Better preaching will lead to “better listening,”
and better listening
will in turn encourage better preaching.

Five pleas from the pulpit

By Kurt Stasiak

A priest-friend recently called me about an article I had written for Homiletic and Pastoral Review. In my “Twelve Pleas from the Pews” (January 1999, pp. 52-57), I offered my brother priests suggestions on improving our preaching.

    “What you wrote in your article offers some legitimate challenges to us,” my friend acknowledged. “But let’s be fair. How about looking at it from the other side? Why don’t you write about how our parishioners can better listen to our homilies?”

    My friend has a point. Most homiletic resources and aids do focus on the preacher: on how we can better prepare our homily or deliver our message more effectively. Many of us conscientiously use these resources, while others regularly attend special courses or workshops on “better preaching.” As helpful as these various resources are, however, my friend is right: they address only one side, the priest’s side, of preaching. What about that other side of the homily equation: our parishioners, those to whom we are preaching?

    I accept my friend’s challenge, and offer my brother priests five suggestions to share with parishioners—those who listen to your homilies, and who, perhaps, want to listen better.

1.    Encourage your parishioners
    to prepare for your homily.

When it comes to the homily, our parishioners presume we have done our homework. They expect that we have studied and reflected upon the readings, perhaps consulted some commentaries and, certainly, have given considerable thought as to how best to relate the message of the day’s Scriptures to them and their needs. But when it comes to the Sunday Gospel and the homily, what priest would not wish that his parishioners had done some homework and preparation of their own as well?1

    Indeed, when it comes to our preaching, one difficulty we face is that the majority of our parishioners are probably hearing the Gospel “cold.” Even if we have spent hours reflecting and praying upon the Gospel, many, if not most, of our parishioners will be hearing the Gospel for the first time as we proclaim it at the Eucharist. For us to deliver an effective message in such a short time to “new hearers” is a challenge, indeed!

    Asking our parishioners to set aside time to prepare to listen to the Sunday homily is a novel approach, a suggestion some will dismiss as impractical. “In a perfect world,” runs the objection, “parishioners would not have to worry about employment, their children’s schooling, their marriage, their health, and so on.” In a perfect world, it is claimed, parishioners would have time to prepare for a homily.

    Of course, if we lived in a perfect world there would be little need to hear the Gospel! Its message already would have sunk deep into our hearts, and would be guiding us in everything we say, think, and do. Precisely because we do not live in a perfect world, parishioners must worry about employment, their children, their spouses, and their health. It is how to maintain and nourish our Christian faith and hope while living in this imperfect world that is the very message we are called to proclaim.2

    We should encourage our parishioners to set aside some time during the week to prepare the coming Sunday’s Gospel. Rare is the family who will have their own lectionary, but most will have a Bible. And the weekly parish bulletin is a good place to provide the scriptural references for next Sunday’s readings—along with a word of encouragement to consider the Gospel with the following questions in mind: “What does this Gospel tell me about God and about Jesus? Does this Gospel speak to any experiences I have had? How does this Gospel challenge me to love God and neighbor and to grow in my faith? What is the ‘good news’ of this Gospel for me? Does it speak to my ‘bad news’? What homily would I preach on this Gospel?” Questions such as these can help our parishioners preview the Gospel text, and begin to think about what the message might be.

    We can also help our parishioners prepare for the homily by encouraging them to arrive at church at least ten minutes before Mass begins. This does offer a special challenge to those who are “married with children,” but it is these very people who may benefit the most from the suggestion. Arriving early allows both individuals and families time to settle in spiritually and psychologically, to review the Gospel, and to consider again what the message of this Sunday’s Gospel might be for them.

    If we are serious about our preaching, we make sure we take the time to prepare a homily worth listening to. We can increase the effectiveness of our homilies if we encourage our parishioners to do some preparation of their own as well.

2.    Encourage your parishioners
    to “take notes.”

I remember assisting in a parish in a neighboring diocese several years ago. While delivering my homily, I was at first distracted—and then intrigued—by a thirty-something gentleman sitting just off to my left in the fourth row of pews. He seemed to be listening attentively, which I certainly appreciated. What caught my attention most, however, was that a half-dozen or so times during my homily he would lower his head, raise up pad and pen, and jot down a few words. I am used to this when I’m lecturing in the classroom, but this was Sunday Mass!

