And St. James was warning about the biased treatment of favoring the rich ones in the community while despising those who were poor. Being rich or poor should not differentiate the disciples from one another. Neither should it different...

 Fro Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021622.cfm St. James wrote, “Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak”. Because many people are ‘quick to speak and slow to hear’. People often ask me what are the challenges I face in my overseas ministry to USA. My first challenge is communicating. I have a strong Indian accent which made it hard for Americans to understand me. Because of this, I have always been the last one to laugh at American jokes. At times I don’t even know what I am laughing at. Next, most people guessed that my other challenge is food, but no, it is not. Because I eat anything and everything, even when I do not know what I am eating, I will still enjoy. The real second challenge for me is attending meetings. The meetings in USA are so dynamic! Many people have differing opinions and are eager to express themselves fully and quickly, but I wonder how many actually listened to others. Such meetings are a challenge for me because I prefer to listen...

 For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021422.cfm “No sign will be given to this generation”. Jesus had already performed so many miracles which truly, only God can do. Yet the Pharisees were still asking for a sign from heaven. I recall one incident in my childhood. I was probably in 1st or second grade. In those days, there were no telephone connections in our villages. One day, our neighbour’s daughter-in-law was admitted to the hospital for childbirth. They needed to inform her parents who lived in the next village. So, my older brother and I became their messengers. We were asked to deliver the news but we have never been to that village before. Our neighbour drew us the direction to get there, including prominent signs to look out for. But somehow, we got lost. It was a one-hour walk. So, we decided to pop into every house in the village to ask if they were the people we were looking for. Finally, we came to this house where we found a man working in his f...

 En la primera lectura escuchamos: “Así dice el Señor: “Maldito el hombre que confía en el hombre, que en él pone su fuerza y aparta del Señor su corazón.” Y luego continua con: “Bendito el hombre que confía en el Señor y en él pone su esperanza.” Está muy claro, ¿no? Que los que se apartan de Dios serán malditos y los que confían en Dios serán bendecidos. La lectura del evangelio de hoy se conoce como las bienaventuranzas, en las que nuestro Señor explicó las maldiciones y las bendiciones. A veces parece difícil aceptar lo que Jesús está enseñando aquí. A mi tambien me cuesta. Tratemos de entenderlo juntos. Se nos ha dicho que venimos de Dios, y después de esta vida, volveremos a Dios. Durante mucho tiempo, cuestioné la razón. ¿Por qué crearme para arrojarme a esta vida difícil solo para traerme de nuevo a Él? ¿Por qué no mantenerme con Él desde el principio y ahorrarme la molestia de pasar por esta vida? Esta vida terrenal no es fácil. La describiría como peligrosa. Está llena de...

 In the first reading we heard, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” And then it continued with, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.” It is very clear, isn’t it? That those who turns away from God will be cursed and those who trusts in God will be blessed. The gospel reading today is known as the beatitudes, in which our Lord Jesus also spelled out the curses and the blessings. But it seems much harder to accept what Jesus is teaching here. I too struggle with this. Let us try to understand it together. We have been told that we came from God, and after this life, we will go back to God. For a long time, I questioned the rationale. Why create me to throw me into this difficult life just to bring me back to Him again? Why not just keep me with Him from the beginning and save me the trouble of going through this life? This earthly life is not easy. I w...

 Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021022.cfm Yesterday’s first reading, we heard about King Solomon’s profound wisdom and great riches. Today, we read about his foolishness in turning away from God. It makes us wonder, how could someone so wise become so foolish? Today’s gospel story is very interesting. A Syrophoenician woman, who was non-Jew, had enough faith to asked Jesus for help. And when our Lord tested her with a sarcastic reply, her response showed not just faith, but wisdom. “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” This reminds me of the former president of India, KR Narayanan. In India, among the Hindus there is a caste system. Everyone is born into a caste and stays in it forever. Narayanan’s family was from the lowest caste, considered the ‘untouchables’. So, others despised them. When he was young, his parents had no money to pay the school fees. As penalty, the teachers would send him out of the classroom. But he was very ...

For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020922.cfm    When the Queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s kingdom, she was breathless. “Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.” Today’s first reading tells us about the richness, the wealth of King Solomon, the result of his wisdom, the virtue of having good judgement of what is right and wrong, good and bad. My paternal grandfather was a wise man. He was 98 years old when he passed away. He was very alert and fit. One of his wisdom in daily living was using traditional herbal Ayurveda products, all in its most natural form. He has never used chemically produced soap but uses natural herbal powder for his daily bath. I have never seen him sick until the last two weeks of his life on earth. His health was proof of his simple wisdom that man-made chemical products may harm but nature provides the b...