Great Catholic Homilies

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Posts Tagged ‘Passion’

Through Jesus’ passionate love, we gain life

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Photo of Fr. Brankin. Go to Fr. Brankin's bio.Passion Sunday, Mar. 25, 2012
Fr. Anthony Brankin

(Full text of sermon) Often pundits talk about the dumbing-down of our twentieth and twenty-first century society.

Think of it: our parents and grandparents—who probably had very little formal education were more understanding and aware of things and ideas and processes and even vocabulary than any of their children or grandchildren This dumbing down certainly has taken place in America of course—look at our speech and vocabulary.

A child of only fifty years ago was not only aware of Latin—he used Latin type words in his everyday speech. Certainly he was familiar with Latin because of the Mass, but that child was also aware that so much of our language came from Latin—and that fact helped that child immeasurably in understanding the words he or she might use and therefore why we use them. Continue Reading…

Lent, life, and the true meaning of passionate love

Sunday, March 25th, 2012

Photo of Fr. Brankin. Go to Fr. Brankin's bio.5th Sunday of Lent, Mar. 25, 2012
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: John 12:20-33 “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.”

Our Lord said, “Before Abraham came to be ‘I Am.’” The people were so outraged, that he hid himself. So we cover him and his friends up by covering up the statues in church at this time, so his enemies won’t get to him.

Click for Visitation Spirit website

Live Gently With a Valiant Spirit

Would you like to have the courage of the Holy Spirit to face everyday life? A burning desire to grow closer to God? Gentleness and strength of spirit are part of the Salesian spirituality. Crafted by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, this spirituality is practiced by both religious and laity alike.

Learn more. Read “Salesian Spirituality is Strong and Growing.”

Today is Passion Sunday. But the word passion does not have the same meaning as our modern society has given it. It is not some animal mating need. It means suffering. The Latin, passus est, means “he suffers.” Jesus suffers because of his love for us, enough to die on the cross. The true definition of passionate love is the love parents have, who would do anything for their children.

Go to all of Fr. Brankin’s sermons

In the crucifix and the sorrowful mother, we see that God knows our troubles

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Fr. Anthony BrankinFourth Sunday of Lent. Apr. 3, 2011
Fr. Anthony Brankin

Gospel: John 9:1-41
Jesus heals the blind man
Free MP3 Audio

Summary: When Fr. Brankin was a boy, a beautiful crucifix in his grandmother’s house impressed him so much that it became the standard of all crucifixes he would see. Today’s crucifixes, however, do not match the reality of its meaning. Now they depict some pink guy dancing through the flowers. They are made in China out of plastic. Do those Chinese workers know the suffering Jesus? How difficult it is to find a cross like the old ones today.

Blessed Virgin Mary of MercyThe many allurements and problems of our modern world hold many Christians captive from knowing and practicing their faith. Help those whose faith is in danger. Become a Mercedarian friar. Visit Fr. Joseph Eddy’s Facebook page, or the website of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

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Daily Mass fills the hole in our hearts

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

19th Sunday in ordinary time, August 8, 2010
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48 Be ready; the Son of Man is coming

Audio MP3 13 min.

Summary: Daily Mass comforts the troubled. It also offers us a way to help appreciate God’s love for us. The problems in our lives are not faced by ourselves alone, but with God, the angels and saints. The Church’s calendar punctuates our lives with feast days. With the Transfiguration, Aug. 6, Jesus shows the disciples a hint of who He was, and this gave them the strength they needed to endure Jesus’ Passion. God gives us his grace, his life, to transform us into creatures like him.

This homily is brought to you by the Georgetown Visitation Sisters, in Washington, D.C. Saint Francis de Sales’ “little virtues” of gentleness, kindness, humility, and cheerful optimism shape monastic life for these sisters.