Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “…laying his hands on him, he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me…”” Ananias knew the cruelty of Saul, how he had arrested and imprisoned many men who believed in Jesus, even the women and children were not spared. And now, the persecutor of Christians, the enemy of Christ was sitting before him, blind, powerless and at his mercy. Ananias had the perfect opportunity to hit back at Saul, terminate him and remove the danger Saul could bring to the community. But he did nothing like that. Instead, Ananias laid his hands on Saul, baptized him and called him ‘my brother’. During this easter season, our Mass readings continue to tell fascinating conversion stories of the early Christian communities, the beginning of church. What struck me is the powerful way the Holy Spirit was working through the communities, the passionate submission of the disciples to the will of God even when it went against their logic and required them to forgive and love their worst enemies. Ananias o...

 We see the violent persecution of the early Christian communities in today’s first reading. We heard, “Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.” Cruel, inhumane, unjustified persecution. Do you know anyone who is against the church, always criticizing the church and disagreeing with people who are associated with church? I suppose it is not too difficult to think of a few names. Here we see Saul, the champion persecutor of the early Christians, totally against the Christian church, but who later was also converted and became the champion evangelizer for Christ, totally dedicated. He wrote 25% of the New Testament and founded many churches in Asia. Saul, who once tried his best to destroy the Church later became Paul who tried better than his best to build the church. He was very successful in both missions but his powerful encounter with Jesus stopped him from his persecution...

 “Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.” Humility – such a simple word but probably the most difficult to practice. It goes against our pride and ego. And the moment we think we are humble, we have lost it. As the river always flows towards the lower ground, so God's graces will also flow towards those who are humble of heart. The more we lower ourselves in humility, the more graces and blessings we receive. Mother Mary is the most humble woman, that is why she is full of grace. The logic is simple, the humble persons empty their hearts of ego and pride, thus having room for God’s graces to pour in. God wants to shower graces upon the arrogant ones too, but their hearts are so full of themselves, there is just no space for anything else. Thus they miss out on the precious graces of God. Those who are truly humble do not consider themselves higher nor lower than anyone, they do not have...

 "All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” St. Stephen, one of seven selected deacons in the early Christian community, was standing in trial before the Sanhedrin, the supreme rabbinic court in Jerusalem. He was being accused of blasphemy, for his powerful preaching in Jesus’ name. According to the Jewish authority, he had offended the law of Moses. Stephen knew the sentence for blasphemy was death. Yet he did not look downcast, nor fearful. Instead, his face was like an angel. What look is that? After vesting for mass, I would always look in the mirror to check, today I did too and checked my face, I definitely do not look like an angel at all. I have seen many whom I think look like angels. They were all little children. On Saturday, I had 3 baptisms and all those babies looked just like perfect precious angels. Innocent, pure, at peace. Even when they cried, they were still angelic. We were all like that whe...

 In today's gospel, the disciples on the road to Emmaus asked the stranger, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?" They did not know the stranger was Jesus. And the irony of their question was that Jesus was the only person who truly knew and understood all that had happened in Jerusalem those days. Finally, it was Jesus who explained everything from the past to the present for the disciples and helped them understand deeper and further. In life, we might come across many strangers who just walk into our lives, make a lasting impression and then move off. Life is a long Emmaus walk. Along the way, many people come and go. We too are strangers walking into other people’s path once in a while. Last Wednesday, our church was fully packed for the healing service. That day did not go too well for me and I decided to spend some quiet time in church after the crowds thinned out. I was feeling low and fil...

 "He does not ration his gift of the Spirit." Have you ever been to a ration store? From google, the meaning of ‘ration’ is ‘a fixed amount of a commodity officially allowed to each person during a time of shortage, as in wartime’. When I was little, my papa used to go to the government ration store once a month. Each family would receive rice, sugar, kerosene, and mung dal, which is a type of small beans. They would receive a portion according to the number of members in the household. My family was large with 11 members, so we were always allocated more. Papa would take my brother and me along to help him carry those items home. We would balance them on our heads as we walk home happily. The portions given were just enough, nothing extra, so we would always moderate our use so that we do not run out of stock. In places with abundance, without shortage, there is no need for rationing. There would be more than enough for everyone. So, here in St. John’s Gospel we heard, ...

