Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “Praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the Gospel from the first day until now.”  “Praying always with joy in my every prayer.” We pray in different ways and with different emotions. Sometimes we pray with many distractions, sometimes with tears, sometimes with anxiety, and sometimes with hearts filled with gratitude. And sometimes, we pray simply for the sake of finishing our prayers. But St. Paul speaks about praying with joy. What a beautiful way to pray! In today's first reading, St. Paul is filled with joy because he sees the fruits of his evangelization in Philippi. The people have received the Gospel, embraced the faith, and continued to live what he taught them. He is also joyful because of their partnership in spreading the Gospel. We too have experienced this kind of joy, especially when we look back and recognize how God has answered our prayers or worked through us to help others. And just like the Philippians, ...

 “It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.” “It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour.” In today's Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to two very small things: a mustard seed and yeast. Both teach us about how God's Kingdom grows. In both cases, the growth happens quietly, almost invisibly. We cannot see the growth from moment to moment, but eventually we see the results. When we look at the two-thousand-year history of the Church, we see this very clearly. The Church began with a small group of ordinary people. It faced centuries of persecution, suffering, and opposition. Yet, it not only survived but spread throughout the world. The tiny mustard seed became a great tree. Today, we seem to be very concerned about the growth of the Church. We conduct surveys, studies, and research. We count how many people attend Mass, how many are baptized, and how many are leaving the Church. And when the numbers go ...

 “And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit.” Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing people who had suffered from illnesses for many years. We remember the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years, the man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, and today, a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. For eighteen long years, this woman was bent over, unable to stand straight. She could not even look up. We have probably seen people suffering from similar conditions, especially in their old age. But imagine living like that for eighteen years, always looking down, unable to lift your head and enjoy the beauty of the world around you. But there is something deeper in today's Gospel. St. Luke tells us that she had been crippled by a spirit. Her suffering was not simply physical; there was also a spiritual bondage. And Jesus came not only to heal her body but also to set her free. We may not be physically crippled by an evi...

 “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Three weeks before the election, we hear these words of Jesus in today's Gospel. you may wonder whether the Church intentionally chose this Gospel because of the upcoming election. The answer is no. It is simply a coincidence. The readings we hear at Mass are proclaimed throughout the world, not just here in the United States. They are not chosen according to political events. And I am not here to speak about the election. That is not the purpose of a Sunday homily. Rather, I want to reflect on the spiritual message Jesus gives us today. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” Caesar was the Roman emperor. Jesus reminds us that, as citizens, we have certain responsibilities and duties toward our country and society. We have a responsibility to contribute to the common good, to respect others, and through our good deeds, to make our country and our world a better place. In another Gospel passage, we eve...

 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” These are the beautiful and comforting words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. Jesus has given us so many wonderful gifts: the Eucharist, the sacraments, the Church, and above all, the gift of the Holy Spirit. And today, Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will guide us, especially when we do not know what to say or what to do. There have been many moments in my own life when I have struggled to find the right words. Sometimes I have been afraid to speak. Sometimes I have wondered whether I was making the right decision. I am sure many of you have experienced the same thing. But Jesus makes us a beautiful promise: The Holy Spirit will teach us what to say. However, I believe there are two important things we must do to experience this promise in our lives. First, we must ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Before making an important decision, before having a difficult conversation, before taking a major step in lif...

  “In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will.” Last night, when I read these words of St. Paul, they deeply touched my heart, especially the words, “chosen” and “destined according to God's purpose.” Just before reading this passage, I had watched the livestream of the funeral of the priest who baptized me. He was the pastor of our parish in India from 1988 to 1991. Interestingly, I never had the opportunity to meet him personally. After serving in our parish, he left India to become a missionary in Peru, South America. He spent the next thirty years of his priesthood serving the poor and bringing the sacraments to people in remote communities. At one point, he returned to India, but he decided to go back to Peru. He said, “India has so many priests, but in Peru, people are thirsting for the sacraments.” As I watched his funeral and saw him lying in the casket, I thought to myself...

 “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” This is a beautiful statement from St. Paul in today's first reading. What truly matters to God is not simply our religious practices or how faithfully we observe the rules, but how our faith is expressed through love. Both Jesus and his disciples had to deal with religious leaders who were obsessed with laws and regulations. They observed these laws meticulously and expected everyone else to do the same. But sometimes, in their concern for the law, they forgot the most important thing: love. How did Jesus deal with such people? Interestingly, he dealt with them with love. In today's Gospel, a Pharisee invites Jesus to dine at his house. Jesus does not refuse the invitation. He accepts it and sits at the table with him, even though he knows that the Pharisees constantly criticize and oppose him. Jesus did not agree with everything the Pharisees taught or pra...

