Priests please respond: Homilies

[lak611]

How about abortions? Contraceptives? Pre-marrital sex? Don’t hear much about them except for pro-life week.

The homily is supposed to be about the readings from the Old Testament, the Psalm, the Epistle and the Gospel. I don’t recall much about the subjects in the readings of the entire Bible, except for fornication/adultery occasionally being mentioned. Besides, the homily needs to be something that everyone in the parish can relate to in some way, and actual political campaigning from the pulpit is illegal in the US (violates a church’s nonprofit status for tax purposes).

 

[jay29]

The homily is supposed to be about the readings from the Old Testament, the Psalm, the Epistle and the Gospel. I don’t recall much about the subjects in the readings of the entire Bible, except for fornication/adultery occasionally being mentioned. Besides, the homily needs to be something that everyone in the parish can relate to in some way, and actual political campaigning from the pulpit is illegal in the US (violates a church’s nonprofit status for tax purposes).

Like I have said before, you can take Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels and apply them to today’s issues very easily without much work.

Like yesterday’s Gospel how Jesus said he happy to be persecuted for His namesake. I could apply that to any fundamental catholic belief, such as the RIGHT TO LIFE. Cardinal Rigali had no problem condeming abortion during his pro-life week homily. God bless him. Archbishop Werhle should have denied pelosi the Eucharist. No spine.

 

[lak611]

I could apply that to any fundamental catholic belief, such as the RIGHT TO LIFE. Cardinal Rigali had no problem condeming abortion during his pro-life week homily. God bless him.

My parish did not just preach. During Right to Life Week, we received baby bottles and put our spare change in them, then returned them to the church. The money supports an organization that helps support mothers with prenatal care so they are able to have their babies.

Archbishop Werhle should have denied pelosi the Eucharist. No spine.

That is not the topic of this thread.

 

[jay29]

We have a priest from Europe who urges us to go to confession, instructs us about the catechism and displays an awe-inspiring reverence for the Eucharist. When he says the words of consecration, it is absolutely beautiful. The reaction from the parish? Some feel like I do, others want the kumbaya stuff and think he’s too tough. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for him sometimes.

What a blessing to have that priest! Confession? I rarely hear about that.

 

[lak611]

What a blessing to have that priest! Confession? I rarely hear about that.

I heard about it several weeks during Advent (it goes along with the Gospel stories about John the Baptist), and I know I’ll be hearing about it again soon with Lent starting next week.

 

[jay29]

My parish did not just preach. During Right to Life Week, we received baby bottles and put our spare change in them, then returned them to the church. The money supports an organization that helps support mothers with prenatal care so they are able to have their babies.That is not the topic of this thread.

The priest must teach the Faith through the readings!

**1154 **The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister’s homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith).

The whole point of the Liturgy of the Word is to hear GOD speak to us and to increase our FAITH, to teach us.

Jesus created the Gospels and the catholic church. BOTH

 

[jay29]

I heard about it several weeks during Advent (it goes along with the Gospel stories about John the Baptist), and I know I’ll be hearing about it again soon with Lent starting next week.

The whole point of this thread is this:

I am tired of hearing pointless homilies when my fellow catholics don’t have a clue about the fundementals of the faith.

I can go up to my fellow catholics at work and ask the what the Real Presence is or what the Communion of Saints is and I would get a deer in the headlights stare. They don’t have a clue. Yet we hear about a golf game from the pulpit. That is very sad.

 

[frommi]

The whole point of this thread is this:

I am tired of hearing pointless homilies when my fellow catholics don’t have a clue about the fundementals of the faith.

I can go up to my fellow catholics at work and ask the what the Real Presence is or what the Communion of Saints is and I would get a deer in the headlights stare. They don’t have a clue. Yet we hear about a golf game from the pulpit. That is very sad.

You know…one of the things that worked in the parishes I’ve been in is doing a ‘teaching’ at the end of mass after communion…3-4 minutes on exactly what you are wanting to hear more of.

 

[lak611]

The whole point of this thread is this:

I am tired of hearing pointless homilies when my fellow catholics don’t have a clue about the fundementals of the faith.

I can go up to my fellow catholics at work and ask the what the Real Presence is or what the Communion of Saints is and I would get a deer in the headlights stare. They don’t have a clue. Yet we hear about a golf game from the pulpit. That is very sad.

