Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” In his younger days, St. Augustine was an arrogant and prideful man. He was highly intelligent, witty and skilled in rhetorical arguments. He thought his intelligence was above all men and was never convinced that believing in God could make any difference in his life. And yet this same Augustine, in his later years, when asked to name the three most important virtues, and he replied: “Humility, humility, and humility.” He had found God and discovered how very great God is, and how very tiny, small he was. Augustine exalted himself high above others, yet he could not reach Almighty God. But when he humbled himself, God reached him.   This Sunday’s readings and responsorial psalm centered on the theme of humility.  In the first reading, we heard: “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” In this materialistic world, many tend to...

 “Aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.”  This is exactly what I desire for my own life, a tranquil, serene, peaceful life. And I believe many of us long for the same too. St. Paul repeatedly encourages the Christian community to live in peace, to engage in meaningful work, and to live in harmony with one another, respecting a healthy privacy and space for others. One common misunderstanding among the early Christians was about the Second Coming of Christ. Many believed that Christ’s return was imminent, so close that it would happen within their lifetime. Because of this anticipation, some thought that working to upkeep livelihood or planning for their children’s future were pointless. And in some sense, it is practical. If you knew that everything you are working for would soon be useless, that your life would be totally transformed and all your property would be valueless, would you still work? Work ...

 “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” What a tragic and evil request. Salome could have asked for half of Herod’s kingdom, wealth, or anything of significant material value. Instead, she asked for the lifeless head of John the Baptist, under the command of her vengeful mother, Herodias. And what did both women gain from it? What worth is there in the head of a holy prophet? Herodias might think that she had removed an obstacle in her life, but in truth, she gained nothing but blood on her hands and the weight of murder for the rest of her life. We, too, have seen people who make poor decisions in life, based on anger, arrogance, jealousy, greed, lust, vengeance. All these deadly sins blind us from reality. They not only make us deepen our sinfulness, but they also lead us to self-condemnation. Every mortal sin is the same. When we commit these sins, we trade eternal joy for a passing, temporary pleasure. Herodias must have felt momentary satisfaction...

 “Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.”  How does a nursing mother care for her child? If you have ever nursed your own child, you might have experienced strong intimacy with your child, the bond is deep and loving for both mother and child. The nursing period is when the child is not yet independent and still requires providence of milk, affection and protection from the mother. Here in today’s first reading, St. Paul described his love for the Thessalonian community like the affection and tenderness of a nursing mother for her child. These words were from one of his earliest letters, written to the Thessalonians when they were facing intense persecution.  Regardless, the community remained steadfast and persevering in faith. Paul’s words of encouragement and endearment ...

 “Knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.” In today’s first reading, St. Paul thanked God for choosing the Thessalonians to be citizens of His Kingdom, out of love. Recently, I learned what the word ‘drafting’ means in military context. People who are drafted are enlisted to serve in the military by law, it is compulsory and there is no other option to choose. Willing or unwilling, whoever is drafted has to obey. In India, however, the army has never had to draft anyone to serve. Many young men and women are eager to join the army, but many either fail to meet the physical requirements or other criteria. The training is very tough. It is not easy to get into the Indian military because the requirements are very strict and also because there is stiff competition to enter. Many are keen, few are chosen. India has the second largest army in the world by active personnel. Those who make it, tend to serve for at least 15 years, and afterward, they receive a dece...

 “They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”  Today’s first reading is fascinating account of how Ruth and Boaz came together and became the great grandparents of King David, the powerful king of Israel who established Jerusalem as the holy city and wrote many of the psalms we still pray today. Ruth is one of the Five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. The other three are Rahab, Tamar and Bethsheba, and Mary, the Mother of God. Interestingly, Ruth who was a Moabite woman, a foreigner, has her life recorded in scripture as an important part of salvation history, even though her story is not one of perfection. The circumstances which led her to Boaz were not ideal, yet God turned everything into good. Ruth showed courage and a respectable character when she left her homeland and went with her mother-in-law to her people. That act of faithfulness must have pleased the God of Israel. Thousands of years later, we continue to read her story and p...

