Why Does the Fire Go Out?
People have their reasons, but there is no good reason for leaving the Church. The majority in the area where I reside are probably Baptist and/or Evangelical. Some of these communities target Catholics and many Catholics marry non-Catholics. Not understanding their own tradition, many Catholics are inordinately moved by the music and preaching in Protestant churches. Catholic reformed rituals might not be regarded as very entertaining. Much of the music we sing is criticized as trite and unmoving. When we borrow Protestant hymns or sing Gospel, it is usually a pale imitation of what our separated brethren have to offer. Music enshrines preaching. Particularly in the African-American community, services can go hours. The importance of the minister is measured by his musicality and his effectiveness as a preacher. Our gravity is upon the formulae of liturgy, not upon preaching.
Preachers and Priests, No Comparison?
Many priests were trained to keep homilies or sermons to ten minutes or less. That is about the length of two or three MTV videos. Time-wise, it cannot compare to the formation of the media or to the teaching sermons of our separated-brethren. I knew one old man who went to Mass on Saturday night and to his wife’s Baptist church on Sunday. He told me that he went to Mass for Holy Communion and to the Protestant church for good preaching. This is a rather sad state of affairs. Are we fully feeding our people? Preaching outside the Catholic Church may be dynamic and meaningful; however, it is also fraught with religious error.
Sermons or Homilies?
I recall from preaching seminars that the priest should offer a homily based upon the Scriptures of the day. This focus was understandable but I found the focus too narrow and absolutist. The priest or deacon can preach upon the readings, the liturgical prayers themselves, upon the feast or memorial, or upon what his people (at that time and place) need to hear. I had a vigorous dispute with a liturgist when I suggested catechetical sermons. It was and remains a contention of mine that many people stray to other faith communities because they really do not understand Catholicism and the full significance of the Eucharist.
Can Father Talk Too Long?
How long should the priest or deacon preach? This depends upon many factors:
1. What is the type of liturgy?
2. What has to be said to make the message worthwhile?
3. What is the capacity in patience and in comprehension of the listeners?
Given that Catholic sermons are usually shorter than Protestant counterparts, the priest might be able to amplify his instruction by linking his sermons from week to week. He can also use the parish bulletin, special adult education and bible study, and invite people to use the cycle of readings themselves with missals they can take home. If people look at the readings before Mass, their experience will not be cold when the priest or deacon speaks about them. Instead of merely thinking about what Protestants have that we don’t, let us utilize our own strengths, the missal and the cycle of predetermined readings.
Catholics might also do well to getting used to longer liturgies. Of course, this runs counter to the Roman Rite tradition, known for being curter and more to the point than Eastern Rite liturgies and certain Evangelical Protestant services. There is a basic dilemma with longer sermons, and that is the balance and rhythm of the Mass. A long homily and a short Eucharistic prayer seems to switch the gravity away from the sacrament to the Word which is intended to dispose us for the sacrifice and Holy Communion.
I am concerning myself essentially with the Sunday homily. Given work concerns and strained time issues, weekday Masses would probably have to remain little more than basic exhortations. Such exhortations are similar to aspirations: Jesus, Mary, Joseph save souls! Do good and avoid evil! Keep faith and hope alive! Lord, have mercy on us! God will not abandon you!
Messages Should Comfort and Challenge
Homilies more strictly revolve the Readings; however, sermons can touch upon all sorts of relevant topics. Sermons might be moral exhortations, catechetical moments, inspiration rhetoric and stories, etc. However, they should always connect the lesson, whatever the source, to the lives of the people listening. The congregation should not be passive to the preaching but actively engaged. A topic is explored, the message is ordered for coherence, examples or illustrations are made, and there is the immediate appliance.
The words used in preaching vary upon the setting. When the clergyman marries a couple, he speaks about the joy and hopes of the couple. He might also challenge them to keep the marital act free from the corruption of lust and artificial contraception. However, many Catholic ministers are afraid to rock the boat. When a priest or deacon officiates at a funeral, his words emphasize the consolations of faith to those who mourn, the promises of Jesus our gentle shepherd in regard to eternal life, and the need to go on with our lives. Again, many Catholic ministers are afraid of the conflict that comes with challenging the congregation to see the death as a warning about their own mortality and the need to reform before it is too late. Even evil men are temporarily canonized and little is said about Purgatory. A number in the pews no longer even believe in Hell. Sunday homilies are often pampering and grossly approving because many clergy are afraid of alienating the numbers in the pews and depleting the money gathered into collection baskets.
