Preaching at Mass

The complaint is often heard that the standard of preaching at Mass has declined; sometimes this is even cited as a sign that the Church supposedly has lost its way.

It may well be that these complaints are born of a sense of nostalgia that readily recalls inspirational preachers but suppresses the memory of dull sermons delivered by droning priests. Perhaps future generations will regard our crop of homilists as a gold standard.

Nevertheless, it is true that many Catholics perceive homilies at Sunday Mass to be boring, irrelevant and uninspiring.

We live in an age when the voice of the preacher is competing with unprecedented pressure from other voices, while the faithful are less tolerant of mediocre preaching and more open to voicing their criticism of clergy.

Often the homily is the only way Catholics receive information about their faith. A dull or deficiently delivered homily can therefore do greater harm than good.

A good homily, on the other hand, helps the listener to connect their lives with the faith, shining the light of Christ on life’s events, as the Vatican proposed in the 2004 document Redemptionis Sacramentum.

Preaching is a particular skill. Some priests—and deacons—have a natural talent for composing a homily and delivering it in a way that engages their congregations. Some can speak on any given theme off the cuff; others prepare their homily meticulously and rely on oratory skills to get their point across.

Other priests’ aptitude may reside in other fields of the clerical ministry.

But since delivering homilies is a crucial part of their function, such clergy should be offered—and, if necessary, seek out—ongoing training and guidance in the art of homiletics.

Preparing a homily is not easy. It is an arduous and intimidating task to compose a substantive homily or sermon every week.

A priest whose pastoral ministry has many distractions may not have the requisite time and quietude to reflect fruitfully on a subject for a sermon.

There is no reason, however, why priests should not share concepts and adapt these to suit their particular environments.

In the age of the Internet, many homilies are posted online; these can serve as a resource for ideas, though without recycling them verbatim.

Homilists might also solicit advice from suitable parishioners—especially when such lay people 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.

Homilists should know their audience. What are the community’s daily concerns? What do they watch on television, read in the newspapers or consume on the Internet? And, crucially, what is their attention span?

Priests must be sensitive to their congregation’s expectations and needs, as well as their ability to absorb the message that is being preached. Does the audience want a theologically sophisticated discourse of the Mass readings, or a pastoral application of the principles in the Gospel or a practical exposition of how to translate the biblical text into their daily Christian lives?

A homily may fail to engage the congregation even when it is well planned. But a homilist who has no empathy with his listeners merely fulfils a liturgical obligation, to nobody’s benefit.

At the same time, a responsibility resides with the congregation to first listen attentively to the readings, and then to allow the homilist to speak to them. This is particularly necessary when the preacher is a missionary priest with a strong accent, especially if he comes from other parts of Africa or from Asia.

Parishioners must always make a special effort to absorb the homily—the dialogue on the mystery of the faith between the priest and the congregation’s mind and heart.

Catholics should not be asked to accept deficient preaching. But even if the homilist appears to be unprepared, or his delivery is imperfect, his critics must apply charity in their judgment.

There are many guidelines to good preaching, but there is no science to homiletics. A good homily, ultimately, is subject to God’s grace.