THE ROLE OF THE HOMILY IN THE NEW EVANGELIZATION. H.E. MSGR.
J. AUGUSTINE DI NOIA
THE ROLE OF THE HO MILY IN THE NEW EVANGELIZATION ACCORDING TO T HE
APOSTOLIC E XHORTATION EVANGELI I G AUDIUM OF POPE FRANCIS
H.E. MSGR. J. AUGUSTINE DI NOIA, O.P.
Introduction
The Apostolic Exhortat ion Evangelii Gaudiu m devotes a great deal of attention to the place
of pr eaching in the new evangelization, not only in the twenty-four paragraphs specifica lly
dedicated to t he t opic of the homily (135-1 59 ), but in many other passages as well. This
should not surprise us.
In many ways, preaching is at the fron tline of t he new evangelization because its finality is
to awaken ag ain in the hearts of believers th e joy that arises from “a full relationship with
Christ, mankind’s only savior. Only from a p er sonal relationship with Jesus can an effe ctive
evangelization develop” (Pope St. Joh n Pa ul II, quoted in Dulles 2009, 31). The Aposto lic
Exhor tation c onsiders this proclamation spe cif ically with attention to the joy in Christ tha t
preaching sho uld arouse. The opening word s o f Evangelii Gaudium make this critical poin t:
“The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who
accept his off er of salvation are set free fr om sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness.
With Chr ist joy is constantly born an ew.” Po pe Francis continues: “In this Exhortatio n I
wish to encourage t he Christian faith ful t o embark upon a new chapter of evangeliza tion
marked by this joy….” (§1).
Evangelii Gaudi um identifies the homily and its preparation as one of the seven top ics
central to this new phase of evangeliza tion , pr ecisely because it is here that the faith fu l
can encounte r agai n and again the joyf ul m essage of Christ. Following Father Peter Jo hn
Cameron’s analysis of the treatment of pr eaching in Evangelii Gaudium , we may use fully
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consider the topic under four headings: ( 1) the renewal of preaching; (2) the responsib ility
of the preacher; (3) t he homily; (4) pre pa ration for preaching (Cameron 2014).
The Renewal of P reaching
Fundam ental to the renewal of preachin g is a recognition on the part of pastors tha t the
faithful, in the first place, really need t o h ea r t he Gospel of joy. “If something should ri ghtly
disturb and trouble our consciences, it is t he fa ct that so many of our brothers and si sters
are living without t he st rength, light a nd consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ,
without a communit y of faith to suppor t them , wit hout meaning and a goal in life” (EG §4 9).
The pr eacher’s vocation is to declare that “o ur infinite sadness can only be cured by a n
infinite love” (§265).
What i s m ore, even i n the midst of the secu larism characteristic of modern life, there is
in fact a great hunger to hear the me ssag e o f Christ. “Let us renew our confidence in
preaching based on a conviction that it is God who seeks to reach out to others throug h
the preacher, and t hat he displays his po wer t hrough human words” (§136). What ma y
appear to be religious i ndifference oft en m asks a hidden thirst for God which needs to b e
identified and addressed by effective pr eachin g. The pope goes so far as to say that to day
“our challenge i s not so much atheism as t he n eed to respond adequately to many peop le ’s
thirst for God , lest they try to satisf y it with alienating solutions or with a disembod ie d
Jesus who demands nothing of us wit h re ga rd t o others” (§89).
Critical for the renewal of preaching as a m ome nt of the new evangelization is the reco very
of the central core of the kerygma, which can never be taken for granted but “must ring o ut
over and over: Jesus Christ loves you; h e ga ve his life to save you; and now he is living
at y our side every day t o enlighten, stre ng then, and free you” (§164). An essential featu re
of the new evangeli zati on enacted in pr ea ching is that the preacher can never presu me
that basic ele ments of the kerygma are well- kno wn and understood and thus not in ne ed of
repeating. “T he first proclamation is called ‘f irst ’ not because it exists in the beginning and
can then be forgot ten or replaced by o ther mo re important things. It is first in a qualita tive
sense because it is t he principal procla mation, t he one which we must hear again and aga in
in different ways…”(§166).
