Lost Bishops Seeking Lost Document

An interesting and unimpressive first day for the USCCB powwow in Seattle. The cool Pacific air has clouded some memories. I noticed this CNS headline piece on how excited the bishops got over a new document on preaching. Rehashing preaching must be more exciting than rehashing the Charter. We’ve sure seen how that 2003 document has been absorbed in Kansas City … in Philadelphia … and Santa Rosa … and Chicago. And maybe other places we don’t know about.

I wonder how many bothered to read the original from the “the first lost generation of poor catechesis,” as Bishop Alexander Sample of Upper Michigan put it. We sure read it, remember?

The fifty-page limit seems arbitrary. Not long enough to read on a flight to Rome, but maybe lengthy enough for an airport layover.

Imagine if the bishops solicited input from their clergy and laity on liturgical preaching. For many of us, it’s the 21st century. Set up a blog. Invite some theologians–remember these guys so many have alienated the past twenty, thirty years? See what happens. It could be worse. They could solicit our opinion on how the “lost generation” has fared with clergy sex offenders.

 

FIYH 116-120: Appendix

Let’s finish up Fulfilled in Your Hearing, the full text of which is linked below in the copyright credit. Speaking of copyright, I will mention in light of recent swipes taken at the US bishops and ICEL, that the USCCB was very generous in the permission it gave to permit me to post sections of this document on this site and initiate our discussion. One drawback of the embittered reform2 approach is that it often accompanies a sense of entitlement, a “right” to do as one wishes, and an assumption of ill-intent on others’ parts. Full disclosure, a little diplomacy, and good manners will net a lot of cooperation.

[116] This document on preaching has dealt mainly with what the individual preacher can do to improve the quality of the Sunday homily. In conclusion, we offer some recommendations for steps that can be taken on the national, diocesan, and parish levels to foster more effective preaching.

It’s a curiosity that these recommendations were relegated to the very end of the document. They’re worth considering. However, they put more of the onus on bishops. First, national suggestions:

[117] 1. A doctoral program in homiletics to prepare teachers of preaching should be established with diocesan support, perhaps at the Catholic University of America.

2. Seminaries, especially at the theologate level, are urged to emphasize preaching as a priority (d. Program of Priestly Formation, 3rd Edition, Chapter III, Art. 2, Homiletics).

Each diocese is urged to take some action, but how does your diocese stack up against these six points?

[118] 1. Programs to improve preaching skills should be established at the diocesan or regional level.

2. Programs for the study and deeper understanding of Scripture and preach­ing theology should also be established.

3. A Center for Preaching Resources should be founded in each diocese by the diocesan office for worship or continuing education, or by the seminary.

4. The Bishop(s) of the diocese should model the nature and purpose of the homily in preaching. They should not accept more preaching engagements per day than allow for preparation.

5. Criteria for the granting of faculties to preach should be clearly formu­lated and followed.

6. Continuing development of good preaching should be supported by the diocese through the granting of time and funding.

The following parish initiatives would likely require the pastor’s backing. Without his support, none of these are likely to succeed or even be initiated:

PARISH

[119] 1. A resource center should be established within each parish to assist preachers and lectors in fulfilling their ministry.

2. Groups to help preachers prepare and evaluate their homilies should be formed.

3. When there are several preachers in a parish, their preparation for preaching should be coordinated.

4. Readers should be trained in the effective proclamation of Scripture and provided opportunities to grow in their understanding of it.

5. Job descriptions for priests should be evaluated in order to highlight the importance and provide adequate time for preparation of the ministry of preaching.

6. Some record should be kept of the themes of each Sunday’s homily in order to bring the parish community into contact with the major facets of our faith each year, and to avoid undue emphasis on one truth at the expense of others.

It is commendable that LTP has included FIYH in its series on liturgy documents for the past several years. Still, I suspect few lay people read it. What about permanent deacons?

