Homiletics

An apparent weakness of IVE formation of priests is homiletics. Their homilies tend to verbosity, comparable with papers for a popular conference with all of the references. (The opposite extreme is the short homily that gives very little instruction or catechesis, when these would be necessary for the uninformed faithful in the parish.)

But what of the great homilies or sermons of the past, the Cure of Ars or St. John Chrysostom? Or priests like Fr. Rutler? Am I suffering from ADD or some acquired deficiency in my attention span? What about the delivery of the homilies?

Is it the case that priests should be learning rhetoric and this is what is missing from university education? While we cannot count on the art of persuasion alone to produce Christian living, can it not work in concert with the Holy Spirit? Can the emotions be influenced in a way to make people more open to the gospel? After all, are the emotions of Christians not grounded upon the life of grace and faith?

A homily or speech is not a spoken essay. Seminarians (and students of the liberal arts in general) should be learning how to compose and give oral presentations effectively. If not from a rhetorician then from whom?

Insight Scoop: The new HPR site is up, running, and accessible to all