Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

Preached at Holy Family Catholic School Des Moines.   "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.” Wow. Did Jesus really say these harsh words? He seems very angry. Why?  Since I was little, till now, I have been fearful of aggressive people. I would usually steer clear of them. If Jesus were to say those words to me angrily, I would have tried to keep a distance from Him. But Jesus’ anger is always reasonable. My mom used to get very angry with me too, because I was very mischievous and created lots of trouble. Although she was very frightening in those moments and I would always run far away from her, I would also always return, because I knew she would calm down. I knew she loved me. We know that Jesus is the most compassionate and loving person. He could forgive the worst sinners and showed gentle kindness towards them. He fed,...

St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “…we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our very selves as well…” Conversion, conviction, commitment. Alan Redpath said, “The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.” Many people are converted to Christianity, but how many live with conviction and are truly committed to the faith? We know there is a great shortfall, we know many have lapsed. So, it is not enough to just be converted. As St. Paul says, the apostles do not just share the Gospel, they share themselves, they give their lives totally and fully to the communities they built. Howard Henricks said, “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.” Without conviction, there will be no martyrs, no saints, no church. Like Jesus who gave his life completely, to the last drop of blood on the cross for his Church, the apostles too with the same spirit, attitude,...

 "And how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await His Son from heaven."  Thessalonica was a Greek city. Before the people encountered St. Paul’s preaching, they were practicing idol worshipping, they had numerous deities which they turn to for their needs and wants. They made statues to worship and accorded much superstitious powers to these statues of various deities.  They believed that many of their wishes and requests were answered through these. Such worship gave them much sensual satisfaction and immediate gratification. These heightened the worshippers’ reliance on the deities. As such, it was not easy for the people to give up idol worship. Although St. Paul’s preaching about Christ and the good news of eternal salvation were powerful in converting some of the Thessalonians, he could not remove them completely from the old habits of idol worshipping. They were living in the city which was still very much practicing the old ways. ...

 "But who do you say that I am?" Why did Jesus ask His disciples this question? Didn’t they all know who He really is? Let us go back to look at how their discipleship began. Some of them were fishermen, Jesus called them to follow Him, they left their jobs and followed him. Did He tell them, “I am the Messiah you have been waiting for, come follow me”? No. Some of them were disciples of John the Baptist, when he pointed out Jesus to them, he told them “Behold the Lamb of God,” and they followed Jesus. Did John introduce Jesus as the Messiah? No. We assume they know that Jesus is the Son of God sent to earth as a human to die for them, because that is how we were introduced to Jesus. But Jesus was never officially presented to the disciples as the Messiah, the Son of God. Although by this time of Jesus' ministry, the disciples would have been following him daily for a couple of years. He would have taught them many things about the scriptures referring to the Messiah, the...

 "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."  Are we people who aim to be first in all matters? Be forewarned, because according to Jesus, those who are powerful in the eyes of this world will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But those who humble themselves here on earth will be great in the kingdom of heaven.  Gideon is a perfect example. In today’s first reading, we hear how modestly humble was Gideon’s appraisal of himself, when he was called by God for mission, he said, “My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father's house.” Yet, among all the Judges who ruled Israel for about 400 years, Gideon’s story is well-detailed and documented in sacred scripture. There were other Judges whose stories were hardly even mentioned in the scriptures like Gideon’s. I recommend all of you to read the Book of Judges, chapters 6 to 8, to learn more about Gideon. God chose people like Gideon, who are humble, as h...

 “The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals.” We often say that "experience is the best teacher." However, this holds true only for those who are open to learning. It seems that humanity has never learnt from experience and so history repeats itself. If we had learned the lessons from World War 1, there would never have been World War 2, and the world thereafter would have been free from all wars as well. The Israelites were foolishly guilty of the same. While in the desert, they worshipped other gods and suffered the consequence of being bitten by snakes, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. That was not the only experience they had for being unfaithful to God. Did they learn their lesson? No. What are the baals? They were names given to deities, commonly referred to the Canaanite-phoenician god of fertility and rain. Rain was necessary to bring about a bountiful harvest in a fertile land, it was a symbol of fertility. Fertility was a sym...

 "For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." When King Solomon built the majestic temple in Jerusalem for the Israelites, many non-Israelites had a hand in it. Other nations from Solomon’s connections contributed to its construction – precious stones, wood, gold etc to complete the magnificent house of God. The temple of God was built also with Gentile offerings in that sense. When the Israelites were sent into exile and the temple was destroyed, the pain of loss were suffered by more than just the people of God. Finally, when the Israelites returned from exile and rebuilt the temple, God made this declaration in today's first reading through prophet Isaiah. The Lord is declaring His acceptance of the offerings from ‘foreigners who join themselves to the Lord’. Yes, the Lord is saying ‘All are welcome’ to His house of prayer. Sadly though, Jewish authorities thereafter did not allow the Gentiles to enter the Temple. Prideful as the chosen race of God...

"Whoever can accept this ought to accept it." Many people cannot accept what the Catholic Church teaches. And the world says the Catholic Church is very traditional and does not follow the trends of the world. What are some of the trends of the world? Divorce. Same gender union. The world celebrates individualism and freedom of choice. The world says it is ok for anyone to decide and choose who to marry, to divorce, and to marry again. Well, the Church does not prohibit anyone from making such decisions, but she provides her teachings according to natural law, the law of God to guide our decisions. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that the original plan of God for marriage is between a man and a woman. God’s plan for marital union is lifelong, is pure and life-giving, not for selfish desires but for the greater glory of God.  And so the church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred union, it reflects the union of Jesus and His church, it is a sacrament...

 Today, I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses." One of the beautiful papal exhortations by John Paul II is "Pastores Dabo Vobis”. In English it means "I will give you pastors or shepherds". This encyclical was based on Jeremiah 3:15, wherein God promised His prophet, "And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding." Did God keep His promise? When Moses died, He raised Joshua. After Joshua, for 400 years, the people were guided by Judges. After judges, another set of 42 kings ruled, although they were all at some point unfaithful, except Josiah, who was only 8 years old when he ruled Israel. Even during the time of exile, God raised prophets like Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and so on. Then there was a 400-year silence from God until the voice of John the Baptist was heard. Even during this silent period, God called forth the Maccabees ...

“I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.” So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day, no one knows the place of his burial. We have been reading the story of Moses for the past few weeks. This passage makes me sad. After leading the people out of Egypt and through the desert for 40 years, he only saw the promised land but did not even step foot on it. Moses died on Mount Nebo. Is that a failure in Moses’ life? Is God merciless not to let Moses cross over despite having done all that He had commanded? Since Moses had done so much for this mission, should he not be rewarded with a good life in the promised land? These questions are reasonable, aren’t they? Yes, but only because we see from our own limited perspective and reason from our own human logic. In our lifetime, we have witnessed many such similar situations. People w...

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. I remember vividly how it was to attend Holy Mass in India on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because this feast day always coincides with the Independence Day of India. So, every year after Mass on this solemnity, the priest will proceed out to the church parking to raise the national flag, and the congregation will sing the national anthem of India. My family has never missed any Mass on this solemnity and day of obligation. The Catholic and Orthodox church celebrate this solemnity since ancient times and accord importance to the believe that Mary is assumed into heaven. It is one of the four Marian Dogmas of the Catholic Church. In our Eastern tradition, this feast was known as the Dormition of the Blessed Mother. ‘Dormitio’ in Latin means ‘falling asleep’. Our Orthodox and Oriental Catholics take this solemnity very seriously, they would abstain from meat for 15 d...

 “Yet in His love for your fathers, the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed He has now done.” The more I understand my Catholic faith, the more I thank God I am a Catholic. The faith in its richness, in history and in teaching, the graces I can receive freely, the fullness of meaning and purpose it gives to my life, the saints and angels available to assist and intercede for me, and most specifically, the gift of a heavenly Mother who loves me specially and personally sees to my salvation. Not just me, but each and every one of us sealed with the mark of baptism. As you know, I come from a country where the number of Christians, all denominations including non-denominations, make up only around 2 percent of the whole Indian population. God could have easily sent me to a different family of another religion. Just a simple flick of the finger, and I could have most definitely landed among the 80% Hindu famili...

 "But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward. In the daytime, the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud." What is this ‘cloud’? It is the presence of the Holy Spirit. The glory of God is manifested in the form of a cloud by day, fire by night as He accompanied the Israelites through the desert. From this passage, it is very clear that the cloud provides the direction and the directive – to go forward or to stay on. It is also the protector, the fire in the cloud at night would keep enemies away. It is a source of security and comfort for the Israelites. In the Transfiguration event, we hear God’s voice speaking through the cloud, declaring Jesus as His beloved Son. At the ascension event, we see Jesus being taken up in a cloud. And from the readings of Exodus, we can understand that the cloud, representing the Holy Spirit of God, is powerful, constant, and unwavering in...

"Then the children of Israel would see that the skin of Moses' face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to converse with the LORD.” When Moses unveiled his face after conversing with God, the Israelites saw the glory of God's light shining through him. He was so radiant that he had to veil his face, but when he talked to the Lord, he would remove the veil. He conversed with God face to face. Many of us would have watched the short video 'The Veil Removed'. It is a powerful vision of how Holy Mass looks like if our eyes could see the supernatural and spiritual. If you have not watched it, do check it out. ‘The veil removed’ reminds me of the way we celebrate Mass in my home church in India. My home church is the Syro-Malabar Catholic church which follows a variant of the East Syriac rite in our liturgy. The liturgy celebrated according to this rite, retains the rich tradition and symbols used since the early days. In our church...

 "The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another." I am so envious of Moses! How wonderful to be able to have a conversation with God face to face! It is hard to imagine how it would be like and how I would feel, knowing that God can see through all my thoughts, my sins and my fears. Yet I have so often wished that God would speak to me like that, so that I would know His will and plans for me, and not have to feel stressed with many matters, especially with difficult decisions. Many times, during my holy hour before the tabernacle, I have begged God to speak to me and tell me clearly what He wants, but I have not heard so far. Do you also wish to talk to God like Moses? For that to happen, maybe we have to do what Moses did in preparation. Today’s first reading says, "So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water." Can you do that? I can’t. If you noticed, he did the sa...