Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Before healing the paralyzed man from his physical illness, Jesus first healed him of his spiritual burden. Jesus forgave his sins. Physical, psychological, emotional, even social illnesses are linked to our spiritual well-being. Illnesses are a consequence of sin. During our third Wednesdays’ healing services, the ministers of healing always direct the sick people to the sacrament of reconciliation first because they believe forgiveness of the soul is necessary before healing of the body. But are all our sicknesses due to our own sinfulness? Many saintly people suffer illnesses, and we can be sure those are not consequences of their own sins. Many great saints suffered serious illnesses too. One beautiful example is St. Teresa of Lisieux.  She suffered much during her short life and she offered all her sufferings for the conversion of sinners. Her suffering was salvific, just like our Saviour. Jesus suffered and died not for His own ...

 He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” There was a violent storm and the boat was going to sink. Naturally, anyone would be terrified. Why did Jesus continue to sleep when they were all in danger? Was it unreasonable of them to wake Him? Why did Jesus rebuke them? Well, Jesus rebuked them not because they interrupted his sleep but because of their lack of faith. They were calling, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” They were so sure they would die. They called out in fear. They have seen so many miracles from Jesus, yet they did not have any confidence having Him in the boat with them. Should they not wake Him at all then? I have a very good friend from Sri Lanka. During our seminary days together, I remember he struggled a lot with his studies, especially in the first year.  He was trying so hard but was feeling helpless and hopeless. One day, his spiritual director told him, “Jesus is sleeping in your boat, you have to call out to Him. He will wake...

From the first reading, we heard this opening line: The Lord said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, as prophet to succeed you.” Then: Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Finally, the reading ends with this: Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant. Wow. We see a radical conversion here, fast and effective. Elijah threw a cloak over Elisha, and his life changed in a big way, from being a farmer to being a prophet. And Elijah’s mission was accomplished, as God directed him to. Do you remember how and when you were converted into the faith? Here’s something I read from Reader’s Digest. A priest, a minister, and a rabbi were comparing whose method of conversion was best. They decided to challenge each other to convert a bear according to their own ways. Each of them went about to find a big brown bear and put their conversion powers to the test. After that, they got together to share their results. The priest told, “When I fo...

 “The king of Assyria took Samaria, and deported the children of Israel to Assyria”. The northern kingdom, Israel, had been captured. Israel turned against God’s law, forgot all that He had done fore them and worshipped idols. That resulted, living in exile, homeless and with great suffering. That was one of the darkest episodes in the history of Israel. The chosen people of God were scattered from the exile and never returned home to the promised land given to Abraham and his descendents. Only the southern kingdom, the tribe of Judah, returned after their exile to Babylon. Why was God merciless? Why did He punish His people? We understand God to be loving, compassionate and merciful. So, does God punish us when we do wrong? Does He turn a blind eye to our sorrows and sufferings? The good news is God never punishes. We chose to punish ourselves, by choosing sin, choosing wrong, choosing evil. Each cause has an effect, every sin has its consequence, its effect according to the gravi...

The first reading from Proverbs writes, “When the Lord established the heavens I was there…” When God created the world, He was not alone. We are now midway through the liturgical year. The Church celebrates Holy Trinity Sunday. Unlike other feasts and solemnities which commemorate the saints and important events of our church, today we celebrate God Himself, the central mystery of our faith. Who is God? What is God? It is impossible to describe and explain God fully. He is beyond the understanding of human intellect, far greater than anything we can ever imagine. But we can try to figure out some things about this big God, who reveals Himself to us in many ways. In Hebrews 1, it says, “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son…” St. John says, “No one has ever seen God. The only son who is the same as God and is at the father’s side, he has made him known.” In the Gospel, Jesus tells His...

 Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of God.” How were the scribes and Pharisees righteous? For them, being righteous meant to be obedient to the law and the prophets, to the letter. They followed the law literally. In other words, they were legalistic. They were righteous, externally. How then can anyone surpass their righteousness? They were exact and accurate in everything the law prescribed. Can anyone do more than them, more than the law required and go the extra mile? What does Jesus mean? What is the purpose of the law? St. Paul had the answer. In his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote, “…to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” Yes, we are to seek love above knowledge. St. Paul continued, “…so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” And this is the purpose of the law, that we may be full of God, that means full of love. So, the only way ...

 “You are salt of the earth.” When couples are in love, they call each other ‘sweetheart’, ‘honey’ and maybe ‘sugar’? Because they add sweetness to each other’s life. And most religious leaders would expect their followers to be powerful, mighty and unbeatable. But here, Jesus calls His beloved disciples ‘salt’. Such a humble reference. What does Jesus want His disciples to do differently? One. Humble yet purposeful. Salt is common yet very useful in every home, rich or poor. His disciples would reach out and preach the good news to every home, every family in the world. Two. Taste enhancing. The right amount of salt makes food tasty. Without it, food tastes bland. Just a sprinkle of it will bring out the full flavor. His disciples would help everyone realise their purpose, to bring about the full consciousness of their true calling as children of God. Three. Purifies. Traditionally, Holy water is blessed by adding a pinch of salt because salt purifies and wards off evil. Jesus’ di...

 According to St. John’s gospel, Jesus’ last words before He died is: “It is finished.”  What is finished? I did my Theology and post graduate studies in Rome, at the seminary Pontificio Collegio Internazionale Maria Mater Ecclesiae, the name means ‘Mary, Mother of the Church’. Outside the chapel, there was a beautiful mosaic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For six years I walked in and out of that place daily, I must have seen it more than two thousand times, yet all through those years, I had never stopped to appreciate that image or to reflect deeper about it. I was oblivious to Mary’s presence in my life. But now as I look back, I can see how she has always been there for me. Mother Mary must have been looking at me as I walked in and out of the college struggling through my studies and difficulties, waiting to comfort me. I was not aware, but she was watching out for me, all the time. Mary, Mother of the church, like all good and loving mothers, has always been in our l...

 Can I ask all of you to repeat after me: “Jesus Christ is Lord!” Once again, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” That’s great, thank you! That shows that we all have the Holy Spirit alive in us. Because we just heard in the second reading that ‘No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.’ If you didn’t have the Holy Spirit in you, you would not have repeated these words with me. I am happy. It seems like a simple thing, right? But my dear friends, do not take this for granted. A few years ago, I heard a testimony by Jesse Romero. He was working in federal prison. As part of his ministry, he used to get the prisoners to recite “Jesus is Lord”.  Once, he asked a group of prisoners to do the same. Among them was a satanic worshipper who was doing time for serial killing. And he could not utter those few simple words, no matter how hard he tried. He just could not say it. Jesus is the Lord. Sounds simple but truly, it is spirit-led. To say ‘Jesus is Lord’ implies that Jesus is ...

 “And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated”. This is Jesus’ prayer for His disciples, and His prayer for us who believe in Him. What does it mean to be consecrated? It means to be set aside for holiness, to be anointed for God’s purpose, to be devoted totally to God. Jesus consecrated Himself for the disciples and for us. And by that, we too may be consecrated to God, to be set aside for God’s purpose of salvation, mercy and love. In the book of Genesis chapter 28, Jacob anointed a stone with oil, dedicated that place to God and named it Bethel. Thus, Bethel became part of salvation history. Samuel anointed David and the little shepherd boy became the king of Israel. Jesus consecrated His disciples, anointed them with the Holy Spirit and these simple fishermen became powerful fishers of men. Consecration empowers and transforms. It gives new purpose, new identity, new mission to the consecrated. Once, I attended a Cistercian ordination rite. The newly ...