The Consolation of A Well Prepared Homily

St. Peter Chrysologus, Doctor of Homilies

As a relative newcomer to the Ordinariate experience, one of the most satisfying aspects of the journey thus far is the consolation of homilies which expect those present to really listen to that which is being preached.

The preacher's utterance proceeds from and participates in a permanent and definitive context: Jesus Christ, "the Father's one, perfect, and unsurpassable Word." Therefore, since "there will be no other word than this one," the task of the preacher is to preach this Word Jesus.—The Catechism on Preaching (Crisis) June 1996, by Peter John Cameron.

Adjacent to the Ordinariate, in the wider diocese, we are blessed with a few diocesan priest homilists who know that the manner of the delivery is secondary to the quality of the content. The better homilies tend to come from priests who do not rely on a (highly affected) "preaching voice" to qualify as decent preachers. Sure, there are many Catholics in the pew who assign drama and humour the higher grade. When you ask those same people to describe the actual content of the homily they heard, and rave about, barely can they state anything that shows they were actually listening for content. Drama does not help the listener internalize the details to as helpful a degree as meaningful repetition and a clear progression of thought that immerses the listener in the Truth of God.

CCC875 "How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? and how are they to hear without a preacher? and how can men preach unless they are sent?" No one - no individual and no community - can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from what is heard." No one can give himself the mandate and the mission to proclaim the Gospel. The one sent by the Lord does not speak and act on his own authority, but by virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member of the community, but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From him, they receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in persona Christi Capitis. The ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.

A sure sign that a homily is going or is about to go sideways is when the homilist saturates his preaching with references to his biography and, worse, more specifically to his personal foibles,... because he's human just like the rest of us. (Sigh!) The homily morphs into a self-help session that, more than merely allowing people to identify with Father 'N', amounts to an opportunity for people to cast their vote in favour of what could easily and usually does become a cult of personality.

A sure sign of an effective homily is that people have made lasting connections, when they experience a shift of thought, away from complacency and/or toward a deeper awareness of the true, the good and the beautiful, that manifests as a lingering reflection and quiet adaptation of behaviour and which continues to be expressed as a more deliberate orientation in speech and deed that puts Jesus Christ first in his or her life.

The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their hearts. By means of the words, actions, and symbols that form the structure of a celebration, the Spirit puts both the faithful and the ministers into a living relationship with Christ, the Word and Image of the Father, so that they can live out the meaning of what they hear, contemplate, and do in the celebration.—Catechism of the Catholic Church 1101

We of the Ordinariate are blessed with good preachers. One of the many blessings for which cradle and convert Catholics can be thankful is the quality of homilies that we routinely hear in the Ordinariate. The clergy who have migrated from their former Anglican communities bring with them confident preaching. What is clear is that they take seriously the ministry of preaching the word of God, and that commitment shows up in the nuanced exegesis manifest in their homilies. Their homilies are not weak on direction, and when humour is injected into a homily, it is never gratuitous. Said humour draws immediate attention to the biblical data (presented in the Liturgy of the Word) and provides a bridge to that aspect of the human condition which needs to sit up and take note of the need for change to a more faithful witness to the Gospel. Furthermore, one gets a sense that our priests' homilies are the products of prayerful preparation.

Since becoming a member of the local Ordinariate community, instead of tightening up and preparing for a foray into another talk-show-priest moment, the shoulders are relaxed, the brow is unfurrowed, and the ears are able to open into Scripture-relevant sermons that challenge, provide hope, elevate the spiritual senses and strengthen one's resolve to live fully the Faith in the outer world.

It is clear that our Ordinariate priests take seriously the call to preach. There hasn't been a sermon yet that hasn't demonstrated a fundamental concern for the salvation of our souls.

A good homily confirms the love of a pastor for his flock.

The following list is based on this blogger's experience of our priests' homilies. May they, our faithful pastors, be blessed by God for giving us bread instead of a stone (St. Luke 11:11-13).

Nine Characteristics of A Good Homily

The effective homily:

1. demonstrates care for the salvation of souls;
2. preserves the focus on the Scripture readings of the Mass;
3. is informed and well organized;
4. breathes with the rhythm of nuance and detail, and is therefore poetry;
5. invites and enables the listener to invest in the mission of the Church because Jesus Christ is its focus;
6. is art, because it heralds the true, the good and the beautiful, which points to the Author of all truth, goodness and beauty;
7. proclaims wisdom that enables the listener to seek wisdom—through reading, private devotions, supplementary catechesis, etc.—to sustain and deepen his commitment to liturgical prayer;
8. does not underestimate the listener's ability to apprehend the truth. A good homily treats the listener as a thinking being who is responsible for his actions and who therefore must work out his salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12);
9. is a prayer to God because it was formed in prayer to God.