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In visiting other churches, I have usually been struck by the dramatic differences in the preaching and homilies compared to most Catholic churches. Maybe some people doze off in Baptist churches during the homily, but I sure wouldn’t have in the church I visited!
I know that homiletics is taught in Catholic seminaries, but maybe not to the degree of Protestant churches. Perhaps since some denominations, like Baptists, rely on scripture for their service, rather than a liturgy, it is deemed the critical skill for a minister and they are given more training. I don’t know.
While channel surfing the other night I stumbled across a “reality” show featuring people who wish to be inspirational or motivational speakers, several clearly hoping to do so in a religious environment. All of the contestants are exposed to an experience that supports the topic du jour - the one I watched was on “struggle”. I didnt’ see the beginning, but I believe that the speakers had to spend a day working in the fields as migrant workers to inspire their thoughts on the topic. They are judged both by professionals and by the audience. I seldom watch these shows, but I got hooked to see how each person handled the topic and whether or not they could really get the audience (including me) caught up in their two minute talk. It was very interesting to see the differences. Some were a bit “over the top” and might threaten some of the more exuberant TV preachers some day! But, they did keep your attention.
My thoughts after watching this show are that the ideal “preacher” needs both educated, thoughtful ideas and effective delivery. Many good people, incuding parish priests, have wonderful talents that may not include preaching. Perhaps the dioceses should identify their most effective homilists, and maybe keep them out of daily parish work, and “send” them out to various parishes simply to give homilies. Our parish “borrows” priests from a local university because they are short-staffed, and those borrowed priests tend to be the most effective homilists, perhaps becauses they are also professors who risk losing their young students if they are too boring.
However, while this might work in more urban areas, it would not help in the more rural areas, espcially those who are sharing priests. Often those parishes have additional staff - parish adminstrators, deacons etc - who might possess good speaking skills. Perhaps the church should relax its rules on who is allowed to give homilies.
Another interesting challenge for the church to deal with as the priest shortage continues to grow.
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