Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

Holy Family School Mass Homily   “The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people.” Wow, what happened? The apostles of Christ were supposed to be locked up in prison, how did they appear in the temple area preaching and teaching the people? Well, blessed and happy Easter to all of you! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend and a restful spring break! Jesus died, and have risen from the dead, and continued to walk around earth, spending time with His disciples for 50 days, that is why we are still in the Easter season. Thereafter, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His followers, empowering them with many spiritual gifts and that changed everything! Before that, the apostles were all afraid and were hiding from their enemies. But once the Holy Spirit came upon them, they became super courageous. They began to go around preaching boldly and confidently about Jesus, even to the very people who had put Jesus to death. They were no longer afrai...

"There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles." This sharing of personal property for the good of community and selling of possessions to fuel the mission of the church, willingly and joyfully, are so unimaginable in this day and age. But the early Christian community did it. And because of such practice, there was no needy person among them. What could have made them go to that extent of sacrifice and self-denial for the good of others? This reminds me of the rich young man who went to Jesus, wanting to gain eternal life. To which our Lord told him to sell all his property and possessions, give it to the poor and follow Him. The early Christians must have been very motivated to gain eternal life, to enter heaven, to go where Jesus has gone. The Church is a spiritual institution, it is also a social missionary. We are called to proclaim the Good News of Go...

 "As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."  How powerful! Signs and wonders were happening possibly every day for the first Christian community. Peter and John were fearlessly proclaiming Jesus. No compromises, no watering down the teachings of Christ, no opposition could stop them.  Even in prison while they prayed, the prison doors unlocked miraculously for them. They truly lived their faith in perfection and the Holy Spirit manifested His effects powerfully through them. And yet, at our baptism, we all received the same Holy Spirit. Here is the question: Do we experience the same powerful effects of the Holy Spirit in our lives? The Apostles prayed without fear, worked without hesitation and suffered without the slightest reluctance. Are we also fervent in our prayer, courageous in our work for the Lord and fearless in facing the challenges that come with living our faith? As St. Anthony Mary Claret said,...

Jesus said to the disciples, “Peace be with you,” and then immediately showed them His hands and His side, His wounds. Even in His glorified, resurrected body, Jesus bears the nail wounds of the crucifixion. When it is our turn to see Him face to face, we too will still see His wounds. They are important to Him. To us, they are proof of His sacrifice, a permanent reminder of His love, the pain He endured for us. To Jesus, they are physical signs of His full obedience, even unto death. We too have our own wounds, sufferings we experienced which leave behind scars: physical, mental, emotional and social. These scars can be manifested in the form of physical impairments and imperfections, anger temperaments, deep bitterness and sadness, or even intentional avoidance of social situations which could trigger the painful memory. But we don’t always show these openly, we tend to hide these painful, hurting part of us from others, we try to look ok on the outside. Most of the time, only those ...

 “This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible—not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” In many classic films, the story ends with the stylish title flashing on the screen: “The End.” On that special Friday, the Pharisees and chief priests thought their script had come to a perfect ending. They had planned it thoroughly and executed it ruthlessly. With the help of Herod, Pilate, the soldiers, and the shouting crowds, Jesus had been put to death. The stone was rolled in place. The tomb was sealed. The disciples were scattered. To them, it was over. They believed the story of Jesus had reached ‘The End’. It looked like the end, even for those who loved Jesus. Mary Magdalene had on the third day prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ body, a traditional burial practice for the dead. Little did she realize that what had ended was not the whole story, but just one episode. The next...

"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.'"  The good thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus, always faithful to His promises, responded with the gift of eternal life. Jesus was nailed to a cross, like a criminal, with two real criminals by His side. He had once been surrounded by thousands who needed His healing, followed by many who wanted to hear Him, and accompanied by friends who loved Him. But now at the final hour of His suffering and dying, they had all left Him. This is what many of us fear, to be forgotten and left alone at our dying moment. Let us look at the situation of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. As thieves, they probably lived in poverty, anxiety and constantly hiding. They might not have family or friends since they work in darkness. Now caught and condemned, they too are in the last hour of their lives, about to die. Yet,...