That sounds more like a problem with their education when they were in school. Did they go to Catholic school or take CCD classes? Are they regular churchgoers or “cafeteria” Catholics? It isn’t the priest’s fault if they were not instructed by their parents or school, or if they just choose to ignore their faith.

 

[KatieD]

I agree with you. I am part of that baby boomer generation, a teenager in the 70s, and went to Catholic school and later to CCD. Either we were poorly catechized or maybe we didn’t listen well when we were taught, but I know that many my age really don’t know our faith very well. I decided a few years ago that it was time to really study my faith, and I was shocked at how little I knew. I don’t blame our priests for that. I do think, though, that they can help us learn our faith better. And, in their defense, I have seen one of our priests, who gives us wonderful homilies and gets little teaching moments in where he can, be criticized for homilies that are too long because we have some parishioners who don’t want to listen that long. That isn’t fair to our priests, who deserve our support when they try to teach the faith.

 

[ThePenitent]

Katie D:

Yes indeed – and sadly, it is these same people who complain about the homily being too long, or being “too preachy” who can benefit from it the most: too bad they aren’t actually listening. It seems like they just want to go to Mass so they can check it off their list of things to do, and so they can feel good about themselves. Oftentimes, these are the ones who arrive late, and leave immediately after Communion without even returning to their seats. Okay, I’m starting to rant now.

In any case, touching upon some other posts, I understand a priest’s desire to relate the readings to everyday life and how difficult it is to do so in an expeditious manner. But I would rather the priest relate his homily to the human condition which we all share, rather than to mention something from his own life, or quote a movie or a TV show or a Reader’s Digest article he read recently, or mention a golf game or a recent vacation, etc. Because doing so is just fluff. I guess this is part of why Jesus preached in parables.

I want to hear about God, virtue, sin, temptation, forgiveness, mercy, justice, prayer, the sacraments, purgatory, communion of saints, confession, the corporal works of mercy, the spiritual works of mercy, the opportunities in our parish and in our community to do volunteer work, faith, hope, love, the magisterium, the role of the USCCB, fidelity to the Pope, the role of the college of Cardinals and synods, contributing to the Pope’s pence, the four marks of the church, the meaning and import of a recent papal document, the beauty of vocations for both men and women, how to encourage vocations in our children, how to pray for vocations, how to pray for and support our priests, the evils of contraception and abortion, the evils of cloning and genetic engineering with human DNA, the evils of euthanasia and the death penalty, the requirements for a just war, our obligation to participate in the world of citizenship and politics as authentic Christians, the works of the early Church Fathers, the works of the 33 Doctors of the Church, the true meaning of our baptismal vows and confirmation, the real existence of Satan in the world and in our lives, the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, AND THE LIST IS TRULY ENDLESS. So why, Why, WHY do we get so much mindless drivel in homilies when there is so VERY MUCH that we should be hearing?

Whew! I feel better now. Taking a deep breath Rant over.

Given the other posts that have been made, it may not be possible for us to come to a concensus on this issue. A number of the posts state unequivocal support of their priests (which I understand and can appreciate) but without giving proper acknowledgement to the concerns that people have made in this thread about weak homilies.

You know, there are several resources for priests to receive, copy, or subscribe to homilies written by others. Maybe our priests need to be encouraged to use these resources more – especially if they are poor homilists themselves, the readings don’t “speak to them” that week, etc.

 

[Joysong]

A number of the posts state unequivocal support of their priests (which I understand and can appreciate) but without giving proper acknowledgement to the concerns that people have made in this thread about weak homilies.

I agree that there are incidences where a priest is weak in homiletics and I myself have been to Mass and heard this on occasion. [Sometimes the priest is stretched so thin in his duties that it is possible he did not have time to adequately prepare. It happens!] That weakness having been acknowledged and compassioned, what constructive good will come of uttering one’s lament here? Ideas anyone? Should we write a kind letter to the pastor? Will that enable him to do better?

Better yet, can we on our own find those resources which will deepen the faith we so earnestly desire? This seems to be a good solution, for maybe our needs are much deeper than those of the average Catholic. I share Jay’s concern, enough to become a catechist myself. But I think we have to make a virtue of necessity:

a) Pray earnestly and regularly for those priests and revere their ministry in our hearts;

b) Offer to help in some constructive way; (teach adult ed?)

c) Study on our own those truths which we lack and desire to learn.

d) Share the good news as often as possible in our own spheres with those who are not informed.

