Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" Signs are very helpful in our everyday life. When I first came to this church, I had a hard time finding the confessional. There were no signs. I thought it might be somewhere in the vestibule and after going down the stairs, I ended up at the restrooms. Directional signs tell us where to go, spiritual signs tell us what to do. When Jesus spoke about the destruction of the temple, He was also warning the disciples about fake news and scammers. So simply looking for signs may not help, because there are misleading and false signs that will only lead to more confusion and wrong turns. The only reliable signs in life are the Holy Word of God and the teachings and traditions of the church passed down from the Apostles. Our Christian faith guides and provides, it shows the right path to the right place. I have preached before that all the prophecies in the

 “In any question of wisdom or prudence that the king posed to them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.” One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is the book of Daniel. The stories of Daniel and his friends inspire me a lot. I enjoy reading how God was always with them and blessed them with great wisdom and a unique gift in interpreting visions and dreams. In today’s first reading, we see how King Nebuchadnezzar tested and then invited these three young men, Daniel and his two friends, to serve him. It was an honor and seen as a great fortune to be trusted by the King, to eat and converse with him while all other Israelites were living as slaves. But Daniel and his friends did not once forget the God of their ancestors. Even though they had privileges from the King, they did not disobey God’s laws. They feared the Lord in all their days, they loved God in all their ways. And for that, they had great wisdom and understanding. And fo

 “Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.” Today we celebrate the solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, when he proclaimed, “Pax Christi in regno Christi” which means ‘The peace of Christ in the reign of Christ’. Christ is our sovereign spiritual King and Ruler who rules by truth and love, and we, His subjects, declare our loyalty and faithfulness to Him. Historically, kings had absolute sovereign power and authority over his people, many had wielded that for their own advantage, at the expense of the people’s good. Is our King the same? In the first reading today, prophet Ezekiel was delivering God’s message to the Israelites whose kings had been utterly unfaithful to God and irresponsible to the people. Ezekiel was reminding the people that God Himself is their ultimate King who is caring, loving and merciful. God’s Kingship is like a shepherd who is dedicated to the well-being and safe

 “I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things...” During the hot summer nights in my childhood years, my siblings and I would go up to the rooftop of our house to enjoy some cool fresh air. We did not have air conditioning back then, not even now. We would lie down on the floor of the rooftop looking into the night sky, and seeing all the millions of stars, occasionally we would spot an airplane. We have also seen many shooting stars over the years. It was a wonderful feeling. It was a feeling of deep calmness and assurance. It was a feeling of peace. I knew some of those stars were probably larger than our planet Earth. But how big is the earth? The first time when I flew from the USA to India some years ago, it was a 12-hour non-stop flight, it was then that I realized how vast the Earth is, how vast the ocean is. Last year, Webb telescope’s images further expanded our imagina

"But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than be defiled with unclean food or profane the holy covenant, and they did die.” At the beginning of the first reading, the situation of the Israelites was disappointing. There were many ‘breakers of the law’ who ‘seduced’ their fellow Jews to discard their covenant with God. Many chose to disobey and disown God, and accepted the gods and deities of the Gentiles, believing that would protect their lives. They were quick to give up their faith in the generous God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses because of some difficulties and discomfort in life. That led to the persecution of the Jews during the time of the Maccabees. But when we come to the end of the reading, the determination of some of the Jews ‘not to eat anything unclean’ shows that there were many who kept the covenant with God and were faithful even in the face of death. There is hope. Looking at

(for our lady of Americas parish ) "His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’” As we near the end of the liturgical year, the readings are focused on helping us reflect and think about how it would be for us at the end of time. In today’s parable of the talents, the one who received five talents made five more, and the one who received two talents made another two. Both of them doubled what they initially received, they were able to imitate and produce what their master had given them. Thus, both of them received the priceless reward, which was an invitation to share their master’s joy. However, the servant who received one talent had a much easier task, he only needed to imitate and produce one talent which the master gave. Instead, he was lazy and did not make any effort at all to use what he was given, he did not even make an attempt to b

