Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “But they did not understand this saying…” In today’s Gospel from Luke, we are told the disciples could not understand what Jesus was telling them, that He would be ‘handed over to men’, that He would be captured, tortured and killed. I remember when my mommy was diagnosed with cancer, I was still a seminarian studying in Rome. I was far away from home. I didn’t know what to do, but since my siblings were able to be around to help her, I felt I could continue with my life as planned. But I was praying hard, I offered my sacrifices to God believing that He would be merciful and heal my mommy, at least to let her witness my ordination. But she died in 2012. I was not due for ordination till 2016. It was not surprising, since cancer was a fatal illness in those days in my hometown. But I did not understand. I did not accept it. I felt that God ignored my prayers. Then two years after my ordination, in 2018, my papa was diagnosed with cancer too. I was shocked and I prayed harder. In ...

Holy family school Mass  “Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need.” This is what we heard in today’s first reading taken from the book of Proverbs in the Bible. It is a prayer request of a holy person. He asked to be kept away from falsehood and lying, that means he prayed that he will not be a scammer or a liar. And he didn’t care much for being rich but he didn’t want to be poor either. All he asked for was to have food to eat and survive. That is a very simple prayer, isn’t it? When you pray, do you ask God for many things? What do you ask for? How many of you want to be rich, more than you are now? When I was your age, I wanted to become rich. I was from a poor farming family. I had to help out at the family farm every day. I enjoyed the work. So I would always think about working hard on the farm to make a lot of money, then I would be rich, I would buy a nice new car, and travel far away to see the world, e...

“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” During Jesus’ public ministry, He had hundreds, if not thousands, of followers. He was very popular, his fame spread far and wide. Many people followed Him for various reasons - some wanted to witness His miracles, others to did not want to be left out of the happenings, and many wanted to be healed and cured by Jesus. One other key reason was His preaching. The simplicity, yet often intriguing and intellectually provoking, and the power of His messages, attracted and moved countless listeners who wanted to hear more from Him. Even today, we see dynamic preachers and Catholic speakers who would also attract large crowds. Many people, including myself, admire and would follow some well-known speakers so that we do not miss their talks or preachings. It is very uplifting and edifying to listen to such talks. But truly, does Jesus want us to just listen to Him and follow His talks so that we can feel intellectua...

 “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Who wouldn’t receive a child with open arms? Very often, it’s easier to welcome a child than an adult, don’t you think so? Children here are considered precious and are treasured. They receive much love, attention and care. Families and society make a lot of effort, including implementing laws, to protect them and safeguard their rights. Their needs and all aspects of their well-being are important. And of course, because they are so loved, that they are also lovable. I personally adore little children and enjoy being in their company. They are easily and eagerly welcomed into our life, into our gatherings. However, children in Jesus’ time were seen and treated very differently from the children of our time in this land. They were not given dignity, had no status, were regarded as useless and not valued at all by society. Families which had many chil...

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” There are many reasons people choose to go to a particular church on Sundays. Some say, “I like the music,” or “I like the homily.” Others might say, “My friends are going there,” or “I like the diversity of this community,” or “The Mass time is convenient.” Some people choose to attend other denominational or non-denominational services to make their Sunday church experience more interesting. What about you? Why do you come to church? There could be many motivations too, but truly, any Mass at any Catholic church is the same, whether the homily is wonderful or awful, whether the music is traditional or contemporary, whether the community is lively or sleepy… because the exact same sacrificial event takes place at every Mass. Be it here in Iowa, or there in South Sudan, it is the same Jesus, the same sacrificial death on the cross, the same redemptive love at every Mass. And so, w...

Our beloved brother, Richard Murphy, has gone home to be with the Lord. We are saddened for our loss of a faithful brother, yet we come here with joy to celebrate the fulfilment of his long earthly life and his entry into eternity. As a faithful Catholic, he received all the necessary sacraments and was well prepared for his final walk from here to forever. We believe his soul is at peace, we too, are at peace for him. Murphy was a true servant of God. He began serving as an altar server in his home parish in Manson, Iowa, when he was a young boy and was also an active member of this Parish when he moved to Des Moines. Here at St. Ambrose, was where Murphy worshipped and served the Lord for the past few decades. Murphy was one of the first people I met during my first weeks here in 2021. I fondly remember him as someone who was either first or early in many things. He would arrive early for Knights of Columbus meetings, walking to the parish hall with his walker, and waiting patiently ...

 "Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven." When I was a small boy, I used to look up in the sky when I heard a plane fly by. At that time, no one in my village had ever flown in an airplane before, so my dream was to fly in a plane to a place far away from my home. I thought that would be the day I would be very happy. Today I am here in the USA, more than 8 thousand miles away! Do you have a dream for yourself? We all have dreams, and whatever our dreams are, we all believe that when they come true, we will be very happy. I too have a dream for Holy Family School. I dream that every student who comes to this school will experience joy, that they will be happy learning and growing together, to make good friends and create beautiful memories here, and that every student here will gain not just great knowledge of the world, but also develop a deep understanding and love for God. Today’s Gospel passage is known as the Beatitudes. The Be...

 “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.” In Christian theology, there is something known as the Last Things, which are namely these four: Death, Judgement, Heaven, Hell. Death is the event at the end of this life when our mortal body is separated from our immortal soul. At that moment of death, each person is judged by God based on our faith and conduct in this life, and our soul will either be rewarded or punished. The reward is heaven, eternal bliss and joy when we come face to face with God, our Creator. Some will go through purgatory, a temporary state of purification in preparation for heaven. The punishment is hell, eternal torment and condemnation for our rejection of God. Heaven is real. Hell is also real. Once, during a talk for priests, the speaker asked us, “When was the last time you preached about eternal punishment?” I tried to think of a recent homily or message where I spoke about it, and there was none. I realised ...

“It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans.”  Once, I came across this quote from Thomas Merton: “The greatest evil is found where the highest good has been corrupted.” How true! And how sad… There is probably no statistics to confirm this, but superficially, we can see how countries with majority Christians seemed to be more liberal in their views and practices which are opposing to Church teachings, while some countries with minority Christians, even with persecution of the faith, seem to be more in agreement with Church values. St. Peter warned, “Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” And the devil wants to devour the believer, because the non-believer is already on his side. And if we are not careful, or are complacent or weak, we are easy targets. As I read somewhere, “the devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns, he comes disguised as every...

 “To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands.” The Apostle Paul described the life of him and his companions as they do their mission of proclaiming Christ. It was quite a life of hardship and suffering. And it seemed that many, if not all, of the missionaries who went out to proclaim the Gospel suffered similarly – other than persecution from anti-Christianity haters, it was simply hardships in daily living conditions. Is it true that living for Christ and proclaiming the Gospel means living a harsh life of suffering? St. Ignatius Loyola said, “If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.” So, it is true that to be a saint does mean going through suffering. Doesn’t this sound irrational and sadistic? Why can’t we be faithful to Christ and not have to suffer? Does such suffering come with pain and angu...