    I mentioned this later to the pastor, who smiled and said, “Oh yeah, that’s Brian. He always takes notes on our preaching because he likes to review the homily later on in the week.” How unusual, I thought. How different. How wonderful an idea!

    Our church is not a school classroom, and the ambo is not a teacher’s perch. But there are lessons to be taught and learned from the readings and from our homily—important lessons. Brian was convinced of this, even to the point of tolerating the puzzled looks coming his way. And Brian’s practice is an excellent example of the mutual influence listener and preacher can have upon each other: if I know someone will be taking notes on what I say, I will likely make an extra effort to make sure I have something worthwhile to say!

    Brian’s approach may be too impractical to suggest, but we can encourage our parishioners to make “mental notes” during our homily. I remember a standard weekend assignment we were given in the Catholic grade school I attended. Every Monday morning, we had to turn in a “four point outline” of the Sunday homily—four statements we thought summarized the Gospel and the homily. Because we knew our teachers would review these outlines, we had extra incentive to listen. And since my parents wanted to make sure I “got it right,” my homework assignment undoubtedly encouraged them to pay a little extra attention to the Gospel and the homily as well. Similarly, families whose children regularly attend children’s liturgies of the Word are in an ideal setting both to preview the Gospel, and review it once the Mass is over. Even a five-minute discussion of the homily between spouses or among parents and their children on the way back home after Mass is a family habit well worth developing.

    Another way to encourage parishioners to “take notes” is to give them notes in the bulletin. A “homily corner” can offer a preview or “setting of the stage” for the message you have prepared. Of course, this requires planning well in advance. An alternative is to include several points from last Sunday’s homily. This could be especially helpful when this Sunday’s Gospel is related to last week’s text.

    At the very least, we can encourage our parishioners to take seriously those moments of silence following the homily. This is the ideal time for them to reflect upon a question we asked, consider a challenge we posed, or come up with their version of the core of our message.

3.    Encourage your parishioners to be
       hospitable to one another.

Much has been written about how the Church should extend hospitality to its parishioners. Indeed, “the ministry of hospitality” is a phrase often used to describe the responsibilities of ushers, greeters, and sacristans.

    We certainly want our parish to extend hospitality to its members and guests. But it is no less important that our parishioners extend hospitality to one another. Perhaps the most obvious way parishioners can do this is to allow each other to hear what is being said during the readings and the homily. As mentioned above, arriving at church so that one’s entrance does not interrupt the liturgy is an obvious example.

    In some parishes, members arriving late are not seated immediately, but are asked to wait until after the opening prayer, or until the readings have been proclaimed. This is not to “punish” those who arrive late. Rather, it shows appropriate consideration—even Christian hospitality—to the entire community. It also states clearly an important community value: that the readings and the homily are important, that they need to be listened to and that, barring an emergency, nothing should distract the congregation from their listening. None of us intends to minimize the importance of the Scriptures to our faith and our lives. Yet, many parishes allow latecomers to be seated whenever they arrive and wherever they want to sit. (And it doesn’t help that many times the only available spaces are up front!) “At least they’re here,” we often say. “We don’t want to drive them away.” Our concern for those who may be attending even half-heartedly is laudable. But, unfortunately, as we take care not to drive people away from our Church, there are times when we do not care enough for those who are committed and who are taking their presence—and the words of the Lord—seriously.

    At the very least? If delaying the seating of latecomers is not possible or seems unwise, we can reserve the last pews for them. In addition to moving the majority of the congregation slightly forward (a value in itself), this would allow them to enter with less distraction than many parishes now experience.

4.    Encourage your parishioners to be
       hospitable to one another—and to you.

An especially touching verse in the Gospel relates how Jesus insisted that the little children be allowed to come to him. Jesus’ openness to children is to be both admired and emulated. I regret, however, that I have yet to discover Jesus’ secret in dealing with the energetic cries of infants and young children while he was trying to preach!

