On Gaudete Sunday—a day in Advent dedicated to rejoicing—the Rev. Justin Lopina will surprise his congregation by focusing his homily on sin. As the newly assigned pastoral administrator at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wauwatosa, Wis., he believes that our fear of sin—what he calls “our fear of letting God down”—often robs us of joy. Justin joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss how John the Baptist’s call to repentance in the Gospel for Gaudete Sunday leads to joy more than simply moral obligations. They also explore the essentials of great preaching, emphasizing the importance of using one’s body and physical presence and keeping homilies short (around 8 minutes) to maintain the congregation’s attention.

Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.

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How can a preacher deliver a homily that captures the hopes of younger audiences—from toddlers to teens—while keeping parents and the entire congregation engaged? It’s a tall order, but in this special “Preach” episode, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., tackles this challenge in another panel discussion, this time with three America Media colleagues and parents: Tim Reidy, deputy editor-in-chief; Kerry Weber, executive editor; and Heather Trotta, vice president of advancement. Together, they share their experiences of nurturing their children’s faith and reflect on what makes for a homily that connects with everyone.

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“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. 

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Sam Sawyer, S.J., editor-in-chief of America Media, returns to “Preach” to discuss his Advent homily series, designed to be more cohesive than the usual week-to-week, stand-alone Sunday homilies that preachers typically prepare. Sam shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Dilexit Nos, inspired him to create these homilies for the season, specially commissioned for Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

Over the four weeks, Sam leads the congregation through a four-part reflection on the heart: awakening the heart, trusting its activity and passion, recognizing our heart’s capacity to desire something greater, and embracing God’s grace in our heart as it overflows from within us

Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.

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“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. 

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This episode is a re-airing of our 2023 episode for the feast of Christ the King.

The Scripture readings for the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, invite us to interpret the Scriptures through a lens that is perhaps less common for this celebration. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J, tries to imagine ways in which the readings for the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar, “can be perceived less as a hierarchical, patriarchal or monarchical depiction of who God is in Christ through the Spirit, and more about how God relates to us; in humility, in care, in tenderness.” 

Father Orobator, a Jesuit of the North-West Africa Province, is an internationally acclaimed theologian and a convert to Catholicism from traditional African religion. He is the dean at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

On this week’s “Preach,” Orobator shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how thinking of the Gospels as stories can subvert hierarchical, monarchical, and even patriarchal readings of the Scriptures. 

Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.

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“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. 

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When Thomas Massaro, S.J., hears underdog stories, he recognizes the various ways they parallel biblical narratives. “I’m a moral theologian, so I pretty much have to do this,” he says. “It’s part of my task to reach for some moral implications.” Those implications? If you’re a preacher, don’t moralize at the pulpit—especially when you are preaching on the first Sunday after the 46th United States presidential election. Instead, adopt the perspective of the underdog, and humbly strive to build bridges between people who come to Church with opposing viewpoints. 

In this episode of “Preach” for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Tom joins Ricardo da Silva, S.J. to discuss how preachers can avoid polarizing issues while keeping an eye toward social justice.

Tom is a scholar of Catholic social thought. He holds the Laurence J. McGinley Endowed Chair in Religion and Society at Fordham University in New York. His most recent books include Pope Francis as Moral Leader (Paulist Press, 2023), and Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

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“If scripture is the living word of God, then it has something to say about anything,” the Rev. John Kartje reflects on this episode of “Preach” just ahead of the United States presidential election. His advice to his congregation: live out your Christian faith every day, regardless of the election outcome. “When you wake up next Wednesday, the political world will have changed,” he says, “But the world transformed by the life, death, resurrection, and sending of the Holy Spirit changed 2000 years ago. And your world changed on the day of your baptism.”

John joins Ricardo da Silva, S.J. on “Preach” to explore how to preach about civic responsibility before the election. John cautions against the tendency to “live like the ancient Israelites” who trusted in temporary, precarious human leaders rather than the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ.

A native of northwest Indiana and now a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, John currently serves as the rector and president of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Chicago, which has enabled him to embrace mystery in both his scientific research and his religious vocation. He has also served as campus chaplain at Northwestern University and as a parish priest.

Readings and transcript of John's homily

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Dr. Moira Egan does not relate to Bartimaeus, a blind man who encounters Jesus in Mk 10:46-52 and begs for sight. Moira was born blind, but she has never begged for sight. Why should blindness exempt her from the Kingdom of God? “There’s an assumption that, if any blind person were asked the open-ended question, ‘What do you want?’, ... they would say they want to see,” Moira says. “I think it’s hard for people to believe that isn’t true.”

In a conversation inspired by Pope Francis and his invitation to building a “culture of encounter,” Ricardo da Silva, S.J., welcomes Moira to “Preach” to reflect upon the difficulty of certain scripture passages, how to avoid ableist language, and consider the experiences of people with disabilities.