[120] At all levels, national, diocesan and parish, bishops and priests are urged to invite religious and laity to read this document so as to assist, encourage and support priests in efforts toward a renewal of preaching in the church.

Any final assessments on what we’ve read?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 114-115: The Spirit Animates

The conclusion of the FIYH epilogue:

[114] We dare to utter that sacred Word because we once heard the voice of Mystery who spoke to Isaiah: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” And we answered with Isaiah, “Here I am; send me” (Is 6:8). With Jeremiah we trust that the Lord will place his words in our mouths, despite our youth or age, our ignorance and our inadequacies (Jer 1:6-9). Even when we fall on our faces, the promise of Ezekiel is there, that a voice will speak to us and a spirit enter into us and set us again on our feet (Ezek 2:1-3). We believe that the Word we speak is the Word God intends to have an effect upon the world in which we live.

For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come

And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful,

Giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats,

So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;

It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (Is 55:10-11)

Funny how that St James, Seattle ambo pictured with this series of posts depicts this very passage.

[115] We too stand in sacred space, aware of our personal inadequacy, yet willing to share how the scriptural story has become integrated into our thoughts and actions while we walked among those who turn their faces toward us. The words we speak are human words describing how God’s action has become apparent to us this week. Is it any wonder then that excitement and tension fill us in the moments before we preach? With a final deep breath may we also breathe in the Spirit of God who will animate our human words with divine–power.

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 112-113: The Power of the Word

FIYH gives its readers a brief epilogue. As we head to the conclusion of the document, we find a reflection entitled, “The Power of the Word.”

[112] The pulpit of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna displays an elaborate handrail in which are carved a detailed series of ugly, mythical creatures. The open mouths and oversized snouts of the beasts are there to remind tlle preacher of his inadequacies as he ascends the stairs. At the very top of the handrail, carved into the pillar that separates the stairs from the open, circular pulpit, stands a dog, jaws open, barking down at the ominous figures. The hellish beasts are not to enter the sacred place. The preacher has been enjoined to leave his sinful self behind as he prepares to speak God’s Word.

[113] The medieval artisan has captured in stone the inner tension of all of us who dare to preach. We are aware that the words we speak are human words, formed through reflection both on the Scriptures and on our personal experience of the needs of our community. Looking into the faces of the people who sit before us, we see those who are holier, more intelligent, and more creative. And yet they wait for us to speak, to preach, to proclaim and witness to the presence of God among us. Our theology tells us that the words we speak are also God’s Word. “What we utter is God’s wisdom, a mysterious, a hidden wisdom” (1 Cor 2:7).

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 109-111: Non-Negotiables

Let’s say you’re a busy pastor and don’t want to make time or can’t make time to follow all the advice we’re been reading about the past week or two. What do you do? A brief section on the “non-negotiables.” Let’s read:

[109] As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, there is no one way to prepare a homily, nor does a particular method work the same way all the time for the same person. But no matter what the method, there are certain elements in the preparation of the homily which cannot be omitted if our preaching over the long term is going to be scripturally sound and pastorally relevant. We may be able to “wing it” on occasion, but to try to sustain a weekly ministry of preaching with little more than a glance at the lectionary and the quick consultation of a homily service is to attempt the impossible.

[110] Effective preaching-that is, preaching that enables people to hear the Word of God as good news for their lives and to respond accordingly – requires time and serious work. Unless we are willing to accept the drudgery that is a part of preaching, as it is of all creative work, we will not know the joy of having the Scriptures come alive for us, nor the profoundly satisfying experience of sharing that discovery with others.

The bishops wrap up chapter IV with a summary list:

[111] To conclude this chapter on homiletic method we would point to what we consider to be the non-negotiable elements of effective preaching:

1. Time. The amount of time will vary from preacher to preacher. However, the importance of the ministry of preaching demands that a significant amount of time be devoted to the homily each week, and ideally, that this time be spread out over the entire week.