 

[jay29]

Katie D:

Yes indeed – and sadly, it is these same people who complain about the homily being too long, or being “too preachy” who can benefit from it the most: too bad they aren’t actually listening. It seems like they just want to go to Mass so they can check it off their list of things to do, and so they can feel good about themselves. Oftentimes, these are the ones who arrive late, and leave immediately after Communion without even returning to their seats. Okay, I’m starting to rant now.

In any case, touching upon some other posts, I understand a priest’s desire to relate the readings to everyday life and how difficult it is to do so in an expeditious manner. But I would rather the priest relate his homily to the human condition which we all share, rather than to mention something from his own life, or quote a movie or a TV show or a Reader’s Digest article he read recently, or mention a golf game or a recent vacation, etc. Because doing so is just fluff. I guess this is part of why Jesus preached in parables.

** I want to hear about God, virtue, sin, temptation, forgiveness, mercy, justice, prayer, the sacraments, purgatory, communion of saints, confession, the corporal works of mercy, the spiritual works of mercy, the opportunities in our parish and in our community to do volunteer work, faith, hope, love, the magisterium, the role of the USCCB, fidelity to the Pope, the role of the college of Cardinals and synods, contributing to the Pope’s pence, the four marks of the church, the meaning and import of a recent papal document, the beauty of vocations for both men and women, how to encourage vocations in our children, how to pray for vocations, how to pray for and support our priests, the evils of contraception and abortion, the evils of cloning and genetic engineering with human DNA, the evils of euthanasia and the death penalty, the requirements for a just war, our obligation to participate in the world of citizenship and politics as authentic Christians, the works of the early Church Fathers, the works of the 33 Doctors of the Church, the true meaning of our baptismal vows and confirmation, the real existence of Satan in the world and in our lives, the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, AND THE LIST IS TRULY ENDLESS**. So why, Why, WHY do we get so much mindless drivel in homilies when there is so VERY MUCH that we should be hearing?

Whew! I feel better now. Taking a deep breath Rant over.

Given the other posts that have been made, it may not be possible for us to come to a concensus on this issue. A number of the posts state unequivocal support of their priests (which I understand and can appreciate) but without giving proper acknowledgement to the concerns that people have made in this thread about weak homilies.

You know, there are several resources for priests to receive, copy, or subscribe to homilies written by others. Maybe our priests need to be encouraged to use these resources more – especially if they are poor homilists themselves, the readings don’t “speak to them” that week, etc.

I totally agree with you. I want to hear about those things I have highlighted above than anything else. You can find all those all over the Gospels and readings with ease. Thanks for your imput!

 

[az_4_faith]

That sounds more like a problem with their education when they were in school. Did they go to Catholic school or take CCD classes? Are they regular churchgoers or “cafeteria” Catholics? It isn’t the priest’s fault if they were not instructed by their parents or school, or if they just choose to ignore their faith.

I had five years of Catholic School, followed by a couple of years of CCD.

My parents did not teach the faith.

I have always been active in the Church since my teen years. Been an EMHC for over 20 years.

Got married in one parish, had a baby, moved to a new parish closer to home. Spent eight years listening to “fluff” homilies.

Left that parish and moved to a more traditional Catholic parish after becoming tired of hearing the same “God is love and we are all wounded and broken” homilies over and over and over again. (Besides, the liturgies were becoming more and more lax and I wanted to teach my children to worship in a more traditional fashion.)

First two weeks at new parish - heard a very pointed homily explaining the evils of artificial contraception. Never heard a word about it at the other two parishes (and family members thought artificial birth control was a-okay, so we were not hearing the truth from them either). Hubby and I were deeply affected. Continued to hear more and more teaching homilies. This prompted the both of us to explore Catholic doctrines more deeply on our own. We were both amazed at how much of our religion we were unaware of. And we also felt gipped that we never heard any of this at our other parishes.

We didn’t ignore Church teachings on purpose. We just didn’t know any better.