Moira serves as the director of prestigious awards and graduate fellowships at Pace University in New York City. She also is an active parishioner at The Church of St. Francis Xavier, where she is involved with Ability Xavier. This program not only advocates for justice and understanding for persons with disabilities, but bridges the accessibility gap by providing tangible worship accommodations such as Braille worship aids, auditory assistive headsets for persons with hearing loss, and American Sign Language interpreters.

[Learn more about disability theology—email Gregory Woods to join a private Facebook discussion group.]

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This special episode of “Preach” features a live recording at the Outreach 2024 conference at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C, where Ricardo da Silva, S.J., is joined by panelists Carly Reidy, Jim Scholl, and Ish Ruiz to discuss how preaching can be a source of spiritual nourishment for LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies. 

A music minister of 20 years and the proud parent of a bisexual daughter, Carly works in administration at a diocesan parish in Burlington, Mass. Jim is a proud gay Catholic who works in non-profit Catholic fundraising and attends mass at St. Ignatius Parish in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Ish, a queer person from Puerto Rico with 11 years of teaching experience in Catholic education, often hears stories of exclusion from his queer students who reference preaching that draws exclusively on “conventional” relationships.

Guests shared times they heard a homily that was affirming, along with experiences that hurt more than they helped. For Carly, a shining moment occurred in her diocesan parish when a priest reflected on the words of John 13:34-35—“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Extending the homily to include every race, class, and sexual orientation represented among the congregation, the preacher distinguished tolerance from acceptance, and acceptance from love. “It was the first time in a diocesan parish that I had experienced someone speaking about the LGBTQ community in a positive light,” Carly says. 

On the Outreach website, You can find news, essays, resources and community for LGBTQ Catholics and those who minister for them in the church worldwide today.

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“What keeps you and me knowingly, unknowingly, consciously, or unconsciously sad, because we’re possessed by what we possess—our possessions?” Father John Unni posed this question in a homily three years ago standing before his congregation at St. Cecilia Parish in Boston’s affluent Back Bay. “There’s no U-Haul after a hearse.” 

It is this introspection serves as a catalyst for this week’s conversation on “Preach” with Ricardo da Silva, S.J., where John reflects on his 2021 homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. “I like what that guy is saying, but I find it even more challenging three years later,” he admits. “I’m wrestling with these readings in a different way, a deeper way.”

After 21 years at St. Cecilia, John—once a high school English teacher and a part-time landscaper—is known for his thought-provoking preaching but also for being something of a “long-form” preacher. Although this approach defies prevailing wisdom, people flock to hear him in the parish and online. The secret to capturing his congregation’s attention? “This message isn’t coming from Johnny—it’s coming from Jesus.” 

Get this week's Scripture readings and a transcript of John’s homily

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St. Joseph Church in Beirut offers a sanctuary for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers fleeing South Sudan, Syria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and many other conflict-torn nations. Daniel Corrou, S.J., pastor of the community, vividly recalls entering the 19th-century church immediately after the devastating 2020 blast in Lebanon’s capital.

“It was still filled with dust, broken wood everywhere; the pews were all shattered, and all the glass was torn down. It was in the middle of the night; so, it was pitch dark,” Dan tells “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. Still, there was one light that shone on and cut through the darkness, Dan says. “The little red candle next to the tabernacle. The whole damn city had been devastated, thousands of people in the hospital and hundreds had died, but Jesus was still there, right in the middle of it,” he recalls. “If Jesus isn’t running away from this, I don’t know what the incarnation is other than that.”

In his homily for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Dan, who also oversees the Jesuit Refugee Service in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, calls us to see the humanity in seemingly intimidating strangers. We must embrace a “story of love” rather than a “story of fear,” he says. “A story of love is always a better story—lean into the story of love!”

Get this week's Scripture readings and a transcript of Dan’s homily

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When Ellie Hidalgo served as a pastoral associate at Dolores Mission Church in East Los Angeles, the priest asked her to lead Liturgy of the Word and Communion services on Thursdays to give him a day off. “I would often use stories of people acting with courage, loving their neighbor, serving as good Samaritans and living out Gospel values,” she says, reflecting on the homiletic approach she developed over 12 years. “Storytelling builds community. It builds identity.”

Inspired by St. Phoebe—a pioneering woman deacon esteemed and commended by St. Paul to serve the early Christian community in Greece and Rome, and whose feast day is Sept. 3—Ellie joins “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss St. Phoebe’s ministry and its impact on contemporary debates within the Catholic Church regarding women’s ordination to the diaconate, a live topic in the ongoing Synod on Synodality.

As co-director of Discerning Deacons, Ellie offers practical strategies for expanding lay preaching opportunities. She encourages clergy to invite women to preside at Liturgy of the Word and Communion services, share testimonies during homilies and participate in parish faith-sharing groups to bring diverse perspectives from the pews—especially those of women—into their homilies.

Get this week's Scripture readings and a transcript of Ellie’s homily

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