2. Prayer. All preaching flows from faith to faith. It is only through prayer that faith is nourished.

3. Study. Without continuing study; stagnation sets in and preaching becomes insipid. Preachers have a professional responsibility to continue their education in the areas of Scripture, theology, and related disciplines. They might well make a book on preaching part of their regular reading program.

4. Organization. Much preaching suffers from lack of direction and the absence of a central, controlling idea. The writing and revising of homilies helps to ensure that there is a point to what we preach.

5. Concreteness. Another common fault of preachers is their tendency to speak in vague generalities or to use technical theological language. Once again, writing and revising helps to ensure that homilies are concrete and specific.

6. Evaluation. In public discourse we easily fall back on familiar ideas and set patterns of speech. More often than not, we are unaware of such tendencies and need the feedback of others to alert us to them.

Everything here look okay? Any additions or subtractions?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 108: The Group Meets

We look at a single section of FIYH, but it contains a detailed description of a possible homily preparation meeting.

[108] After the group has gathered and spent a few minutes quieting down, the following steps can be followed:

1. Read the passages (15 minutes). Begin with the Gospel, then the Old Testament, Psalm, and New Testament. As one of the participants reads the passages slowly, the others listen and jot down images, words or phrases that strike them.

2. Share the words (10 minutes) . This is not a time for discussion but simply an opportunity for each person to share the words or phrases which resonated and fired the imagination. As this sharing is going on, the homilist may pick up some recurring words and phrases. He may be surprised to hear what parts of the Scriptures are being highlighted. These responses are already a sign of the concerns, questions and interests that are present in the lives of the congregation.

3. Exegete the texts (10 minutes). One of the members of the group presents a short exegesis of the texts. The task is not to bring to the discussion everything that could be said, but to make a special effort to determine what concrete human concerns the author was addressing when the text was written. What questions were there to which these words were at least a partial answer? When dealing with the Gospel passage, one way. to answer this question is to show how other evangelists treated the same materials.

4. Share the good news (10 minutes). What good news did the first listeners hear in these accounts? What good news does the group hear? Where is God’s promise, power and influence in our personal story present in the readings?

5. Share the challenge these words offer us (10 minutes). What is the doubt, the sin, the pain, the fracturing in our own lives which the passage touches? To what form of conversion do these words call us? In responding to these questions, the group may resort to generalities. By gentle persuasion and personal example the homilist can encourage the group to speak personally and with examples.

6. Explore the consequences (5 minutes). What difference can the good news make in my life? What happens if the scriptural good news is applied to contemporary bad news? Can my life be changed? Can the world be trans­formed if people believe in the good news and begin acting according to it? These are questions to which final answers cannot be given. They demand prayer and reflection.

7. Give thanks and praise (5 minutes). Conclude with a brief prayer of thanksgiving for God’s saving Word.

Working with a homily preparation group will help to ensure two things: that the homilist hears the proclamation of the good news in the Sunday Scripture readings as it is heard by the people in the congregation and secondly, that the preacher is able to point in concrete and specific ways to the difference that the hearing of this good news can make in the lives of those who hear it. When the preacher spends time with the congregation, struggling with how the Word touches real life, the possibility of this homily striking a listener as “talking to me” increases. The Word of God then achieves that for which it was sent. Preacher and listener, responding together, are nourished by the Word of God and drawn to praise the God who has again given a sign of his presence and power.   

Commentary:

Exegesis after spiritual reflection: very good, especially the suggestion to delve into pastoral exegesis, the concerns and needs of the people the passage addressed.

A pastor should be attuned to the movements and stirrings in the parish, but a question not to neglect is what message in these Scriptures will speak to the needs of the people.

Any other experiences with a homily preparation group with these or a different format?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 106-107: The Homily Preparation Group

The US bishops float an idea you’d never find in Rome, I don’t think.

