Why catholic priests mostly are not good preachers?

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Jafar

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Coming from Islam to Presbyterian and finally to catholic

The catholic priests are not good preachers comparing to Presbyterians

I wonder why they do not not have that gift?

Is it because they do not pray in tongues much?
 
I have heard a number of very good Catholic homilists. That said, I do miss a good Protestant sermon. My personal opinion, and I may get slammed for this, but most priests are formed in such a sheltered and structured environment that they don’t have the life experiences to relate to the laity with regard to the day to day things that we experience. I also think many are limited by the attention-span of their parishioners. If they go on for too long, attendance slips, so they keep the homilies short. I find it a bummer because I personally love the homilies most of the priests deliver at my parish (and I try to skip the one who puts no effort in)
 
I think it’s a question of priorities.

For many Protestants, the focus of their service is on preaching. It’s the main thing they offer.

For Catholics, preaching is one of the things that happens at Mass but isn’t the focus.

That being said, there’s a lot that could be done to improve the preaching at Mass, but it would have to be promoted by bishops and so far that’s not happening.
 
In my travels I have experienced a number of deacon homilists who were better, in some cases far better, than priests I have known. In some cases that might be their gift. In general, I wonder if a deacon’s life experiences in relating to the Scriptires provides him with insights amd examples that offset the fact that his theological and Scriptural formation is significantly less than a priest’s
 
Attend a Dominican or Jesuit parish and you will think you are in a different universe where homolies are concerned. The quality of most homolies have you thinking all week about how to be a better person and follow the Gospels.😃
 
I, personally, think homilies are better when short and to the point. It’s better for “sticking” with people.

I grew up non-denominational and heard very enthusiastic sermons. They can be great! I am not as interested in “pep talk” types of homilies as insightful and convicting messages which have a real connection with both the readings and the congregation.

As for comparison, I don’t have that much experience with multiple churches and pastors. I’m just glad the Mass isn’t centered around a pastor who’s personality gets spotlighted.
 
Preaching is s gift from God.

Not every priest has it, but some do. The same is true among Protestants.

ICXC NIKA
 
Priests have so many more duties than Protestant preachers.

I know of one young priest who was assigned to another parish as pastor without an assistant. Along with being the chaplain for catholic students at a college. He offers daily Mass…how many ministers have a daily prayer service with a homily? He attends the sick in the parish which is many more than a minister has. He also is called to the hospital and calls, day or night, to those needing anointing. He has baptisms almost every Sunday of infants. He has parish meetings to attend, as well as seeing to it that the catholic education continues for all his youth in his parish. He consuls the young and married. Hears confessions. In addition he has a prayer life which includes the divine office(45 minutes), the rosary(15 minutes), meditation(15-25 minutes, spiritual reading (15-25 minutes), and phone calls and personal inquiries of all kinds.

And then the priest is required to give a sermon at 4 Masses on Sunday, and 1 at each Mass during the week.

How does this stack up to a minister’s duties and time?
 
My parish is blessed with two amazing homilists. That being said, preaching is only a part of the mass, not the focus. Therefore, preaching is de-emphasized, for better or worse. Since most Protestants put their focus on the sermon, it is bound to be more refined than the average Catholic homily. Personally, I think that priests these days are overworked, and this probably also has had an impact on the quality of homilies.
 
What do you people want? A traveling evangelical show put on by someone like Aimee McPherson???

Catholics attend Mass to participate, not to enjoy a show or be emotionally “moved” by a fire-and-brimstone bible thumper.

If you need a rousing sermon to help you achieve salvation…go on a retreat. Preferably one featuring a Dominican or Redemptorist priest.

The Dominicans are famous for their preaching ability. They are know as “The Oder of Preachers”.(OP)

I will never forget the “talk” given by a Redemptorist priest when I was in high school. It was a “hell-fire” sermon about pre marital teenage sex. After that I remained a virgin until I was married.

Remember St Francis. His sermons were so bad that people walked away and only the birds and little animals would sit and listen to him. Yet he did so much good for the entire world it would take a full page to explain.

Sermons are not that necessary
 
Jafar said:
Coming from Islam to Presbyterian and finally to catholic

The catholic priests are not good preachers comparing to Presbyterians

I wonder why they do not not have that gift?

Is it because they do not pray in tongues much?
Click to expand...
Welcome home Jafar!

I’d say that 95% of the homilies I hear are very good, and some are excellent.

The main focus is on the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Our Lord.

Whether they pray in tongues or not has nothing to do with it.

Peace,

Dorothy
 
Priests represent Christ and Jesus was a great preacher - Our Teacher and the Teacher. Jesus also gave himself to us at mass the Last Supper – I don’t think a homily can be compared to the Holy Eucharist. If a priest is holy and that’s what we really need is holy priests, who cares if priests are popular with the people but holy is very important.
When a priest is holy, is prayerful and is not afraid to call a spade a spade then homilies will be worth an eternal reality. Another problem I see is that people don’t even pay attention to the scripture readings by the time mass is out they don’t even remember what the gospel was about. People don’t even remember the homily because they don’t even recall the scriptures at mas. This makes me wonder how we can be a critic of a priests homily if we do not prepare for mass or even recall the words of Christ. Just a thought and wonder.
 
