What makes a great Catholic homily, and what goes into the art of delivering it well?
“Preach” is a new weekly podcast from America Media that features a diver...
An unexpected focus for Gaudete Sunday: A homily on sin
On Gaudete Sunday—a day in Advent dedicated to rejoicing—the Rev. Justin Lopina will surprise his congregation by focusing his homily on sin. As the newly assigned pastoral administrator at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wauwatosa, Wis., he believes that our fear of sin—what he calls “our fear of letting God down”—often robs us of joy. Justin joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss how John the Baptist’s call to repentance in the Gospel for Gaudete Sunday leads to joy more than simply moral obligations. They also explore the essentials of great preaching, emphasizing the importance of using one’s body and physical presence and keeping homilies short (around 8 minutes) to maintain the congregation’s attention.
Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.
Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine.
“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.
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32:56
What parents want in a homily for their children (and themselves)
How can a preacher deliver a homily that captures the hopes of younger audiences—from toddlers to teens—while keeping parents and the entire congregation engaged? It’s a tall order, but in this special “Preach” episode, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., tackles this challenge in another panel discussion, this time with three America Media colleagues and parents: Tim Reidy, deputy editor-in-chief; Kerry Weber, executive editor; and Heather Trotta, vice president of advancement. Together, they share their experiences of nurturing their children’s faith and reflect on what makes for a homily that connects with everyone.
Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine.
“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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38:36
Advent homilies inspired by Pope Francis’ writing on the Sacred Heart
Sam Sawyer, S.J., editor-in-chief of America Media, returns to “Preach” to discuss his Advent homily series, designed to be more cohesive than the usual week-to-week, stand-alone Sunday homilies that preachers typically prepare. Sam shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Dilexit Nos, inspired him to create these homilies for the season, specially commissioned for Homiletic & Pastoral Review.
Over the four weeks, Sam leads the congregation through a four-part reflection on the heart: awakening the heart, trusting its activity and passion, recognizing our heart’s capacity to desire something greater, and embracing God’s grace in our heart as it overflows from within us
Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.
Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine.
“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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39:19
The kingship of Christ reveals God's mercy, not condemnation
This episode is a re-airing of our 2023 episode for the feast of Christ the King.
The Scripture readings for the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, invite us to interpret the Scriptures through a lens that is perhaps less common for this celebration. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J, tries to imagine ways in which the readings for the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar, “can be perceived less as a hierarchical, patriarchal or monarchical depiction of who God is in Christ through the Spirit, and more about how God relates to us; in humility, in care, in tenderness.”
Father Orobator, a Jesuit of the North-West Africa Province, is an internationally acclaimed theologian and a convert to Catholicism from traditional African religion. He is the dean at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.
On this week’s “Preach,” Orobator shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how thinking of the Gospels as stories can subvert hierarchical, monarchical, and even patriarchal readings of the Scriptures.
Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.
Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine.
“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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33:51
God lifts up the underdogs
When Thomas Massaro, S.J., hears underdog stories, he recognizes the various ways they parallel biblical narratives. “I’m a moral theologian, so I pretty much have to do this,” he says. “It’s part of my task to reach for some moral implications.” Those implications? If you’re a preacher, don’t moralize at the pulpit—especially when you are preaching on the first Sunday after the 46th United States presidential election. Instead, adopt the perspective of the underdog, and humbly strive to build bridges between people who come to Church with opposing viewpoints.
In this episode of “Preach” for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Tom joins Ricardo da Silva, S.J. to discuss how preachers can avoid polarizing issues while keeping an eye toward social justice.
Tom is a scholar of Catholic social thought. He holds the Laurence J. McGinley Endowed Chair in Religion and Society at Fordham University in New York. His most recent books include Pope Francis as Moral Leader (Paulist Press, 2023), and Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
Receive daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What makes a great Catholic homily, and what goes into the art of delivering it well?
“Preach” is a new weekly podcast from America Media that features a diverse cast of the finest Catholic preachers. Each week, preachers open up their hearts and minds, sharing their spiritual lives, approaches to interpreting scripture and techniques for preparing the best homilies.
On each episode, listeners will meet Catholic preachers, learn about their communities and hear their Sunday homilies, delivered with a podcast audience in mind. In the second part of the show, preachers will unpack the making of their homily with the show’s host, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to offer a privileged peek into their lives as ministers of God’s Word, to enable all preachers to keep preaching the Good News.
Read the homilies featured on the podcast and get daily Scripture reflections from America Media by becoming a subscriber: www.americamagazine.org/subscribe
“Preach” is made possible through a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc, as a contribution to its Compelling Preaching Initiative, funding the development of preachers across the United States.
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