[106] An effective way for preachers to be sure that they are addressing some of the real concerns of the congregation in the homily is to involve members of that congregation in a homily preparation group. One way to begin such a group is for the preachers to invite four or five people they trust and can work with easily to join them for an hour at the beginning of the week. In a parish setting it is advisable to have one of the members drop out after four weeks and invite someone else to take his or her place. Similarly; a second will drop out after the fifth week, so that after eight weeks or so they will be working with a new group of people.

Rotation of membership is a good idea.

[107] A homily preparation group can also be formed by gathering the priests in the rectory; the parish staff, priests from the area, priest and ministers, or a priests’ support group. The presence of members of the congregation in a group is especially helpful in raising issues that are of concern to them and which the homily may be able to address. Groups that involve only clergy or parish staff members can also be a rich source of insight into the ways in which the Scriptures point to the continuing presence of God in human history.

Of the clergy I know who use groups, most use staff, some use parishioners, and few use their colleagues in ordained ministry.

Any clergy or lay people ever been involved in homily prep groups?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 102-105: Preaching

Practical stuff:

[102] Our emphasis on the importance of writing in the preparation of a homily does not in any way imply that homilies should normally be read. Writing is a means to arrive at good organization, clarity of expression, and concreteness. Whether or not we actually take a manuscript to the pulpit with us will depend on a number of things: the nature of the gathering (very formal or more informal); how familiar we are with our own material; how apprehensive we feel about forgetting something essential.

The “soft” and non-dogmatic documents draw snickers from some Catholics, but most often we see in them a practical side of how Catholicism is lived within a framework of real human lives. Simple things like FIYH 102: don’t read a homily like an automaton, but if you need text to do a good job, by all means, use it.

 

[103] Sometimes we know what we are going to say so well, and are so enthused about it that a manuscript would only get in the way or distract us. On the other hand, there may be times when we are sure that our message will be clearer and more forceful if we have the text with us. As long as we have something to say; as long as we are saying it, and as long as we establish and maintain rapport with the congregation, we may be able to preach quite effectively from a text.

Even when preaching from a text, a homilist should have great familiarity and comfort with the content.

 

[104] In general, it is much better to speak from notes or an outline-or without any written aids at all, for such a way of preaching enables us to enter more fully into direct, personal contact with a congregation. If we feel we must take the text with us, be familiar enough with the material so that instead of reading it, we can simply have it present as an aid to our memory.

 

[105] In preaching, as in all forms of communication, remember that it is the whole person who communicates. Facial expression, the tone of voice, the posture of the body are all powerful factors in determining whether a congregation will be receptive to what we have to say. If, as we preach, we remember that in carrying out this ministry we are showing our love, and God’s for the people, we will more easily avoid a delivery that sounds affected (“churchy”) or impersonal.   

A friend once had a motto posted in her office: relationship is the heart of ministry. It would seem the role of liturgical preacher demands something of a relationship with the assembly. Even a nose-in-the-outline priest can overcome certain weaknesses if the people know the man behind the pages, as it were.

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 101: Practicing

This is one lots of preachers, lectors, and even musicians have trouble with: practice. Ever since we were kids, perhaps. But the advice here is not only sound, but it really helps:

[101] After revising the homily; practice it. Repeat it several times to become familiar with what has to be said and how to say it. Practice it aloud and ask if that is really “me” speaking. Does it sound natural, or have I introduced words and phrases that sounded good when I jotted them down but are not suited to oral communication? It may be helpful to preach the homily to a friend or co-worker or to use an audio/video tape recorder. Can I say to that person without embarrass­ment what I intend to say to the congregation? Do I really believe what I am saying, or have I hidden behind some conventional expression of piety or theology that I would probably not use in any other situation?

The suggestion of making an audio recording for a practice is a good, but potentially devastating one. These days, with the advent of cheap, plentiful video recording technology, one can also record one’s mannerisms as well as audio. Maybe it’s not an everyday event, but at minimum a preacher should be recording Sunday homilies to see how the visuals come across.

