I preached a homily two weeks ago, wedding feast at Cana, and addressed the topic of homosexual marriage and the attack on the family. Didn't pull any punches. Got e-mail running fifty-fifty. One parent wrote me, saying that she monitors closely what her first-grader watches on TV, computer, etc., and now she wants to know in advance when I am going to preach on "inappropriate" topics, ashamed that she has to monitor the homilies of the pastor.
I made no apologies, but gave her the preaching rotation schedule, so she can choose who she wants to hear.
I feel sorry for our good priests. Fr A (who is a VERY good priest) gets blasted by one faction if he preaches tought, by another if he preaches "easy." (Which, by the way, I never think he does--I always see myself in every discussion--unfortunately!) Blasted if he talks too long, blasted if he talks too briefly. We recently had two families leave the parish over one sermon--and I thought that it wasn't even a scathing one! Go figure.
I had a protestant minister friend tell me, "Oh, I make EVERYONE happy at MY church." I looked skeptical. "Yep! Half of 'em are happy when I come, the other half are happy when I leave."
Guess those are words of wisdom.
AND a BIG CONGRATS ON THE NEW BABY! WOO HOO FROM THE MAMAS!
Peace, Dale.
You don't mention the other side of controversy: topics like war, corporate greed, cap punishment, etc.. As with sermons (hard to say that they're homilies) on homosexuality, they are actually quite safe, in that very very few hearers are directly affected by them. Sure, some people have strong opinions, but when the parking lot empties, you can bet such homilies were more about the warm fuzzies of the preacher than actual conversion in the pews.
Preachers with a "mission" either way should occasionally check their Roman Missal to see what the purpose of a homily really is. If they feel compelled to consistently preach on Iraq or gay unions, I'd suggest buying public access time on cable or checking out a busy street corner.
Todd- in other words, don't preach about anything. Or maybe rent the time like teevee stations for infomercials between 12 and 6 A.M. Like that messy loud smelly Old Testament prophet told to cry aloud and spare not. Or maybe you didn't read the text of Fr. Rob's sermon. About Issue Numero Uno. Oh- wait til this leaks out- a report by a new group of African-American Catholics-
lay and religious, faithful to the Magisterium. That at least 13 million black women in the U.S. of A.have died from abortions or complications thereof since 1/22/73. Check our fine Philly diocesan paper The Catholic Standard and Times for details. Watch for fallout.
Too bad you weren't here a week ago, Todd, and you'd have seen that I actually would appreciate a homily about corporate greed that invoked Catholic teaching.
http://dprice.blogspot.com/
2004_...481617100327707
(And scroll down to January 17).
The difference being, I've heard commentaries on the death penalty, the environment, war and peace, sympathetic Oprah guests, etc. in the homily setting. I wouldn't know if sexual topics would be easy or hard, because I'm still waiting on for my first homilies on abortion, contraception, homosexuality, cohabitation, divorce, etc.
Continued:
I agree that a homily shouldn't be a place for the priest to ride a theological or topical hobby horse into the ground. But it isn't a straitjacket mandating only exegesis of that week's texts, either. Being the Word of God, it is the case that not infrequently those texts will be quite relevant to current events and issues. Sometimes current events will intrude as well (9/11, war, mass layoff, local tragedy or disaster, etc). If there is a teaching moment, a priest/deacon shouldn't pass up the opportunity because of the offense factor.
Terry:
Thanks much, from all of us.
If I issued prizes, you'd be getting one for being the first person to notice and offer congrats.
Much appreciated!
Peace, all.
Never said anything about not preaching at all. The point of a homily is not necessarily to make people squirm, or to slavishly do a weekly Scripture exposition. Has anyone bothered to consult the IGRM as to the purpose of a homily? When preachers trot out their pet topics (of any kind) is good liturgy served, or is it just a speech for a captive audience?
I read your pieces on corporate greed, Dale, but my point wasn't hearing them another side, but that you get the same division of smiling head-nodders and grim head-shakers after either kind of speech. I repeat my questions for any homilist: Does it make people more holy? Or does it give you a warm feeling in your belly that you've taken your shot at (fill in the blank)?
Todd- and you get what you get now. 90 percent of most Sunday homilies are warm oatmeal doses that make the congregation drift off to LaLaLand and are immediately forgettable with the departure from church. The times demand a little more spine, a few squirming posteriors in the pews. Father Rob delivers. Otherwise we wouldn't be debating this sermon's merits almost a week later.
Jesus came to make everyone comfortable!
Dear Todd,
Homilies don't "make people more holy." I thought God does that. People have to listen and make choices and apply what they hear. Putting the onus on the homilist to make people holy, well, where does the IGRM say that?
IGRM
65. The homily is part of the Liturgy and is highly recommended, (cf., Vat. II, SC, no. 52; CIC, can 767, no. 1) for it is necessary for the nurturing of Christian life. It should be an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass of the day and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listener (Sac. Cong. for Rites, Inter Oecumenici, On the orderly carrying out of the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, 26 Sept 1964, no. 54: AAS 56 (1964) p. 890).
Peace, Fr Brian.
It's not missing the forest for the particular tree. Sacrosanctum Concilium says the purpose of liturgy is the worship of God and the sanctification of the faithful. I measure everything at MAss against that standard.
God uses human cooperation with grace to effect greater holiness, otherwise there is no incentive to improve the liturgy or any other part of the Christian life, for that matter. We just sit around on our lazy duffs and wait for something to happen, right? I bow to Dorothy Day's point: priests should prepare and preach homilies as though everything depended on it, aware that God will fill in the gaps.
By the way, I think homilies can be better than they are. Ninety percent of clergy (Gerard's figure) could use additional study in homiletics, Scripture, liturgy, and voice training, not to mention more practice and prep time, preferably with others.
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