Why don't more priests preach certain topics from the pulpit?

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aball1035

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I’m referring to contraception, usury, confession, or going to mass on holy days of obligation. It seems like most Catholics don’t know about the condemnations of the first two, and rarely go to confession or mass on holy days. I’ve seen statistics that back up this claim on these points, and I’m wondering why priests, and bishops especially aren’t tougher in their teachings when so many people don’t live a Catholic life (even those who go to church).
 
I can only speak for my parish, but given that it’s predominantly elderly, a tirade against contraception would serve no purpose. We do occasionally hear about Holy Days of Obligation in that we’re reminded the Sunday before one is coming up and the subject of ‘usury’ is probably contained frequently within exhortations towards charity and social responsibility. Confessions are not covered much, admittedly, but then the congregation already makes reasonably good use of the Sacrament so far as I can tell from the queues on Saturday evening…!

The reason why you don’t hear these things shouted in fire and brimstone terms is because, to be frank, there’s not much point ‘preaching to the choir’. People who attend Church these days do so voluntarily. They already know the rules. They don’t need to be beaten over the head with them.

Of course there’s always Easter and Christmas when people come along with family members who otherwise never darken the portal of the Church at any other time, but, firstly, they’re probably not really listening very hard and, secondly, Christmas and Easter are difficult times to work in fire and brimstone into homilies and still have a homily appropriate to the day.

Priests do what they can do. In general I find they are loving and charitable. This can only be a good thing. I do remember a fire-and-brimstone priest from my youth. I avoided him like the plague because as a child he frightened me and made me dread going to Mass. Luckily he knew he scared children and his curate (who was, and remains, my favourite priest in the whole world) generally took the Family Mass, no doubt much to the relief of parents and children alike.
 
American Catholics feel as tough the Church is a democracy and the longer they hold out or dissent on any subject that does not conform to their secular lifestyle the sooner it will be changed. Guess what? They are in for a big surprise. The Catholic Church is not a democracy. American Catholics will never pressure the Church into change. The downfall is that these so called Catholics are having a very detrimental impact on the Catholic Faith here. Catechesis from the pulpit is needed whether or not it’s preaching to the choir. I’m sure within the congregation of every Church in America there is at least 1 Catholic who will benefit from such teaching. Catholics that don’t want our faith watered down by those who wish to pick and choose need to take a stand against this modernization of faith. It’s time to be blunt and stand firm that the Catholic Church is NOT going to be secularized.
 
aball1035 said:
I’m referring to contraception, usury, confession, or going to mass on holy days of obligation.
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Catholics who go to mass regularly are knowledgable concerning these matters. It is important to feed them with the deeper meaning of the Word of God that is proclaimed during that mass, for in truth, God is speaking to His people. It may be a different message to the listener, according to how the Holy Spirit imparts the holy Word to each heart.

Let’s remember that priests are obligated by the regulations of the G.I.R.M. which says:

The Homily
65. The Homily is part of the Liturgy and is highly recommended, for it is necessary for the nurturing of the Christian life. It should be an explanation of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or the Proper of the Mass of the day and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners.
 
Thank you for this reply, I have wondered the same thing as the OP.
 
But is it not also Charitable to remind people that SIN exists and that our loving Saviour WILL judge us?

I remember Father once commenting on how “bored” he was sitting in the confessional waiting for people who never showed, and this was a parish with over six hundred people.:eek:

Maybe a touch of “fire and brimestone” is needed every now and then.:rolleyes:

For some, Holy Mass on Sunday is the only day they can be at the parish due to work responsibilities and such, so just when would it be a good time to remind people that there is sin and their need to be reconciled with God? Even good practicing Catholics can become laze from time to time (me included ashamed to say:o).
 
With all respect to you, Deacon Jeff, the Gospel and the readings may very well relate to many of the things that remain silent from the pulpit. For instance, the constant forgiveness that Jesus preaches, “to go and sin no more”, is an excellent time to remind people of their obligations to confess.

Other readings talk about addressing the poor and needy, which certainly touches on usury.

The Prodigal Son, The Woman at the Well, Jesus’ death on the cross, the scattering of the seed… all good places to talk about confession, forgiveness, living the Gospel, etc. I see no reason whatsoever to leave out some catechetical points. Jesus gave them all the time. Our purpose in life is to know, love, and serve God. People disobeying the rules (like contraception) risk hell. I would not want to face God and tell him I didn’t ever talk on the issues during my Homilies because I didn’t think it applied to the readings or the Gospel…

Sheep need to be tended to. That includes learning to stay in the pasture. Personally, I think we could be letting people wander off because we don’t place enough emphasis on how our daily lives need to be lived in accordance with the Gospel and the logical catechesis that flows from it.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the reply. You sound great and I appreciate the response! I always understood that it had to relate to the readings (because I do understand the difference between a homily and a sermon… because, praise the Lord, I had good education). I was just making sure that we could still relate points that were relevant to the readings. My understanding was, “Yes”, and you clarified your point well.

