Our Father, Who Art on Earth: The Lord’s Prayer for Believers and Unbelievers. Jose Tolentino Mendonca, with a Foreword by Enzo Bianchi. (Mahwah, New Jersey/New York: Paulist Press, 2012) 114 pages; $14.95. (Reviewed by Brandon H … [Read more...]
The Homiletic Directory
A Guide for Catholic Preaching
April 15, 2015 by Fr. Shane Crombie, CC
In response to a request made by the 2008 Synod of Bishops, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments recently published the Homiletic Directory. The Directory was commissioned to assist homilists in their … [Read more...]
Words Written on Ice and Wind
A Creative Writer Reflects on the Craft of Preaching
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Raymond Tucker Cordani
At the turn of the century, I graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. Armed with an MFA in creative writing, I set out to write the Great American Novel. I taught writing at the University of Central Florida in … [Read more...]
Some Thoughts on Preaching
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Paul Anthony McGavin
Articles on preaching typically emphasize advance preparation. The most crucial advance preparation occurs in seminary, or even pre-seminary, in the systematic reading of Scripture. Long years and discipline in Lectio Divina are the … [Read more...]
Winter Reading for February 2015
February 24, 2015 by Book Reviews
Masters of Preaching: More Poignant and Powerful Homilists in Church History, Vol. 2. Ray E. Atwood (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books/University of America Press, 2014) xiv + 469 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. David Vincent Meconi, … [Read more...]
Rediscovering Preaching within the Liturgy of the Hours
February 12, 2015 by Colleen R. Vermeulen
For most Catholics in the United States, the terms “homily,” “sermon,” and “preaching” nearly exclusively evoke the occasion of a priest or deacon preaching as part of Mass.[1. The use of the specific terms, “homily,” “sermon,” and “preachin … [Read more...]
Preaching, Music, and Acoustics
February 12, 2015 by Deacon W. Patrick Cunningham
The work of the New Evangelization is identical to the work of evangelization in every age: to communicate to those who are unaware of the saving work of the Son of God those things that will bring them to accept the gift of faith, and come … [Read more...]
Laying the Foundation for Forming Disciples in Our Parishes
January 29, 2015 by Fr. Matthew J. Albright
A recent mailing of the Franciscan University of Steubenville declares, “The age of casual Catholicism is over. The age of heroic Catholicism has begun.”[1. Fr. Terrence Henry, TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville. ] Men and women sta … [Read more...]
Saved from a Deacon’s Nightmare
Preaching That Changes Lives
December 2, 2014 by Deacon Edward McCormack, PhD
A Nightmare Not long ago, I experienced a deacon’s nightmare. I was serving the 7:30 AM Mass on Sunday morning, and just as the lector stood up to do the first reading, the presider turned to me and said, “You are preaching this morning, ri … [Read more...]
Preaching IN and TO a Post-Modern World
August 25, 2013 by Dr. Josh Genig, PhD
Indeed, preaching must be improved. However, before preaching can be improved, one must first be aware of the cultural context in which one lives today. Jesus asked by chief priests by what authority he preaches - By Tissot Over the … [Read more...]
Change and permanence
May 22, 2013 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
The Catholic Church has always seemed to me to be like the solid Rock of Gibralter — stable and permanent. Even though we live in a world of constant change and are able to adapt ourselves to it, most of us feel more at home with t … [Read more...]
Helping to Heal the Pain in the Pew: The Preachers Role
March 26, 2013 by Rev. Richard R. DeLillio, OSFS
This sex abuse scandal is, perhaps, the first time our listeners in the pews truly understand the pervasiveness of sin. ... The preacher speaks of its toll on our hearts, while ...reminding us that grace is more … [Read more...]
Preaching to the Whole Person: Classical Wisdom for the New Evangelization
October 25, 2012 by Fr. Michael Dominic O'Connor, OP
St. Augustine, the Church’s foremost teacher in the classical art of Christian preaching, master rhetorician, and former teacher of oratory, was convinced that the pagan rhetorical tradition, so important to the ancient cultures of Greece a … [Read more...]
Enter the Digital Continent of Preaching
July 12, 2012 by Fr. Fred Gaglia, PhD
Our preachers must lead people to align themselves with the Church, filling the chasm of the past two or more generations of those not in touch with this treasury of truth. The goal is eternal salvation, the growth of the Church is in the … [Read more...]
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