In order that the proclamation of the ke ygm a maintain its clarity and simplicity, preach ing
must focus on t he “el ements most need ed to da y.” The kerygma “is the message capable of
responding to the desire for the infini te which abides in every human heart. The cent rality
of the ker ygma calls for stressing those e lem ents which are most needed today: it h as
to express God’s saving love which p recedes any moral and religious obligation on o ur
part; it should not impose the truth but a pp ea l to freedom; it should be marked by jo y,
encouragem ent, liveliness, and a har monio us balance which will not reduce preach ing
to a few doctrines whi ch are at times mor e philosophical than evangelical” (§165). Fo r
this reason, t he pope i nsists that “a r enewa l o f preaching can offer believers, as we ll as
the lukewarm and the non-practising, new joy in the faith and fruitfulness in the wo rk of
evangelization. The heart of this mes sag e will always be the same: the God who revea le d
his immense love in the crucified and r isen Chr ist” (§11).
Essential to the renew al of preaching is th e recognition of its sacramental character. “A
preaching which woul d be purely mora list ic or doctrinaire, or one which turns into a lectu re
on biblical exegesis, detracts from [the] h ea rt -to-heart communication which takes pla ce
in the homily and possesses a quasi-sacr am ental character” (EG §142). In the Aposto lic
Exhor tation Verbum Domini, this point re ceives an ample theological explanation: “The
sacramentality of the w ord can thus be un de rstood by analogy with the real presen ce o f
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Christ under t he appearances of the consecr at ed bread and wine. By approaching the alta r
and partaking in the E ucharistic banquet we tr uly share in the body and blood of Ch rist.
The pr oclamat ion of God’s word at the celebr at ion entails an acknowledgment that Christ
himself is present, that he speaks to u s, an d that he wishes to be heard” (VD §56). It is
not just wor ds and ideas that are comm unicat ed in preaching but realities. “Realities are
greater than ideas. This principle has to do wit h the incarnation of the word and its be in g
put into practice….The principle of r ea lit y, of a word already made flesh and consta n tly
striving to take fl esh anew, is essential to evangelization” and thus to preaching (EG
§233).
The Respons ibility of the Preacher
The fundamental locus of the preach er ’s responsibility lies within his own response to
God. “ Concern for t he w ay we preach is likewise a profoundly spiritual concern. It enta ils
responding to t he l ove of God by putt ing a ll our talents and creativity at the service o f the
mission which he has gi ven us; at the sam e time, it shows a fine, active love of neighb our
by refusing to of fer others a product of po or q uality” (§ 156).
Although personal and spiritual, this concer n is not merely turned inwardly, but must op e n
out to the nee ds of the community to wh ich th e preacher is called to minister the Word o f
God and the Sacraments. “The preache r mu st know the heart of his community, in ord e r
to realize whe re i ts desire for God is a live , a nd ardent, as well as where that dialog u e,
once loving, has been thwarted and is no w b ar r en” (§137). This solicitude embraces th o se
who are close by, but especially those at “t he ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the
Gospel” (§16).
“The pr eache r also needs to keep his ear t o t he people and to discover what it is th at
the faithful need to hear. A preache r has t o contemplate the Word, but he also has to
contemplate his people. In this way he le ar ns of the aspiration, of riches and limitation s,
of ways of prayi ng, of loving, of looking a t life in the world, which distinguish this or
that human gathering, while paying at t en tion to actual people, to using their langua ge,
their signs and symbols, to answerin g t he questions they ask” (§154). The preach er
can count on the Holy Spirit to assist him in attaining this closeness to his people for
“the same Sp irit who inspired the Gosp els a nd who acts in the Church also inspires th e
preacher to hear t he faith of God’s people and to find the right way to preach at ea ch
Euchar ist” (§ 139). Wi thout this pastora l f am iliarity and even intimacy with his peop le ,
the pr eacher’s eff ecti veness will be gre at ly we akened. “We need to develop a broad and
profound senistivity to what really affe cts p eo ple’s lives. Let us also keep in mind that we
should never respond to questions that n ob od y asks” (§ 155). The preacher “needs to be
able to link the message of a biblical t ext t o a human situation, to an experience wh ich
cries out for the light of God’s Word” ( § 15 4) .