 “Then the people promised Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice.’” In today’s first reading, we heard many times how the Israelites promised solemnly to be obedient to God, to serve Him and Him alone. Yet we know the history, this chosen race of God ultimately failed to keep their promises.  Have you heard of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers? They were a militant group in Sri Lanka, all their members had to undergo five years of tough and intense physical and mental training, ending with an oath ceremony. Every one of them had to promise to be loyal and faithful, to upkeep their mission even with their life. And you know what? They were indeed fiercely loyal to their leader, Prabhakaran, and totally dedicated to their mission. Many of them even took on the mission of suicide bombers without a beat of hesitation. Many of them died violently but the group continued to faithful to their oath. What about us? I recall some years ago when I was secretary to my bis...

 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb.” Sometime ago, I once shared with a priest friend my struggle to pray the Rosary. I struggled with the resistance and reluctance to pray, I struggled with the appreciating the value of the repetitive prayers, I struggled with devoting myself to Mary when I can go direct to Jesus. He then responded to me a beautiful line from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Cause of our joy, pray for us.” And he assured me very confidently that Mary is the cause of our joy, the more we grow in our relationship with her, the more joyful our life will be. That made me think. Years have passed since that conversation, and I can honestly say now that I love praying the Rosary. I feel more attached to our Lady, and I truly experience her as the cause of my joy. I feel joyful when I pray the rosary, because I can feel that she comes to me to help me and strengthen me. Much like what happened in today’s Gospel, we see Mary visit...

 “It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” What do you fear? Every one of us, deep inside or possibly very obviously, has certain fears - things or situations we hope and pray we will never have to face. Some fears fade as we grow older or as circumstances change, some fears remain with us for a long time, especially if we do not make any effort to manage it proactively or positively. When I was a little boy, I was very afraid of snakes. But after my papa taught me how to kill them, I overcame that fear quickly. When I was a student, tests and exams caused me to tremble in fear. I have never overcome that fear. I simply stopped going to school after the age of 28. So for the past nine years I haven’t had to face tests and exams anymore! When I first came to this country, I was always nervous about attending meetings. I was not familiar with the culture here and did not know what the right thin...

“Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. 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.” The greatness of God is truly, completely beyond our full understanding, in fact, it is even beyond our partial understanding. What we know of God is probably just a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the true greatness of God. The people who lived during the time of Moses had only a minimal understanding of who God is because God had only revealed a little about Himself. Divine revelation is gradual. Even if He had revealed everything about Himself, no one would be able to grasp it all. First, God revealed Himself to Abraham and his immediate descendants. Then, through Moses, He revealed Himself to an entire community. Finally, in the fullness of time, through His Son Jesus Christ, God revealed Himself to the whole world. I...

 “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Do you like surprise visits? Some of us do. Recently, I went again to visit my sister and her family. Since the last visit, my 4-year-old nephew had been calling me almost daily and asking me to visit him again. So, this time, I told my sister to keep my trip a secret, I wanted to surprise the little boy. When he saw me finally, his eyes were wide open with disbelief, and his mouth too was wide open in surprise! I will never forget that look on his face, and the exuberant joy of the moment when I hugged and carried him. But not all of us like surprise visits, especially when the visitors come at the wrong time, and we are caught unprepared. When I was in high school, our principal, Fr. George, was very strict. He didn’t talk much, but he knew every student. Occasionally, he would walk along the school corridors, surveying every corner and if he caught any student misbehaving, he would carry ou...

 “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before?” Have you heard the hymn “Faith of Our Fathers” before? I have heard it many times before, but only when I heard it again a few months ago during the Iowa Catholic Radio event, did it move me so very deeply. The lyrics struck me to realize how great the gift of faith is, that was passed down to me by my parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, through many, many, generations before me, from the days of old. God, in a wonderful and mysterious way, guided the transmission of faith from one generation to the next. Yes, some may fall away, but God, in His mercy, often bring them back. If not in one generation, it would be in the next. Our faith has a long history, rich and profound, when we see clearly how God is present and the Holy Spirit active in accompanying humanity through its life. I love history a...

