Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold." Every human life is created by God with great love, and He has given each of us a purpose to accomplish in this life. The fruits we produce through our lives are not accidental; they are part of God's loving plan for us. We fulfill our purpose when we are aligned to God's will. His plan for us may not seem significant in the eyes of the world, but every life is precious for God. Since each of us is unique, the purpose God has entrusted to each of us is also unique. The saints are those who listened to God, lived according to His will, and bore beautiful fruits through their faithfulness. Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a wonderful saint who is still relatively unknown in the West—St. Charbel Makhlouf. St. Charbel lived in nineteenth-century Lebanon during a difficult time un...

 In today's Gospel, Jesus says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”  These words invite us to ask an important question: What is the will of our heavenly Father for us? Jesus gives the answer in other passages of the Gospel. He says, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,” and “Be holy, for your heavenly Father is holy.” God's will is not simply that we avoid sin, but more that we become holy. The Christian life is not merely about avoiding evil; it is really about growing in virtue and becoming more like our heavenly Father each day, in what we think, say and do. Today's readings point us to one of the most difficult yet most beautiful virtues of Christian discipleship - forgiveness. In the first reading we heard, “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin... who does not persist in anger forever.” In the Responsorial Psalm we prayed, “You have for...

 "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." Today's readings remind us of two truths: first, that we are weak and do not even know how to pray for ourselves, and second, that God comes to help us in our weakness, interceding for us. These truths are so comforting and assuring, we really have nothing to worry. Even St. Paul - the great apostle and missionary - admitted that he did not always know how to pray. If St. Paul could say that, I can certainly say it about myself: I am weak, and I do not always know how to pray. Are you also the same? We are all different, and are brought up differently, and so we pray too in different ways. Growing up in a household of eleven family members, I saw that clearly. My grandfather loved reading the Bible. He had a Bible that was published in 1939, and he spent many hours reading it daily. My grandmother was blind during the l...

Today’s first reading from the Prophet Micah reminds us that God hears the cry of the poor. Micah begins his prophecy with a fierce rebuke of rulers, corrupt priests, and false prophets who exploited the poor, seized land by violence, and accepted bribes. God is never indifferent when justice is denied to his people. In the Gospel, we hear these words about Jesus: “I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.” One of the missions of Jesus was to establish justice—not merely according to human laws, but according to the heart of God. Justice means giving to each person what is due to them: their dignity, their rights, their worth as children of God. When Jesus came, the poor and marginalized were already suffering under oppression. Sadly, many of the religious and social leaders who should have consoled them only made their burdens heavier. Jesus came to restore their dignity, to heal, to welcome, and to proclaim God's love for them. Even today, th...

In today's first reading, we hear that "Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord." What a powerful image of sorrow and cry for help. Hezekiah was deeply broken. He did not know where else to go, so he turned away from everything, and faced only God. When King David was betrayed by his own son Absalom, he was immensely sorrowful, so he covered his head from the world and wept his heart out to God as he fled Jerusalem. In their lowest moments, in their helplessness, both kings turned to the Lord. Perhaps we have experienced moments like that. When we are overwhelmed by grief, sadness and have reached our breaking point, we feel we cannot face anyone, we need to hide away, we need to be alone. We simply need to pour out our feelings and empty our sorrow to someone who is strong enough to hold us up. And today's reading tells us, that Someone is God. Hezekiah turned to God and was healed and restored. David turned to God and was saved and revived. We ha...

 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword."  Elsewhere, it is written, "I have come to set the earth on fire." So, why has Jesus come to bring the sword and not peace? A sword is meant to slice and cut. It separates one thing from another. In today's Gospel, the ‘sword’ refers to the Word of God. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, "Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God will reach into our hearts, revealing what is true and what is not. This revelation will disturb our peace as it wakes up our conscience, thereby leading us to a full conversion of the heart. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah told that God was not impressed by the people's many sacrifices because their hearts were far from Him, their offerings were not sincere. So, Isaiah repeatedly reminded them to hear the word of the Lord and listen...

"Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" When the prophet Isaiah had this profound vision of heaven and stood before the Lord, these were the first words that came from his lips. He became deeply aware of his own unworthiness in the presence of God's holiness. I once heard a beautiful definition of prayer: "When we stand before the Creator as creatures with humility, that becomes prayer." I have never forgotten those words. A few years ago, during a retreat, the retreat director said that the first thing we should do when we come before God in prayer is to acknowledge our sinfulness. That awareness reminds us of who we are and who God is. We are limited, weak, and sinful; God is holy, loving, and merciful. Our prayers become more effective when they are offered with humility. None of us is worthy of God's love, yet He continues to love us unconditionall...

 "I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily."  God expresses His promises to His chosen people on various occasions and many ways in Sacred Scripture. What we have just read in today's first reading from prophet Hosea is beautiful and very assuring. It is beautiful because God is expressing His love so affectionately, it is assuring because it was addressed to a people whom He should be angry with, yet He was still showering love. The Book of Hosea was written just before the Assyrian exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The people had turned away from God. They worshipped idols, had forgotten the covenant and lived unfaithfully to the Lord. As a result, they began to experience the painful consequences of their sins. Eventually, the Assyrians conquered them, they were exiled from their homeland, the Promised Land, and never returned. Yet...

In today's first reading, the Lord says through the prophet Hosea: "They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my approval." I wonder what would go through Pope Leo’s mind when he reads this passage today. Just last week, the Holy See excommunicated six bishops from the SSPX (Society of St. Pius X), four of whom were newly consecrated without the approval of the Vatican. Sadly, this is not the first time in the history of the Church. Throughout the centuries, there have been similar situations where certain individuals or groups have outright opposed the authority established by Christ and acted against the unity of His Church. Today’s Gospel is so apt. Jesus looks upon the crowds and sees sheep without a shepherd. He is not simply talking about people who have no leaders, but rather lacking leaders after the heart of God. There is no true shepherd. "I will give you shepherds after my own heart" (Jeremiah 3:15). Jes...

 "When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion..." That detail in the Gospel about ‘the crowd’ caught my attention.  There were many people in that house that day. They were not people who lived in that household, they were there because someone died. Some could be relatives, some neighbors, some were professional mourners, some were there because they were curious or idle. I grew up in India, the most populated country in the world. The cities are always crowded. Buses are full, trains are full, bus stations and markets are full of people. Everywhere you look there is a crowd. But just because there is a crowd does not mean something meaningful is happening. Sometimes people gather simply because they have nowhere else to go. It was similar in Jesus' time. People gathered at weddings, funerals, and wherever something was happening. Many people followed Jesus not because they believed in Him but because...

 “Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!”  A Beautiful and comforting words of prophet Zechariah. A long weekend is of course a time of joy for us especially as we celebrate 250th year of independence.  But truly, are you rejoicing in life? Are you rejoicing as a believer? Only a person who is truly free can be full of joy and be at peace. Life in this country is full of freedom; we enjoy privileges and opportunities that many people in some other parts of the world are still yearning and fighting for. Yet I have a friend, whenever I ask, “How’s life?”, would often reply, "It sucks,.  Is life really that burdensome? Yes, we all struggle with some variations of family problems, work issues, disappointments, sickness, and other daily battles, and our own battle with sin and evil. But we have the freedom to work, to speak, to go anywhere, to believe in any religion, to choose what we want. Is there nothing worth rejoi...