 My grandfather used to tell us stories of his childhood and youth, he said those were the best times of his life, the good old days. My father thought the same, and now as I look back, I think the same too. The times of old, the days of the past when we were much younger, seemed good. The Church also has her 'good old days.' Since she is now more than 2000 years old, her good days were those in the beginning, in the days of Pentecost, when church communities were forming and sprouting very fast. Baptisms were in the thousands each time and the Holy Spirit seemed to be very active in the newly baptised. I often wish that the Church today could be like the olden days. The same Holy Spirit is here with us all the time, we receive the same Jesus daily, the same sacraments are available to us but why do we not see the same powerful effects? What are we lacking? I think we lack first, courage and second, unity. From the first reading, “With great power the Apostles bore witness to t...

 "Do not be unbelieving, but believe." These are Jesus’ words to St. Thomas the Apostle, and to us. It is a strong advice, almost a warning, “Do not be unbelieving…” Do I believe in Jesus? My answer is yes! I believe! So, I am not unbelieving, right? Honestly, I am not able to say an outright ‘yes’. I do believe in Jesus, but I can’t say that I am totally unbelieving. Why? There are many reasons why I believe - because I know for sure He died for me, He loves me, He is faithful to me, and above all, He is my Savior. He has won heaven for me. There is something deep inside me that helps me believe and trust God. I can’t really explain that deep gut feel. It is faith. Yet, there are also many occasions when I unbelieve, I doubt, I question, I seek explanations. These are not occasions when I lose my faith, but when my faith shakes a little, and I would need some quiet time to ponder, to think, to make sense, to ask God for answers. My papa was a faithful man, obedient, steadfas...

 Joseph Vanlent, a faithful friend, a beloved brother, a holy man. Mother Angelica said, “Where most men work for degrees AFTER their names, we work for one BEFORE our names: 'Saint'. It's a much more difficult degree to attain. It takes a lifetime, and you don't get your diploma until you're dead.” In my opinion, our dear Joe has surely attained the saint title to his name, don’t you agree? All of us gathered here are truly blessed to have known and shared life with him. And it is an honor for me to preside over this memorial mass. I have only known Joe in the past two years, but I have learnt a lot from him. Joe lost his mother when he was only four years old, and as a little boy, he was very much attached to his elder sister who was like a mother to him. He enjoyed helping her in the kitchen and doing household chores. Then at 15, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and at the age of 30, he started losing his sight. He had to give up the family farming operations and...

 Dear Brady and Lauren, I am honored to preside at your beautiful wedding on this memorable day. I am well pleased with the way you have organized it, keeping it simple and focused on the spiritual aspect, more than the usual worldly fanfare. And I am more than delighted that you have put the Holy Mass and your exchange of vows as most important. If this continues to be your priority throughout your marriage, I must say, you have got it right. On my part, I will keep this homily simple and focused as well. In today's gospel, we heard, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Both of you are different persons, with different gifts, talents, family background and so on, but today you will become ONE through a powerful force - love. Not simply romantic love, but agape love, God's love. God has brought you two together, He will grace you forward as one. Saint Paul, in his beautiful poem on love, tells us clea...

 “You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this… as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?” Peter questioned the people who ‘hurried in amazement’ at the miraculous healing of the crippled man. Mirror that with what Jesus said in the Gospel text, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” Jesus questioned the disciples as they were terrified to see Him appearing in their midst. Our Lord has already told the disciples about His resurrection before He was arrested and crucified, but they did not understand. Thus, they were terrified and troubled, and could not believe what they were seeing. Jesus has to convince them that He is real, by showing them His hands and feet, and letting them see Him eat. Similarly, the people had already seen healing miracles performed by Jesus before His death, but they did not understand nor believe that it was God’s work. Thus, they were amazed at seeing Peter work the miracles. Peter had to remind them that the...

"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." We heard this from the first reading today, St. Peter made this declaration in his first preaching, on the day of Pentecost. Many of the Jews who demanded that Jesus be crucified were ignorant that Jesus was truly the Christ, and now Peter is declaring, so they will ‘know for certain’. Because they were unaware of scriptural prophecies about the Messiah which Jesus fulfilled, they blindly believed the false accusations made against Him by the Jewish leaders. Their ignorance led them to become co-conspirators of murder. St. Paul rightly said, "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 2:8) Yes, if they had known for certain, they would not have killed Jesus. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. Ignorance of Christ is ignorance of salvation. This ignorance is...

 “…He saw and believed.” ‘Seeing is believing’, isn’t it? Especially for miraculous incidents which challenge our logic and intellect, it will be much easier to believe if we see it with our own eyes. But it is not possible to get to see everything personally, often we just have to trust the information we receive from others, from sources which are trustworthy, credible and truthful, from people who possibly were the ones who first saw it with their own eyes. They are the witnesses. Every year on Easter Sunday, Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We too are gathered here to celebrate this great miraculous event, that Jesus Christ who died a terrible death, has risen and is very much alive! None of us here have seen it happen, yet we believe and we celebrate. Because those who saw and believed, have done their duty. Peter said that “He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God…” Peter and the apostles...

 Jesus promises to share his reign with the Good Thief (Luke 23:39-43) Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." ========================= Two criminals were being crucified beside You, Jesus. We call one of them the ‘good thief’. While none of Your gospel writers described him as such, he had become known by this title because of what he said at that moment before his death. Jesus, do you also think he was ‘good’? I thought he was ‘lucky’ more than good, because at that last m...

 “Whom are you looking for?” Jesus knew the Jewish guards and Roman soldiers were coming to get him, yet he asked them this question. Why? If the police set out to arrest someone, they would have in mind the name of the person and the crime. Jay the murderer. Joe the thief. Jake the robber. So, whom were they looking for when they went to arrest Jesus? Jesus the Nazorean. There was no crime to His name. They went to arrest Jesus like a criminal, but He is not. They arrested Jesus because He is the Son of God. The Jews expected Jesus to be a political hero, but He is not. They rejected Jesus because He is the lamb of God. Jesus was not who they were all expecting. They could not see who He really is, they could not accept Him because He was not what they wanted. What about you? You come to church, you pray, you worship, you even sacrifice your time and money – what are you expecting? Whom are you looking for? Is He Jesus, the slave who will answer all your requests? Or the servant w...

 "Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, then dried them with her hair.” According to Judas' valuation, the cost of that bottle of essential oil which Mary used to anoint Jesus, was equal to one year's wages. How much do you earn in a year? Would you give all to Jesus? That is quite a significant amount of money. For most of us, we would probably not even give one month of our salary. Well, we do have other obligations and commitments to take care of, don’t we? That was what Judas thought too, that it was a waste to use the precious expensive oil on Jesus’ feet. It could have fed the poor and hungry. But not Mary. To her, Jesus is above all, He more than deserve everything from us. Yet He doesn’t want anything from us, He wants us, the whole of us. Are we able to give all our money, all our time, all our energy, all our talents, all our heart, all our mind, all our soul to Jesus? To God? We must be thinking,...

 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified." Why did they choose Barabbas? Who was he? If you were there in the crowd, who would you choose? The name Barabbas literally means ‘son of the father’ in Hebrew. ‘Bar’ means son, ‘abba’ means father. Tradition says he was a zealot, and his father was a Jewish leader. According to Mark and Luke, "He had been imprisoned for an insurrection that had occurred in the city, as well as for murder." He was rioting against the Romans, and they locked him in, but Barabbas was a hero to the Jews. They had wanted a savior to liberate them from Roman oppression. When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt, the Jews hailed Him as king, but within a few days, they wanted to crucify Him. He was the Savior to liberate them from their sins, but that was not what they wanted. They chose Barabba...