Three Essays for the Feast of St. Óscar Romero

Posted by The Editors on Mar 24, 2021 7:04:00 AM

Today is the feast day of St. Óscar Romero, fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. Like many saints in the Church, Romero’s feast day marks his dies natales, or birth day into eternal life—in other words, the day of his death. 41 years ago today, Romero was shot and killed as he was celebrating Mass. Romero was known for his impassioned preaching and his outspokenness against corruption, violence, and oppression. Here are three pieces to help you learn more about this remarkable martyr for the faith.

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Topics: preaching, saints, martyrdom, liturgical year, St. Oscar Romero

Preaching the Trinity, Part 2: Thou Shalt . . .

Posted by Leonard J. DeLorenzo on Jun 5, 2020 3:51:32 PM

In the first part of this series, I offered a “Naughty List” of preaching don’ts for Trinity Sunday. Below is the “Nice List” or “Thou Shalts” (or at least "shouldsts") for Trinity Sunday, along with some additional commentary.

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Topics: homily, liturgy, preaching, Trinity

Preaching the Trinity, Part 1: Thou Shalt Not . . .

Posted by Leonard J. DeLorenzo on Jun 4, 2020 7:03:21 PM

The most dangerous day of preaching in the liturgical year is upon us: Trinity Sunday. The perennial danger is, of course, that the homily on this day becomes an occasion for trivializing or else utterly mystifying the faith into which Christians been baptized, the Creed we profess each week, and the Sign of the Cross with which we mark ourselves over and over again. Karl Rahner memorably quipped that if we dropped the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians would not notice the difference. The typically bizarre to banal nature of preaching on “Trinity Sunday” tends to prove the point: the Trinity is reduced to something that must be mentioned once a year, but as if extraneous rather than absolutely central to the Christian faith.

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Topics: homily, liturgy, preaching, Trinity

The Power of Preaching, Part 5: Giving Feedback

Posted by Karla Bellinger on May 28, 2020 1:14:15 PM

Catholics shy away from talking about preaching. An elderly woman shuddered when she told me, “I couldn’t talk to Father about his homily!” One catechetical leader said, “There’s no conversation. It’s the elephant in the room . . . No one is willing to talk about it.” (Connecting Pulpit and Pew, 8). The subject of preaching is a difficult conversation.

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Topics: homily, liturgy, preaching, formation, parish life

The Power of Preaching, Part 4: Good Preaching is Ordinary

Posted by Karla Bellinger on May 21, 2020 11:18:55 AM

The greatest preacher on earth sat down and began to teach: “There once was a sower who went out to sow. . .” Through ordinary words and images, Jesus wove a rich theology of spiritual receptivity through a metaphor that still changes lives. Everyday life is the springboard for effective preaching. “Good” preaching is deep and rich and ordinary.

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Topics: homily, preaching, Scripture

Living and Handing on the Faith

The McGrath Institute Blog helps Catholics live and hand on their faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the family, home and parish, and cultivates and inspires everyday leaders to live out the fullness and richness of their faith in the simple, little ways that make up Church life.

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