![]() Let us now look at preaching within the liturgy, which calls for serious consideration by pastors. I will dwell in particular, and even somewhat meticulously, on the homily and its preparation, since so many concerns have been expressed about this important ministry and we cannot simply ignore them. The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people. We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, and that both they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them! It is sad that this is the case. The homily can actually be an intense and happy experience of the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God’s word, a constant source of renewal and growth. -Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium #135 (link to excerpted section on The Homily; link to full document below) The following links are provided as a service to those who are engaged in proclaiming the Scriptures in the liturgy, especially via the preaching ministry. The diocese is not responsible for their content, and does not necessarily agree with the material found or opinions expressed on those sites. Some of the sites are explicitly Catholic; others are not. Please report any concerns or broken links to the Director of Liturgy. |
LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Preaching the Lectionary
Resources for Proclamation
SCRIPTURE RESOURCES
On-Line Texts
Greek & Hebrew
Academic Resources for Exegesis
PREACHING PEACE & JUSTICE
Avoiding Unintended Anti-Judaism
SPANISH RESOURCES (Recursos en Español)
OTHER PREACHING RESOURCES
Ecclesial Documents
Marten Program - Notre Dame
Other Lectures (Video) / Articles
FDLC: Mystagogy on Missal Prayers
Preaching Organizations
Resources for proclaimers and preachers of the word.
Roman Catholic Liturgical Calendar (Daily Readings)
Catholic Resources - Felix Just, SJ
Lectionary.com (ecumenical)
Calendario litúrgico (Spanish / Español)
USCCB Homiletics Page
The Athenaeum of Ohio - Exegesis (currently unavailable)
The Athenaeum of Ohio - Homilies (currently unavailable)
Catholic Women Preach
Creighton University - Daily Reflections
Preachers' Exchange - Jude Siciliano, OP
The Center for Liturgy - St. Louis University
The Text This Week (ecumenical)
Word on Fire - Bp. Robert Barron
WorkingPreacher (Luther Seminary)
Building on the Word: Homiletics, Bible study, and Jewish-Christian Resources
Catholic Homily Resources
Biblical Resources (Ireland)
SermonWriter (Protestant)
NCR-Sunday
Lector Resources (Catholics Proclaim)
-includes guides for readers, audio recordings, and pronunciation guide - as well as other links
Lector's Notes
- For each day's first and second readings (and occasionally for the gospel), the Notes give the
historical and theological background, plus suggestions on oral interpretation.
Two sites with audio files:
> Pronunciation Guide
> Pronouncing Biblical Words
USCCB - Daily Readings (audio)
Bible Gateway
Bible Hub (previously "Biblos" - multilingual parallel texts & other resources; use critically since it does not reflect Catholic biblical theology and criticism)
Bibleverses (multiple versions; accessible for those with visual impairments)
Read Bibleverses' mission statement here.
Biblia.com (multiple versions and other resources; can open in two parallel columns for comparison)
Biblia Católica (Scripture translations in multiple languages - including Spanish, Latin, French, German, Italian, Greek....)
Catholic.Bible
Early Christian Writings
Gospel Parallels
New American Bible, revised edition (USCCB)
Oremus Bible Browser (NRSV and others)
Bible Web App (parallel Greek NT)
Codex Sinaiticus
Greek New Testament Online
Greek New Testament by verse
Online Greek Interlinear
Online Hebrew Interlinear
Sefaria: A Living Library of Jewish Texts
vHMML: Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (digital collection and additional resources)
(for more information about the Library and its work, click here)
Bible Tools and Links (Ecumenism in Canada)
Biblical Studies on the Web (BSW)
Bible Study Tools
Bible Odyssey (SBL)
Biblical Research by Michael Marlow
Catholic Biblical Association - links page
Catholic Resources - Felix Just, SJ
Enter the Bible (Luther Seminary)
John Carroll University - Biblical Studies Homepage
K.C. Hanson's Homepage
The New Testament Gateway
The Old Testament Gateway
Resource Pages for Biblical Studies
Reading the Word of God with the Church
(an extensive library of resources for download from the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy)
See also the Preachers' Exchange and the Center for Liturgy websites listed above.
