LET IT aLL sTART hERE
For Catholics who care...
“Today, I invite you to turn your hearts to a very rampant and widespread abuse among priests – homily abuse. Yes, abuse of the kindness of the people who are forced to listen to long, winding, repetitious, boring, unorganized, unprepared, mumbled homilies. In jest, but certainly with some truth, the people say our homilies are one of the obligatory scourges that they must go through every Sunday.” This is a direct quote from the homily of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas given April 2nd 2015. In the end the message from the Archbishop is clear: “Stop the homily abuse!” Faithful Catholics know what makes a bad homily. We have sat through enough of them in our lifetimes. Often we are asked or rather, urged, to be more understanding of less eloquent priests. Now, I can’t be sure why our clergy doesn’t understand, as Archbishop Villegas reminds us that: “Homily abuse can harm souls.” What I can say is this: Good homilists are made, not born. Pope Francis, himself, considers the homily "the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people." We, in my small, rural parish are fortunate in that we have excellent homilist in our pastor. The question that begs to be asked is: What makes him different? After all, the same Gospel is available to every priest, in every corner of the world-- each Sunday. The same “Cliff Notes” for priests to draw upon are available to anyone who needs back-up. So, how was the homilist in our pastor made? With the Pope’s words in mind, I set out to discover what enables a priest to write a “homily that can actually be an intense and happy experience of the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God’s word, a constant source of renewal and growth," as the Pope put it. Here is what I discovered: Prayer: A good homilist spends a great deal of time in prayer. He prays unceasingly. He prays when he can’t sleep, he prays when he is driving to appointments, he prays late at night in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Study: A good homilist spends a lot of his free time devouring Catholic periodicals, newspapers and magazines. He makes himself familiar with an inexhaustible catalogue of Catholic writings (available in print and on line) that includes everything from the Vatican Library (which is in the process of digitizing its collection of manuscripts) to the current books published by professors of biblical theology and renowned Catholic lecturers. Reflection: A good homilist observes his people. He listens carefully allowing them an opportunity to be themselves. He is not quick to respond, carelessly, when involved in an encounter, but instead holds back, allowing himself time to ponder the variables and subtle nuances of each person who engages him. Later, he works in collaboration with The Word...and with the Holy Spirit by his side, he recalls what his people have taught him as he prepares and delivers his homily. In, the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis wrote: "We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, and that both they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them! It is sad that this is the case." If you are cursed with a clergyman who is guilty of homily pollution, do your parish and yourself a favor and send him this. You will be glad you did!
23 Comments
This is probably the finest post I have seen you put up. I abhor bad homilies, but often feel sorry for the guys who preach them. Ordination confers faculties, but not every gift, including homiletics. This is a good argument for opening up the ministry of preaching to trained and gifted non-ordained persons. While the Spirit gives every community all the gifts it needs, it does not concentrate them all in one person. We are truly a pilgrim Church and the journey is a long one.
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Mel
11/17/2016 08:54:10 am
Sorry...auto-correct changed my word "homilist" to "homilies" !
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Dennis
11/16/2016 06:52:34 am
Evelyn, your a good person to have in the corner in a bout. I agree, Fr. Michael obviously puts much into his homily but he also has the blessings of intelligence and skill. I could work weeks on writing a homily and put everything into it but I would still come up with a sleeper. We should be less interested in judging a homily and more focused on the message it tries to deliver.
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John
11/16/2016 08:50:18 pm
Homilies cut both ways. Coming to mass unprepared to receive the Eucharist can cloud the effectiveness of homilies. Being tired, distracted, thinking of what's for dinner, where you're traveling the next day, 'is that so-and-so' three rows ahead?, etc., is certain to weigh on the effectiveness of homilies. Firing up the Holy Spirit and checking the demands of the outside world at the door for one hour on Sunday will enable most people to glean something from virtually any homily, independent of the presenter's oratory skills. Sometimes a single sentence in a 15 minute sermon can do wonders for the interior life. It's all about how one is disposed upon entering the doors. As for critiquing the priests role--or lack thereof--in preparation I'll leave that to him and our Lord.
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Denise
11/16/2016 08:52:37 pm
With each new blog post I am finding it more and more difficult to remain silent. The most recent “Preventing Homily Abuse”, and “Conscientious Objector” posts have me questioning the true intent of this blog.
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Evelyn
11/17/2016 12:15:21 am
This blog's purpose was to put God on the brain and to challenge the Faithful to think more about Catholic related issues. The blog does just that.
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Denise
11/17/2016 02:53:31 am
I did not ask “Who does she think she is”. Nor would I on a public forum. I will reiterate my point. There are more perspectives involved than that of the author. I think everyone is in the trenches and I can’t insinuate that God is not on their mind. I don’t have a handle on what is going through the mind of someone else. I also have no desire to judge them.
