ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Institute launched its newest 2024 Preaching for Encounter Program cohort of forty-six priests and deacons with a three-day introductory retreat on June 25-27, 2024 at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois.

Fr. Matthew Hegemann, O. Cist. a University of Dallas graduate (’15, BA in history, ’20, MA in theology) is participating in the new cohort. He said, “Our recent retreat at Mundelein seminary has me excited and ready to begin learning more about the craft of composing and delivering homilies. I hope to learn more about myself as a preacher and about the people to whom I’m speaking. In fact, the entire program revolves around making a connection between the preacher and those sitting in the pew, such that homilies are engaging and centered upon common experience.” Fr. Matthew is a former UD soccer student-athlete who entered Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian monastery in ‘2016. He joins Fr. Francis Gruber as the two Cistercian monks in the new cohort. Abbot Peter Verhalen and Fr. Christoper Kalan have been in the 2022 cohort and concluded their two-year preaching program in Notre Dame, IN on July 9-11, 2024.

The new preachers come from the dioceses of Dallas, Joliet, IL, and Gary IN, and the archdioceses of Chicago, Indianapolis, San Antonio, and Los Angeles.

Dr. Suzanne Nawrocki, one of the program’s coaches said that the retreat reminded her of “the feeling of a new semester in school when your pencils were sharpened and you were anxious to start classes. That’s how I felt as I greeted forty-six priests and deacons from around the country to start this program to invigorate their preaching. Joining these men in prayer, in the classroom, and at meals, the excitement was palpable.”  On the first night of the retreat, retired professor of homiletics and another coach, Fr. Ed Griswold exhorted the newest preachers to throw their heart and soul into their upcoming study and preaching formation work.

The retreat at Mundelein introduced the preachers to the vocabulary of the “science of homiletics.” Sessions touched on the ways to lead people toward an encounter with the living God. Dr. Karla Bellinger, executive director of the Institute, presented the theology of preaching, how to listen and connect with listeners, principles of delivery, and how to focus a homily to make one point. Morning and evening prayer and daily Mass bonded the group together liturgically.

A highlight unique to this new cohort was joining in the Marian pilgrimage of the Eucharistic Revival. Fr. Matthew says, “During our retreat, we had the wonderful opportunity of joining in a Eucharistic procession on Mundelein’s beautiful campus, revealing the true power of the Eucharist to bring people together and calling for unity in a time of so much division.” As the swallows flitted overhead, the vested priests and deacons from the Institute more than doubled the number of clergy processing through the woods and around the lake in the breeze of a northern Midwestern evening.

Fr. Matthew is hopeful that the focus on homiletics will bring the Church together as we seek to renew the Eucharistic celebration: “I’m confident this program, in light of that message of unity, can help foster greater devotion and understanding of our liturgy, which helps us to meditate upon the Word of God before receiving Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”

After the procession, coming into the evening session, a deacon from Joliet, IL was so inspired that he said to the retreat leader, “What can you possibly do to top that?” Dr. Bellinger replied, “I won’t even try!” At the end of that long Wednesday of processions and learning, at the social, the priests and deacons shouted and cheered (and booed) as Venezuela beat Mexico 1-0 in the Copa America 2024 tournament. One said afterwards, “The campus was beautiful. The weather was cooperative. And the new friendships were priceless.”

The Lord was with us. What could be better than that?

IRVING, TX – The Institute for Homiletics at the University of Dallas has reached its goal of
establishing a $7.5 million permanent endowment, a key need in the effort to improve
preaching in the Catholic Church. This endowment, held as a designated fund at The Catholic
Foundation in Dallas, will contribute funds in support of the Institute’s annual operating budget.

See Publication in Texas Catholic.

“The generosity of our donors can never be underestimated. Their financial support has made
this Institute possible,” said Dr. Karla Bellinger, Executive Director of the Institute. “Parishioners
are already giving us feedback about our first ongoing formation program. They are excited
about the improved preaching of their clergy; ‘Pretty good homilies’ are becoming
“inspirational and motivational!’”

The first cohort of preachers will finish the Preaching for Encounter program this summer. Jim
Moroney, who led the fundraising for the permanent endowment, values all donors and
appreciates the immense support of clergy leadership.

“I am grateful to Bishop Burns in Dallas for his enthusiastic endorsement of this initiative when
it was first discussed with him,” said Moroney. “I also want to thank Bishop Kelly for his ongoing
work in support of the Institute. Bishop Kelly’s help has been invaluable and his participation in
the first cohort is a wonderful example of servant leadership.

“The fundraising effort and work would not have been successful without the steady hand and
boots on the ground work of Kris Kramer, who accompanied me on almost every meeting with
prospective donors,” added Moroney.

“Every donor showed faith in the work when there was nothing yet to see. They knew how
important it was to our Church’s future that we improve preaching in the Catholic Church,” said
Moroney. “Donors know in their hearts that if the Institute can help priests and deacons preach
homilies that give people in the pews a genuine encounter with the living God then our
churches will be vibrant and on fire with the Holy Spirit.”

