Catholic priests urged to be better preachers

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Catholic priests urged to be better preachers

American bishop laments Catholics watching other Christian services on TV

MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos Updated: 12:57 p.m. ET Oct. 11, 2005

VATICAN CITY - A top American bishop called Tuesday for priests to be better preachers, lamenting that many Catholics resort to watching other Christian services on television or attending different churches to get the “inspiring preaching” they crave.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the former head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told a meeting of the world’s bishops that Catholics increasingly expect better homilies from priests at Sunday Mass. Read more…
 
I have lost count of the really bad homilies I have heard. Can any one imagine just how bad a homily can get?..week after week after week…?
 
I am lucky on that front. Both the pastor and associate pastor at my parish are gook speakers and make people think (at least they make me think).

PF
 
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contemplative:
I have lost count of the really bad homilies I have heard. Can any one imagine just how bad a homily can get?..week after week after week…?
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Gregory told his colleagues that some U.S. Catholics go to Mass but then go home and watch other Christian church services on TV or listen to them on the radio “simply because they’re still hungry for inspiring preaching.”
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:crying:
I tried TVLand evangelists and was even more dissappointed…
 
I tried TVLand evangelists and was even more dissappointed…
[/quote]

OK. I’m sure nobody wants another storyby me but here it comes.

Many years ago, I heard a homily to which I disagreed strongly. My wife could barely contain me from standing up during it and I lost any focus on the Mass I was so mad. When I got home, I inappropriately called the Associate Priest and chewed him out royally. He was speechless. This still didn’t satisfy me so I made an appointment w/ the Pastor to vent my “fury.”

Before I was half thru w/ my monologue, he interrupted me and said that I was totally out of line. He proceeded to tell me that the homily was the least important thing that a Priest does and I was wrong to be angry with him. He continued by telling me that when I hear a homily that is uninspiring or otherwise disagreeable to reflect on all the great things that only a Priest can do for me. He brings me the Eucharist, he hears my confession, he baptizes my children, and hopefully he will be there to bring me viaticum on my death bed. And more importantly than what he does for me, I need to appreciate what he does for those among us with greater struggles and challenges than I.

The more I’ve reflected on these wise words, the more respect and reverence I’ve given Priests ever since. Suddenly, their foibles (the Priest who goofs around too much or is too serious and stern or any other such imperfections that offend my petty self) seemed trivial. Granted, I’d love to have more inspiring homilies as much as the next guy but it pales in comparison to just the opportunity to recieve my Lord and Savior in the Holy Eucharist and that is coming after every bad homily in less than 15 minutes!
 
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Orionthehunter:
bad homily in less than 15 minutes!
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uhhh…lets try the average of 1-3 minutes…no exageration
Evidently you don’t really know how disturbing a homily can get…time after time…
 
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contemplative:
uhhh…lets try the average of 1-3 minutes…no exageration
Evidently you don’t really know how disturbing a homily can get…time after time…
Click to expand...
Maybe I wasn’t clear. I meant that w/i 15 minutes this same Priest was going to give me the Eucharist and considered in that perspective, a bad homily didn’t seem so bad.
 
What I think people look for in Evangelical Protestant preaching is all the excitement and passion they seem to bring to their topic. They don’t just deliver a talk, they rail, they rally, they shout, they stomp around, they emphasis certain words to the point of caricature, but they are rousing, love 'em or hate 'em. Let’s face it, people watch action scenes in films much more closely than simple dialogue. Our priests, God bless 'em!, aren’t taught to do the things Evangelical Protestant preachers do. Those priests who give good homilies give thoughtful, inspiring messages on the day’s Scripture reading, but apparently, even that isn’t good enough for some people simply because their priests don’t get their juices going with lots of snappy expressions and pulpit antics.
 
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Della:
What I think people look for in Evangelical Protestant preaching is all the excitement and passion they seem to bring to their topic. They don’t just deliver a talk, they rail, they rally, they shout, they stomp around, they emphasis certain words to the point of caricature, but they are rousing, love 'em or hate 'em. Let’s face it, people watch action scenes in films much more closely than simple dialogue. Our priests, God bless 'em!, aren’t taught to do the things Evangelical Protestant preachers do. Those priests who give good homilies give thoughtful, inspiring messages on the day’s Scripture reading, but apparently, even that isn’t good enough for some people simply because their priests don’t get their juices going with lots of snappy expressions and pulpit antics.
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I don’t think the article is talking about Catholics turning to theatrical sources. Catholics are downright hungry for the Truth.
Originally posted by Orionthehunter
Maybe I wasn’t clear. I meant that w/i 15 minutes this same Priest was going to give me the Eucharist and considered in that perspective, a bad homily didn’t seem so bad.
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I see and exactly how am I supposed to respond if the priest delivers unorthodox teaching in that time slotted for homily 1-3 minutes? It is enough to set anyone off and make them not worthy to receive Our Lord.

I have escaped the regular parish priest in my diocese for safer pastures. Don’t worry about me. Worry about the poor sheep who file in every Sunday to hear garbage. Sorry - the homilies I have heard are downright garbage.
 
