Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

“When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently.” In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us about the hardships and patient endurance that marked his ministry. Before his conversion, Paul had what the world might consider a better and more comfortable life. He was well educated, a zealous Pharisee, respected among his own people, and a man with authority. But after encountering Jesus, everything changed. He gave up his former way of life to follow Christ. And what did he receive in return? Persecution, rejection, suffering, imprisonment, and many hardships.  Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta. In some ways, her story reminds us of St. Paul. She came to India as a young religious sister with the Loreto Sisters. She became a teacher and eventually the headmistress of a school. She loved her religious life and her work. But then something changed. While traveling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she experi...

 “Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes.” It is very difficult to live without judging others. Knowingly or unknowingly, we often judge people based on what we see, especially those who are different from us. But we are all different. Our life situations are different, our ideas are different, and the ways we were raised are different. There is a beautiful saying often attributed to Philo of Alexandria: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” How true that is. We often do not know what another person is carrying in his or her heart. Jesus also tells us, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.” So how do we overcome a judgmental attitude? One way is by becoming more empathetic. Instead of immediately judging someone, we can try to know the person, listen to their story, and understand why they may think or act differently from us. St. Paul reminds us today that the final judgment belongs to God. God knows what is ...

Holy Family School Mass Homily   Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men? How many of you are fans of Ronaldo? Any Messi fans here? What about Neymar? We all have people we admire. Maybe it is a great soccer player, a singer, or someone else we look up to. Maybe some of you even have a favorite teacher here at school! It is good to admire good people. It is good to have people we can look up to and learn from. But we also have to remember that no human person is perfect. In today’s reading, St. Paul had some “fans” too. Paul had preached to the people first, and later another great preacher named Apollos came. Soon people started choosing sides. Some were saying, “I belong to Paul,” while others were saying, “I belong to Apollos.” But Paul basically tells them, “Don’t make this about me!” Why? Because Paul did not want people simply to be his fans. He wanted them to be followers of Jesus Christ. And that is true for...