As for the “conventional” expressions, keep in mind this term applies pretty much to any philosophical approach: traditional, modern, neo-trad, or whatever. Most parishes are not filled with parishioners up on the latest lingo from the net, or from books, or wherever.

The bishops also mention a principle rather forgotten by the current translators of the Roman Rite: the language of oral presentation must, by necessity, be different from the written form.

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 97-100: Revising

The second of four working stages of homily preparation, revising–it’s a vital one.

[97] The revising stage is one of the most important and the one that is too easily omitted for lack of time. To revise is frequently to cut: the good but extraneous material that surfaced in the jotting down stage of preparation; the technical theological terms and jargony “in” words that creep into our vocabularies; the use of the non-specific “this” or “it” at the beginning of sentences; the moralistic “therefore let us” or “we should” which we so easily resort to in winding up the homily; the references to “he” and “men” when the words are meant to include everyone; the vague generalities that can be replaced with specific incidents or examples.

 

 

 

 

A preacher should be rightly concerned about the words of communication, but the bishops also say structure is important in addressing a message, holding an assembly’s attention and making maximum use of the ability to format the overall effort:

[98] The time for revising is also the time to arrange the material in the order best suited to gain, and hold, people’s attention and to invite them to a response of faith in God’s Word. In the sketching stage a story may have occurred to us which exemplified perfectly the human situation being addressed by the Word of God. Bring that story up front. Use it as the opening so that people are able to identify with the situation right from the beginning. Beginning the homily with “in today’s Gospel … ” or words to that effect, risks losing the attention of the congregation right at the beginning for they will not have been given any indication of why they should be interested in what was said in today’s Gospel.

Is it always important to have a single unifying idea? The bishops think so:

[99] The time of revising is also the time to make sure that the homily does in fact have a central, unifying idea, and that this idea is clearly stated and repeated throughout the homily. We need not repeat the idea in the same words all the time, but we need to come back to it several times. People will inevitably drift in and out, no matter how good the preacher is. The restatement of the central idea is a way of inviting people back into the homily again if they happen to have been distracted from what we were saying.

Finally, as we look at the task of revision, the bishops ask if the homilist has prepared the way in which the preached material interfaces with the rest of the liturgy, and not just the Scrpture readings proclaimed. This is probably one of the notable emphases in the whole FIYH document. I’ve heard many good preachers through the years, but I don’t often hear the explicit connection to what is to follow in the Eucharistic celebration. Do your parish preachers live up to this?

 

[100] Finally, the time for revising is the time to make sure that the homily is fashioned not simply as a freestanding talk, but as an integral part of the liturgical action. Does the conclusion in any way lead people into the liturgy that follows? Have we spoken the Word of God in such a way that God has become more present in people’s lives and they are enabled to be drawn more fully into the act of worship for which they have gathered? Remember that a homily is not a talk given on the occasion of a liturgical celebration, but an integral part of the liturgy. Just as a homily flows out of the Scriptures of the liturgy of the Word, so it should flow into the prayers and actions of the liturgy of the Eucharist which follows.

Comments?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 94-96: Drafting

The preparing preacher gets serious; time to pull the ideas from prayer and reflection and start making them incarnate:

[94] A time for writing should be scheduled at least two days before the preaching of the homily in order to provide ample time for alterations. Knowing that there will be opportunity to rework the homily will do much to save us from writer’s block. At this stage we need not be concerned with matters of style, or even with making sure that the homily is tightly reasoned and well constructed. The point is simply to begin getting ideas down on paper so that we will have something to work with.

Even in the computer age, this hand-writing stage is important. Unless a typist chooses a data-input format that retains discarded text, one can lose quite a bit in the writing. I still compose hymn texts by hand, just to compare and see lines used with earlier ideas. There is also a certain discipline to committing all of one’s preached text to paper via the hand.

