Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us.” Very likely, every person would have felt alone and experienced loneliness at some point in life, especially when going through struggles and challenges. Spiritually too, we may experience the same. When we struggle with temptations and fall into sin, we might feel we are the only one who fail so often and keep confessing the same sins. The truth is, everyone struggles the same. We are not alone. As the first reading states, “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses”. Who are these witnesses? They are our early faith fathers like Abraham, Issac, Jacob, the Judges, David, Samuel, the prophets, the apostles, early Christian martyrs, and latter day saints. These are people who had gone through what we are going through, maybe more intensely, more painfully. They may be holy, but they were also human...

“Then they began to beg him to leave their district.” Why?? Jesus just did an amazing miracle, he cast out a multitude of demons in possession of a man and sent them all into nearby pigs. Jesus released the man from his horrible bondage so that he can live a free and fulfilling life. Isn’t that a wonderful thing Jesus did? Wouldn’t they feel secure and safe with Jesus around, so no one will be afraid of demons again? Why would they want to beg Jesus to leave them? Once I was biking with a friend towards Minburn. As we got near, we can already smell a pork refinery. My friend asked me, “Father, do you know what smell is this?” I said, “Yes, it is the smell of pork.” He replied, “Yes, this is the smell of money.” If you reared pigs, you would know what that smell is like. It is a very bad smell. To people from Middle Eastern cultures, including Jews, pigs are considered contaminated and unclean.  But to the rest of the world, it is a popular meat to eat. People may not like real pigs...

 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. During the vacations of my seminary days in Rome, I used to go to Germany to work. I remember when I started my first day at this restaurant, my employer told me what he expected from me as his staff. He told me his rules. He told me, “First, here we follow German time, not Indian time. 9 a.m. is 9 a.m. not 9.05 or 10. Second, during working hours I may get angry or upset with you but in the evening when I shut the kitchen exhauster fan down, I will shut down my anger too.” He continued to tell me the rest of his rules, one by one. And during the course of my work, he added on more rules. I did my best to follow all his instructions and worked according to his expectations. For every vacation in those four years of study, I would go and work with him. Thereafter we became friends, and up till now, we kept up our friendship. Yes, every organization, institution, workplace and even family, will have their set of...

 Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." I have three older sisters, followed by my older brother, then me, the fifth child, after which I have two more sisters. All of us went to the same schools from kindergarten till High school. We even had the same teachers at each level. My older sisters were the best students in school, in their academics, conduct and other areas. So when my brother and I entered school, every teacher of each level expected us to produce the same standard of study and behaviour as our sisters. But we disappointed them. We were the opposite. Like what the teachers thought, I too sometimes wonder if we were from the same parents. 😉 Isn’t that what we all expect? That the people from the same family, with the same background, history, upbringing and lifestyle should have the same belief and behaviour, values and preferences, possibly even the same profession. It is logical and it is ideal. Jesus, t...

 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” This is applicable to any kingdom, any organisation, any group, and of course, it applies to church, the kingdom of God here on earth as well. We see decline and weakening of organisations where divisions exist. Is the church, the kingdom of God here on earth divided or united? In this so-called modern society, it is not difficult to see many divisive opinions and views. Many people strongly advocate abortion, same-sex marriage, and other behaviour which the church has explicitly identified as unacceptable. Yet these people claim to be catholic. They justify their arguments based on their own ideologies and political principles, not on the church’s teachings. And there are church leaderships who keep silent regarding these issues for fear of losing popularity. Yes, God forgives but we cannot take God’s mercy for granted and live like ...

 “We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfilment of hope until the end.” When I read this phrase in the first reading, another phrase in the gospels came to mind: ‘The one who perseveres to the end will be saved’.  It is very easy to lose hope in this world which is so result oriented and often unforgiving of failures. There were many times in my life when I thought I will be a total failure, when I missed the mark.  In schools and workplaces, we see students and workers being labelled as losers or failures in life if they could not meet certain expectations or tasks. Nobody wants to invest their time and money on these people. Nobody cares that they are valuable in God’s eyes. Is this how it will be in the Kingdom of God? If we apply the same practical logic and rationalise with the same lens of this world, the life of Jesus and His public ministry would look like a miserable failure. As Mother Angelica commented, “Even after healing...

