Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 16, 2011 - Saturday in the First Week in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 4:12-16 and Mark 2:13-17]The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. [Hebrews]
As I write this I am at the end of a retreat I have been preaching this past week for Dominican seminarians (student brothers) of the Southern and Central Dominican Provinces in the U.S.A.. It has been a wonderful experience. Yesterday morning, this passage from the Letter to the Hebrews was much in my mind as I spoke to the brothers about the particular charism of our religious order: PREACHING. We are, officially, the Friars of the Order of Preachers [O.P.].
There are many forms of public speaking, and preaching is one of those forms. All of the "canons" of effective public speaking come into play - visual, verbal, emotional, etc. However, since preaching is a religious act (normally), faith is an important factor in the effectiveness of the preaching. The faith of the preacher and the faith of the audience come together as an act of worship. If the complaints that I regularly receive from Catholic pew folks are any indication, the "act of worship" is often compromised by poor performance on the part of the preacher. In Protestant churches, a minister who is a poor preacher will not last very long in the position. In Catholic churches, unfortunately, congregations have suffered years and years of terrible preaching because church leadership did not give this the priority it deserved. The emphasis on the second half of the Eucharist had the effect of trivializing the Liturgy of the Word and especially the preaching.
The moment of preaching at Mass comes after the people have heard the Word of God assigned for the occasion. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us of the power of that Word - 'living and effective" (I like the translation: "alive and active!"] The preaching is supposed to highlight that effectiveness. The preacher should be aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing about the interaction of faith and the word. We preachers can help or hinder that process, depending on what we bring to the pulpit on that day!!! If anyone should be aware of that, it ought to be a member of the Order of Preachers! It is a terrible thing to get in the way of the Word of God!
A preacher should know that his or her life should have already preached a homily before he or she ever sets foot in a pulpit. But personal holiness cannot completely compensate for poor preaching from the pulpit. I have heard many a parishioner say of their pastor: "He's a great guy. If only he could preach!" The great Dominican theologian and cardinal, Yves Congar, O.P., once wrote that if there was great preaching and no Eucharist for thirty years in a place and Eucharist and no preaching for thirty years in another place, at the end of the thirty years the place of the preaching would be more Christian. We members of the Order of Preachers should bear that in mind always! I pray I have helped my young Dominican brothers to realize the truth of that observation. AMEN
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