Need for Courage and Trusting Providence
I knew a priest in the South who tried to integrate the two churches he pastured, one white and the other black. White parishioners complained to the bishop and the man found himself stripped of his parish, reprimanded for making trouble, and reassigned to a teaching position in a college far away. Decades later he was still not allowed to return to parish ministry. But God writes straight with our crooked lines. This priest ended up teaching seminarians. He inspired another generation of men in ministry to struggle for social justice.
How often have we heard certain priests speak about artificial contraception, abortion, divorce and remarriage, or even about fornication and cohabitation? Some men in ministry are afraid. But what chance do God’s people have when their shepherds are passive and fearful? The late Pope John Paul II echoed our Lord’s words of wisdom, “Be not afraid.”
It may be that the priest shortage and the clergy scandals have drained the energy resources and joy of our priests. This needs to be remedied. The core message of the Gospel is not exhausted or angry. Priests who show enthusiasm or excitement about the Catholic faith and Gospel are the most effective. It is also a mentality which breeds vocations. Young men do not want to join a confraternity of tired old men who only go on because of cold duty and obligation. We have to be on fire with the faith if we want those in the pews to ignite! It is very hard for a priest to give what he does not have. God’s servants should be so in love with God that this love spills over in their service of others. Preaching should reflect a life of prayer and a drive to save souls!
The preaching should move God’s people to greater faith and acts of service to our Lord and neighbor. It assists everyone to better understand the Eucharist and disposes us to receive the Blessed Sacrament. We take what we have been given in Word and sacrament as we go out in mission to the world around us.
It was and remains a contention of mine that many people stray to other faith communities because they really do not understand Catholicism and the full significance of the Eucharist.
I completely agree with you. Our Catholic schools, at least here in Australia, are Catholic in name only and have been for two generations now. If parents don’t have the Faith to pass on to their children and father preaches nothing but ‘God lurves you’ homilys what chance have people to understand our glorious Faith? It is no wonder that they are drawn to ecclesial communities which seem on fire for Jesus.
Fr Bryce Sibley has written an excellent article in HPR entitled “The Mass Is Serious Business”. Would that all of our priests believed as you and Fr Sibley do.
http://www.hprweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:the-mass-is-serious-business&catid=34:current-issue
As a baby I was baptized a Catholic but then left the church because I became an atheist. In 1989 I witnessed the “Miracle of the Sun” in Medjugorje and became a believer in God. However, I didn’t return to the Church because I found the mass boring. I then roamed aimlessly looking for Jesus in the Baptist, Unitarian, Methodist, and Nondenominational churches. In 2005 when I had returned home from the last of about five Methodist services (the preaching and the music were spirit-filled), I felt empty and sad. I looked upon the image of the Divine Mercy (poster was given to me by the priest who went with me to Medjugorje) and I said, “God help me.” All of a sudden I was “illuminated” by these words: “Don’t you remember Medjugorje…don’t you remember the Mass? the Eucharist? the Blessed Mother? the Stations of the Cross? the Rosary? Confession? the Miracle of the Sun? I said, “OH MY GOD!” I leaped to the utility room, took out the yellow pages, and looked for catholic churches. I found one 10 minutes away from my home. Since that time, I have been a devout Catholic in LOVE with catholicism. I’m in LOVE with the Eucharist, the Mass, and Our beautiful Blessed Mother!!! Thank you Lord for returning me to the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church! We Catholics are TRULY BLESSED. THANK YOU Father Joe for saying “YES” to Our Lord; without you we wouldn’t have the Eucharist which Father Calloway says, it’s edible love. I love you.
Wow, Victoria. Not a lot of atheists signing up for priest-led religious pilgrimages to distant lands.
Maybe more should LG.
Wow, there’s a lot to think about here.
RE: “I knew one old man who went to Mass on Saturday night and to his wife’s Baptist church on Sunday. He told me that he went to Mass for Holy Communion and to the Protestant church for good preaching.”
