D
Deacon_Tony560
Guest
Would like to hear what made you leave church feeling alive in the Lord.
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T
T.A.Stobie_SFO
Guest
I want to hear the truth proclaimed clearly and unambigiously. This include Faith & Morals. This can include tying the readings to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Good spiritual guidance is also useful.
I want to hear the Holy Spirit speaking through the homilist.
Good spiritual guidance is also useful.
I want to hear the Holy Spirit speaking through the homilist.
F
Faithful_2_Rome
Guest
If I dont hear specific do’s and dont’s of proper Catholic behaviour, talk about Gods justice and not just his mercy, then I feel the homily was wasted. Generic to be exact.
C
Charles
Guest
The priest ordinarily should use his homily to enlighten us on the meaning, intent, or insight into that days readings. Homilies for me are primarily educational and there is always something new for me to get out of the day’s readings. The priest who helps me learn gets my vote! 
M
Middlefork
Guest
A good homily should be a message of truth and of hope.It should be guided by the sacred word so that we hear that our past, present and future are are timeless within Christ. I guess that’s a pretty tall order, so how about sincere and well prepared with a relative point of how the scriptures touch and guide our life.
F
Fullsizesedan
Guest
I look for a homily no longer than 8 to 10 minutes long. In my own tradition, the Baptist tradition, preachers speak for an hour sometimes. Sometimes more.
Brief messages are certainly a point of positivity for Catholicism.
Brief messages are certainly a point of positivity for Catholicism.
B
Bobby_Jim
Guest
I expect either a Winnie the Pooh hand puppet or a clown with a rainbow wig.
P
Panis_Angelicas
Guest
Awwwwww, poor, poor Bobby Jim. 
I enjoy a homily that has a blend of “life today as a Catholic” and traditional “how is was for…say, the apostles, a particular saint, the martyrs…”
Sometimes we can think we’ve got it tough. But how awe inspiring it is to hear how our brothers and sisters who’ve gone before us and are now in heaven have fought so courageously for Truth, willing to lay down their lives for the Faith!
They faced being thrown to wild beasts. We face being laughed at by our peers. Yeah, it’s tough being a Catholic today…
OR
A good homily on the value of any one of the Sacraments: you name it ~ Baptism, Penance, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick.
On Marian feast days, a talk about the Blessed Virgin. I could sure listen to more than 8-10 minutes of a GOOD homily!
As someone else posted, I want to learn something, or even just be affirmed in the Church’s teachings.
Just as long as it’s not a litany of personal experiences and opinons.
(Kinda like this post?)
Pax Christi. <><
I enjoy a homily that has a blend of “life today as a Catholic” and traditional “how is was for…say, the apostles, a particular saint, the martyrs…”
Sometimes we can think we’ve got it tough. But how awe inspiring it is to hear how our brothers and sisters who’ve gone before us and are now in heaven have fought so courageously for Truth, willing to lay down their lives for the Faith!
They faced being thrown to wild beasts. We face being laughed at by our peers. Yeah, it’s tough being a Catholic today…
OR
A good homily on the value of any one of the Sacraments: you name it ~ Baptism, Penance, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick.
On Marian feast days, a talk about the Blessed Virgin. I could sure listen to more than 8-10 minutes of a GOOD homily!
As someone else posted, I want to learn something, or even just be affirmed in the Church’s teachings.
Just as long as it’s not a litany of personal experiences and opinons.
(Kinda like this post?)Pax Christi. <><
S
Shoshana
Guest
Hey Bobby Jo, we have a priest here in our diocese that looks like Winnie the Pooh! Although I get very tired of the spiritual Barney thing…I love you, you love me, aren’t we one happy family!!!
As for me, I do love a homily that CHALLENGES me. Reading about the Saints does this to me also…only because it causes me to reflect what I need to change in my life. I do not mean the saccharine books on the Saints, but the ones that show us their struggles on becoming perfect, like the rest of us.
We have a priest in my parish that many literally HATE his homilies. Many have left. He says it like it is. Sin is sin. Living together is sin. Abortion is sin. Fornication is sin. Etc., etc., etc. As for me, I listen to his homilies and do an examination of conscience at the same time. How many are blessed with this kind of grace? He makes me think of the Cure d’Ars!
