#catholic

Executive Summary: 

Catholic preaching can improve. At the Institute for Homiletics, we have witnessed homiletic growth anecdotally and we have measured it statistically.

The 2024 cohort of the Preaching for Encounter Program worked on their preaching from the orientation sessions in April 2024 through the capstone retreat in February 2026. Forty-three priests and deacons came from these (arch)dioceses: Chicago, IL; Joliet, IL; Dallas, TX; San Antonio, TX; Gary, IN; and Los Angeles, CA (see group photo on page 27). Supporting their clergy were 429 lay people, the St. Joseph’s Preachers, who learned to be homiletically-trained conversation partners. We are grateful to all of them, as well as to the large support system of bishops, abbot, directors of ongoing formation, donors, coaches, and staff who were the foundation for the 2024 cohort.

Catholic congregations in these represented dioceses are huge; we estimate that the words of these homiletic leaders impact at least 65,000 parishioners daily, weekly, and monthly, with more at funerals, weddings, quinceañera, Christmas and Easter. Incremental improvement in Catholic preaching has the potential to result in exponential renewal for the Church.

We have solid statistical evidence of that improvement from three sources of data: 1) coaches’ pre- and post-evaluations; 2) preachers’ pre- and post-self-evaluations; and 3) parish pre- and post-surveys. See the survey instruments in the Appendix, beginning on page 28.

This report reveals that the quality of Catholic preaching can improve. How to do that is not based on guesswork. Preaching quality is not simply that some are “talented” and some are not. There are standards to effectiveness. How to connect the gospel with the lives of our people can be learned. This is good news. It takes time, financial investment, energy and a commitment from church leadership. But it can be done. This report is evidence for that hope.

Read the Full Report

By Dr. Karla Bellinger – 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were side by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world , those who count for nothing to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so thus, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

The Word of the Lord

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In homiletics, we can lose the mystery dimension of preaching. It is a miracle when a listener says, “You touched me today.” The Holy Spirit is the One who makes that encounter happen. But sometimes, homileticians and homilists can get ensnared in the details of how to preach and forget our zeal for the One for whom and through whom we preach. A famous theologian once said, “We must invoke the mystery of God, ponder it, live with it, learn to love it, so that, even though it remains a mystery, it becomes a reality in our life.”

See more in the Homiletic Scholar Series Vol. 2, No.1, Fire in the Marrow of the Bones: Mysticism and the Homiletic Encounter 

By Deacon Matthew Napoli

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) In our imagination, we might sense the excitement in the synagogue when Christ rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the attendant that day in Nazareth. After all, this was God himself speaking directly to his chosen people. This was, effectively, the first homily and Jesus was the preacher.

It is easy to see the homily as another task in our roles as deacons. Yet to be the instrument through which our God speaks to our assemblies is a sacred honor. We read in Verbum Domini that “the liturgy is the privileged setting in which God speaks to us in the midst of our lives; he speaks today to his people, who hear and respond.” (VG 52) We are reminded that the homily is “holy ground;” to recall whom is truly speaking in and through the words of the preacher.

Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis viewed the homily as an important part of the liturgy. In Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “The homily is a means of bringing the scriptural message to life in a way that helps the faithful to realize that God’s word is present and at work in their everyday lives. It should lead to an understanding of the mystery being celebrated, serve as a summons to mission, and prepare the assembly for the profession of faith, the universal prayer and the Eucharistic liturgy.” Pope Francis wrote this about the homily: “it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion.” (Evangelii Gaudium 137)

Our identity as deacons is rooted in our configuration to Christ the Servant. As Jesus prepared, by removing his outer garment, to wash the feet of his disciples in the upper room, a deacon is obliged to prepare his homily with that same diligence. Through disciplined preparation of a homily, Christ speaks to his people and professes the same love and tenderness to today’s disciples as he did that Holy Thursday. That is a critical component of our mission. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis states, “Preparation for preaching is so important a task that a prolonged time of study, prayer, reflection and pastoral creativity should be devoted to it.”

Most homilists seek to be more effective preachers, yet the demands of ministry and a perception of personal inadequacy – or, dare we say, superiority – leads to complacency in our preaching. The Congregation For Divine Worship And The Discipline Of The Sacraments – The Homiletic Directory (HD) reminds us “It is not necessary to be a great orator to be an effective homilist.” (HD 3) However, it does demand that we tend to our interior life, connect with those in our congregations, stay attune to current events, make room for the Spirit and strive to preach more effectively.

It is incumbent upon us to seek out the tools necessary to sharpen our skills and grow as preachers. Opportunities to do that abound. It could be as simple as studying the Homiletic Directory or reading the writings of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis, or exploring the resources/ preaching conferences at the Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics or the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. It may be to follow the 48 priests and deacons who recently completed an eighteen-month hybrid program through the Institute of Homiletics at the University of Dallas.

Preaching is a privilege, but with it comes tremendous responsibility. Our call is to treat it with reverence; to strive for encounter between God and his people by being the instrument through which God speaks to them.

Deacon Matt Napoli was ordained a permanent deacon in August 2022. He serves at St. Elizabeth Seton in Naperville, IL. He earned his MA in Theology at the University of Notre Dame in 2024.

We’re delighted to introduce you to Fr. Jude Siciliano, O.P., who lives just around the corner from our offices at the University of Dallas, at the Dominican Priory. Fr. Jude has dedicated his ministry to preaching and teaching, and he has also served as president of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics.

In addition to his many ministries, Fr. Jude operates the preaching website  preacherexchange.com, where you’ll find valuable reflections and insights to support your own homiletic preparation.

We hope you enjoy getting to know Fr. Jude and learning from his wisdom. The team at the Institute for Homiletics will continue to bring you more resources and opportunities for growth in the art of preaching.