(Holy Family School Mass)   “While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Transfiguration means a complete change of appearance into a most beautiful, glorious, spiritual state. Jesus’ transfiguration shows us that although He has taken on human nature, He is also at the same time truly God. Do you remember who were the three disciples who went with Jesus up the mountain when He was transfigured?  That’s right. Peter, James, and John. And how do you think they felt when they saw Jesus shining with glory? Oh yes, they were afraid, because they had never seen anyone shining so brightly before, it does not happen to human people. But then later they felt great too! That’s why Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” He even wanted to build three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In those days, people do live in tents, not for camping. So Peter thought they...

 “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”  Today, Jesus challenges our common perspective: it is not what we eat that makes us unclean, it is what we speak. Our words reveal what is in our hearts and when we speak unkind words, it shows how ugly and unclean our heart is. We see a good example of this in the first reading, when Miriam, the sister of Moses, spoke against him in a very unkind and unjust manner. Immediately, God inflicted with leprosy, an external visible sign of her internal spiritual impurity. She was later cast out of the community until she was made clean again. If God were to also punish us instantly for every careless word we spoke, would any one of us survive? What is it that comes out of the mouth and defiles? - Gossip, slander, verbal abuse, insults, sarcasm, complaints, condemnation, lies and so on.  All these come from polluted hearts and transfer negativity to others. These...

 “They all ate and were satisfied.”  One of the beautiful virtues that come with growing up in a big family is being thankful and satisfied with whatever food is placed on the table. My siblings and I learnt to enjoy and eat whatever was being served, without complaint. Mommy would prepare one main dish for all, which usually had simple ingredients and lots of spices, together with rice. We had options of course – we could choose to eat or not eat. We always chose to eat because we didn’t want to be hungry. We had very little snacks in those days, and there would be no other side meals. There wasn’t any cooked food sold in the village too. So if we didn’t eat what mommy cooked, there was no other food available. Sometimes we got something special when we fell sick. After a fever, mommy might prepare some chicken soup or porridge with wild meat for us, and that would be a special treat. I don’t remember hearing my papa complain about mommy’s cooking. We didn’t either. Mommy’s f...

 “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” What does it mean to ‘seek what is above’? There’s no doubt that ‘what is above’ is ‘where Christ is seated at the right hand of God’. St. Paul was writing about heaven. In other words, Paul is asking us to think about heaven, about eternity, and to set our minds and hearts to reach it. Let me ask you: When was the last time you thought seriously about heaven? Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. From the catholic perspective, we might say that everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to be a saint. Both are ironic. Without death, there can be no heaven. And only saints can enter heaven. Heaven is ‘saint-land’. Now, let us consider the context of today’s second reading. St. Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians while he was imprisoned in Rome. At the very beginning of this letter, he said that he was ...

 “This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants.”  Those of us born before year 2000 are so privileged and blessed to have been through three Jubilee Years in our lifetime so far. The Great Jubilee Year of 2000 was a huge significant milestone of 2000 years since the birth of Christ. St. Pope John Paul II made it deeper and more meaningful by dedicating each of the three years before that to one of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, preparing the Church extensively spiritually for renewal and the outpouring of graces. Then in 2015, Pope Francis declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy, concretely demonstrating God's boundless compassion and endless mercy for all, and inviting us to be merciful like the Father. Ten years after, this 2025 is declared the Jubilee Year of Hope. Hope does not disappoint us even in the midst of trials and uncertainties, if we entrust all to God. I wonder how many of us will live till the next jubil...

 “Is he not the carpenter’s son?”  Jesus was referred to by various titles during His lifetime on earth: Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, Messiah, Rabbi. People also acknowledged Him as a divine healer, prophet, Savior, even as their King. But when He got back to His hometown Nazareth, people knew Him only as “the carpenter’s son.” His foster father, Joseph, must have been well known in town as the carpenter, and Jesus thus was recognized as the son of the carpenter. Traditionally, the parents would teach and train their children to learn their trade, so that they would grow to be apprentices and finally become masters of their parents’ professions. So, to the people of Nazareth, Jesus was expected to be a good carpenter like His father Joseph. They couldn’t imagine Him becoming anything else, because they did not think He would know any other trade than His father’s.  Their understanding and expectations of His capabilities were very limited and narrow, they could n...