Fr. Nivin's Homily Blog

 “Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior.” These powerful words from the prophet Zephaniah are just as timely today as they were when first declared. Indeed, it is a much-needed message for the Church today. At the last NCYC, one of the bishops began his talk, addressing the youth, with three simple words: “Joy over Fear.” And those words captured the attention of over 13,000 teenagers; it sure captured my attention too. We all listened to him keenly for more than an hour because deep inside every one of us, we yearn to have courage over fear, we long for joy over sorrow, and we all live in the hope that all will be well and good at the end of our days. Every day we wake up to some bad news, so it is very easy to slip into anxiety, fear, sadness and hopelessness. Even when we look at our church, observe its declining numbers and its silent community, it is easy to think that God is far away, Jesus is in the distance and we are he...

(Holy family School Mass) In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something very interesting to His disciples. He says, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you to all truth.” Do you know what Jesus is trying to tell His disciples and us? He is really saying that there is so many, many things that He wants to teach all of us, but right now, we are just not ready for all of it. Why? Because we will not be able to understand it all. But He continues to assure His disciples and us, not to worry because He is going to send someone to help us understand it all. Who is that someone? That’s right, the Holy Spirit! Do you know when did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit? They received the Holy Spirit on a very special day we call “Pentecost”. It sounds like a big word. Can you say that with me? Pen-te-cost. Very good! And do you know what happened to the disciples when they received the Holy Spirit? Their hearts were filled with...

 “No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” There is no doubt: every Christian who follows Jesus truly and live fully obedient to His commandments will face some form of persecution. The stories of the saints and martyrs throughout history confirm this reality. If we genuinely live according to the values of the Gospel, persecution is inevitable. Why? Because the world lives in opposition to the Gospel values. We all love Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She is now a canonized saint of the church but before she even died, she was already recognized as a living saint. She responded to the call of Jesus with extraordinary faith, humility and full obedience. She lived the Gospel in a powerful and real way, she showed mercy, compassion and solidarity with the poorest of the poor, living with them in the poorest of conditions, feeding them from the poverty she embraced but embracing them with the fullness of Christ’s love through the congregati...

(Holy Family School Mass) “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”  Do you know what is pruning? If you ever see a gardener or farmer carefully cutting some parts of the plants, very likely he could be pruning the plant. He is definitely not killing it! In today’s reading Jesus tells about pruning grapevines. Now I am not very familiar with pruning grapevines, but I do know a little about pruning tea plants from my farming experience in my childhood years. When I was a young boy, my family had a few acres of tea plants on our farm. Every five years, toward the end of summer, we would prune those tea bushes. We carefully cut away all their leaves. Yes, all the leaves. So after pruning, the plants would look lifeless as if dead, with no leaves, nothing to admire, just bare branches and short. Seems very cruel and crazy, isn’t it? But then something amazing would happen soon afterward. In just a few days...

 “Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.”  Paul and Barnabas were in serious trouble. After fleeing persecution in Iconium, they arrived in Lystra, only to face another challenge. But this time, it was not violent persecution, it was overwhelming appreciation. The people there were almost worshipping them as gods. The people of Lystra, who had long been worshipping Zeus, Hermes, and other deities, thought that the gods had finally come down in human form when they saw the miracles performed by Paul and Barnabas. They believed only divine beings could do such wonder. Truly so, but Paul and Barnabas were ordinary men, made of the same flesh and blood. Yet there was something different about them, the miracles they performed were truly acts of God, working through human beings. Paul and Barnabas were true and faithful followers of Jesus; thus they were filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to perform great works for God. In today’s Gospel...

 “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.” Jesus prophesied and it all came true. We read the Acts of the Apostles and can see the amazing work of the Holy Spirit through the first disciples who believed. The disciples did do all the works that Jesus did, they performed miracles, they preached fearlessly, and in fact, they did greater, they converted more people than Jesus did during His earthly life. His teachings through the disciples spread across countries and continents at astounding speed. Remember, they didn’t have technology, internet or social media. As we heard in the first reading, even the Gentiles embraced Jesus and His teachings in multitudes. That’s really something great. But we wonder, why didn’t Jesus convert as many followers during his own time on earth? The answer is in understanding clearly Jesus’ true mission. Jesus came not to start a huge following or establish a large institution. H...

 “The hand of the Lord was with them.”  This phrase from today's first reading moved me deeply. In the Eastern tradition which I grew up, children in the family always receive blessings from their parents and grandparents daily. When I was living at home, every morning as we leave for school, my grandfather would lay his hands on my head to give me a blessing for the day. He did that every day until he passed away. Grandma too but she passed away when I was in 4th grade. Every one of my six siblings also received the same blessings daily. Our parents continued the tradition, and now I see my siblings blessing their children every morning. It is a powerful act, a beautiful tradition, a divine gesture. I truly believe that the blessings I received from my parents and grandparents stayed with me, strengthened me, and gave me peace for the day. On rare days when I left home without my grandfather’s blessing, I would feel like something was missing, like I had forgotten something v...

"You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.”  Why was it such a big issue for the Apostles to be with uncircumcised people? During our First Communion retreat recently, we acted out the Last Supper scene. I took the role of Jesus, and some of the First Communicants sat with me at the table pretending to be the disciples. When I broke the bread and held up the chalice of grape juice, I repeated the words of Jesus: “This is my Body… This is my Blood.” And then passed the bread and drink around for all to consume. One little girl, sitting beside me, didn’t drink the grape juice. After the session, I asked her, “Did you enjoy it?” She quickly replied, “Not at all! I don’t drink blood.” I tried to explain to her that it wasn’t blood, it was juice, and we were just acting. But she insisted, “Well, I heard you say it was blood!” She was right, those were Jesus’ words, and she believed. I tried to explain again that it’s only at Mass that the wine becomes the Preciou...

 “The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.”  This line always impacts me greatly. Imagine being filled with both joy and the Holy Spirit, especially while facing intense rejection and persecution. That’s not something ordinary. That’s something supernatural - something that comes only from God. I have five sisters. One of my sisters will start singing without a care in the world and won’t stop – when she drinks just a glass of wine! Another sister becomes the queen of jokes, jokes one after another, creating a funny scene – simply after having a glass or two. What about me? I just have a good sleep when I get more drinks. The point is, they’re not normally like that. Normally they are too shy to sing or too dull to say anything funny. But wine or alcohol seem to melt away their mental or social blocks making them mentally high and socially carefree. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Peter and the other apostles giving their first big preaching, and people thou...

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” We are blessed to receive a new pope two days ago, Leo XIV (14th), the 267th successor of St. Peter. In the days leading up to the election, the media was constantly speculating who the next pope might be, some even came up with their own selection of top ten potential cardinals. Let us not forget it is the Holy Spirit who guides this choice, just as Jesus Himself chose Peter to be the first leader of the Church. Now, was Peter the best choice by world standards? Not at all. Peter was impulsive, hot tempered, sometimes timid, and he might even have had a habit of promising too much without being able to fulfil. Even though he had affirmed that Jesus was the only person He would follow, Peter still denied having anything to do with Jesus when He was arrested. But Jesus did not give up on Peter, because He sees beyond the superficial, deeper than the exterior and far into the future. So Jesus c...

 "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." The courage of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, always amazes me. Where did he get such strength? How was he able to withstand the big solid stones being thrown at him?  Imagine the heavy and harsh hits on the face, the head, the chest, everywhere on the body – breaking skin, damaging flesh and smashing the bones. Pain aside, how could he still pray for them who were hurting and killing him at that moment? What gave him such strength? It was what he believed, his firm and steadfast faith. Stephen knew who was waiting for him in heaven. As we heard at the beginning of the reading: “Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” He saw Jesus, the King of Martyrs, waiting for him in glory. Jesus was waiting to receive Him. Surely Stephen’s ...

 “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”  Once, an influential and wealthy man shared with me something which struck me deep and unforgettable. He said, “I wish I had just a few real friends. Just friends. No expectations. No pressure. Just someone to talk to. To love and be loved.” It was obvious then that he was not deprived of money, wealth, possibly not power also, but he was deprived of good relationships, relationships which are real and meaningful. Instead, he was surrounded by people who expected things from him. Because of his wealth and influence, people saw him as someone they can benefit from, someone advantageous for their needs, instead of someone they can simply be friends with. That’s exactly what Jesus is calling out in today’s Gospel. He tells the crowd, “You are looking for me not because you saw the signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” They were following ...

 “Their message goes out through all the earth.” This is what we repeated in today’s Responsorial Psalm, and it aptly describes the missionary coverage of the apostles and disciples. They truly brought the message of Jesus’ Resurrection, the Good News of God’s redemptive love everywhere, to all corners, through all the earth. All the way to India, St. Thomas brought the Gospel, that’s how many of my ancestors became Catholic, and the faith has been handed down to the generations thereafter. Peter and Paul went to Rome. Luke went to Egypt. Matthew stayed and preached in Judea. Asia, Africa, even China received the Gospel. Today we celebrate the feast of the apostles James and Philip. James, the son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Lesser, is hardly mentioned in Bible, only when the twelve chosen apostles were listed. James wrote an epistle to his name. But Philip appears more often. When some Greeks came looking for Jesus, it was Philip who informed Jesus about it. At the multip...

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...

 “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Today, we celebrate the second scrutiny of our 17 elect who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Dear elect, you are here today because God has chosen you, to have faith Jesus Christ. Who is He, that you may believe in Him? He is Son of God, the Father. We believe because we have the gift of faith. As I reflect on this moment, I can’t help but be in awe of God’s way of working. Look at ourselves. I’m from India, your catechist Priscilla is from Kenya, and among you are brothers and sisters from Burma, South Sudan, and Mexico. And yet, here we all are, at St. Ambrose, because God chose us, every one of us. By our own ability, or choice, or plan, we would not have created such a beautiful union of diversity, all at the same time, in the same place, for the same reason – to respond to God’s call for us to be His people of faith. Who would have known? In today’s first r...