Bishop Edward J. Burns said the early fruits of the Institute are fueling the desire of people to
be drawn closer to Jesus Christ through hearing inspiring words of faith, hope and love.
“How blessed we are to hear from people in the pews who say the liturgies they’ve attended
that involve clergy who are members of the first cohort are helping them draw nearer to
Christ,” said Bishop Burns. “I am ever so grateful to the donors who have enabled the Institute
to become a light of hope for our Church.”

Matt Kramer, president and CEO of The Catholic Foundation said donors can continue to make
contributions to the designated fund at any time and from anywhere.

“The Institute for Homiletics at the University of Dallas is a blessing to the Church and her
people. Finding more effective ways to share the word of God is at the heart of the new
evangelization, and the success of the program is already bearing tremendous fruit,” said
University of Dallas President Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD. “The University of Dallas is incredibly
grateful to Jim Moroney for leading the charge to reach this milestone in fundraising, and for
the tremendous support of the Diocese of Dallas and The Catholic Foundation.”

The Institute currently has priests and deacons from the Dioceses of Dallas, the Diocese of
Victoria, Texas and Diocese of Green Bay, Wis. enrolled in its first two-year “Preaching for
Encounter” program.

The second cohort of priests and deacons begin with their introductory summer retreat in June.
They come from the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., the Archdiocese of San
Antonio and the Diocese of Dallas.

In 2022, the Lily Endowment granted the Institute a total of 1.3 million dollars over the next five
years. The five-year grant will enable the Institute to implement the “Into Deeper Waters:
Renewing Liturgical Preaching to Reach Young Catholics” initiative. That project supports
research and resources for improving liturgical preaching with young Catholics.

America Media recently interviewed Dr. Karla Bellinger, the Executive Director of the Institute for Homiletics to appear on an episode of “PREACH: The Catholic Homilies Podcast”. Her podcast episode can be listened to here and an article on that conversation can be found online here.

“Effective preaching is like good butter sinking into warm toast,” says Karla Bellinger. “You’ve gotta give the Holy Spirit a little bit of time to do some work.” As the founding executive director of the Institute for Homiletics at the University of Dallas and president of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics, Karla is filled with bits of wisdom like this for homilists.

“The God of the universe who is infinite also wants to be the God who is intimate and close,” Karla says in her homily for the Second Sunday of Lent. “God wants to dazzle us.” In many ways, this is the mission of the homilist: helping people in the pews draw closer to God and prompting a dazzling encounter. Karla would know; as a lay woman and homiletician, she coaches and trains preachers—mostly ordained Catholic men—to give effective homilies. Preaching is a “pastoral act,” she says. Through every homily, “you want your people to come closer to God.”

Listen to Karla’s homily on this week’s episode of “Preach.” After delivering her homily, Karla explores with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., some of the quick- and long-term fixes preachers can make to improve their homilies such that people in the pews can really hear what the preacher—and God—has to say.

The Institute for Homiletics is excited to announce a new opportunity – the Preaching for Encounter Program is recruiting one online peer learning group for the 2024 cohort. Each cohort consists of six peer learning groups, five of which are geographically located within (arch)dioceses.

This opportunity for ongoing formation is for priests whose diocese is not currently participating in the program, as well as for those dioceses that are so rural that meeting together in person once per month would be a challenge. The priests will participate fully in all aspects of the Preaching for Encounter program through the retreats, personal coaching, and lay support groups. The only difference will be that the monthly peer-learning group will meet virtually rather than in-person.

The Preaching for Encounter Program is a two-year commitment to homiletics growth. Here is a brief summary and timeline of what this ongoing formation program entails: 

• The Online peer-learning group is at the heart of the process. The group of six to ten
  priests will meet once a month to discuss preaching materials, to evaluate each other’s
  homilies, to pray together, and to grow in community.
• A personal preaching coach will work with each preacher monthly. The coach will work
  with him to set goals, evaluate his homilies, and/or work on an upcoming homily.
• Whole cohort gatherings consist of two summer retreats and two winter retreats. The
  first gathering of the 2024 cohort will be a two-day introductory session at Mundelein
  seminary in Chicago on June 25-27, 2024. The first winter retreat will be at Marywood
  Retreat and Conference Center in St. Johns, FL on January 26-31, 2025.
• A lay support group will pray for and support each preacher. This group will meet
  independently in the first year and together with their preacher in the second year. The
  preacher’s responsibility is to select a lay coordinator for this group.

For the 2024 cohort, we have already recruited five diocesan peer learning groups. We are currently accepting applications for the one online peer learning group with a maximum of ten priests. We have begun a waiting list for dioceses, but have opened this option to individuals who would like to participate.

If you are a preacher who is eager to learn and grow and passionately wants your homilies to bring your people into an encounter with the living God, we encourage you to contact us.

Deacon John O’Leary, the Associate Director of the Institute for Homiletics was recently invited to be a guest speaker on the “St. Joseph’s Workshop” podcast to discuss the importance of homilies as a tool for evangelization and reflect on the power of preaching. In this episode, the co-host of the podcast, Emily Lugo, announces that she will be joining the Institute as the new Executive Assistant and Coordinator for Lay Programming. We invite you to listen to this podcast episode to learn more about the Institute for Homiletics and explore how lay people can be instrumental in connecting the pulpit and the pew.

Listen on Apple podcasts  Or  Listen on “St Joseph’s Workshop” website