This is understandable in some instances. But I have a friend who is a liberal Baptist (yes, they exist) preacher who said a sermon should be 22 minutes. Lots of time sermons are shorter on Sundays when Communion is served (as it is served monthly in some churches). Disciples of Christ serve communion weekly but spend little time there. And Black preachers who preach in the slave tradition have rules that have nothing to do with catholic rules.
The Catholic Church does the best job of preparing for the Eucharist. Catholics set the stage for worship: incense, candles, religious art, (stations of the Cross, etc.)
But the church is so broken by all the arguing. I wonder who is for the church rather than just about being right.
You know what, Norah? You’re right. We should go to Medjugorje.
If I could go there, I’d spend my time educating people about solar retinopathy, and how it has destroyed the eyesight of Medjugorje pilgrims who have stared at the sun in hope of seeing something miraculous. (That sentence makes me want to cry. Maybe in the future science can fix their eyes.)
If I go, I will hand out solar viewing filters so that people can look at the sun safely, if they choose. And then I’ll probably get branded a demon, or at least a total buzzkill, for taking away the miracle, since you can’t see the “miraculous” effects through a viewing filter. The reason why the sun appears to turn funny colors and move around if you stare at it long enough is simply that this is what happens when the delicate, light-sensitive cells of the retina start to burn under intense solar irradiation.
It’s not a miracle. It’s not a sign in favor of any particular ideology or doctrine. It’s not a reminder from the universe to attend church services at your earliest convenience. It’s just your eyeballs screaming for mercy.
Now I DO want to go! I want to gather up a posse and put the smackdown on whoever is inducing people to blind themselves. Operation Eyesore.
Welcome home Victoria!
Leaving the Catholic church is like leaving an endless and fantastic banquet.
I only wish that my fallen away family would truly understand. If they had understood, then they would have never left to begin with. I only wish that they would give God, the church and themselves a fair chance.
Please keep them in your prayers.
I’m very glad that you’re back and here to stay.
God bless you
Victoria
Welcome back to the Church.
But Lady Godless makes an intersting comment about “not a lot of atheists lining up for priest-led religious pilgrimages to distant lands.”
You stated you used to be an atheist, I am curious as well as to how you managed to find yourself in Medjugorie, what transpired or even got you interested to do so? Something had to happen to bring you back before even making the trip there.
God bless
Janine
Jesus said:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.”
John 6: 44 USCCB
God uses the little things of life to draw souls back to Him. All it takes is for someone to see the goodness of someone else and that’s it.
Not every conversion involves being swallowed up by a whale or by an event like 9/11
All that God wants to do is to love and reward us beyond measure. All that we need to do is to be opened to that love by living a good clean grace filled life. A life of good personal prayer, meditation, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and frequent and worthy reception of the Sacraments is a great start.
Jesus wants us to take His yoke upon us.
That means that we should make every effort to live Christocentric (Christ centered)lives.
Contrary to what the world the flesh and the devil tell us, holiness of life isn’t difficult.
PAX! Michael
First of all, I want to thank you for the Welcome Backs. I would like to elaborate about my life pre- and post Medjugorje because I believe I need to tell it.
Before visiting Medjugorje, I was a joyless, hopeless, and depressed individual who was searching for a meaning in life. I didn’t have one because I was Godless….there was no purpose. What’s the point of living if I’m going to die (be placed in the ground and turn into dust), my loved ones are going to die, and I will never see them again….there’s no life after death. As an atheist, I would mock the “Jesus freaks” in my mind….how can they believe in God or in Jesus….he doesn’t exist!!! People would tell me, “Just have faith.” Hog Wash!! But deep in my soul, I wanted someone to show me that He really Existed.
As a youngster, I placed my “faith” in Santa Claus. Everyone around me had told me that Santa Claus existed. I couldn’t wait for him to arrive every year to bring me presents. The day that I learned that he didn’t exist, I was devastated. I also devastated my younger sister when I told her the truth about Santa—I didn’t want her to be happy because I was miserable. And now people are telling me that God exists!!! I don’t see him. There’s too much suffering in this world; sicknesses; wars; deaths–NO GOD!!! I was St. Thomas, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Because of my severe depression (I put my beloved mother through hell), my mother took me to doctors who would prescribe medications that would dull my mind. However, I remained depressed because no one could prove to me that God existed. I even contemplated suicide using my sister’s gun; but I said to myself, if the bullet doesn’t kill me, I may become a vegetable, and I’ll be worse.
