In the third of a seven-part series of resources on the Catholic liturgy from our partner Catholic News Service, learn what goes into the proclamation of the Scriptures by laypeople, and the preparation of the homily by priests and deacons.
How lay people can make the Word of God come alive
For more than 50 years Daniel Mulhall has been proclaiming the Scriptures at Mass, ever since the Second Vatican Council. He studies the words, their context and his delivery, all to help listeners.
Watch a related video:
Week-long work goes into homily prep for, and with, parishioners
A Catholic pastor tells of his daily steps every day to write the homily he gives to his congregation on Sundays. Along the way, he listens to people’s thoughts on the Gospel’s message for today.
Watch a related video:
Listen to CatholicPhilly.com’s recent podcast on the importance of a good homily, with Oblate Father Thomas Dailey, the Cardinal John Foley Chair of Social Communications and Homiletics at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary:
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In the second video, Fr. Cocco says, “I often look for practical ways in which I can relate to my parishioners about maybe a particular story in my life, maybe something that’s going on in the world.”
CNS uploaded that video to YouTube on Dec. 19, 2018. Selfishly, I must admit that the timing is unfortunate. I would’ve loved to have made the trip down to Rehoboth Beach each and every Sunday last summer to hear Fr. Cocco’s homilies addressing (ex-)Cardinal Theodore “Uncle Ted” McCarrick, the PA Grand Jury Report, and the Vigano testimony (to name only a few), as nary a word of it was mentioned from the pulpit at any of the parishes I attended. (Quite the opposite; the Sunday immediately following Vigano’s first testimony we were asked to contribute to three — three — separate collections!)
I suspect anyone who’s bothered to read this comment has had the same dejecting experience during the Summer of Shame.