:eek:
fred_conty said:
Priests have so many more duties than Protestant preachers.

I know of one young priest who was assigned to another parish as pastor without an assistant. Along with being the chaplain for catholic students at a college. He offers daily Mass…how many ministers have a daily prayer service with a homily? He attends the sick in the parish which is many more than a minister has. He also is called to the hospital and calls, day or night, to those needing anointing. He has baptisms almost every Sunday of infants. He has parish meetings to attend, as well as seeing to it that the catholic education continues for all his youth in his parish. He consuls the young and married. Hears confessions. In addition he has a prayer life which includes the divine office(45 minutes), the rosary(15 minutes), meditation(15-25 minutes, spiritual reading (15-25 minutes), and phone calls and personal inquiries of all kinds.

And then the priest is required to give a sermon at 4 Masses on Sunday, and 1 at each Mass during the week.

How does this stack up to a minister’s duties and time?
Click to expand...
Wow! That tells it like it is. :o
 
What i really like about a catholic homily, or a church preaching for example, is that usually, they feed off of the words of the bible spoken earlier through the touching of your mind, lips and heart. a priest will never try to “win” anyone over in church, rather, they speak to individuals at a time, their story may really hit you, it has for me …its providence to be honest. that message he creates during a struggle or turning point in your life and when you hear it it hits you hard, its not going to be flashy, or draw people in, or whatever have you, but its strong consistent to the word and very touching… I assume that catholic priests already believe their flock is there to stay and that they dont have to win anyone over, like those who preach on the streets or independant churches and what not…
 
I’m grateful my Parish has wonderful homilies from our Priest. I’m also thankful that it is not the major portion of our worship service like it is for other denominations. I don’t want the personality of someone to overtake what we are there for.
 
This is actually really funny that you post this, because my brother and I were just talking about this the other day. Our priest in one of his homilies said that the Mass is not for us, it is for God. I think this is a great quote.

The homily, in our opinion, is probably the least important part of the mass. You are not there to “get something out of mass”. You are there to GIVE something to God. The Eucharist, the Gospel, the readings, the songs, and the other prayers are much more important than the opinion of a man.
 
Jafar said:
Coming from Islam to Presbyterian and finally to catholic

The catholic priests are not good preachers comparing to Presbyterians

I wonder why they do not not have that gift?

Is it because they do not pray in tongues much?
Click to expand...
I think public speaking is going to be a major factor - maybe the biggest factor - in determining whether somebody becomes a protestant preacher. The vast majority of protestant churches are structured around the sermon.

A silver tongue is a very valuable talent for priests as well, especially if they give actual sermons outside of the Mass, but homilies are shorter and a building action (rather than the focal point) in a Catholic Mass. There’s a lot else that determines somebodies discernment. Celibacy. Living where you are needed by the bishop. Routines (such as the Divine Office). Even administration, although a lot of that has shifted to the hands of laity.

In my own experience I don’t think priests and deacons are generally much worse at speaking than my exposure with preachers, although the two best speakers I know in a religious setting in my life were protestant Christians. The deacon at the parish where I was initiated could put me in the sack & snoring within 30 seconds, though he is a wonderful man. He’d have a few pages of paper, stand up, and read from it. Gotta do what you gotta do.
 
The huge consolation & advantage of the content coming from the pulpit of Catholic Churches is the lack of face palming you have to do. Walking into a protestant church is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. If you haven’t had a lot of personal exposure to the vast disparity of beliefs jetting around within the chaotic atmosphere of protestantism, it’s far too easy to under-appreciate the pleasure of uniformity. The ranks of the Catholic clergy aren’t devoid of heterodoxy, but thus far it’s no comparison in terms of content. If you have to lose out on a bit of eloquence for sound content, it’s an easy choice for which to prefer.
 
I have heard many times on this forum that Catholics are not being taught correctly, or perhaps completely, thus leading to ignorance in praxis and belief on the part of the average church member. If that is to be improved, how would one go about it if not during the homily at Mass?

I don’t think you can have it both ways. You can’t say that preaching is not important and then say that catechesis is sorely lacking.
 
In my short time as a Catholic I’ve encountered all sorts of different quality preachers. One thing I like about most homilies is they tend to be shorter and on point. A lot of Protestant sermons, at least that I’ve experienced, are really a lot of fluff. Many times they used quotes from works I doubt they read. Too frequently they used third party stories they found in resources for preachers. They never used saints as examples of living the Gospel. They might use someone I’ve never heard of or will hear of again and who may not have even been a Christian. I’d say a lot of what passes for good sermons I didn’t find very edifying.
fred_conty said:
Priests have so many more duties than Protestant preachers…

How does this stack up to a minister’s duties and time?
Click to expand...
Yep. The Portestant pastors I knew spent all week crafting their sermon. They had the time to spend on it.
 
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