Through his homilies, I can also discern his spirituality (to his surprise) I must add. He does have the gift of homilectics. He puts Jesus in reality and the cost of following Jesus, not this tip-toe in the tulips kinda homily. Although, it is nice to hear once in a while. I just think too many catholics live in a tip-toe in the tulips kinda religiosity. They have no idea what is sin and they are confused when they are told what sin is.
Anyway, enough pontificating…
Shoshana
As for me, I do love a homily that CHALLENGES me. Reading about the Saints does this to me also…only because it causes me to reflect what I need to change in my life. I do not mean the saccharine books on the Saints, but the ones that show us their struggles on becoming perfect, like the rest of us.
We have a priest in my parish that many literally HATE his homilies. Many have left. He says it like it is. Sin is sin. Living together is sin. Abortion is sin. Fornication is sin. Etc., etc., etc. As for me, I listen to his homilies and do an examination of conscience at the same time. How many are blessed with this kind of grace? He makes me think of the Cure d’Ars!
Through his homilies, I can also discern his spirituality (to his surprise) I must add. He does have the gift of homilectics. He puts Jesus in reality and the cost of following Jesus, not this tip-toe in the tulips kinda homily. Although, it is nice to hear once in a while. I just think too many catholics live in a tip-toe in the tulips kinda religiosity. They have no idea what is sin and they are confused when they are told what sin is.
Anyway, enough pontificating…
Shoshana
M
mass4life
Guest
How the day’s readings are incorporated into the Sacred Tradition of the Church.
The specifics of what is right and what is wrong morally.
How to go home and live my life making Catholic decisions.
Tired of interesting but irrelevant homilies that leave me feeling warm and fuzzy but nothing “tangible” to live by.
The specifics of what is right and what is wrong morally.
How to go home and live my life making Catholic decisions.
Tired of interesting but irrelevant homilies that leave me feeling warm and fuzzy but nothing “tangible” to live by.
G
Grayton
Guest
I agree 100% with the comments by Panis Angelicas.
I have to believe that there are so many profound insights on each of the scripture readings from the Fathers of the Church, the Doctors of the Church, and from the lives of the Saints, that a priest could never run out of material to inspire the congregation and help us with our daily walk with the Lord.
What I really dislike are homilies centered around the priest’s circumstances, such as what happened when he was jogging last week, or when he was shopping. I hear these all the time, and rarely benefit from them.
I have to believe that there are so many profound insights on each of the scripture readings from the Fathers of the Church, the Doctors of the Church, and from the lives of the Saints, that a priest could never run out of material to inspire the congregation and help us with our daily walk with the Lord.
What I really dislike are homilies centered around the priest’s circumstances, such as what happened when he was jogging last week, or when he was shopping. I hear these all the time, and rarely benefit from them.
D
Deacon_Tony
Guest
I like to hear how the readings can be applied to living in todays world as a disciple of Jesus. I like to hear issues of social justice that challenge me to grow in my relationship with God and my neighbor.
J
JNB
Guest
I look for the truth in a homily, no politically correct junk, but the truth. The truth and how it should be applied in todays world, that will hold nothing back, not the liberal sacred cows such as abortion, gay marriage, relativism, nor the “conservative” sacred cows such as an 100% un regulated free market. Morals + (At least how it was undertood before it got distorted by liberalism/marxism) Social Justice.
P
parishminister
Guest
Truth, honesty and personal sharing always makes it more meaningful for me. Doesn’t soften the Truth, but doesn’t use it as a club either. Strikes a delicate, loving yet firm balance. Keeps on point, no wandering or getting off on a tagent that has nothing to do with the Message. Speaks clearly and concisely, no longer than 12
minutes.
Perfection is not expected. Preparation is.
Peace…
minutes.
Perfection is not expected. Preparation is.
Peace…
O
otm
Guest
I want something that challenges me in my walk with Christ. Maybe it is something from the readings I have failed to see (an excellent example was a homily on the elder brother, from the story of the Prodigal Son); I don’t mind something personalized if it relates to how the Gospel changed the homilist, or how it challenged him. I don’t hear much about sin; but I don’t need to hear that fornication is a sin, but more of the why it is a sin. I need to hear not just that the Gospel challenges me, but why it challenges me.
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