Your 2 cents are good with me 🙂

May God bless you!
 
It seems that some are making a judgment call that others are contracepting - avoiding confession - overcharging interest - missing mass on holy days, etc. Those who regularly go to mass, and please note that just about the entire congregation receives holy communion, are not there to hear a sermon about sinful things that they are obviously not involved in. Otherwise, how could they receive the Eucharist? Perhaps this is another judgment call, that these folks are sacrilegious.

May we be mindful of trying to remove the speck from another’s eye, while there remains a beam of rash judgment in our own.
 
The reason I’m asking is because at my old church, there was a rather large congregation, and the line for confession on Sundays was maybe 2-3 people. In addition, nobody went to mass on the Holy Days. To make matters worse, the younger crowd (teens and 20s) didn’t even know that contraception was even forbidden! I’ve seen statistics that seem to indicate that there are quite a few congregations like this. Based on all of these factors, I’m perplexed why nobody-especially bishops seem to acknowledge to devastation in the faith going on here.

These numbers from the work of Kenneth Jones make for an interesting read with the link below. There is truly a problem that nobody is talking about.

wnd.com/2002/12/16195/
 
aball1035 said:
The reason I’m asking is because at my old church, there was a rather large congregation, and the line for confession on Sundays was maybe 2-3 people. In addition, nobody went to mass on the Holy Days. To make matters worse, the younger crowd (teens and 20s) didn’t even know that contraception was even forbidden! I’ve seen statistics that seem to indicate that there are quite a few congregations like this. Based on all of these factors, I’m perplexed why nobody-especially bishops seem to acknowledge to devastation in the faith going on here.
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So? Are they refraining from communion? If not, then they did not need to go to confession. Some will make a devotional confession for venial sins, but unless a person is guilty of mortal sin, there is no need for confession.

How do you know nobody went to mass on holy days? Were you at every mass? In my area, there are so many differing times for mass that we can attend when it is more convenient. A parishioner who did not see us there and had no way of knowing if we went somewhere else, could be making a rash judgment.

As for the teens, how many have you consulted?

I think you are being an alarmist and placing our bishops/priests in a very unfavorable light here.
 
Sirach2 said:
So? Are they refraining from communion? If not, then they did not need to go to confession. Some will make a devotional confession for venial sins, but unless a person is guilty of mortal sin, there is no need for confession.
I find it astonishing and quite sad that you think there’s nothing to worry about with 2-3 people out of a “large congregation” going to weekly confession. I don’t know of any saint who had this mindset. Rather, many said to go daily, if possible.
How do you know nobody went to mass on holy days? Were you at every mass? In my area, there are so many differing times for mass that we can attend when it is more convenient. A parishioner who did not see us there and had no way of knowing if we went somewhere else, could be making a rash judgment.
If I remember correctly, there was only 1 mass on most holy days, and only around 10 people showed up out of the 200 or so.
As for the teens, how many have you consulted?
I went to this parish when I was in my late teens, and spoke to a large number of them. Few were well catechized (including myself)
I think you are being an alarmist and placing our bishops/priests in a very unfavorable light here.
How am I being an alarmist? There IS a problem, and the fact is, few priests/bishops acknowledge it. Read the statistics. That’s the real alarming thing.

wnd.com/2002/12/16195/
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You are full of rash assumptions and it is pointless to continue this discussion, for nothing I suggest is going to change your mind that our priests and bishops are negligent. Your mind is made up.
 
Unfortunately, most parishes do not provide a time or a place for an extensive catechism or continuing religious education. And those that do often get a poor response. So Mass is usually the only time and place most Catholics get to hear any of it.

At our parish we do hear reminders about Holy Days of Obligation, and those Masses are fairly well attended. Nothing much about reconciliation, other than having the times posted and giving reminders during Advent and Lent. Don’t recall any homilies that included usury, other than perhaps in the context of forgiveness. In over a half century of being Catholic, I do not think any priest has ever preached on contraception, not even when Humane Vitae came out. It may have been discussed outside of homilies and the Mass. But no priest ever brought it up during confession either.

I don’t think anyone can blame priests or bishops for what is happening; in general, they are doing their best to be good shepherds. The causes for the decline in numbers and the level of faith are numerous but a fair portion of the blame can be found by looking in the mirror. What example have we been for others, including our own children and other family? Do we mostly pay lip service to the commandments and the Gospel of Jesus? Are we identifiably Catholic for only one hour on Sunday morning? Do we spend little or no time at all in prayer, reading the Bible, or meditating? Do we show our Christian faith by how we live our lives and relate to one another, or could we easily be mistaken for a non-religious person (or even an atheist)? Do we put our faith into action by sincerely and willingly giving to others, sharing our faith and our love; or do we donate a few bucks to some Catholic charity and consider that fulfilling the requirements for being a Catholic Christian?

