The Word

How does a preacher best connect with college students? “I think the challenge for me is just being authentic, right?” says Brian Ching, C.S.C. “They know that your experiences and their experiences are not the same. And when we try to make our experiences relatable to their experiences it can often come off as gimmicky or trite. So just acknowledge the fact that, look, this didn't hit me the same way it hits you.”  A native of New York City, Father Ching now serves as Rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.  Listen to Brian's homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on this week’s episode of “Preach.” After the homily, he shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how knowledge of the Scriptures, the life of faith and knowledge of the people in the pews is central to a good homily. Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings. Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections a

“What's happening today in American society is the label of Christian is being applied to forces that are really deeply unchristian and certainly within the Catholic community, are very much in violation of our Catholic social teaching,” says Walter Modrys, S.J., reflecting on the challenge that preachers face today when their homilies touch on neuralgic political issues. “You don't have a right to label it Christian unless it really meets a very high standard that is reflective of the gospels.” Walter Modrys is a Jesuit priest of the U.S.A. East Province of the Jesuits. He describes his present state of life as retired but still holds down five jobs, including one as co-host of “believe. teach. practice,” a preaching podcast. Listen to Walter's homily for the Solemnity of the Feast of the Transfiguration, Year A, on this week's episode of “Preach.” After the homily, Walter shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., what drew him to make connections between the glorious feast of the Transfiguration and the unsp

Preachers can be tempted to ask themselves the wrong question when starting to prepare a homily. “The question is not ‘What do I want to say,’” but ‘God, what do people need to hear?’”, says Kayla August. “When we start there, the thing that’s ruminating in our hearts, I think, brings out a really good sermon.”  Kayla is a Black Catholic preacher. Born and raised in New Orleans, she is presently pursuing doctoral studies, with a focus on preaching as a form of education, at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. Through her preaching, she says “I hope to enliven the young adult faith community,” she says. “And also help to inspire marginalized voices—like mine—to play an active role in the Church.” Listen to Kayla’s homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, on this week’s episode of “Preach.” After the homily, she shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., her passion for preaching and the unique gifts and insights of lay preachers in the church.   Read the full text of this week’s ho

”We will never solve the crisis of preaching in the Catholic Church, unless we emphasize that the preacher needs to be someone who is constantly learning about the Scriptures and what they mean in their context, but also that the preacher needs to be a person of prayer.” says Bryan Massingale. “Someone who stands in the pulpit as an authentic faith witness who wrestles with who God is.”  Bryan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and presently lives and works in New York City as a professor of theology at Fordham University. He is a leader in the quest for faith-based racial and sexual justice, especially within the Catholic Church, and regularly presides and preaches at the The Parish of St. Charles Borromeo Resurrection and All Saints, the mother church for Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of New York. This year is the 40th anniversary of his priestly ordination.  Listen to Bryan’s homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, on this week’s episode of “Preach.” After the homily, he shares

When Isaac-el Fernandes, S.J., delivers a homily he “won’t necessarily remember to say everything that I've written,” he says. “But what I will remember is the stuff that is closest to my heart. It is much more about the conviction that I say a homily with than about the clever ideas that one might have.” Isaac is a Jesuit of the Southern Africa Province. He was born and raised in Zimbabwe but currently lives and works in Lusaka, Zambia.  Listen to Isaac’s homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, on this week’s episode of “Preach.” After the homily, he shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., just how he learned to depart from his prepared text and preach from the heart. Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative,

“I like what Pope Francis said in ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ when he talked about preaching and likened it to family conversation; I try and imagine that I’m at a coffee shop talking to someone and I just have a conversation with them,” Josh Whitfield says. “If I were to sit down with you and just talk about important stuff—share the Gospel with you—I would not lecture you. The homily is family talk.” Father Whitfield serves as the pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas. A former Episcopal priest, he trained for ministry in England. After his conversion to Catholicism, he was ordained a Catholic priest in 2012, through the pastoral provision of Pope St. John Paul II. He now lives in Dallas with his wife and their five children. Father Whitfield is a regular contributor to the Dallas Morning News and Our Sunday Visitor and the author of The Crisis of Bad Preaching: Redeeming the Heart and Way of the Catholic Preacher (Ave Maria Press, 2019). Listen to Father Whitfield’s homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary

“I’m not trying to convey concepts. What I’m trying to convey is my own reliance on God and my own hope in God,” Sam Sawyer, S.J., says when asked to describe his approach to delivering a homily. “The best thing I have to offer someone else is the invitation to deeper love and trust in God.” Sam is a Jesuit of the U.S.A. East province of the Jesuits and the 15th editor in chief of America Media. In his conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., after the homily, Sam shares how ancient monastic wisdom has inspired him to lean into the more difficult lines in the Scriptures. Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings. Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I have discovered over the years that if you save your big point for the end, people have often tuned you out,” Deacon Fritz Bauerschmidt says, “You really have to give them something in that first minute.” Fritz is a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Baltimore assigned to the Cathedral of Mary, Our Queen. He is also a professor of theology at Loyola Maryland University, the Jesuit university in Baltimore, an author, a husband and a father of three.  After the homily, Fritz explains to host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., why the rapper Post Malone provided the perfect hook for his homily. Read the full text of this week’s homily, and Scripture readings. Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic

“The most important thing for me when I enter into preparing a homily is just being able to authentically give witness to who I am and where I am in my relationship with Christ,” says John Gribowich. “If I can’t do that, then not only is it inauthentic, but it also just doesn’t really grab anyone.” John Gribowich is a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Today, he lives in San Francisco, Calif., where he serves as the religious studies teacher at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School. Along with theology and art history, his personal interests include meditating, reading, running and listening to Bob Dylan.  After the homily, John shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how he thought to connect baseball to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Links from the show Read Scripture readings for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Year A Read a transcript of John Gribowich’s homily Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Receive daily Scripture reflections from America Med

The best advice Greg Chisholm, S.J., received about preaching a homily was not taught in the seminary. “I was helped as a young priest by a woman in a church that I served in Detroit, Michigan,” he said. “She came to me and she said, ‘When I go to church, I want to hear about Jesus, and you didn’t have a lot about Jesus in that sermon.’ I have never forgotten that.” Greg Chisholm, S.J., the superior of the Jesuit community in Maryland and a former pastor of St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem, is the premiere preacher on “Preach,” our new podcast where we take you into the minds and hearts of some of the finest preachers in the Catholic Church today.  The show is hosted by Ricardo da Silva, S.J., a Jesuit priest from South Africa, associate editor at America and associate pastor at the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan. “On this show, you won’t only hear and learn from Jesuits about preaching,” says Ricardo. “I will talk with lay liturgical preachers, women and men who ordinarily exercise a preaching minis

What makes a great Catholic homily? And what goes into the art of delivering it well? “Preach” is a new weekly podcast from America Media that features a diverse cast of the finest Catholic preachers. Each week, preachers open up their hearts and minds, sharing their spiritual lives, approaches to interpreting scripture and techniques for preparing the best homilies. Launching on the Solemnity of Pentecost May 28, 2023, “Preach” follows the liturgical calendar. On each episode, listeners will first hear an inspiring homily, especially delivered for the podcast, and then take a privileged peek into the heart and mind of the preacher in a conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., a Jesuit priest and an associate editor at America Media. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi