Homily: August 16, 2022, Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time. (Begining)

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 “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?”

The disciples gave up their business, family, social life, friends and freedom to follow Jesus when He called them. They felt that they had given up a lot, and so they were expecting something in return. Something greater. They were expecting a profit, a positive return to their ‘investment’, a reward worthy of their sacrifice.

Is that how we think also? 

Some of us have given up a lot just to be Catholic, some of us make sacrifices just to come to church, some of our young people feel they have to give up a lot of fun in life just to be right with God. I am sure some of you here gave up your lunch break and rest from work just to come for Mass. I too give up a lot to be priest, to serve, to minister, to be a good witness.

Honestly, do we really think that what we have given for the sake of faith, Jesus and church is so great?

Are we anxious like the disciples, worrying if we will get a fair reward from Jesus for what we have given Him?

Jesus had indeed something greater waiting for His disciples, something they could not imagine nor understand yet. 

Jesus assured them, “everyone who has given…for the sake of my name, will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.” He assures us the same.

Think deeper. Everything we have, including our time and talent, are from God. We came with nothing and will leave with nothing. God gave us everything when we came and will give us eternity when we leave. But it will not be the way we imagine or understand now, it will be great, glorious and valuable. What we have given or will be giving is tiny and insignificant, in comparison with what God has prepared for us.

When we fully understand and appreciate this, we will be willing to give up everything just to be with Jesus, even our lives. Just like the apostles, the saints, the martyrs.

Because being a disciple of Jesus, having the opportunity to be a part of His church, having the privilege to receive Him in the Eucharist and claiming the promise He made for our eternity, are worth a hundred times more than what we can ever give to our Lord.

He gave, without counting our sins.

Let us give, without counting the cost.

Amen. 

Fr. Nivin Scaria
Rector 
St. Ambrose Cathedral 
Des Moines 

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Homily: May 26, 2026 Tuesday of the Eighth week in Ordinary Time (Leave Everything)

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 "Peter began to say to Jesus, 'We have given up everything and followed you.'" When I was young, I was very careful with my money, just like my mother. I hardly had much to start with, but I also hardly spent any of my pocket money, so with the little I had, I saved. I even made some money by collecting wild honey in the forest and took some spices from the family farm to sell in the market. Money was very important, and every cent I had meant a lot to me. When I entered the seminary, I knew I would not want to join the religious orders as priest, because they have to take a vow of poverty. Diocesan priests do not need to, so I decided to be a diocesan priest. Soon, I learnt to let go, and gradually I stopped clinging to things as if they defined me. After I joined the seminary, our parish was raising funds to purchase new vestments. Since I was not allowed to keep money with me in the seminary, my parents donated all my years of savings for that fund raising. I woul...
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Homily: May 20, 2026 Holy Family School Graduation Mass

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 We just heard the first reading from Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” Today is a wonderful milestone in your life. You must be so eager to go out and soar on wings like eagles!! But note what is the condition before this line: “Those who hope in the Lord…” Do you remember how it was when you first came to Holy Family School? Some of you came when you were tiny kids. Some of you could not even speak English. Many of you must have been anxious because everything was new to you, teachers and classmates, rules and environment… But over time, days, months and years passed, this school has become your second home. These hallways hold many memories for every one of you: laughter, friendships, victories, even tears, fears and disappointments. There might have been times when you thought you would never make it through. But you did, you got through, you are here now, celebrating the fact that you did not give up, you kept ...
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Homily: May 23, 2024, Holy Family school Graduation Mass.

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First, congratulations to all of you for successfully completing middle school! Are you happy that you are graduating? I graduated from middle school in 1999. That was twenty-five years ago! We did not have a graduation ceremony like this because my school provided pre-K to grade 12 classes all on the same campus. So, we did not leave school, we just moved up to another grade, another class, but thankfully, our teachers organized something simple for us to celebrate that milestone. I remember during my school days, the hours in class seemed to pass very slowly, but now I look back, time seems to fly by with rocket speed! It will be the same for you, so enjoy being a student now, these could be the best times of your life! Here, you are the seniors of the school, soon, you will be freshmen in high school, you will be the juniors. You will again look up to the seniors and learn from them. In middle school, your teachers gave you a lot of attention and took care of you. When you go to hig...
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Homily: May 2-2026 Memorial of St.Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

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 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.” Jesus is one with the Father. Jesus is not just a teacher or a prophet. He is the eternal Son of God— fully divine and fully human. He took on our human nature to save us, to redeem us, to bring us back to the Father. Today, the Church celebrates Athanasius of Alexandria, one of the great defenders of this truth. He lived in the 4th century and served as the bishop of Alexandria. At that time, a serious error began to spread in the Church. A priest named Arius taught that Jesus was not truly God— that He was only a creature, that He was created, and not equal to the Father. This teaching was very popular. Many people followed it.  St. Athanasius stood firm. Even as a young deacon, he defended the true faith. In the year 325, the Church gathered at the Council of Nicaea. There, the bishops proclaimed clearly: I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only...
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Homily: April 28, 2026, Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter (Simple Faith )