    Most parents would not bring and keep a noisy child to a theater or a concert. Nor are most parents reluctant to exercise appropriate discipline when their children are disrupting a social gathering—or a favorite television program. “But the Church is much more important than a movie theater or a cocktail party,” may be the retort. Exactly! And because the Church is more important than these social affairs, it is important that we do all we can to help our people listen and pay attention to what is being said.

    This is a sensitive issue, for it involves a clash of values. On the one hand, yes, it is important for families to be together in church and pray as family. On the other hand, the Scriptures and our homily are serious business as well. Infants and young children cry and make noise because that is a large part of what infants and young children do. Unfortunately, their doing what they do makes it difficult for the rest of us to do what we should be doing. More than once, I have been tempted to end my homily (and sometimes, the Eucharistic Prayer itself) after the first three sentences. I say this not out of anger (after all, we expect our infants and children to act their age), but out of frustration. When no one’s thoughts can focus easily on prayerful words, and when almost everyone is bewildered because “those parents don’t do something”: this can put our faith even in ex opere operato to the test.

    I acknowledge the practical difficulties in caring for infants and young children. Families may not be able to hire baby-sitters or attend Mass in two shifts. They may, understandably, not wish to do this. And, of course, there is the increasing number of single-parent families where taking turns at accompanying the children is not even a possibility. Furthermore, many parishes are able to provide facilities only at some of their Sunday Masses, if at all. Or, perhaps, the quality of preaching some parishioners hear may not make them think they are missing anything if they don’t hear.

    Solutions to this are not easy but they are not impossible, and if a given situation cannot be completely avoided it can likely be managed better than it sometimes is. We can explain (charitably and sensibly) that the Sunday Eucharist is important for the entire parish. Or we might, with a bit of wry humor, allude to Paul’s admonition to the Romans that “faith comes from hearing.” Parish communities themselves should do whatever they can in the way of cry rooms or “during Mass care.” If this is not feasible, parishioners might be encouraged to form care groups of their own. Ushers or greeters—particularly women, who ordinarily have more experience and instinct at handling babies—might offer to help the parents (and the community) by caring for their infant for a few minutes in the vestibule during the homily. At the very least, we can assist parents and their young children by reserving seating for them near an exit, so that they are able to take their children out of church easily when the need arises.3

    My intention here is not to suggest that our Church does not welcome children. Following our Lord’s example, we do welcome them: after all, it is to such as them that the Kingdom belongs. Furthermore, our children are the future—and the present—members of our Church. But because they are children, we do not expect them to behave as we would expect adults to behave. Let us take account of their behavior in a way that considers the interests and needs both of our children and our adult parishioners as well.

5.    Tell your parishioners how their
       comments about your homily can help them.

Some parishioners faithfully offer us a “Good homily, Father,” as they leave the church. We always enjoy hearing such a comment, especially when we believe it!

    Our parishioners’ compliments will be even more helpful to us, however, if they take an extra moment or two to tell us why they thought our homily was good. “Good homily, Father,” is fine. Better is: “That was good, Father. You know, when you mentioned that the people were surprised that Jesus actually touched the leper he healed, it got me to thinking. . . .” This kind of comment suggests that we have connected in a special way with the life and concerns of this parishioner—and it is certainly a wonderful encouragement for us to try to do so again!

The same applies when a parishioner offers us a comment that is more critical than complimentary. Few of us easily welcome criticism, but most of us are eager to improve our preaching. Again, a comment such as “I didn’t like your homily” tells us nothing. On the other hand, if a parishioner approaches us after Mass with the comment, “Father, I was listening carefully to what you were saying. Perhaps it’s just me, but I thought you repeated yourself a couple of times and I found that distracting.” Or: “I was right with you, but then you put in what I thought was an off-hand (flippant, inappropriate) remark and I lost you.” Comments of this sort are easy neither to say nor to hear. But if we are serious about our preaching, we will accept them—and learn from them.