Based on my experience and observation, most Catholics seem to be Catholic due to the accident of birth or their own inertia. Few really and truly put much effort into it. Perhaps they feel that if they have been baptized, confirmed and receive the Eucharist, that is all that is needed. In that regard, our priests and bishops could probably do more in terms of correcting that understanding. But otherwise it is up to us.
 
Sirach2 said:
You are full of rash assumptions and it is pointless to continue this discussion, for nothing I suggest is going to change your mind that our priests and bishops are negligent. Your mind is made up.
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Rash assumptions? I’m going off of experience and statistics. And I don’t blame all of the problems on the clergy. I realize that the media and the Catholic laity are to blame as well. I’m just wondering why few bishops and priests bring up the devastation of faith and morals among Catholics that has occurred since the 1960s. There are a few people that bring up these hard subjects, such as Fr. Corapi or Michael Voris. But not many.
 
chaunceygardner said:
Based on my experience and observation, most Catholics seem to be Catholic due to the accident of birth or their own inertia. Few really and truly put much effort into it. Perhaps they feel that if they have been baptized, confirmed and receive the Eucharist, that is all that is needed. In that regard, our priests and bishops could probably do more in terms of correcting that understanding. But otherwise it is up to us.
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Well said. This has been my experience too.
 
If Catholics witness the clergy avoiding teaching certain topics from the pulpit, especially contraception, then how can the Church truly expect Catholics to think the teachings are important? I’ve been told by Catholics they don’t confess they use contraception because they don’t think it is a sin.

Getting beyond I Can’t
nfpoutreach.org/getting_beyond.htm

A priest argues against contraception without apology
“Shockingly, 50 percent of the couples that I prepare for marriage have never heard that the church teaches about contraception."
nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/priest-argues-against-contraception-without-apology.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
 
This was posted yesterday in the TC Forum and I believe it is worth thinking about
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Stop complaining and do something different.

If one does nothing different, but just repeats the complaint like a broken record, there is no benefit to anyone.

We have a very interesting statute in the constitutions of my community. The brothers may only present their complaint to someone who can do something about it.

This has actually helped to keep us all sane. Because it’s very easy to sit around a colloquy and say things like:

“The bishop did or did not do X . . . isn’t that awful.”

"The pastor never or always . . . . "

"The pope failed to . . . "

"That brother is guilty of . . . "

The question came up as we were writing our constitutions, “Who benefits from such complaining?” The answer that we came to was, "No one. silence, and resolves nothing."It only annoys everyone, gets people in a bad mood, spreads frustration, turns issues into gossip, pulls in people who have nothing to do with the issue, strips away our interior

The policy became that if one has a complaint, it must be presented to someone who can do something about it. To make sure that the brothers comply with the policy, the constitution made it a command under holy obedience. Anyone who knowingly violates a command under the vow of obedience commits a grave sin. Therefore, people think twice before opening their mouth. They limit themselves to complaining to those who have the power to change situations and solve problems. Sometimes, that can be the group. More often than not, the person who can solve a problem is the source of the problem himself or a person who has authority over him. When it comes to the pope, no one has authority over him, so it’s useless to complain. Shut up, bite the bullet and act like a Franciscan. That’s our policy.

There is nothing wrong with filing a complaint. This is a matter of justice. Everyone has the right to file a complaint.

**The problem is when the complaint is voiced all over except with the person or persons who need to know about it. Then it’s whining, not complaining. **

To complain comes from the Latin word, “queror”.

Queror has a legal connotation. It means to file a grievance.

When one is simply complaining, but failing to file a grievance, then one is whining, because he’s not doing anything different. He’s just subjecting himself to a situation and then looking for sympathy. That’s not healthy or virtuous.

We see a lot of this on the forums and probably in our families, workplace or community. My policy is quite simple. Don’t complain to me about something that is not my business. It’s only my business if I can do something about it. I once told a brother that if he had a complaint about something that the pope said he should write to the pope and not tell me about it, because the pope does not work for me, nor am I the brother’s therapist. He looked at me and chuckled. I think he got the idea.

This article just brought back some of those thoughts.
Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV
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Sirach2 said:
This was posted yesterday in the TC Forum and I believe it is worth thinking about
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You’re right-it is worth thinking about if it’s happening. But simply bringing up a negative scenario and how to deal with it is not what it’s referring to. It’s obvious that the faith today of far too many Catholics is lackadaisical, and it’s not wrong to wonder about the cause.
 
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