 “In the days when he was in the Flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” Even Jesus, the beloved Son of God, prayed hard and fervently while He lived among us in this world. I know of a parishioner who is from one of our refugee communities. I have seen him many, many times kneeling in church, praying deeply and reverently and at length. He always has with him little prayer books that he uses. His deep reverence and focus really inspire me and make me curious too. Finally, I had to ask him about his praying. Each time he prays, he will say the rosary, meditate on the stations of the cross, pray novenas to saints. And his prayer list includes me, all his siblings, his cousins and friends. Wow! Blessed is every person in his prayer list, because he is a reliable prayer warrior interceding for them always. I am blessed. In every one of our communities, I know of at...

In today’s first reading, St. Paul is writing to the Hebrews to tell them about the dignity with which God created the first man, “You crowned him with glory and honour, subjecting all things under his feet.” This was our original state. We were subject to God only, and all else, the whole of creation, were subject to us. But with one fall, a single sin, we lost our glorious state, and became subject to many other things, even to nature and its forces.  In today’s world, we are still enslaved. The greatest slave master is the social media. Many children are addicted to it and can’t live without their gadgets. Through easy access to social media and its influences, these children are also exposed to drugs, alcohol, pornography, promiscuity and other illegal and immoral activities easily. Many adults too are vulnerable to these. Who introduced gadgets and social media to the children? Their parents, the adults. Slavery is passed down from one generation to another. It all began with ...

 “He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.  Before this baptism event, Jesus’ life is known as the ‘hidden life’. The Bible has no record of what happened after ‘the finding Jesus in the temple’ when He was twelve. When I finally come face to face with Jesus, I would really want to ask Jesus, “What did you do during your hidden life?” After this baptism, Jesus began what we know as his public ministry. From His short dialogue with John the Baptist, it seems that His baptism at River Jordan is significant and crucial to launch Him into His mission. He must go through it, even though we all know He does not need it for repentance, He has no sin. So, why is it important for Jesus to go through it? Because this is when the Heavenly Father anoints Jesus for His ministry and publicly reveals His divine identity as the Son of God to the Israelites. It is announ...

 The Christmas season is not over yet. Today we recall and reflect on the mysterious visit of the magi from the East. The story of the three kings, who travelled from afar to visit and pay homage to poor baby Jesus in the silence of the night is a familiar story to many, including people who do not believe in God or Jesus, made popular through the songs and images used during Christmas. To the secular world, the story is probably just a legend, a folktale, a fictional account. To us believers, we know it is a real event, but do we know what is the meaning and significance of this strange visitation? Who are these magi, or wise men, or kings? How did they know so surely about the birth of the king of the Jews? Why were they so confident about following the star? Every event leading up to and following from Christmas day seems magical. From the unexpected annunciation of Angel Gabriel of a long-expected promise, the unlikely birth of John the Baptist to a barren and elderly Elizabeth...

 “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” Every morning I spend at least 5 minutes to put on my boots and tighten the sleeves, and hope that I do not have to remove them anywhere throughout the day. Sometimes when I do visiting, I will have to take off my shoes and leave them outside the house, then I go through the 5 minute routine when I wear them again. Imagine on some days, I visit more than 2 houses. When I get together with my siblings’ families, I would often help my little nieces and nephews to put on their shoes. It is quite a joyful experience, a moment of bonding when the kids just let me fit their little feet into their little shoes. I enjoy that very much. I am not their parent, but they accept my service and trust that I will do it right for them. Putting on and taking off shoes can be such a significant act that John the Baptist used it in his reference to Jesus’ divine status. In the Jewish culture, the slave or servant is the one who removes...

 “If you Consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who act in righteousness is begotten by him.”  The church on earth is mourning the loss of her beloved shepherd Pope Benedict XVI. The church in heaven is rejoicing to welcome his soul into the saintly community of apostles. Born Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict the XVI was a righteous man like St. Joseph. He was a man for jjustice, he stood firmly for what is right and defended the truth fearlessly. He was steadfast in upholding the doctrine of the church and never allowed anyone to water down the teachings. Many within church opposed him, but he stood his ground. Even in interreligious dialogues, he was never shy in proclaiming Jesus is the truth for the world, regardless of religion. He fought against secularism, relativism, and the culture of death. In his speech at World Youth Day, Sydney 2008, he said, "Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made 'experience' all-...