The preaching problem

by Editor · January 13, 2010

An Italian bishop has articulated what many Catholics in South Africa are thinking: that homilies � the pre-eminent form of preaching, according to Canon Law � are not consistently of a good standard.

Bishop Mariano Crociata, the secretary-general of the Italian bishops� conference, has said that many congregations� minds are not sufficiently nourished by the quality of the homilies they hear at Sunday Mass. �Too often, sermons are just boring mush, unappetising fare, and certainly not too nourishing,� the bishop said, urging priests to pay greater attention to their sermons.

The problem seems to extend across the world. It�s also not a new problem, but emphasised more widely in an age when the faithful today are less willing to tolerate mediocre preaching and more open to voicing their criticism of clergy.

Canon law states that �the people of God are first united through the word of the living God, and are fully entitled to seek this word from their priests. For this reason sacred ministers are to consider the office of preaching as of great importance, since proclaiming the Gospel of God to all is among their principal duties� (762).

Expectations are high, perhaps raised by the forceful and articulate (and sometimes patently manipulative) style of evangelical preachers on television. Congregants expect homilies to be rich in content and accomplished in presentation. For some priests that is not a problem. To such priests, preaching comes easy. They may have the personable charisma, the skill to speak even off the cuff, and the ability to mould ideas into a gripping narrative.

Many other priests lack these talents. With hard work, they manage to present good and even engaging homilies. And, truth be told, there are some priests whose competence resides in other fields of the priestly ministry.

Parishioners who are dissatisfied with the quality of preaching in their parish will do well to consider whether the problem resides with the homilist�s personal attributes or with his application. And even if the priest (or deacon) appears to be unprepared, his critics may consider whether other areas of his ministry have legitimately taken priority over the drafting of a homily.

It is an exceedingly difficult task to compose a substantive homily or sermon every week, never mind practising its presentation. The thought of having to maintain a consistently high quality can be intimidating to many homilists. It can be an arduous task.

At the same time, the weekly homily is absolutely pivotal in preaching the Good News. Bluntly put, a boring or poorly constructed or delivered homily can do greater harm than good.

In recent months, correspondents to the Letters to the Editor have identified poor preaching as one reason why young Catholics especially are leaving the Church, proposing that better homilies might help stem the faith drain.

Canon law insists that only priests and deacons are permitted to deliver a homily (though lay preaching can be permissible under certain circumstances), but makes no prescription about the process by which homilies are constructed. It states no objection, for example, to lay people advising and even assisting the homilist in drafting a homily. There is no reason why priests or deacons should not solicit the advice from suitable parishioners � especially when such parishioners can complement the experiences of the homilist with their own. Surely a collaborative, advisory process could result in better homilies and ease the priest�s burden.

In the meantime, parishioners must be charitable towards a priest delivering an unsatisfactory homily, just as the priest should keep in mind those whose attention he seeks to command every Sunday.