“…there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him.”  “Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured…” I picked out these two phrases in today’s first reading to help us reflect deeper into the significance of what we are celebrating today. God spoke these words, through prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before it was all fulfilled. It described Jesus as the suffering servant, bruised, beaten and abandoned. If we were all there at the scene, looking at Jesus, beaten and bloodied, would we be able to look at Him? Would we be attracted to Him? I am quite sure we would all feel very uneasy, uncomfortable and might even walk out if we were to witness the full condition of Jesus suffering on the cross. It is not at all a pretty sight. Condemned as a criminal, stripped of dignity, mocked as a failure - Who would be drawn to someone so humiliated, badly broken and bloodied face? Yet today, we want to look intens...

“He shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street.”  Throughout Holy Week, we will be reading from the Book of Prophet Isaiah. 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, not in a grand arrival, neither would He leave earth in a dignified departure. The image of Christ described by Isaiah is that of a humble suffering servant of God. His mission is to ‘bring forth justice to the nations’, by taking on injustice on Himself. He will carry the sins of the world through pain, yet He will not cry out, nor shout, He will bear all these in a meek, mild and humble way. Isaiah’s prophecies were all fulfilled by Jesus, particularly in the days of Holy Week. This week’s readings invite us to look to Jesus, no to pity and pain for Him, but to learn from Him, to straighten up our spirit to imitate Him, and to follow His example. All through Jesus’ trial, His great sufferings on the...

 “I will multiply them and put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling shall be with them.”  Growing up in one of the Eastern Catholic Churches was truly one of the greatest blessings of my life. I grew up in the Syro-Malabar Church, which is the largest Eastern Catholic Church. Our theology, liturgy and history are distinct from the Western Church but are in full communion with the Pope in Rome. In our tradition, the sanctuary, the high altar and the tabernacle are at all times veiled with a large curtain that separates and covers the sanctuary from the congregation. The curtain is drawn and unveiled only during the Divine Liturgy, that is when Mass is being celebrated. Only the priest, sacristan, and altar servers are allowed to enter the sanctuary with respectful behavior and deep reverence. From a very young age, we were taught that the altar is utmost sacred, that the sanctuary is the Holy of Holies, like the inner temple of Israel. The veil served as a visible remin...

 "Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side." This is our responsorial psalm today, Psalm 23.  When God is at our side, we will not fear, indeed! But it does not say we will not face evil, it does not mean we will not walk in dark valleys. Today we heard the long but powerful story of Susanna, a woman who, by no fault of hers, found herself in deep trouble, a dark valley of injustice, false accusation, and the threat of death. But God was with her. Susanna was a God-fearing woman, raised by pious parents who had taught her to live according to the Law of Moses. And so she did, living with utmost integrity, obedient to the Law. When the corrupt elders black-mailed her, trying to trap her into submitting to their sinful desires, she stood firmly rooted in faith and said: “It is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.” She faced evil, she faced death, but she did not fear, she stood by the Lord’s side. ...

 “But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”  Poor Pharisees. They held onto an unrealistic dream that all Israelites would know the law as well as they did. But the reality was that most people were living in poverty, under oppression, and with fear. They didn’t have the same access to education or religious instruction. Sometimes, I feel something similar in my own life. People often talk to me about TV shows, baseball, or football, assuming I’m familiar with what they enjoy. But the truth is, I don’t even know the basics of those games, I don’t follow any American TV shows except The Chosen.  I live in America, and many assume I share the same interests. But just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, it’s easy to forget that not everyone fits into the same mold. In today’s Gospel, the people including the guards were amazed by Jesus’ words. They praised Him for His miracles. But the Pharisees? They weren’t interested. They were so focused on studying the L...

 “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be well?’” I have to be honest, I really didn’t like the man who was healed, when I first read the event in today’s Gospel text. Jesus asked him a simple and direct question: “Do you want to be well?” All he needed to do was to answer yes or no. I would expect him to be enthusiastic and respond yes! But he didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he complained. He blamed it on the fact that there was no one to help him get to the pool, and that someone else would always get in before he did. Again, after he was healed, when the authorities told him off for carrying his own mat on a sabbath, he blamed it on Jesus, for telling him to pick up his mat, and caused Jesus to be persecuted. Wasn’t he grateful for being healed? Did he want to be healed at all? It seems to me that he was a complainer, someone who doesn’t own up and puts the blame on others. But I paused and re...