Homily: February 3, 2023, Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

-

 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Amen!

I remember very vividly seeing this Bible verse written across the outer wall of a Pentecostal church in the neighbouring town of my village. I was a child then and did not fully understand it.

Now I am an adult. This verse is now firmly written in my heart and mind, I can’t claim to understand its full effects, but I know this is the truth about Jesus. He is the same then, now, and forever. He has not changed and never will.

In contrast, we are the ones who have changed, and will continue to change, in our thoughts, views, values, beliefs and behaviour. Our emotions also change. And that affects many relationships.

Think about your relationships with your parents, children, spouses, friends – have they changed in the way they treat you, love you, connect with you?

Have you changed? For better or for worse?

We change because we are not consistent. We change because we grow. We change because we are not yet the full version of what God intends us to be.

Because of our inconsistencies, we feel we can never fully trust another person, we do not feel the security of knowing anyone completely.

But God is consistent. He is firm. He is steady. He is constant. He does not change. Jesus, the Son of God, says, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.”

And for this, we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

Jesus, I trust in You! Amen.

Fr. Nivin Scaria 


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: Janaury 11, 2025 Saturday after Epiphany (Increase-Decrease)

-
 "He must increase; I must decrease." From this very simple statement, we can very clearly see the attitude of John the Baptist towards his mission - humility. John was a fearless man, he was not at all afraid of the Jewish authorities and preached courageously what he believed he was sent to do, he stood resolutely for truth and justice, not at all bothered about the cost or consequence. Nothing could stop him from speaking the truth. Yet, this aggressive preacher from the wilderness was humble, modest and meek when he acknowledges the presence of the Messiah. He recognized that his work, his purpose, his existence was done and must give way to the Lord. Tradition tells us that John the Baptist lived an ascetic life before his public ministry — a life of pure simplicity and total detachment, right down to the food he ate. Such a life demands complete abandonment of self and dedication to the mission. He lived with only one purpose – to accomplish the mission he was born for ...
Read more

Homily: September 2, 2025, Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Thief)

-
 “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.”  Have you experienced having a thief coming into your home, silently and unexpectedly, into your home? Imagine coming out of your room at night and seeing a stranger stealing your valuables. It will be shocking and frightening. Today’s reading described the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night, silently and unexpectedly, because no one knows when and how the day will happen. Jesus will come at a time we do not expect, both at the end of our own life and at the end of time. Even though many people have analyzed the signs mentioned in the Bible, and tried to predict when the world would end, no one has gotten it right so far.  And anticipating the end of a person’s life is never accurate too, even for someone who seems to be dying, no one can know when exactly it will happen. Deaths that happen in the most unexpected situations are also common. We could be speaking wit...
Read more

Homily: April 10, 2026, Friday in the Octave of Easter (Are you Hungry)

-
 “Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you caught anything to eat?’” When I first came to this parish some years ago, I wanted to know and communicate with all the different refugee communities here. So, I tried to learn their languages by picking up the basics. People were very happy to teach me. The first word I asked to be taught was how they address a priest. Do you know why? So that when people were talking in their languages, I would know if they were talking about me! When I hear words like topa, kudow, annokka, abuna, I know they are speaking about me! I also asked them how to say “How are you” when I meet someone in their community. And then I asked them what is the next question they would usually ask when they greet one another. Guess what. Almost all of them gave the same answer. They would usually ask “Have you eaten?” Why? Because many of them have experienced food insecurity, real hunger so it is almost a social habit to check if someone has had a meal. By asking that...
Read more

Homily: March 31,2026 Tuesday of the Holy Week (Light and darkness )

-
 “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Have you ever heard this quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "The nearer the dawn the darker the night." As we enter further into Holy Week, we are getting very near to Easter, and we see the events leading up are also getting darker and more intense. And today, we hear the words from the prophet Isaiah in the first reading, reminding us of our role in the salvation of the world, that He will make us a light in the darkness that is to come upon earth. He has chosen each one of us personally. He has called us by name. While the world is in darkness, we are not to be consumed by it. He has made us to be a light, to shine in this darkness, to break it. Our light does not just shine for others to see, it is a light of holiness, for others to reach to God. It is a light of grace, for others to receive God’s goodness. It is a light that reflects Christ to others, so that they can see c...
Read more

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

-
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...
Read more

Homily: January 28, 2025, Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time (Do your will)

-
 “Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.” When I was little and growing up on the farm, I didn’t know much about the world beyond my village and parish. I had imaginations about my future, but my dreams were simple and centered around my little village. I wanted to be a farmer, a successful one, to earn lots of money from my bountiful crops, I will buy more land, build a nice house, own a car, get married and live happily ever after. Yes, it was a fairy tale dream. It made me happy and hopeful every time I imagined this perfect life of my future. But one day, all my dreams were broken. God has another plan for me, He called, and I said yes. So no land, no farm, no house, no married life. But I believe this vocation will lead me to a happily-ever-after life after all. My vocation has taken me far away from the village and country where I thought I would live for the whole of my life. I’ve worked in and visited over 23 countries, taken ...
Read more

Homily: July 9-2023, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Yoke).

-
 "For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen so that they pull together a load, usually to till the land. The pair of oxen walks together so that the work is done with less effort. It was probably first used around 4000 BC, so the people listening to Jesus, who were mostly farmers, would understand what He was talking about. But what is this yoke that Jesus was referencing? Because the work done by the oxen was hard labour and the yoke restricted their freedom, the term ‘yoke’ had been used to refer to burdensome life, hardship and heavy responsibility. The Jewish people were at that time burdened by the law. The 613 sub-laws created by the Jewish religious leaders made life very difficult and burdensome for the people. They made it seem impossible to satisfy God’s expectations, no one except the Jewish leaders could fulfil all that the sub-laws prescribed. Here Jesus is saying that His yoke, His way of keeping the fait...
Read more

Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

-
 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some w...
Read more

Homily: March 16, 2026, Monday of the Fourth week in lent (God rescues)

-
“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...
Read more

Homily: February 27, 2026Friday of the First Week in Lent (Salvation)

-
 “Since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” In the spiritual tradition of the Church, we often talk about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell. Death is certain for each one of us. We will all die one day.  Judgment is also certain. It is part of our encounter with God. He is the ultimate Judge. Then the final destination. It is not heaven and hell, it is heaven or hell. Each of us will have the freedom to choose. Do you think everyone will choose heaven? Many do not want hell, but that does not mean they want heaven. Choosing heaven means choosing God, choosing His will. This is where we all failed. Everyone has sinned. But in today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel gives all of us a great big hope: our past does not have the final word. The hope is that if a person turns away from sin, if they repent and choose what is right, they shall live - repent and believe in the Gospel! Many people, myself ...
Read more