 “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Life in Christ is a life of freedom.  We have heard many beautiful stories of conversion, especially of people who struggled with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or other destructive habits. When they encountered Christ and experienced his love, their lives changed completely. They discovered a freedom they had never experienced before. Jesus came into this world to liberate us. He came to free us from the bondage of sin, from everything that controls us, and from everything that prevents us from living as children of God. But today, we need to ask ourselves a very personal question: Am I truly free? What are the things that make me live like a slave? It could be an addiction, the excessive use of social media, an unhealthy attachment, anger, resentment, or even certain ideologies that control the way we think and act. Interestingly, even our religious practices can sometimes become ...

“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.” These beautiful words are from today’s first reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. What were the promises God made to Abraham? There were several.  One of the promises that always comes to my mind is this: “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing.” Abraham is known as the father of faith. He became a blessing to the world because of his faith and obedience to God. Think about his life. He followed a God he was only beginning to know, to a land he had never seen. He did not know where God was leading him or what his future would look like. Even when God asked him to do the most difficult things, Abraham remained faithful and obedient. And because of his faithfulness, he became a blessing, not only to his own family but to generations after him. St. Paul reminds us today that through our baptism, we too have become descendants of Abraham and heirs to God's promises....

 “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” What a terrible accusation against the Son of God! Jesus, who came to destroy the power of evil, is accused of working for the devil himself. What could be a greater insult than accusing Jesus of being on the side of his greatest enemy? But why did people think this way? May be because, even before Jesus, there had been false prophets and people claiming to be the Messiah. Some attracted followers through extraordinary signs or impressive claims. Naturally, people were confused. How could they distinguish the true Messiah from false prophets? I think we can understand this confusion very well in today's world. We live in a time when we cannot always believe what we see or hear. With artificial intelligence, we can create images, videos, and even voices that look and sound completely real. Sometimes we struggle to distinguish what is real from what is artificial. The same is true in matters of faith. Even toda...

“You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.” Whenever I read the letters of St. Paul, one thing that strikes me is his zeal. Paul never did anything halfway. Before his conversion, he was completely committed to what he believed. He thought Christianity was wrong, and so he became one of its fiercest persecutors. But when Paul encountered Jesus, something beautiful happened. Jesus did not take away Paul’s zeal; he redirected it. The man who traveled from place to place persecuting Christians now traveled from place to place preaching Christ. The man who tried to destroy the Church became one of its greatest builders. He crossed countries, entered unfamiliar cities, endured rejection, imprisonment, beatings, and suffering—all because he wanted people to know Jesus. That same fire comes through in his letters. Paul says, “Stir into flame the gift of God.” He says, “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.”...

 “If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.” This is one of the beautiful lines from today’s Gospel.  We can easily see Jesus as the Good Samaritan. Humanity was wounded by sin, and Jesus came to rescue us. He lifted us up, cared for our wounds, and brought us to the inn. And we can see the inn as the Church—a place where wounded people are brought to be healed, cared for, and loved. But then Jesus gives the innkeeper two coins and says, “Take care of him.” Perhaps we can see ourselves as that innkeeper. Jesus has entrusted people to our care. And we might imagine those two coins as the two great commandments: Love God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. The first coin is love of God. God deserves the first place in our lives—our heart, our time, our attention, our will. So let us intentionally live our lives trying to please God. Then comes the secon...

 “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” This is how St. Paul speaks to us in today’s second reading. “Have no anxiety at all.” We might immediately think: That is easy to say! But look at the person who said it. St. Paul wrote these words while he was a prisoner. He was facing an uncertain future and even the possibility of death. And yet his Letter to the Philippians is often called the Letter of Joy. All of us have anxieties. I have my anxieties too—what to preach, how to raise money, what comes next, concerns about family and ministry. Parents worry about their children and their future. We worry about our health, finances, relationships, and many other things. St. Paul does not simply say, “Stop worrying.” He tells us what to do with our worries: bring them to God. “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” In other words: Do what you can, and place what you cann...

 “Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.” This beautiful phrase comes from our first reading today, from the very last chapter of the Book of Job. The Book of Job is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. Job is presented as a righteous man who loses almost everything—his possessions, his children, his health, and even the understanding and support of those around him. The great question running through the book is: Why does a good person suffer? Where is God when everything seems to be lost? Interestingly, the Book of Job does not give us a simple answer to the mystery of suffering. Instead, it invites us to trust in God even when we cannot understand his ways. And today, at the end of the story, we see something beautiful: God restores Job. “Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.” This reminds us of the restoring power of God. God can restore what seems broken. God can bring hope after despair, joy after sor...