The city of Ravenna boasts two Doctors of the Church named Peter: the fifth-century bishop of Ravenna, Peter Chrysologus, and the eleventh-century cardinal bishop from Ravenna, Peter Damian. The earlier Chrysologus is honored each year in … [Read more...]
The Words Men Need to Hear
A Priest Speaks to College Seminarians
September 18, 2018 by Fr. Timothy Shea Valentine
Speak only the words men need to hear, the things that really help them . . . (Ephesians 4:29) Introduction The effects of language—for good or ill—first occurred to me when I was five, during the summer before kindergarten. As my broth … [Read more...]
Maintaining the Liturgy in a Homily Surrounded by Technology
July 12, 2018 by Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC
Does technology enhance or diminish a homily? Should we use technology in homiletics? These questions don’t elicit an agreed-upon answer, and often focus on the art of preaching itself. Let’s take a representative example from each side. Dr. … [Read more...]
Lessons from a Patristic Homily
May 18, 2018 by Brandon P. Otto
In learning how to craft homilies, it is worth studying past master homilists; from these masters, we can learn masterful techniques. Reading those who wrote in one’s own native tongue is, of course, a necessary thing: Newman would probably … [Read more...]
On the World’s Most Beautiful Sermon
May 18, 2018 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
I. A sermon is an essay or a treatise that is spoken. Classical sermons of Newman, or some of the great French preachers, could last for hours. Great Protestant divines were known for long and powerfully delivered sermons. We live in a … [Read more...]
An October Mystagogy
A Proposal
November 27, 2017 by Fr. Benjamin Roberts
We count people in October. Each year in the parishes of the dioceses of the province of Atlanta, we count the number of people who are attending Mass each weekend. The reason for the choice of this particular month has been lost to … [Read more...]
Bringing the Gospel to the Troops
A Survey of American Military Homiletics
November 27, 2017 by Deacon William Smith
The record of preachers in uniform is a remarkable one, filled with physical bravery and moral courage in the face of internal and external pressures, ameliorated by a deep, and very personal sense of care for the ordinary combatants who … [Read more...]
Early Fall Reading
September 8, 2017 by Book Reviews
The Concept of Woman: Volume III: The Search for Communion of Persons, 1500-2015. By Sister Prudence Allen, R.S.M., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. 546 pages. Reviewed by Joshua M. Evans, Ph.D. Revelation. Catholic Commentary on Sacred … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
July 21, 2017 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Does a homily mean something other than a sermon? Online dictionaries seem to show them to be interchangeable. I have for years now believed homilies to be based on Scripture, and sermons might cover a range of topics, not … [Read more...]
What Lessons Do Thomas Aquinas’s Sermons Hold For Modern Preachers?
June 12, 2017 by Dr. Randall B. Smith, Ph.D.
Son: “All the men who were ordained with me seemed to think that the faculty of preaching will come to them as a matter of course.” Father: “Then I pity their congregations.” —Canon Twells, Colloquies on Preaching It is strange to th … [Read more...]
Early Summer Reading
June 12, 2017 by Book Reviews
I Burned for Your Peace. Augustine's Confessions Unpacked by Peter Kreeft. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016). Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, Ph.L. Desiring a Better Country: Forays in Political Theology by Douglas Farrow. (Montreal &a … [Read more...]
Springtime Reading
May 29, 2017 by Book Reviews
Proofs of God: Classical Arguments from Tertullian to Barth by Matthew Levering. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016. Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, Ph.L. Speaking from Within: Biblical Approaches for Effective Pr … [Read more...]
Media Technology in Preaching
A Catholic Response
May 16, 2017 by Deacon Peter Lovrick
Preachers in various Christian denominations use audio-visual technology in their sermons and homilies. PowerPoint, video clips, and even hologram imagery have found their way into the pulpit. To accommodate preachers who have chosen to use … [Read more...]
Late Winter Reading
February 21, 2017 by Book Reviews
Hope for the World: To Unite All Things in Christ. By Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke and Guillaume D'alançon; paperback; published July 20, 2016. Reviewed by Fr. Ryan Rojo. Proofs of God: Classical Arguments from Tertullian to Barth by M … [Read more...]
From Benedict to Francis
A Brief Survey of Papal Teaching on Preaching, 1917-2013
December 20, 2016 by Fr. Benjamin Roberts
On the fifteenth of June in 1917, Pope Benedict XV issued the encyclical, Humani Generis Redemptionem, “On Preaching the Word of God.” This is the most recent papal document which was devoted specifically to preaching, at least at the level … [Read more...]
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