Homily: March 5, 2022, Saturday after Ash Wednesday

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 There is an Indian common saying, ‘Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are’. And a phrase we all know, ‘Birds of a feather, flock together’.

Are these sayings true?

I have a friend in India, who was known for all his tricks in business and illegal connections. He was despised by many and wanted by the police. But I became his friend, against the advice of my brother priests. He shared with me honestly everything he did, the bad and the ugly. He was open, sincere, and truthful with me. He too accepted me as I am and treated me better than my other friends.

I do not like the bad things he did, but I like him. He remains my good friend.

So were the tax collectors to Jesus. He became their friend. He sat with them, ate with them. He accepted them. He saw in them goodness which others did not see. He saw beyond their unacceptable occupation. He saw their needs. They needed God. They needed to hear the good news. They needed salvation, like any other.

They were open, truthful, and sincere with Jesus. They welcomed Him better than the Pharisees, who were in respectable positions.

God sees deep into our hearts. He sees the truth of our being. He does not judge us by our worldly occupations or positions. He loves every soul. Everyone is precious.

He has come to be our friend. Will we sit and eat with Him? Will we be open, sincere, and truthful with Him? Will we listen to Him? Amen.

Fr. Nivin Scaria


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Homily: March 25, 2025, Solemnity of the Annunciation ()

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 "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us!'"  One book I read during my school days was titled: ‘The God of Small Things’. The book has nothing to do with God or religion, but I like the title because it reminds me that our God is also a God of small things. He appreciates and takes pleasure even when we offer Him the littlest effort or prayer or joy of our day. And He too often shows Himself in simple, silent humble signs. In today’s first reading, King Ahaz was given the opportunity to ask for a great sign from God, but he rejected, claiming to not want to test the Lord. Still, God chose to give him a sign anyway - not in a big way, but something simple yet powerful: "A virgin shall conceive and bear a son." This sign is simple yet powerful because while it is normal for a woman to bear a child, it is impossible for a virgin to do so. Only ...
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 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” Have you been brokenhearted before? Did you know that the Lord was close to you? You might not have felt it nor realize it, but today’s responsorial psalm affirms it. Psalm 34, reminds that God is not distant from our pain. He is close to it. This is a beautiful and comforting truth. Always remember it in your heart. Brokenness is part of the human experience. When Jesus took on our human nature, he experienced this also. When we look at the crucified Christ, what do we see? We see Jesus who was broken for us. We see His wounded body. We see His pierced side. We see His suffering, His sadness, His loneliness. He has experienced it all, and so, there is no pain in our lives which He does not understand. He knows what it is to suffer. He knows what it is to be rejected. He knows what it is to be abandoned. So when we feel these pains, we are not alone. In a mysterious way, our Lord is very close to us, and we are very close to Him. St. Mothe...
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 “Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live… wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.” Where there is water, there is life. The prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading, tells us with great detail the prophetic vision he had, about the water of life which flowed from the temple. If you have read the book The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, you would know something about my home in India, the state of Kerala. It is a small state. Iowa is almost three times the size of Kerala. But Kerala has a lot more water than Iowa. The Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs 1,600 km along the western coast of India, covering several states including Kerala. It is an important watershed, keeping in the rain clouds thus bringing much rainfall, and feeding many rivers. Because of that, Kerala has forty-four major rivers. Forty-one of them flow toward the Arabian Sea and three toward the east. Rain is plentiful throughout the year e...
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 “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” The guards were sent to arrest Jesus. They went with a clear mission. But when they heard Him speak, something changed. They stood there, listening… and instead of bringing Him back in chains, they returned in amazement. They could not arrest Him—because they had encountered something greater: truth spoken with authority, and love lived authentically. This reminds me of Cardinal Francis Văn Thuận, whose cause for canonization is now underway. In the year 2000, he preached a retreat to Pope St. John Paul II and the Roman Curia, and his reflections later became the well-known book Testimony of Hope. But his authority did not come from books or speeches. It came from his life. He spent fifteen years in prison under the communist regime in Vietnam—thirteen of those years in solitary confinement. The guards who watched him were often harsh and cruel. Yet he responded with patience, kindness, and love. And slowly, something extraordinary h...
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Homily: March 16, 2026, Monday of the Fourth week in lent (God rescues)

