Preaching the Mystery of Faith

The Approach of This Statement

We will begin our reflection on the Sunday homily by turning first to its theo logical and biblical foundations. As Fulfilled in Your Hearing turned for inspi ration to the dramatic scene of Jesus’ inaugural preaching in the Gospel of Luke, so too will we turn to Luke’s Gospel for our reflection on the preaching ministry of Jesus, not only in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry but in the beau tiful account of the disciples on the way to Emmaus that leads the Gospel to its conclusion. Throughout the text we will also consider other rich biblical examples that illustrate the full scope of our preaching ministry. We will then concentrate on the intrinsic interconnection between the Scriptures, the homily and its liturgical context, and the Church’s teach ing and catechesis. Here the particular pastoral needs of our time that have prompted the call for a renewed evangelization are an important context. Finally, we conclude our reflection with a consideration of the spiritu ality of the homilist. We will consider the necessary qualities of an effec tive preacher as well as the demands placed upon one who is called to the sacred task of interpreting the Scriptures and preaching the Sunday homily. What might we do as ministers of the word to develop ourselves personally to improve the quality of preaching in our day?

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