Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 In today's Gospel reading, we witness a scene where the religious leaders criticized a man who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath day. They said to him, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." How quick they were to judge and condemn that man by referring to God’s law. But did they even realize that this man had been paralyzed for 38 years and had never violated the Sabbath day in all those years.  He was unable to. In that way, he had observed the Sabbath day more faithfully than those who criticized him. And now, having been healed by Jesus, his ‘violation’ of God’s law was in reality a proclamation of God’s mercy. For 38 years, no one carried him to the pool of Bethesda, which means ‘house of mercy’. Now, he can carry his own mat and walk. Jesus’ ‘violation’ of the Law was in truth God’s love in action. For 38 years, that man could not reach God. Now God reached him. God’s law is love and mercy, not persecution and condemnation. This incid

 From the first reading, “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” From the second reading, “I have made you father of many nations.” And from the Gospel, “Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.” Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not ‘St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus’. Yet today’s readings seem to focus on fatherhood, having descendants and heirs, being the head of many nations etc. Little is mentioned about being a husband, a spouse. So why does the church celebrate St. Joseph’s role as the Spouse of Mary with readings about fatherhood? We know for a fact that it is not possible for a man to have biological children without the woman, so no heir without the wife, no kingdom without the queen. From conception to birth, the woman bears the burden and delivers the joy. The man supports. There was a couple with two little kids, who went to the clinic one day. The wife was not feeling well. When the doctor

 After restoring the sight of the blind man, Jesus declares, "You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he." Have you heard of ‘Dialogue in the Dark’? It is a worldwide enterprise founded in Germany, to promote social inclusion of the disabled and disadvantaged, specifically the visually impaired. There is so much to learn about not being able to see. One of the things I wish to do in my lifetime is to go for a tour at Dialogue in the Dark. There is a 1.5-hour tour program, conducted in total darkness and led by a tour guide who is visually impaired or blind. I was told it will be a most exciting, life-changing experience. Can you imagine going around the park, taking a boat ride, eating at a café in total darkness? We need light to see. What would life be like without light? Jesus is the light of the world, yet He understands darkness, He has full compassion for the blind and in today’s Gospel event, He puts into perspective why this man is born blind: “Neither he nor

 In the first reading we heard “But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received”. And our Gospel text today ends with these words “unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart”. It is very clear what God wants of us in our relationship with Him and in our relationship with one another. It is all about the heart. Worship God with a contrite heart, forgiving brother from our heart. So being a disciple of Christ is an inside job. From times of old, beginning with the Israelites, the tradition of pleasing God with burnt offerings, sacrifices, incense, first fruits and so on continues to our time. Our liturgy expresses our worship in similar rituals. And in this Lenten season, we are also encouraged to make sacrifices, fast, pray and give alms. All these are good and helpful in cultivating a spiritual discipline of self-denial and putting God in the focus, but if we do it without a sincere, contrite heart, would it really please God? Our God is a God who looks into

 “Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt.” This incident in today’s first reading struck me.  I don’t sing well but there is one old African-American hymn which I like very much and enjoy singing whenever I think of it. This is how it begins: There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. The words and melody of this song are beautiful and moving, it is often sung in funeral masses. The balm in Gilead refers to a spiritual medicine to heal the Israelites from their sins, pointing to the Messiah. So how does God save and heal the Israelites? In this first reading, we see how the brothers of Joseph, planning to kill him, decided to sell him to the Ishmaelites when they saw them coming. Who are the Ishmaelites? They are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, born from Hagar the servant girl. Sarah chased Hagar and her son out

 “They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'” Have you ever encountered such people? If you have, you might agree that they do not impress us with their showiness. Once on an international flight, I had the opportunity to sit next to a man dressed in traditional religious attire. It was outright obvious that he was a religious man. I was watching him curiously and He drew much the attention from everyone in the flight.  I do see that some religious leaders in the modern world place great emphasis on outward appearances and rituals, but I wonder if they place the same emphasis on the true essence of faith and spirituality. Today’s readings invite us to embrace simplicity and authenticity in our lives. As followers of Jesus, we are called to imitate him in his sacrificial love for all humanity. Also, to imitate Him in His humble living. To sav

 “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.” ‘Misericordia’ the Latin word for ‘mercy’. It is made up of  ‘miseriae’ which means ‘misery’ and ‘cordis’ which means ‘heart’. God's mercy for us is His loving heart extended towards our misery. He understands, empathizes and embraces our misery in His heart. What is humanity’s greatest misery? That we are weak and prone to sin. And what is God’s response to this misery of humanity? Mercy. We do not deserve His forgiveness but He gives it willingly. This is mercy. We heard in the first reading, Daniel admitting that “we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws”. Humanity is always going against God. But God remains compassionate. “But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!” He never gives up on us, He is always merciful to us. So what must we do? Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “be merciful.” This world is full of sin and wrong-doings, not just against God but against one another. And people are quick

 India gained independence from Britain in 1947 but was hit by a severe famine thereafter. People had to find ways just to survive. My grandfather, with his nine children, decided to move to the high ranges of the Kerala state to survive. My father was then six years old, he was the youngest child. They walked 40 miles to finally settle down and occupy around 100 acres of forest, which was also home to Bengal tigers, king cobra snakes, and wild elephants. Grandpa fought wild animal attacks to protect all his children and he lived on well till 97 years old. In Kerala, the youngest son has the responsibility to care for the parents and so my siblings and I lived with grandpa in that same home. Grandpa would tell us many stories about the dangers he encountered and how he overcame them. I have always thought those were the greatest life stories until I came to St. Ambrose. Here, I have heard life stories with much greater dangers and how people escaped from war with babies in their arms,