Without those very blunt homilies, we may never have been prompted to explore the truths of the Catholic faith in a much more detailed fashion. Now I look forward to the homily almost as much as I do receiving Holy Communion.

I’d rather have no homily at all that one that lacks substance.

 

[lak611]

I had five years of Catholic School, followed by a couple of years of CCD.

My parents did not teach the faith.

I have always been active in the Church since my teen years. Been an EMHC for over 20 years.

Got married in one parish, had a baby, moved to a new parish closer to home. Spent eight years listening to “fluff” homilies.

Left that parish and moved to a more traditional Catholic parish after becoming tired of hearing the same “God is love and we are all wounded and broken” homilies over and over and over again. (Besides, the liturgies were becoming more and more lax and I wanted to teach my children to worship in a more traditional fashion.)

First two weeks at new parish - heard a very pointed homily explaining the evils of artificial contraception. Never heard a word about it at the other two parishes (and family members thought artificial birth control was a-okay, so we were not hearing the truth from them either). Hubby and I were deeply affected. Continued to hear more and more teaching homilies. This prompted the both of us to explore Catholic doctrines more deeply on our own. We were both amazed at how much of our religion we were unaware of. And we also felt gipped that we never heard any of this at our other parishes.

We didn’t ignore Church teachings on purpose. We just didn’t know any better.

Without those very blunt homilies, we may never have been prompted to explore the truths of the Catholic faith in a much more detailed fashion. Now I look forward to the homily almost as much as I do receiving Holy Communion.

I’d rather have no homily at all that one that lacks substance.

I’m sorry if I sounded uncharitable to you. I was referring to those co-workers mentioned in the post who did not know the faith, not to you. Obviously, you are not “cafeteria” Catholic because you were taught in school; and although your parents did not teach the faith, you did what most adults do not by actually studying the faith on your own. Most people think that Confirmation is the end of religious instruction . God bless you and your family, and it is wonderful that you found a great parish. I guess I am lucky too, because I have never experienced those “fluffy” homilies in my parish; but I have heard some awful ones when I have gone to my parents’ parish.

 

[az_4_faith]

No, no, no – I wasn’t offended by your comments at all. Just used them to illustrate the thought that so many in the pews are uneducated through no fault of their own.

I agree with the notion “having a captive audience”. Priests should take advantage of that.

Our beloved priests can do so much to help educate the faithful at Sunday Mass. Doesn’t have to be a lecture, but a few chosen words on their behalf can certainly spark a desire to learn more on the part of the faithful.

It sure would beat the homily we had a couple of weeks ago. Our new pastor actually used the entire homily to step-by-step show us how to fill out a pledge card for our diocesan charity event. It was nauseating. What a waste of precious time.

 

[Beyrak]

I understand what the Church is doing when they tell the priests just to interpret the readings. .

Choke!!! What? It is NOT a priest’s job to “interpret” the scriptures! This has been done by the Church’s Apostolic and the Catechism tells us what the scriptures mean. If each individual priest interpreted the scriptures, we would be like the protestants and would have over 33,000 parishes with different beliefs.

Now a priest should explain them as they relate to us today, but that’s not interpreting.

Who knows what some guys might end up saying if you gave them free rein? It ain’t safe to let them just spout what they think about this n’ that.

They need to speak their mind! My priest the last few weeks has been so hard on priests that give communion, and bishops that do nothing about pro-abortion politicians that support these atrocities when these politicians go to Mass and receive acceptance and communion from these very priests and bishops.

Our priests tells us to pray for them as they are flirting with the fires of hell. I love it!!! As he is right.

 

[Joe_5859]

Remember, the children in the pews today are potentially the “fallen away” Catholics of tomorrow, so teaching about the reality of the Real Presence is never a waste of time, even if most of the 70% of Catholics who don’t believe in the Real Presence aren’t at Mass on Sunday. I’m not sure why this statistic seems so unbelievable. It certainly corresponds with my experience.

That being said, there are many excellent priests and deacons doing exactly that: teaching the truths of the faith through the Scripture readings of the day. Yes, you can do both and do it well! Good job, guys!

Of course, we should all be doing are part to spread the knowledge of the faith. Even if our priests are preaching superb homilies week after week, that doesn’t give us an excuse to rest on our laurels. (I don’t mean to imply that anyone here is being lazy, just stating the obvious )