[95] It is quite possible that we will come to this stage of preparation still not having any idea -any new and fresh idea, that is-of what we are going to say. We may simply feel empty and without inspiration. Begin writing anyway, for the very act of writing often unleashes a flow of ideas that will be new, fresh, and exciting. It is often at this point of initial writing that the difficult text suddenly opens up its meaning and provides a new, a richer understanding of how God is present in our lives. At this point, too, the two readings which had seemed so totally unrelated may suddenly come together and illuminate one another. When something like this happens (sometimes referred to as the moment of insight, or the “aha” experience), we may well have the central idea for our homily.

The bishops suggest not even crossing out words or phrases. More writer manuals suggest the same: in the early draft just let everything hang out. It is a great discipline to allow oneself to let go like this.

[96] So, at this point, simply write. Jot down words, phrases, unrelated sentences. Think of sketching the homily, or of working on an outline, rather than writing out a text. In fact, it is better not to put the ideas in too fixed a form at this point, for we may find that it then becomes difficult to alter them. Don’t stop to think of the best way to say something; don’t go back and cross out words and phrases because they don’t sound right. There is time for that later. Let the pen or the typewriter simply go, even though we are sure that we will not use anything we are putting down on paper. The very act of writing is a way of calling to the surface the ideas and the words that will in fact be the stuff of which our homilies are made.

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 92-93: Letting Go

In a short section titled, “letting Go,” the bishops advise spiritually:

[92] Sometime in the middle of the preparation process we should allow our­selves to step back from the work we are doing and give free reign to the subconscious processes of our minds. At times we will find that our preparation has brought us to a roadblock. A passage may make no sense to us. It may even scandalize us. We may want to ignore it, but it will not go away. The more we wrestle with it, the more troublesome it becomes. The words of Jesus about love for enemies fly in the face of our natural inclination for retribution;  his words about selling possessions and giving them to the poor contradict our instinctive sense of the necessity for prudent stewardship. Paul’s teaching that sin and death entered the world through one man seems to contradict everything we hold about individual, personal freedom and responsibility. We sense a real tension between the Word of God and the human situation.

 

[93] When this happens we have one of the best signs that we are on to something vital. The Word of God may in fact be challenging our faith, calling us to conversion, to a new vision of the world. This period can be a difficult one, for we can feel that we are being asked to give up a way of looking at and dealing with the world which has served us well and with which we have grown comfortable. At a time like this we need to let go in order to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and lead us to a deeper and richer faith.

 

What strikes me about this preparation advice is how well it suits any creative endeavor. I see much applicable to musicianship as well as composing and writing. The unstated part of “letting go” is the actual letting go of our own ideas that just don’t seem to work. How many preachers have something their intellect has determined they “should” preach, but they feel instead steered to something wholly different?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 89-91: Study and Further Reflection

A particular short-cut is a problem for preachers:

[89] One of the major temptations of students when they are assigned a paper is immediately to run to the “experts.” The same temptation afflicts preachers. All too often our preparation for a homily consists of looking up the lessons, reading them over quickly, and then turning to a commentary or a homily service to find out what they mean and what we might be able to say about them. By so doing we block out the possibility of letting these texts speak to us and to the concerns we share with a congtegation.

 

The bishops criticize the rationalization of the homily:

[90] Another danger in going to the commentaries too early is that we program ourselves for preaching which, in content and style, is academic rather than existential. We look for information about the texts that we can pass on to our hearers. We think of the text as a container of a hidden meaning that we have to discover and pry loose with the appropriate tools, rather than as a word spoken directly to us by the Lord. This approach to the text leads to preaching that is a word about something rather than a word, God’s Word, to someone.

 

The bishops give advice that is applicable to music ministry, lectors, and even catechetical ministries in which we presume thay an encounter with the Bible is primarily intellectual over spiritual.