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jackie white
11/17/2016 04:37:30 am
Evelyn,
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michael
11/17/2016 07:27:41 am
given the comments i read about the previous blog, "conscientious objector," i not only read this blog, "preventing homily abuse," but also read the comments with interest as well. i've read both positive and negative responses with an equal mindset. i see quite a difference in the kinds of reactions.
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Dennis ,
11/28/2016 05:20:02 am
Michael, I'm sorry I reacted so negatively to your insights. I haven't figured out why , maybe upset at something else that day. I have a feeling you love Jesus...me too...possibly every individual who reads this blog. Let's get together around Him.
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evelyn augusto
11/17/2016 08:45:00 am
Jackie: This was perfect! Thank you.
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Denise
11/17/2016 09:11:59 am
I believe I stated this, but saying someone is not a faithful Christian based on who they vote for is not gentle in my opinion. It is very judgemental and inconsiderate "in my opinion". The blog is out there as opinion. You may not agree with mine and that's OK.
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evelyn augusto
11/17/2016 01:20:18 pm
Denise: The information in "Homily Abuse" was directly quoted from the Archbishop and Pope. I did not interpret anything. What are you talking about? Look up the quotes!
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Denise
11/17/2016 01:42:15 pm
Really? The entire post is not a quote. Yes some quotes. Also many interpretations and opinions. No matter what. Everyone has a take away. Not everyone has to agree. Not all information was a direct quote. If it were there is no need for a blog. Simply attach a link. And further, I did look them up prior to my post! But thanks for the directive! :)
VERY CONCERNED PARISHIONE R
11/17/2016 09:57:06 am
Denise. You go girl!❤️
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Anne Cannon
11/17/2016 11:05:06 am
After reading the last two blogs, I have to ask myself how happy Jesus is with all of us. Apparently the purpose of the blog is to evangelize. How sad is it that it has turned into a battleground for the parishioners. Who in their right mind would hand this blog to a priest and walk away feeling happy. Who made US authorities on how a priest should dress, who should be an altar server, who to vote for, and how to write/deliver a great homily? Shame on us and our judgmental mentalities!
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evelyn augusto
11/17/2016 01:46:00 pm
Anne: A Doctor of Minstry from the Albany Diocese wrote that "Homily Abuse" was right on. See the first reply to the post. The blog had such merit she shared it with people she knew. She Evangelized using the essay as medium.
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Janet Marie
11/18/2016 07:04:54 am
Anne, you are correct, it is not our place. That quote came from a homily addressed TO PRIESTS by Archbishop Villegas. It IS the place of a bishop to direct and correct priests. Google can lead you to the entire text of the homily.
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Janet Marie
11/18/2016 07:10:25 am
https://youtu.be/d9zoq3k-3K0
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Janet Marie
11/18/2016 08:02:45 am
I just realized that it looks as though the link above is to Archbishop Villegas' homily. It is not. It's a link to a song which we sing rather frequently at Sacred Heart. (And btw I do wish we used the version in the For King and Country video; the inclusive language in that is better than the inclusive language in our hymnal. I can remember when we would (chorally) promise to guard "each man's" dignity; FCAC's "each other's" is wonderful; Gather's "human's dignity" is-- forgive me--- cringe-worthy.
Janet Marie
11/18/2016 06:34:34 am
In response to "homily abuse." Let's keep in mind that there is a huge difference between the homilist who doesn't put in the time, and the one who simply isn't particularly gifted in this area. In the second case, what do we hope to achieve by underscoring the person's lacks, and particularly in using words like "pollution"? Even in the first case, we need to keep in mind that we don't know what is going on in someone else's life. Perhaps the priest who appears to have neglected preparing his homily has been overwhelmed by parishioners with urgent needs. I would suggest that the first step, ALWAYS, is to pray for the priest. As for the second step, why not try to find one good point in a homily and make a compliment? ("Father, it really struck a chord with me when you said.....") After doing that several times, then.. if you truly feel it is necessary... the time might be ripe for suggesting that there is room for improvement. ("Your homilies are so moving when you....") People rarely react well to being told that they stink at something. And we are talking about pastors here: a unique, underappreciated group who in recent years are often under attack. We should all be praying for priests every day. And I am not suggesting that the writer of this blog, or its readers, are not. I'm sure they are. But just as the indifferent homilist can try harder, so can we.
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Dennis
11/19/2016 04:41:08 am
Yes, indeed, my blog is judgemental. It was meant to be!
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evelyn augusto
11/19/2016 05:29:58 am
: )
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