With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, I propose that as the name for the “Guide to Bad Homilies” as proposed by Waiting for Godot to Leave, especially because each one of the 10 items ends with Foxworthy’s familiar formula. For example:
1. JESUS WAS NICE - YOU BE NICE TOO
This is the homily we usually hear in our suburban parishes. Love = quiescene / Fighting for what you love = evil. If this theme describes what you’re hearing … it might be a bad homily.
He’s soliciting more entries, although I think the ones he has now are right on the money. Here are the rest of the titles and you can go there to read the descriptions:
2. http://WWW.HOMILIES-R-US.COM
3. DON’T GET IT WRONG, BUT DON’T GET IT RIGHT ENOUGH.
4. SHECKY GREEN PRESENTS
5. IT’S ALL ABOUT ME
6. SLOWNESS = PIETY
7. AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
8. WE’RE JUST FINE, THANK YOU
9. I HAVE SO MUCH LEARNING I’M PRACTICALLY AN ATHEIST. JOIN ME, WON’T YOU?
10. THE INDEFINABLE MALAISE
Well, what about the opposite? The signs of a good homily. I do try to do my best. One of the essential elements, in order for the homily to be good is to try to do at least three hours of research on the reading on which one will preach. If one speaks more than one language, research should also be in all personally known language(s)
The homily should be written out, never off the top of one’s head. Finally rehearsing it and sufficiently memorizing it to preach it without notes is also important.
I am alone at my parish, so I have found that by the time I have delivered this homily to my third congregation to the 10:15 mass on Sunday it is then it is ultimately the way I want it.
A long time ago, I linked to Fr. Philip Powell’s list of keys to a good homily, but in deference to equal time, here’s his latest post on “So you want to be a Catholic preacher…”
As Fr. Carr has implicitly observed, a homily that is carefully researched, written out, practiced, etc. is so seriously in need of revision that it can only reach a state of acceptability after at least two dynamically amended iterations before a live congregation. It is usually only then that the homilist is fully invested, emotionally and spiritually, in his homily.
The biggest challenge of preparing a homily, in my view, is actually understanding the import of the scriptural text. This doesn’t happen automatically through academic discipline. It happens only through prayerful contemplation and inspiration (assuming, obviously, consultation of the best exegetical sources). A priest doesn’t actually become a good homilist until he is ready, willing and able to replace a well-prepared but mediocre approach with a last minute inspiration that genuinely fits.
Platitudes are the last refuge of a poor homilist.
I beg to differ with you Fr. Gearhart. My experience with those who preach under the influence of that last minute inspiration has consistently been negative. Such preachers are always self-deceived, believing that they are excellent preachers but their congregation says otherwise.
The Catholics in Mechanicsburg, OH may find you to be the one exception. Yet, your grandiloquent post leads me to believe othewise.
In my limited experience (just 7yrs) preaching publicly, I have found that “inspired at the last minute” preachers are generally pretty bad. This is not to say that last second revisions in word choice or phrasing can’t improve a homily! I’ve had several of my OP brothers tell me that they don’t prepare homilies ahead of time b/c they trust that the Holy Spirit will inspire them. I always respond: “Why can’t the Holy Spirit inspire you a week ahead of time so that you have time to write it all down?”
The one thing that will get me to completely revise a homily is someone telling me that they just didn’t understand what I was saying. This happened yesterday at a vigil Mass, “Father, your homily was totally over my head.” I completely revised my homily for Sunday.
Fr. Philip, OP
Thanks for the link, Dom!