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A collaboration between the University of Dallas and The Catholic Foundation, the Institute for Homiletics was founded in 2021 for one purpose — renew preachers to renew preaching in the Catholic Church.
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October Prayer Intentions
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Please join us in prayer.
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- For the 46 priests and deacons in the current Preaching for Encounter 2024 cohort who are in the final phases of learning with us.
- As bishops and diocesan leaders recruit priests for the 2026 Preaching for Encounter cohort, for their priests to have willing and open hearts to say "yes!" to participating.
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New Preaching for Encounter Cohort
to Start in Spring 2026
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Do you know a preacher who might benefit from the Preaching for Encounter Program? Please forward this video to them to help them learn more!
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Bishop Greg Kelly participated in the Preaching for Encounter cohort of 2022. He shares wisdom he learned from his coaches about the heart of God's vision for the purpose of preaching.
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Why Do We Preach? “The most important thing is the purpose of the homily. The purpose of the homily is not to entertain or to tell jokes, but to help the people gathered there to encounter Christ – to encounter something of the Mystery of his Presence, of his love and his mercy; the challenge of his Word as he comes to them in the very particularity of that moment, to help us understand who Jesus is and what he asks of us."
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- Bishop Greg Kelly
Diocese of Tyler, Texas
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The Institute for Homiletics offers a variety of lectionary resources for each Sunday as well as major feasts. We have entitled this page "Dazzled by God" because God is so good and amazing! Exegesis of the scriptures comes from Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA and Br. John Barker, OFM. Reflections, discussion questions, and prayers are by Dr. Karla Bellinger and Fr. James Wallace, CSsR. Originally published in Living the Word by World Library Publications, this resource can be used weekly for homily preparation, catechetical formation, Bible studies, OCIA reflection, and personal use.
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What does "better preaching" mean? At the Institute for Homiletics, we have studied what makes for effectiveness in preaching. It is not just guesswork. How can a homily touch the heart of a parishioner? How can a homilist grow "better" at connecting to what really matters? From our research, we have created a comprehensive rubric to help homilists make progress toward excellence. Our standards of effectiveness measure a broad spectrum of input, from the preacher's expressed spirituality, to homiletic structure, to the form and function, to 'stickiness' and delivery. We have also created a survey for parishioners to express their thoughts about the homilies they hear. You can see those rubrics on Pages 24-31 of the Preacher's Progress Report.
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Courtesy of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. of Indianapolis, we have gathered a great deal of data about the relationship of Catholic Sunday preaching to the lives of youth and young adults. We will provide articles and reports from that data in future newsletters. Please see the first of these in Logan Edwards' series of three articles: "Preaching that Accompanies Young People on the Road."
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In recent weeks, participants in our Preaching for Encounter and Saint Joseph's Preachers groups have been in the news in several publications:
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Out on the Nebraska Plains with Omaha Priests & Deacons
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As the guest speaker for the Archdiocese of Omaha Clergy Conference on October 7 and 8, Dr. Karla Bellinger, executive director of the Institute, gave five presentations. They included “Preaching for Encounter: The Unique Character of Catholic Liturgical Preaching." Priests and deacons were energized about practical ways to bring people closer to God.
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"I just discovered there will be about 50 members of our youth group attending my talk Saturday morning. I wanted to thank you for your data and information on youth. It gives me a lot of confidence to craft a short message on prayer and how God is present in our lives, not merely as a historical event but as our promised future…. Again, I am so glad you were able to teach, encourage, and grow us last week. Thank you!"
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Deacon David Krueger
Diocese of Omaha
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For information about inviting Dr. Bellinger for preaching retreats, conference talks, or clergy convocations, reach out as early as possible: office@instituteforhomiletics.org.
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Preach Boldly. Connect Deeply.
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End-of-the-year fundraising campaign. Help us raise $200,000.
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Are you inviting someone to Christmas Eve Mass? Do you hope that the homily will touch him or her? Might that person come back to Mass as a result of that preaching? The opportunity is great.
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We invite you to reflect on what you might want to give to make the Word come alive through meaningful homilies that keep people coming back to Mass. In our end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, we want to celebrate good preachers and effective preaching. Your gift can help to create more of them!
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Honor a homilist who has impacted you
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Think about a preacher that touched your life. It could be a bishop, priest, or deacon, or a lay person who spoke at a retreat, podcast, or mission. In honor of that person, whether living or deceased, please make a donation. What can you give to acknowledge that deep connection? Please give that gift to help spread hope in our world.
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We will add that preacher's name to our Preacher's Wall of Honor at the Institute for Homiletics.
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Thank you for your generous gift to "Preach Boldly, Connect Deeply" to help us grow the renewal of Catholic preaching. Donations can be made by credit card or from a Donor Advised Fund to “The Institute for Homiletics Saint John Chrysostom Fund” of The Catholic Foundation in Dallas.
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Thank you for your generosity!
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“They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’”
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