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Orionthehunter:
OK. I’m sure nobody wants another storyby me but here it comes.

Many years ago, I heard a homily to which I disagreed strongly. My wife could barely contain me from standing up during it and I lost any focus on the Mass I was so mad. When I got home, I inappropriately called the Associate Priest and chewed him out royally. He was speechless. This still didn’t satisfy me so I made an appointment w/ the Pastor to vent my “fury.”

Before I was half thru w/ my monologue, he interrupted me and said that I was totally out of line. He proceeded to tell me that the homily was the least important thing that a Priest does and I was wrong to be angry with him. He continued by telling me that when I hear a homily that is uninspiring or otherwise disagreeable to reflect on all the great things that only a Priest can do for me. He brings me the Eucharist, he hears my confession, he baptizes my children, and hopefully he will be there to bring me viaticum on my death bed. And more importantly than what he does for me, I need to appreciate what he does for those among us with greater struggles and challenges than I.

The more I’ve reflected on these wise words, the more respect and reverence I’ve given Priests ever since. Suddenly, their foibles (the Priest who goofs around too much or is too serious and stern or any other such imperfections that offend my petty self) seemed trivial. Granted, I’d love to have more inspiring homilies as much as the next guy but it pales in comparison to just the opportunity to recieve my Lord and Savior in the Holy Eucharist and that is coming after every bad homily in less than 15 minutes!
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I’m not condoning poor orthodoxy. I’m just urging that we keep “weak” preaching in perspective. A poor preaching Priest might be the best confessor, spiritual director, minister to the troubled in your area. Every Priest’s charism is different and valuable. Like someone said, it is easy to find Christ in our loved ones. The virtue is when we find it in those it is hard. Priest deserve the same effort on our part. 🙂
 
Orion the hunter you make a great point. I have a great preacher, so look forward to the sermon. I must say that I am also happy to have EWTN in order to hear other preachers, such as Fr. Corapi.
 
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Orionthehunter:
I’m just urging that we keep “weak” preaching in perspective. A poor preaching Priest might be the best confessor, spiritual director, minister to the troubled in your area. Every Priest’s charism is different and valuable.
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I think you make an excellent point. We need to suppport our priests, rather than criticize them. They have a tough job.

But I think there is a genuine desire for people to get emotionally involved in their worship services. I know I have enjoyed attending churches which had talented musicians - it was a real pleasure to attend. Good preaching is similar, I think.

I worry about the loss of the faithful to evangelical churches. Good preaching might be one way to help put a stop to that.
 
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Orionthehunter:
I’m not condoning poor orthodoxy. I’m just urging that we keep “weak” preaching in perspective. A poor preaching Priest might be the best confessor, spiritual director, minister to the troubled in your area. Every Priest’s charism is different and valuable. Like someone said, it is easy to find Christ in our loved ones. The virtue is when we find it in those it is hard. Priest deserve the same effort on our part. 🙂
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You’re right. Our pastor kills every story he tries to include in a sermon…and I mean a long, painful death agony. I really have to fight not smiling when he arrives at a particular point in the homily and says,"Which brings me to a story…"But he is a good and compassionate confessor, a reverent celebrant of the Holy Sacrifice, the school children love him, he loves Jesus and Mary, and the parish is well-managed.
 
I don’t think the article is talking about Catholics turning to theatrical sources. Catholics are downright hungry for the Truth.
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I’m sorry if I missed something, but I wasn’t really commenting on the article, but what I’ve seen of TV preachers and people I know and their reactions to them.

As to Catholics being hungry for the truth, there are so many great sources besides homilies for Catholics to get the truth, such as the CCC and the writings of the Saints, that the homily is really almost, almost an afterthought. All through the Mass Catholics are told the truth, including, hopefully, the homily.
 
I think in many cases there is a exagerated emphasis.

God is Love. God is Truth.

The Mass is a Sacrifice. The Mass is a communal meal.

Catholics need to be called to the Truth. The frequent message is that God is Love and loves you no matter what. That is true. Still God calls us to the Truth. This affects how we live our lives, our marriages, and raise our children. Too many times, the message that God is Love is interpeted that “as long as I love God” everything is fine and I can choose what other Church teachings I want to believe according to my conscience.

That is not a God that most men respect or will give their lives to. Why are religious vocations so low. The priests have an obligation to teach the fullness of truth in order to help us form our consciences. Then we can see the beauty, love and truth in a God we can respect. We should learn to follow the Laws of God which are written on our very soul as the Natural Law. To fail to teach this denies part of God and misleads Catholics.

Some teachings are hard. We may not be liked if we stand up for them. I think it is hard to for priests that desire to be liked more than respected. Many protestant preachers do not shy away from that. Sometimes that is called “fire and brimstone” preaching. If that is the case, they have gone too far. Balance is necessary.
 
EWTN is a treasure. Their Mass is extraordinary. If I were in that line of work, I’d watch and learn how to do it.
 
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