In addition to the closeness to his peo ple that is indispensable for the effective preach e r,
there is the ne ed for him to be an authentic witness. The role of witnesses has been centra l
to the proclamat ion of the Gospel thr ou gh ou t the Church’s history. As the pope wrote in
Lumen Fidei , “It i s through an unbroken chain of witnesses that we come to see the fa ce
of Jesus” (LF §38). N o less urgent is the ro le of witnesses today when “people prefer to
listen to witne sses: they thirst for authent icit y and call for evangelizers to speak of a Go d
whom they themsel ves know and are f am ilia r with, as if they were seeing him” (EG § 15 0).
The words of the preacher will fall o n deaf ears if his life does not bear witness to the
message his proclaims. “Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not o nly
with words, b ut above all by a life tra nsf ig ur ed by God’s presence” (§151).
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Along with a pastoral familiarity with his p eo ple and the witness of an authentic Christia n
life, the preacher’ s responsibility en com passes a willingness to assume the attitude o f
dialogue. In preachi ng, “the first step is perso nal dialogue, when the other person sp eaks
and shares his or her joys, hopes, an d con cer ns for love ones or so many other hea rtfelt
needs. Only af terward i s it possible t o br ing up God’s Word,…always keeping in mind
the fundamental message: the persona l lo ve o f God who became man, who gave himse lf
up for us, wh o i s l ivi ng, and who of fers us his salvation and his friendship” (§ 12 8 ).
Father Cameron considers this point “ on e of th e most important innovations” in the pop e ’s
teaching on preaching and the homily (Came ron 2014, 30). The Holy Father is describ ing
the fundament al st ance or attitude of the pre acher as one of dialogue when he says th at
“the hom ily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with
his people” (§ 137). E mploying a powerf ul analogy for this approach to preaching, th e
pope wr ites that “The Church is a mot he r [who ] preaches in the same way that a mothe r
speaks to her chi ld, knowing that the child t rusts that what she is teaching is for his or
her benefit…(§ 139). E ven if the homily at t ime s may be somewhat tedious, if this mate rnal
and ecclesial spiri t i s present, it will always bear fruit, just as the tedious counsels of a
mother bear f ruit in due time, in the h ea rt s of her children” (§ 140).
This dialogical element i n preaching r eq uir es t hat “we need to practice the art of listen ing,
which is more than simply hearing. L ist en ing, in communication, is an openness of he a rt
which makes possible that closenes s without which genuine spiritual encounter can not
occur. Listening hel ps us to find the right gest ur e and word which shows that we are more
than simply bystanders. Only through such r espectful and compassionate listening can we
enter on the p aths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal: the de sire
to r espond fully t o God’s love and to b rin g t o f ruition what he has sown in our lives” (§ 171 ).
The Homily
Evangelii Gaudium provides a gread d ea l of pr actical guidance on the nature, conceptio n ,
structure and language that should char act er ize the construction and delivery of the
homily.
Everything flo ws from the liturgical cont ext of the homily. Evanglii Gaudium quotes Die s
Domini , the Apostolic Letter of Pope St. Jo hn Paul II to introduce this important p oint:
“The liturgical proclamation of the wo rd of God, especially in the eucharistic assembly,
is not so much a time for meditation an d cat echesis as a dialogue between God and h is
people, a dialogue i n w hich the great deeds of salvation are proclaimed and the deman d s
of the covenant restat ed” (DD § 41). This ha s been a constant theme in the conciliar and
post-conciliar magisteri um whenever th e n at ur e of the homily is treated. At various poin ts,
the docum ents of t he Second Vatican Cou ncil insist on the homily’s role in the liturg y
(Sacr osanctum Conci li um §§ 24, 35, 52, 56), o n the principles of the biblical interpretatio n
in the liturgical homily ( Dei Verbum §§ 9- 13 , 21), and on the preacher’s understand ing
of the Bible a nd the li turgy ( Dei Verbu m § 25; Presbyterorum Ordinis §§ 4, 18). In line
with this consistent teaching over the past fifty years, Evangelii Gaudium declares that th e
homily constitutes a “di stinctive genre , sin ce it is preaching situated within the framework
of a liturgical cel ebration” and should th us b e “brief and avoid taking on the sembla n ce
of a speech or a lect ure,” respecting in th is way the “balance and rhythm” of the liturg ical
celebration” (EG § 138).