One day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I went to the bathroom and knelt down. I looked up at the ceiling and from the depth of my soul, I cried out, “If you exist God….whoever you are….you need to help me because I can’t go on living like this.”
Some time soon after, Oprah, Jesse Raphael, ABC news, and Univision (Spanish TV station) had stories on Medjugorje. After viewing the story on Univision, I had an intense urge to visit Medjugorje and told my mother that I was going to Medjugorje.” I called Univision and obtained pilgrimage information….so that’s how I landed in Medjugorge.
Regarding the “Miracle of the Sun” that I witnessed in Medjugorje–I know that God gave me that sign to show me that He Exists. He had answered my prayer. At 5:40 p.m. when the visionaries were having their apparition of Our Lady, I was climbing Mt. Krizevac and I looked towards the sky; the sun was behind clouds but my eyes did not hurt. I said to myself, “Oh, oh, something is going to happen.” All of a sudden, the clouds moved, and the sun transformed itself into a “host” and it started to pulsate like a heartbeat for about 25 minutes. People next to me saw colors emanating from the “host”; I did not see the colors. As the “host” was pulsating, three wisps of clouds to the left and to the right (top, middle, and bottom) of it remained stationary during the solar phenomena. After 25 minutes, the “host” became the sun and I was not able to see it because of its brightness. (No one in my group had any eye damage.)
Only GOD can manipulate the sun as He did and continues to do so in Medjugorje. He gives us signs to strengthen our faith or lack of. Immediately after the solar phenomena had ended, my spiritual depression vanished. God had cured me without prescription drugs!!
My belief in God has given me joy, peace, hope, and purpose in my life. Every day I pray for those who have not yet come to know the love of God.
Thank you Father Joe for giving me this opportunity to give my testimony. God Bless, Victoria
I don’t know whether there are atheists who want someone to prove to them that God exists; maybe some do.
But I do know that atheists ~by definition~ lack a belief in the efficacy of things like religious pilgrimages. If you’re going on a pilgrimage to a faith site because you think it might heal you somehow, or because you feel supernaturally “called” to be there, then you’re not an atheist. Your religious beliefs might be largely undefined, but you’d definitely have to have some.
Regarding what you describe as a miracle of the sun, there’s a reason why your eyes wouldn’t hurt. The retina — that is, the film of light-sensitive cells covering the back interior of the eye — lacks nociceptors, which are the kinds of nerve cells that sense pain. What that means is that your retinas can suffer a serious burn without you feeling it as pain.
You say: “the sun … started to pulsate like a heartbeat for about 25 minutes. People next to me saw colors emanating from the “host”; I did not see the colors. … After 25 minutes, the “host” became the sun and I was not able to see it because of its brightness. (No one in my group had any eye damage.)”
That’s like saying, “I had a sunburn, but there was no skin damage.” A sunburn IS skin damage, though the severity of the burn and the permanence of the damage will vary. By the same token, those perceptions of color changes and pulsation ARE the effect of retinal damage, though again: the severity and permanence of the damage will vary among individuals.
Tell me this, Victoria. If those color changes and pulsations of the sun are a true miracle, and not just evidence of damage occuring inside your eyes, then why can’t people see them through a safe viewing filter, such as welder’s glass? How is it that even just some aluminized mylar plastic can stop the hand of the Almighty from painting the sky with these signs and wonders — if that’s really what they are? That’s what I want to know.
Victoria, I’m not trying to take away your beliefs. You’ve had serious struggles, and I’m glad you’ve found happiness and peace. I just don’t want you or anyone else to risk throwing away a real wonder like eyesight for a touted “miracle” experience that apparently isn’t even central to the faith.
Greetings once again. In response to Lady Godless, I’m elated that you are reading Father Joe’s blogs.
Regarding my experience at Medjugorje, I can only tell you what happened to me….I have no explanation. Since then, I have had other experiences that I can also give no explanation. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God exists. My mission in my life now is to love and serve Him. I continue to pray for those who haven’t yet come to know the love of God…you are in my prayers.