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 “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” There is a famous English comedian, Rowan Atkinson, who is well known for his act as Mr. Bean. He once shared that sometimes people went up to him to comment that he looked like Mr. Bean. To which he would respond, “I am Mr. Bean.” But they would insist, “No, no, you just look like him!” It sounds funny but this is exactly what is happening in today’s Gospel. The people asked Jesus, “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?” They had seen His works and heard His profound teaching. There had never been anyone like Him. No one had performed the miracles He performed. No one had fulfilled the prophecies from old, only He did. Everything pointed to Him as the long-awaited Messiah. Those who knew the Scriptures should have recognized Him easily. Then why were they still asking? Simple answer. They were in denial. They knew, but they refused to acknowledge it. They probably thought they were too intelli...
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Homily: June 29, 2025, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

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 From the first reading, Peter said: “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” From the second reading, Paul said: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.” Peter and Paul. Distinct characters but one heart and mind. Different persons but together in mission. Two apostles but one Lord and Master. Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the two pillars of the Catholic Church, together they make up the foundation of our Catholic teaching. Among the many disciples of the Lord, we know more about Peter and Paul, thanks to St. Luke, who recorded their stories and events in the Acts of the Apostles. The first half of the book was focused on Peter, the other half on Paul. When we look closely at them, we immediately see many differences, but why does the Church celebrate them together on the same feast ...
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Homily: May 23, 2026, Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Scripture is enough)

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 “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Once I walked into our youth Bible study, and they were discussing the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text traditionally connected to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. They asked me questions about it. I had read it myself when I was their age, mostly out of curiosity, but honestly, I do not remember much of its content. There are also several other apocryphal writings, like the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But the Church never considered them inspired Scripture, because many of them were written decades after the death of the last Apostle, St. John. Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. Sometimes I also wish the Bible had more details about Jesus’ infancy and His hidden life. But St. John reminds us today that the world its...
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Homily: March 6, 2026, Friday of the second monday in Lent (Cruelty- Salvation )

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 “They then sat down to their meal.” This scene from today’s first reading really hit me. Joseph’s brothers had just stripped him of his robe, thrown him into an empty cistern, and abandoned him, knowing well that would kill him. And what did they do after that cruel deed? Scripture says: they sat down to eat their meal. It is shocking. Their brother is suffering nearby, crying for help, yet they felt nothing, they calmly continued their day, with a meal, like nothing unusual happened. That behavior made an already cruel act more evil. When I read this passage, it reminded me of a scene from the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ’. In that film, Jesus spent the night in a dungeon in the house of the high priest. He was captured, trapped, waiting for death. The detail of this scene is not found in the Bible, but was vividly described by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich from her mystical visions. And truly, there is a dungeon behind what is believed to be Caiaphas’s house in Jerusalem, ...
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Homilía: Marzo 24, 2022, Jueves de la III semana de Cuaresma.

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 “El que no está conmigo, está contra mí; y el que no recoge conmigo, desparrama”.”. El mensaje de Jesús es muy claro. No podemos seguir a Jesús parcialmente. Si no lo estamos siguiendo de todo corazón, no somos sus seguidores. Hoy es el vigésimo día de Cuaresma, sin contar los domingos. Estamos a la mitad. ¿Recuerdas lo que decidiste hacer especial para estos 40 días de Cuaresma? ¿Lo estás cumpliendo? Mientras nos esforzamos por fortalecernos espiritualmente, los demonios se esfuerzan más para mantenernos deprimidos. Me pregunto quién está a la cabeza en esta mitad de camino. En mis años de infancia, solo los niños ricos de mi pueblo podían tener bicicletas. Cuando estaba en quinto grado, mi hermano mayor y yo decidimos recolectar flores silvestres de nuez moscada del bosque cercano para venderlas y poder comprar una bicicleta. Nos despertábamos muy temprano en la mañana y corríamos al bosque para buscar y recolectar tantas como fuera posible. Muchos niños de otros pueblos estaban...
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Homily: January 20, 2026. Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time (Anointed-Spirit )

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 “And from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.” Today’s first reading narrates a very moving and exciting scene in the Book of Samuel: the anointing of future King David. He was still a youth, inexperienced and not tested, but he knew God and God knew him. God chose him, anointed him and his life changed forever. A few months ago, I watched the show ‘David’ at the Sight & Sound Theatre. This scene was so well done that it stayed vivid in my memory. When Samuel anointed David, something real happened, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. David felt it. Thus throughout his life, he lived with a deep awareness of God’s presence and holy obedience to God. God’s presence was so strong in David’s consciousness then even though he later sinned, he did not hide from or justify himself with God. Instead, he offered up one of the most beautiful penitential psalms in deep contrition. “Do not cast me from Your presence, nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.” David unders...
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