A recognition of the di stinctive natur e of t he homily will guide the preacher in his own
conception of his task. He should reca ll th at in the homily the faithful “want someone to
serve as an instrument and to express their f eelings in such a way that afterward, ea ch
one may choo se how he or she will continue the conversation” that God has begun a n d
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continues, ha ving been allowed to speak, as it were, as “the hearts of believers ke e p
silence” ( § 143). For this reason, a “g oo d homily” should be “positive”—“not so much
concerned with pointing out what sho uld not be done, but with suggesting what we can do
better” (§ 159).
The Holy Father i s determined to of fer som e remarkably practical advice regarding th e
construction of t he homily—an area tha t he is says is urgently in need of attention precisely
because the lack of adequate structure is on e of the most painful aspects of the experi ence
of preaching for many. “Some people thin k th at they can be good preachers because th e y
know what ought t o be said, but they pa y no attention to how it should be said, that is,
the concrete way of constructing a ser mon” ( § 156). The simplicity of a sermon does not
guarantee its clari ty: si mple it may b e, bu t if the sermon is “disorganized, lacks lo gical
progression, or tries to deal with too m an y things at one time,” it can “end up b eing
incomprehensible” (§ 158). The pope insists t hat the homily have “thematic unity, clea r
order, and co rrel ati on between sentences, so t hat people can follow the preacher e asily
and grasp his line of argument” (§ 1 58 ). In summary, the Holy Father passes on advice
that he r eceived himself: “A good ho mily, an old teacher once told me, should have an
idea, a sentiment, an image” (§ 157): an idea o r proposal that is clearly stated and that ca n
be r emem bered and evoke an affirmative or negative response; a sentiment that mo ves
the congregation, and an “attractive ima ge ” t hat “makes the message seem familiar, clo se
to home, pract ical , and related to everyd ay lif e” (ibid.). “The homily cannot be a form o f
entertainm ent li ke t hose presented in t he media, yet it does need to give life and mean in g
to the celebra ti on” (§ 138).
The pope’s ad vice on the length and language of the homily draws mainly on the liturgical
context of this distinctive genre of com munication. As we have seen, he writes that “A
preacher may be able to hold the att en tion o f his listeners for a whole hour, but in th is
case his words become more import an t t han t he celebration of faith. If a homily goe s
on too long, it w il l af fect two charact er istics o f the liturgical celebration: its balance a nd
rhythm” (§ 138 ). The l ength of a homily m ust be proportioned to the other essential parts of
the liturgical celebration as a whole. What is more, “This context demands that preach ing
should guide the assembly, and the pr ea che r, to a life-changing communion with Christ in
the Eucharist. This means that the wo rds of the preacher must be measured, so that th e
Lord, more th an hi s minister, will be the ce nt er of attention” (§ 138).
In a similar way, t he language employed b y th e preacher must be suited to the liturgical
context of which the homily forms but an int eg ral part. “The greatest risk for a preache r
is that he becomes so accustomed to his own language that he thinks that everyone e lse
naturally understands and uses it. If we wish to adapt to people’s language and to reach
them with God’s word, w e need to shar e in th eir lives and pay loving attention to them” (§
158).
Prepar atio n for P reaching
Evangelii Gau dium i s particularly eloquent on the subject of preparation for preaching—“so
important a ta sk that a prolonged time o f st udy, prayer, reflection, and pastoral creativity
should be devoted to it.” The tone of this section of the Apostolic Exhortation is qu ite
personal: “Wi th great affection,” the Ho ly Fath er writes, “I wish to stop for a moment a nd
offer a method of preparing homilies. Som e m ay find these suggestions self-evident, b ut I
consider it hel pful t o of fer them as a way o f e mphasizing the need to devote quality time
to this pr ecioius ministry” and, despite the m any responsibilities of pastors, “I presume to
ask that each week a sufficient portion of personal and community time be dedicated to
this task, even if less time has to be given to other important activities” (§ 145).