I invite you and others to listen to the testimonies of Char Vance; Father Donald Calloway; Father Michael Lightner; and Father Rick Wendell—all these people were touched by the love of God in Medjugorje. I was fortunate to have met these awesome, spirit-filled individuals who are spreading the Good News….God is alive and He can transform your life as long as you surrender to Him. I did and it has been an amazing ride; no turning back for me.
Father, thank you for your blog: I’m learning many things about my Catholic faith….it’s been only 4 years ago that I’ve returned to the faith. When I receive Jesus in my hands, I kiss Him, tell Him, “I Love You,” and then consume Him—it can’t get better than that. Keep up the great job.
A very good post on homiletics… I’d like to plug the sermons of the now retired Dean Jones of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco available on its website.
I am not certain that the homilies in our churches or protestant churches in general are so catechetical but are in general a proclamation of the Good News. So catechetical is not the aspect that would be the attraction of protestant sermons you describe.
I agree with you that all traditions could remind the faithful of the underpinnings of their faith and perhaps where else are they going to be reminded. Still the message and meaning of the gospel is what will be compelling.
And while the Liturgy is divided in 2 parts there really is a unity of the whole as the good news comes through in the scriptural words of consecration.
Victoria
I praise God that he has worked such a miracle in your life, seemingly overnight and in the blink of an eye.
I too have suffered from depression in my life and contemplated suicide. I have done some pretty awful things, terrible sins I am ashamed of. I have had an abortion as well and when I thought it was all behind me and I had come back to the church I then fell in love with a priest and suffered very much over this. The depression set back in (more of a “situational” type rather than clinical) It took me 6 months to get out of the depression again and my self-esteem had once again plummeted because I felt like such an evil woman for having such feeings for a priest of Christ. To this day I have no closure over it and it ranks pretty high up there as one of the most painful experiences of my life.
I am glad your situation went as it did. But I do want to comment to readers out there that spiritual and emotional healing from God doesn’t happen that way for everyone; rather, such an experience is probably an exception to the rule. Most of us just pray unceasingly to be the best Christian we can be and come to God as repentent sinners always in need of strength, forgiveness and healing. Persistent prayer, time before the Blessed Sacrament and self-introspection help greatly; as well as reaching out to others in need and forgetting ourselves.
I am not saying Medjugorie is not real; I honestly do not know for sure. And I am als not negating the sincerity of your conversion experience. But I do think many can go there and expect a miracle such as yours and have absolutely nothing significant happen to them –what then?
There is also no turning back for me to my old ways. But I have days when I do not walk in endless joy and still question many things. It is a process, not a single event.
May God and his holy angels continue to bless you.
Janine
Hi Janine….thank you for responding to my comment. In this earthly life, we have many crosses to bear. As Catholic Christians we are extremely blessed; we have the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and the Church to help us with these crosses. How awesome is the Sacrament of
Reconciliation…once our sins are absolved, we need to accept Jesus’ forgiveness. If we continue to dwell on these past sins, then we are “spitting” in Jesus’ face—we are denying his forgiveness. Rejoice, He has forgiven you because you have been repentant. The Lord wants us to have Joy in our lives.
I believe I was “called” to go to Medjugorje. Since
1981 millions of people from different nationalities have visited this peaceful haven. (Countless personal testimonies of transformation have been written in books and on the internet.)
God uses many ways to bring His children to Him—He’s God. He chose Medjugorje for me. Once I knew that He existed, I was filled with joy and peace because there was a purpose in my life. However, I still have crosses to bear and temptations. (Every day I pray for my unbelief.)
I am still in a mode of conversion until the day I leave this earthly life. My life has peaks and valleys, but I am the most happiest when I am in communion with the Lord, not with the world. I love attending Mass and spiritual catholic retreats, praying the rosary with my friends, reading catholic periodicals, listening to Gregorian chants, and being with Our Lord in Adoration. I also have a billboard ministry of Our Lady (Queen of Peace, Medjugorje) that reads, “I have come to tell the world that God exists.” These were one of her early messages to the world. (I’m also praying to St. Joseph for a holy, catholic man to share my life in matrimony–I hope this doesn’t become a cross.)
God Bless, Vicky
P.S. I used to question things that got me into trouble with my mind; I now surrender those questions to God and accept them.
[...] particular, I was recently reading his post from a while back on preaching, where he talked about preaching and why many Catholics migrate to Protestantism. It reminded me of [...]