Center of Concern
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
Peace Connections
peaceonjustice blog
Social Justice Lectionary (uses Revised Common Lectionary)
"Sadly, anti-Semitic attitudes are also present in our own times. As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots. It would be a contradiction of faith and life. Rather, we are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community." -Pope Francis
Church Documents
Nostra Aetate (Vatican II, 1965)
Guidelines for Implementing Nostra Aetate (Vatican, 1974)
Notes on the correct way to present the Jews and Judaism in preaching and catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church (Vatican, 1982)
Guidelines for Catholic-Jewish Relations (USCCB, 1985)
God's Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching (USCCB, 1988)
Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion (USCCB, 1988)
We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah (Vatican, 1998)
Catholic Teaching on the Shoah - Implementing We Remember (USCCB, 2001)
The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible (PBC, 2001)
Respecting Judaism and Jewish Traditions during Lent and the Paschal Triduum (BCDW, 2014)
Ecumenical and Interreligious Sensitivity in Preaching (John W. Crossin, OSFS; Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, USCCB)
"The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable" (Vatican, 2015)
-anotated version
Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
Home Page
Preaching Do's and Don'ts
Criteria for Presenting Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Teaching
(summation of Catholic Church documents)
Videos:
-Jesper Svartvik, "Reading the New Testament Without Presupposing Supersessionism"
Other Resources
Building on the Word: Jewish-Christian Resources
Society for Post-Supercessionist Theology
Post-Supercessionism
Journal: Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations
Journal of the Jesus Movement in its Jewish Setting
Paul Within Judaism
Jewish-Christian Relations
Jewish Virtual Library
A Select Bibliography (Agnoli; updated 4/15/20)
Scholars
Philip Cunningham (Institute for Jewish Catholic Relations)
Rabbi David Rosen
PBC: Jesus and the Pharisees Conference (Videos)
Biblia Católica (Traducciones bíblicas en varios idiomas)
Catecismo Católico de los Estados Unidos para los Adultos
Se Realiza a Escucharla
Homilías Católicas
Homilías Dominicales
Homilías Breves
Palabras para Domingo
Reflexiones Dominicales
Reflexiones en Español
Servício Biblico Latinoamericano
Ciudad Redonda
-lectura del día
-comentario / homilia
Homiletic Bibliography (Agnoli; updated 4/15/20)
Yale University Divinity School Library - Resources for Preaching
Marten Program (Notre Dame): Preaching Resources
Evangelii Gaudium:
complete: html / pdf
excerpt: The Homily
Fulfilled in Your Hearing (USCCB)
Se Realiza a Escucharla
Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily (USCCB)
Review of Preaching the Mystery of Faith (Agnoli)
Homiletic Directory (full text on Vatican website)
Review of the Homiletic Directory (Agnoli)
Homiletic Directory (order from USCCB Publishing)
The Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics hosts an annual conference on preaching. The keynote addresses and breakout sessions are subsequently posted on YouTube. Please click on the links below, which will take you to the conference webpage. From there, you can link to the individual talks.
2020: "Sing to the Lord with Grateful Praise: Gratitude, Preaching, and Hope"
(Dr. Susan Fleming McGurgan) (preaching at Evening PRayer)
2019: "Mystic and Mystagogue: Preaching as Spiritual Leadership"
2019: Marten Lecture: "Preaching at Mass: The Practice and Theory of One Elder Presbyter" (Fr. John Meier) (homily - Friday 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Year 1)
2018: Marten Visiting Fellow: Dr. Ann Garrido - preaching at Evening Prayer
2018: Marten Visiting Fellow: "I Want to See: Nurturing a Spirituality of Truth from the Pulpit" (Dr. Ann Garrido's lecture)
2018: Marten Lecture: "Contemplative Homiletics: Being Carried into Reality" (Deacon James Keating) (homily - Friday after Ash Wednesday)
2017: "Pre-Conciliar Preaching in the USA." (Fr. Ed Griswold)
2017: "To Set the Earth on Fire": Effective Catholic Preaching
2017: “Come Back When You've Found Something True: Reading and Rehearsing the Script in the Scripture” (Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence)
(her sermon on Exodus 1:8-14, 22, 2:1-10, entitled "The Girls in the Reeds")
2016: Speaking the "Grief Inside our Bones": Preaching and Trauma (Dr. Deborah Organ)
2016: Meeting a Laboring Word: From Idol Chatter to Holy Preaching (Fr. Paul Janowiak)
2015: Special Lecture by Guerric DeBona, OSB, on "Recovering Our Voice: Reflections on Catholic Preaching before the Second Vatican Council."
2015: “‘What We Have Seen and Heard’: Fostering Baptismal Witness in the World” A Conference in Celebration of the 50th Anniversaries of Gaudium et Spes, Apostolicam Actuositatem and Ad Gentes
2014: "Preaching and the New Evangelization"
2013: USCCB Conference on "Preaching the Mystery of Faith"
2012: "We Preach Christ Crucified"
The Funeral Homily by Deacon Frank Agnoli
(publsihed in the May/June issue of The Deacon and posted here with permission of OSV)
"Intercultural Competency and the Sunday Homily" by Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck
Article / YouTube Video
Touchstones for Preaching: A series of lectures (videos, transcripts available for download) from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in partnership with The Church in the 21st Century Center prepared to support priests, deacons, and lay preachers in developing their preaching skills.
Flesh Made Word: A new on-line preaching collection in a multimedia format, this series will introduce the viewer to the art of crafting a homily through a variety of preaching approaches. Much of the material is visual, and the examples are designed to explore a wide range of preaching methods, styles and techniques.
Article Series: Deacon Newsletter
These articles were first published in the Diocese of Davenport's Deacon Newsletter. Each article briefly goes over the particular topic and then lists a number of resources for further exploration.
#1 Preacher, Know Thyself / #2 Your Theology of Preaching
#3 The Listener / #4 Exegesis & Hermeneutics
#5 The Liturgical Bible / #6 Content and Form, Part 1
#7 Content and Form, Part 2 / #8 Avoiding Unintended Anti-Judaism
#9 The Postmodern Context / #10 Language
#11 Visual Preaching / Imagery / #12 Delivery
#13 Epilogue: Does Preaching Matter?
The PDF files contain reflections on the Collect and Prayer after Communion.
The reflections can also be found on the FDLC Website.
Advent
Advent Sundays
Christmas Time
Christmas & Sundays of Christmas Time
Lent
Ash Wednesday, Sundays of Lent (incl. Scrutinies), Chrism Mass
Triduum & Easter Time
Paschal Triduum & Easter Time
Ordinary Time
Sundays 1-7
Sundays 8-14
Sundays 15-21
Sundays 22-28
Sundays 29-34
Other
Proper of Saints
Solemnities of the Lord in Ordinary Time
Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics
Catholic Association of Preachers (UK)
-Videos
The Academy of Homiletics
>Homiletic (on-line journal)
The Living Pulpit (on-line journal)
Sunday to Sunday (An online and cable TV program that identifies a series of case studies about preaching by listening to preachers in their own words and hearing samples of their efforts.)