The Holy Father st resses the properly sp iritu al a spects of this responsibility to prepare we ll
for pr eaching w hich “demands that we of f er ourselves and all our abilities as instrumen ts
(cf. Rom 12:1) which God can use. A pre ach er who does not prepare is not ‘spiritual’; he
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is dishonest and i rresponsible with the gift s he has received” (§145). If the preacher “do e s
not take time t o hear God’s Word wit h an op en heart, if he does not allow it to touch his
life, to challenge him, to impel him, and if he does not devote time to pray with that Word ,
then he will indeed be a false prophet , a fr au d, a shallow imposter” (§ 151).
This remarkably strong language ref lects t he profundity of the pope’s understanding of
preparation for preaching which for him mu st be seen as “an exercise of evangelica l
discernment, wherei n w e strive to reco gn ize—in the light of the Spirit—a call to resoun d in
the historical situation itself. In this sit ua tion , and also through it, God calls the believer” (§
154).
Perhaps the most important phase of a n adequate preparation for preaching is a
contemplative engagement with the scrip tura l text, a true lectio divina . “The best incen tive
for shar ing th e G ospel comes from conte mplat ing it with love, lingering over its pages an d
reading it with the heart. If we approa ch it in t his way, its beauty will amaze and constantly
excite us. But i f this is to come about, we ne ed to recover a contemplative spirit, wh ich
can help us to real ize ever anew that we ha ve b een entrusted with a treasure which makes
us more hum an and helps us to live a new life. There is nothing more precious which we
can give to others” (§ 264). The preacher has t o resist the temptation to ask what the te xt
before him means for other people (§1 53 ) an d consider first what the word of God me a ns
for himself: “The S unday readings will r esonate in all their brilliance in the hearts of the
faithful if they have fi rst done so in th e hear t o f their pastor” (§ 149).
The contemplat ive pondering of the scr iptu ral t ext, beginning with prayer for the guid ance
of the Holy Spirit , will seek “to disco ver it s principal message, the message which give s
structure and unity to the text” (§ 147) and to communicate this message in an ordere d
and clear way in the homily itself.
Conclusion: P reaching and the New Eva ngeli zation
Taken togethe r with other pertinent p assa ge s throughout Evangelii Gaudium , paragraph s
135-159 in e ff ect constitute a kind of “mini- handbook” for preaching in the conte xt o f
liturgical celebrati on. I t has not been po ssible to do justice to the contents of this minihandbook in thi s brief presentation t od ay. Readers, especially preachers, will have to
study and ponder these paragraphs t o d iscover their riches for themselves. It wo uld
be safe to sa y t hat probably no docu ment in previous papal magisterium matches th e
range and directness of the practical sug ge stions for preaching contained in this Apostolic
Exhor tation.
In its discussion of preaching and the homily, it is especially noteworthy that Evange lii
Gaudium stresses the importance of a f ocus on the central mysteries of the faith—the
Blessed Trinity, God’ s love for us, and th e pa ssion, death and resurrection of Christ—a nd
the necessity of relating all other doct rines of faith and morals to these mysteries. T his
emphasis is characteri stic of the new e van ge lization or, to use the expression of P ope
Francis, this “new phase of evangeliza tion .” To continually put forward in evangelization , in
preaching, in catechesi s the trinitarian an d chr istological center of the Christian messag e
and the joy it evokes, and never to t ake it f or granted that people, even the faithfu l,
are already fami li ar wi th these myster ies—t hese are fundamental elements of the new
evangelization. It is important to note, as we conclude, that in this and other significant
ways, Evangelii G audium is continuous with t he renewed emphasis on the centrality of
evangelization that has marked the pap al and conciliar magisterium of the past fifty ye a rs.
Bibliography
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Pope P aul VI: Evangelii Nuntiandi (1 97 5)
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Pope B enedict X V I: V erbum Domini (2 01 0)
Pope F ranci s: Lumen Fidei (2013); Evangelii Gaudium (2014)
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Steven Bogulawski, O P, & Ralph Mart in , eds., The New Evangelization: Overcoming the
Obstacles ( Paulist Press, 2008)
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(Amazon.uk, 2014)
J. A. Di Noia, O P, “Cl earing Away the Bar rie rs: Preaching to Young Adults Today,” Carl
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