I’m finding Amy Welborn’s new habit of asking people to tell her about the preaching at Mass on the previous Sunday helps me to focus more at Mass. I find myself trying to remember what it is exactly that I’m hearing, which has the benefit of making me synthesize it.
For example, yesterday Fr. Murphy gave a really good homily on the Father telling the apostles to “listen to Him” and what it means to listen. He asked, how do we know what to listen to? Of course we listen to the Word of God in Scripture and we listen to the Church’s teachings, but how about other places. How do we know that the internal promptings we feel are the Holy Spirit and not the Devil’s deceptions or our own wishful thinking.
Dom,
I hope you shared your thoughts with Fr. M. Feedback, either positive or negative, lets the preacher know when he’s on the right track. I preach an 8:00 communion service at least once a week. Unless I make somebody mad (it happens) I never know if they liked what I said or hated it.
Believe it or not, a good preacher spends about an hour in preparation for each minute he talks on Sunday. Since I only preach weekend mass one w/e per month, I spend a fair amount of time on the weekday homilies as well. I’m a lot more motivated to spend the time if I know that someone is actually listening.
Preaching is not entertainment, but like entertainers, preachers can be energized by the reactions of the listeners.