Homily: March 4, 2022: Friday after Ash Wednesday

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“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much but your disciples do not fast?”

The disciples of John did not understand the real purpose of fasting. They were blindly following the law.

We also fast. Do we know why?

Fasting was practised even before Christianity. The Hindu and Buddhist teachers fasted. Not by law but for spiritual meditation. Depriving body cleared their mind and purified their spirit. They received enlightenment. They received wisdom.

Our daily living is cluttered with too much social noise, mental distractions, physical sensualities, and spiritual sin. We cannot see clearly the presence of Christ - the bridegroom.

When we fast, we deprive, we detach, we free ourselves. We become more aware of the real need within us. We become more conscious of the real needs around us. We see truth, we understand eternity, we encounter divinity. We become enlightened. We become peace.

My papa fasted regularly throughout his life. He was calm, compassionate and patient, even when in pain, difficulties, or sufferings. He was at peace even at his death.

God says, “this rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless”.

We fast so that we become less ourselves, more like God. We see what He sees, feel what He feels, do what He does. We become love.

Fr. Nivin Scaria


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Homily: September 27, 2025, Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary time (SVDP)

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 “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...
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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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Homily: September 26,2025, Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Grand Temple)

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 “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 ...
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Homily: October 22, 2024, Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Lost).

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 “Brothers and sisters: You were at that time without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” What does it mean to be ‘without Christ’? St. Paul says it means to be ‘alienated’, a ‘stranger’, ‘without hope and without God’. To me, that means being lost, no goal, no direction, no purpose, no reason to exist. Have you ever experienced being lost? When I was in third grade, my family went on a Marian pilgrimage to Tamil Nadu, which is quite far away from our home. Some families from our neighborhood went also. There were thousands of other pilgrims at the site, all of us on the same path were moving along, packed against one another, like a giant river of people. My parents gave strict orders to hold on to each other’s hands tight and not to let go nor stray away from each other.  I was holding on to my papa’s hand, but the crowd was pushing so much that at one point, I lost my grip and ...
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Homily: July 27, 2024, Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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 "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!" In the first reading, we hear Jeremiah making this exclamation repeatedly and fervently.  And in the responsorial psalm, we too repeated, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!” In times of war and disaster around the world, when common folks lose their homes or safety, very often many would seek shelter and safety in churches. The temple of the Lord is indeed a safe place, not just for the body and mind, but more importantly, for the soul. We have many beautiful churches all around the world, old and new. Our very own SAC is an old but grand and beautiful building. I have seen many visitors' faces light up as they enter and admire the architecture, the organ, the stained glass, everything. From the first reading, it is clear that the temple of the Lord is not just about the physical building, it is also about the community. Being part of this community, we are all called to ...
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Funeral Homily: William J. Baum, June 8, 2023

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 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The soul of Bill is in the hand of God, no torment shall touch him. We are here to bid our final farewell to Bill, our beloved brother, grandpa, dad, husband, friend. I feel privileged to have known Bill these last two years and honored to preside over this Mass for his sending off. Many of you would have known him much longer and much better than I. I wish I had more time with him. I was awed when I read his obituary, his life story is inspirational. I know from my encounter with him that he was a dedicated husband, a loving and caring father, the greatest fan to every one of his grandchildren, and an incredible friend to countless people here and around the world. His going would surely leave a void in our lives. It is only natural that we grieve this loss. Bill was a man of remarkable character. His love for life, his sense of humor, and his thoughtfulness for others were the hallmarks of his persona...
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Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

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 "Marta, Marta, muchas cosas te preocupan y te inquietan, siendo así que una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte". ¿Qué es esa única cosa que se necesita? Este consejo de Jesús es muy importante para cada uno de nosotros. Reflexionemos sobre las lecturas de hoy para entenderlo mejor. En la primera lectura, Abraham vio a tres hombres que estaban cerca de su tienda; inmediatamente se ofreció a servirles y les dio una buena cena, antes de que siguieran su camino. En la lectura del Evangelio, cuando Jesús entró en el pueblo, Marta y María lo recibieron. Marta se ocupó de preparar una buena cena para Jesús. Mientras que María, se sentó a sus pies a escucharle hablar. Marta se sentía agobiada y ansiosa. Necesitaba la ayuda de María para dar una buena comida a su invitado. Entonces Jesús dijo: "una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte...". Efectivamente, María eligió algo maravilloso. Sentarse con Jesús y escucharle hablar. Eso es lo que nos gustaría...
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Homily: August 21, 2023, Monday of the twentieth week in Ordinary Time.

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 “The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals.” We often say that "experience is the best teacher." However, this holds true only for those who are open to learning. It seems that humanity has never learnt from experience and so history repeats itself. If we had learned the lessons from World War 1, there would never have been World War 2, and the world thereafter would have been free from all wars as well. The Israelites were foolishly guilty of the same. While in the desert, they worshipped other gods and suffered the consequence of being bitten by snakes, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. That was not the only experience they had for being unfaithful to God. Did they learn their lesson? No. What are the baals? They were names given to deities, commonly referred to the Canaanite-phoenician god of fertility and rain. Rain was necessary to bring about a bountiful harvest in a fertile land, it was a symbol of fertility. Fertility was a sym...
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Homily: April 26, 2023, Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter. (Conversion)

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 We see the violent persecution of the early Christian communities in today’s first reading. We heard, “Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.” Cruel, inhumane, unjustified persecution. Do you know anyone who is against the church, always criticizing the church and disagreeing with people who are associated with church? I suppose it is not too difficult to think of a few names. Here we see Saul, the champion persecutor of the early Christians, totally against the Christian church, but who later was also converted and became the champion evangelizer for Christ, totally dedicated. He wrote 25% of the New Testament and founded many churches in Asia. Saul, who once tried his best to destroy the Church later became Paul who tried better than his best to build the church. He was very successful in both missions but his powerful encounter with Jesus stopped him from his persecution...
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Homily: September 24, 2025, Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Prayer)

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 “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...
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