The Word

A homily is a public speech, so it only makes sense to write it in public, says Scott VanDerveer, who mostly writes his homilies sitting at a long shared table in a coffee shop. “I love looking up at whoever’s in line at the cash register at that moment and thinking, ‘Would this guy, or would this woman care about what I’m saying at all; would this speak to their life at all?’” he says. “Or would they say, ‘Ugh, that’s so churchy?’” The Rev. VanDerveer, a priest of the Diocese of Albany and the pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Glens Falls, New York, joins “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva to discuss his homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, often referred to as Corpus Christi. In the season finale of Preach, we’re answering a resounding call from our listeners! Instead of our usual homily recorded exclusively for the podcast, we’re sharing one Scott delivered at his parish in June 2022, before a live congregation. Ricardo invites Scott to revisit the homily, two years late