Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jan. 30, 2011
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: Matt 5:1-12. Beatitudes
MP3 Audio — Complete homily text
Summary: Our parish schools are an alternative school system. We must compete against the state of Illinois, which has a bottomless pit of funding. We provide a choice between the education that the government can provide and what the Church can provide.
Saint Francis de Sales’ “little virtues” of gentleness, kindness, humility, and cheerful optimism shape the monastic life of the Visitation Sisters. Consider a life of prayer and teaching. Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary Washington, DC.
Stop calling public schools public. They should be called government schools. They are run by the government. They follow the ideals of the regime in power. They teach what is important in modern secular America. At one time, the schools used to conform to Protestant ideals. Children were then taught how to pray.
Today, the government schools say they don’t teach religion and virtue. But by ignoring God, sin, and virtue, they teach the religion of the world. When it comes to the comforts of the faith and the beauty of God, schools are utterly silent about these things.
The true purpose of education is to give a divine reason for our existence — to support our children on their path to heaven. Therefore, we will do everything possible here at St. Odilo to keep our kids from slipping through the cracks. This is one sure antidote to our secular society.