    How can we encourage our parishioners to give us both compliments and criticism that are truly helpful? One way is simply to let them know we are interested in how they hear us. We can explain that we are not “fishing for compliments,” but that we do want to offer a homily that speaks to them and their lives—and that their comments can help us do that. To adapt the cliché, “we’re not doing this preaching thing for our health.” Rather, we are preaching for the spiritual well-being, growth, and nourishment of our parishioners. When our parishioners tell us that we are connecting with their lives and why—and when they tell us why we are not: these kinds of comments can only encourage us to spend better, more careful time reflecting upon and preparing our homilies. This will certainly be of benefit to them. This is certainly something they want!

Final thoughts

Preaching is hard work. Yet it deserves every minute we can put into it. While we constantly look for ways to improve our preaching, we also need to pay attention to what happens on the other side of the ambo—the side belonging to our listeners.

    How can priests share with their parishioners what might be of value in this article? Many parishes have a host of “special groups”: Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, Men’s and Women’s Clubs, CYO, to name a few. Presenting these groups with my suggestions (or with better ones!) can reach quite a few members of the parish. In addition to this, the seasons of Advent and Lent are seen by most parishioners as being “special” seasons; the approach of these seasons might be emphasized by bulletin inserts—or by a homily itself dealing with how we can listen better. Obviously, the tone of any approach should not be one of “correction” but of explaining how “better listening can and does lead to better preaching.” Finally, the 1982 document of the NCCB’s Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, Fulfilled in Your Hearing: The Homily in the Sunday Assembly, offers the valuable suggestion that parishes form groups “to help preachers prepare and evaluate their homilies” (no. 119-2).

    When it comes to preaching, priests and parishioners would do well to consider carefully the influence they have upon each other. Better preaching will lead to “better listening,” and better listening will encourage better preaching. If the homily is worthwhile, people will take care to hear what is being said. Likewise, if we know that our parishioners are really listening to us—that they are taking “mental notes” or that they will offer comments about our homilies—we will be encouraged to prepare our homilies with even more care and attention. 

1 My using the word “Gospel” throughout this article is for the sake of convenience, and is not meant to exclude the first two readings of the Liturgy of the Word.

2 The 1982 document of the NCCB’s Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, Fulfilled in Your Hearing: The Homily in the Sunday Assembly, offers an excellent commentary on this in its paragraphs 8-15. Some excerpts: “[O]ne of the principle tasks of the preacher is to provide the congregation of the faithful with words to express their faith, and with words to express the human realities to which this faith responds” (par. 11). “Like humans everywhere, the people who make up the liturgical assembly are people hungry, sometimes desperately so, for meaning in their lives. . . . If we are able to hear a word which gives our lives another level of meaning which interprets them in relation to God, then our response is to turn to this source of meaning in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving” (par. 13). “The preacher acts as a mediator, making connections between the real lives of people who believe in Jesus Christ but are not always sure what difference faith can make in their lives, . . .” (par. 15).

3 With many, I am grateful to Cardinal Roger Mahony for his Pastoral Letter, Gather Faithfully Together: Guide for Sunday Mass (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1997; ISBN 1-56854-204-6). I respectfully disagree, however, with his suggestions about the seating of families with young children. Sharing his vision of a parish Sunday Eucharist in the Jubilee Year 2000, the Cardinal notes that the ushers “make special efforts to see that parents with very small infants get places in the first rows (where there are more comfortable chairs)” [par. 44]. In the following paragraph, he writes that “the ushers point out to any newcomers with pre-school children that child care is available, or they are welcome to have their children with them (it is surely not appropriate to have them in a separate room).” As I interpret his remarks, the Cardinal is encouraging the value of families praying and celebrating together. The Cardinal mentions later that “babies fuss, but people are not distracted” [par. 55]. I wish this were the case, but it does not reflect my experience. Notwithstanding my disagreement with the Cardinal on these points, I recommend his pastoral as a thoughtful and practical guide for improving the quality of our Eucharistic celebrations.

Reverend Kurt Stasiak, O.S.B., is a monk and priest of Saint Meinrad Archabbey (Indiana), and an associate professor of sacramental-liturgical theology at Saint Meinrad School of Theology. He is the author of Return to Grace: A Theology for Infant Baptism (Liturgical Press-Pueblo, 1996) and A Confessor’s Handbook (Paulist Press, 1999). His last article in HPR appeared in January 1999.

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