"We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are obliged to do". Are we willing to be ‘unprofitable’ in serving others? It is a very difficult request from the Lord; honestly, I am not able to. I am very willing to serve others, especially for the good and needs of our parishioners, but I sometimes do subconsciously expect at least an appreciation. While I do not need acknowledgement or be given credit for my work, I realized I get very upset if my efforts do not win the approval of my superiors or significant people in my life. And I definitely will get very angry if I found out that my sacrifices and generosity were taken for granted and not valued. Can I ever be an unprofitable servant? I think if I can see how in serving others, I am really serving the Lord Himself, it would be possible. St. Francis de Sales said, “Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.” So, it is the little daily acts of service that will rise up to God. St

 “For the Spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says.” My youngest nephew, Joe, is now two-years old. At the moment, he is the only child of my youngest sister in New Jersey. At home, he keeps himself very busy. He will play with anything he finds at home. Recently, he found a simple cardboard box and it has become his latest plaything. He can easily climb into it and sit inside, then close the flap and pretend he has disappeared. His mother would also pretend to be searching for him, asking, 'Where are you, Joe?' At that point, he would lift the flap, giggle, and say, “I see you!” Joe’s mommy, my sister, would record this on video and send it to me. I love watching it again and again. It is simply adorable. I don't know how many times they have played this same game, over and over. It makes Joe very happy to hide and then to see his mother’s surprise when he appears from the box. She of course knows where he is, but she plays along. She a

 "Those who have never been told of Him shall see, and those who have never heard of Him shall understand."  While the Apostles went around preaching to the Jews, Paul was preaching to the Gentiles, because he wanted to reach ‘those who have never been told of Him’ and ‘those who have never heard of Him’. Yesterday, during our priest study day, our speaker Fr. Patrick Mary said that we are living in a post-Christendom era. Evangelizing the Gentiles and pagans in the early days were about shifting their belief in pagan gods to the one true God. But today, we are dealing with people who believe in nothing, it is a bigger challenge. They have been told of Him, but do not believe. They have heard of Him but refuse to understand. How do we shake and wake people up to the truth? When I was in middle school, there were Jehovah's Witnesses in our small town, and they distributed flyers everywhere proclaiming that the world was going to end. They warned people that for them to be

“Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame." Today’s gospel story really struck me deep. The poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame: who are they? At the time of Jesus, these were the people who were despised, considered imperfect and looked upon by society as people abandoned by God, cursed and thus without the blessing of wealth nor health. And because of their imperfections, being rejected by society, they can't do many things on their own, opportunities are blocked, doors are closed to them. They only have one hope - God. They have no one else to depend on. Conversely, those who were better off, those blessed with wealth and health, who were the first guests invited to the grand dinner, were so busy with their own affairs, and engrossed in their own world that they had little or no regard for the invitation.  They were independent, they did not think they needed to deepen their relationship w

"The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." All three readings today are about leadership, specifically religious leadership.  In the first reading, prophet Malachi, the last prophet in the Old Testament, spoke on behalf of God and sternly warned that “I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse.” He was addressing the priests who were reinstated after the exile, but who did not seem to have learnt the lessons from their wrong doings which led to the exile. God’s warnings were harsh, and yet, what do we see? Throughout the history of the church, there have been numerous religious leaders who were notorious, scandalous, evil and simply wrong in their teachings, practices and ways of living.  In the Gospel, Jesus speaks against the scribes and Pharisees who were abusing their authority, oppressive to the people and led double lives. The scribes and Pharisees were no

 "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" Have you ever fallen into a cistern before? I doubt many, or any of us have. But I am sure many of us may have fallen into desperate and depressing situations before, we know how agonizing every moment is and how badly we need someone to just pull us out of that situation, immediately, urgently, as soon as possible. Jesus knows. He understands. He feels for us. Thus, He is compassionate, He wants to save everyone out of the dumps as soon as He can. He does not wait for a better day, nor a better moment. To Him, ‘now’ is the best time, and Sabbath is ideal, because it is a Holy day, a day to give glory to God, a day to do what God does, to save, to heal, to restore, to give life. The Pharisees did not understand. They could not empathize; they had no compassion. They were very legalistic and applied the laws to others, but not to their own family or their own animal