[91] The process of personal reflection and interpretation, therefore, should go on for a couple of days without the aid of commentaries. We are our own interpreters first of all, and then when we do turn to the professional exegetes, we do so for the purpose of checking out the accuracy of our own interpretation. We will fre­quently receive new insights and ideas from the professionals, and these will be helpful to us. If we have allowed the texts to speak to us directly, we will be much better prepared to speak a word that is expressive of our own faith and in touch with the concerns of 0ur people. We will also be able to better recognize and use the insights the professional exegetes give us.           

 

 

 

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 86-88: Reading, Listening, Praying

We get into some nitty-gritty preparation suggestions with these sections of FIYH. All of this advice is good. Reading in the original languages may be a challenge for some preachers, but the easiest and most fruitful idea is reading the passages aloud and listen to them as you do so.

[86] The preparation for a Sunday homily should begin early in the week whenever possible, even on Sunday evening. The first step is to read and reread the texts for the liturgy. Frequently the texts will be familiar, so it is important for us to do everything we can to make this reading as fresh as possible. Read the texts aloud; read them in several versions; if we read and understand Greek or Hebrew; we might try to read them in the original. Even if our knowledge of these languages is minimal, we may find ourselves becoming aware of nuances and connections that can easily be missed if we rely entirely on translations.

We think the Lectionary has a continuo principle, but in fact, we do not proclaim the four gospels in their entirety on Sundays in the year. Those open “spaces” can give helpful insight, as can the previous and future passages.

[87] At this point in the preparation process it is helpful, indeed almost essential, to read the texts in context-that is, to read them from the Bible rather than from the lectionary only. In reading and rereading the texts, continue to read all four of them (Gospel, Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament), even if a decision has been made about which text will become the focus of the homily. It is not necessary for a homily to tie together all the readings. Indeed, for the Sundays throughout the year, when the New Testament lesson is chosen without refer­ence to the Old Testament or the Gospel, attempts to impose some kind of thematic unity can be quite artificial. Nonetheless, the reading of the texts side by side, even if they are unrelated to one another, can often prompt new and rich insights into the “now” meaning of the Scriptures.

Along with the “reading aloud suggestion, this idea of writing down insights is quite excellent:

[88] Read the texts with pen in hand, jotting down any and all ideas. Keep in mind that what we are listening for is a Word from the Lord, a Word which can be heard as good news. We will be all the more disposed to hear and receive such a word if our reading is a prayerful, attentive listening to the text of the Scriptures. Try to read the text without asking “What does it mean?” Approach it humbly, dwell with it, and let it speak for itself.

I knew a priest who wrote down quite a bit, and kept his Sunday Lectionary journal pagtes in a file. Sometimes ideas would be set aside, onlyl to resurface three or six or more years later. More importantly, writing out the fruits of one’s prayers and reflections is enormously helpful in connecting the spiritual experiences of one’s quiet time with more of the thought process that goes into the homily.

Comments on any of this?

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

 

FIYH 84-85: Continua

Here’s a good discussion point worth considering: how many preachers plan a “continuous” homily reaching over two or more weeks to take advantage of the “continuation” principle in the Lectionary?

[84] One final preliminary remark. The method that follows describes a process that extends over a week’s time. Some form of “remote preparation” is also in order. Such preparation could take the form of reading a recent work on the theology of the particular Synoptic Gospel that will be the “Gospel of the Year” or spending some time planning a unified sequence of homilies for a particular liturgical season.

[85] One of the reasons our preaching is less effective than it could be is that we have not taken seriously enough the lectio continua principle of our lectionary. We preach each Sunday’s homily as if it had no connection with what preceded or what will follow. It should be possible, and indeed it would emphasize a sense of continuity and identity in the congregation, if from time to time our homilies would end on a “to be continued” note.

 

(All texts from Fulfilled in Your Hearing are copyright © 1982 USCCB. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)