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“I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.” This was our response in today’s responsorial psalm, an expression of our gratitude and praise to God. The word ‘rescued’ triggered a memory. Recently a family invited me to dinner. They have two little boys, a two-year-old and a four-year-old. They asked me over mainly because the boys wanted to play with me. When I was there, the four-year-old came to me and said very seriously, “Father, you are stuck in the mud. I will rescue you!” Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me with his might, as if really trying to get me out of mud. After that he asked, “Are you okay?” I had to answer, “Yes I am ok, thank you.” A few minutes later he would come to me and repeat the same: “Father, you are stuck in the mud. I will rescue you!” I don’t remember how many times he did that, but he never seemed tired of repeating it. He loved the idea of rescuing me, someone who seemed to be enjoying being rescued by him too!  In a much deeper and more real...
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Homily: 50th Wedding Anniversary: Renato and Imelda March 18-2026.

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 “In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.” Dear Renato and Imelda, It is truly a joy and an honor for me to celebrate this Mass with you today as you mark 50 years of marriage. What a beautiful milestone fifty years of love, sacrifice, faith, and perseverance. As you know, during the season of Lent, the Church does not allow special readings for occasions like this. We keep the readings of the day. But I truly believe that today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah is perfectly chosen by God for you. God says: “I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.” Renato and Imelda, God has given both of you as a covenant—not only to each other, but to your family, your children, your grandchildren, your relatives, and your friends. Your marriage has been a visible sign of God’s faithfulness. Through your life together, God has blessed many: • the life of your children, • the love tha...
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Homily: March 2, 2022, Ash Wednesday

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 Today begins another holy season of Lent. A time to turn away from sinful ways. To turn back to God. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are from dust. Unto dust we shall return. God looked at dust and loved. He gave dust His breathe of life. God looks at us and loves. He gives us His body, blood and spirit. What can we give Him? “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart”. God doesn’t want anything from us, He wants us. Live in God. Live with God. Live for God. In God’s ways. When I first came to this country, I saw crowds packing the mega churches. Non-Catholic Christian churches. I was really fascinated. Our Catholic churches are hardly ever filled. I asked an elderly priest, “why?” He replied, “Ours is a worship and sacrifice. Theirs is a show.” People like shows, performances, excitement. The world says, “be heard, be seen, be known, and be successful.” The Gospel says, “pray but don’t be heard, fast but don’t be seen, give but don’t be known, and be faithful.”...
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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 p...
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Homily: April 8, 2023 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Thy will be done)

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 Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. From the second reading, we hear about the ‘will’ and ‘consecration’. In the Gospel also, we hear the great Fiat of Mary, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”. By choosing to unite her will to God’s, the incarnation took place, the long-awaited Messiah took on human flesh. Mary was a simple young woman from Nazareth who like all other Jews, had been praying for the coming of the Messiah. When God’s plan was announced to her, she did not give up her well, instead she chose to unite her will freely and totally to the will of God. At that moment, her life is no longer separate from God’s plan, instead her life became separated and set aside from the world. She has consecrated herself totally to God. As Jesus grew and began to exercise His ...
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Homily: March 23,2026, Monday of the Fifth Week in Lent (God's does not condemn)

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 “Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? They said this to test him.” Today we heard two powerful stories - one from the Book of Daniel and another from the Gospel of John. In the first reading, Susanna was truly innocent but was falsely accused and about to be condemned for something she never did. She was used as a scapegoat to cover up for the sins of covetous men pretending to be righteous. In the Gospel reading, we see a slightly different situation. The woman caught in adultery was truly guilty of the sin. But similarly, she was used as a bait to trap Jesus, and Jesus cleverly diverted the tricks of those evil men pretending to be righteous. In both cases, God saved the victims. God is a defender of the innocent and savior of the vulnerable. In the Gospel, Jesus did not deny the woman’s sin, but he did not let that destroy her. He gave her a new beginning: “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” This is why Jesus says, “It is the will of...
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