鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a lot of work, but it鱿鱼视频app so satisfying. I have never looked so forward to Sunday Mass.鈥�
Huang takes his homilies seriously. He prepares five weeks in advance, praying, reading, studying, writing and re-writing what he鈥檒l say in front of 1,000 parishioners each weekend. He also has a panel of seven devout Catholics who critique his homily and provide feedback on every draft. He re-writes the draft for content, flow and timing until they鈥檙e all satisfied.
鈥淭he pressure is tremendous, but that鱿鱼视频app also healthy,鈥� said Huang.
After he delivers a homily, he publishes it in the bulletin and on his blog so families can think about the message and talk about it at home.
Improving preaching of Vancouver clergy is a priority for Archbishop J. Michael Miller. When he announced his latest 鈥淧riorities and Goals鈥� in 2016, he urged everyone in the archdiocese to 鈥淢ake Every Sunday Matter鈥� by focusing on beautiful music, hospitality and effective preaching.
By then, Huang had already begun revamping his own preaching strategies and agrees with Miller that thoughtful homilies are extremely important.
Preaching 鈥渋s going to be absolutely critical for parish renewal and the new evangelization.鈥�
To help pastors improve their homilies, the Archdiocese of Vancouver welcomed long-time pastor Darrell Johnson to speak at a Priest Study Week in November. The Regent College teacher shared insights and tips with about 110 Catholic priests over several days.
鈥淭he joy of preaching is being able to talk about Jesus,鈥� Johnson said, summarizing his classes in an interview with The B.C. Catholic.
鈥淛esus is the most amazing human being to ever live. When you recognize that He鱿鱼视频app also God in the flesh, He鱿鱼视频app the most amazing God to talk about. We will never be done talking about Jesus. No one will ever be able to say: 鈥業 have that task done. I鈥檓 going to move on to something more important.鈥� No priest, no pastor, will ever be done with that job.鈥�
Johnson, who has been preaching for 50 years, said the key to an engaging homily is joy and an inner love for the text. For him, that means daily meditation and in-depth study. He takes an average of 12 hours to prepare a sermon.
It鱿鱼视频app a good idea to tell a story sometimes, but the story can鈥檛 distract from the message, he said.
鈥淭he story you tell is supposed to get people back into the text. As a preacher, I鈥檇 be disappointed if all people remember is my story. I want them to remember why I told the story.鈥�
Like Huang, Johnson usually writes out his whole script. He practises it aloud before preaching.
In Protestant churches, sermons can go 25-30 minutes. Catholic priests tend to speak for shorter amounts of time, which can be just as challenging, Johnson said.
Priests also face other difficulties. Besides trying to find time to meditate and dig into historical context, he said they must try to reach people who have different worldviews and cultures or might not even speak English as their first language.
Fr. Gary Franken, the archdiocese鱿鱼视频app vicar general and the pastor of St. Anthony鱿鱼视频app in West Vancouver, said Johnson鱿鱼视频app workshop on preaching was 鈥渧ery valuable鈥� for local priests.
鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app an awesome privilege and a joy to preach, but it鱿鱼视频app sometimes one of the hardest things to do, depending on circumstances and what you need to preach about,鈥� said Franken.
When he鱿鱼视频app preparing to give a homily, Franken begins on Monday by reading the upcoming Sunday readings. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app incubating all week, getting ideas, reading other ideas, doing research and praying.鈥�
He agreed that priests often feel swamped with other work. 鈥淲e have to live up to the challenge of what needs to be done, and that鱿鱼视频app passing on the revelation that we鈥檝e received in Jesus Christ. If preachers are too busy doing too many other things and they can鈥檛 properly prepare for that and be supported in that, then we鈥檙e handicapping them.鈥�
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Tips from Darrell Johnson, Regent College teaching fellow and former senior minister at First Baptist in Vancouver:
鈥� Ask the Living Jesus to meet you in the text you鈥檙e going to preach. That鱿鱼视频app the first thing. Stay in that text until Jesus meets you.
鈥� Seek to say only what the text says. Discipline yourself not to bring your own agenda into this, but let the text determine what you鈥檙e going to say.
鈥� Have as clear a flow as possible. You can give a lot of content if the flow is clear. Think of an arrow that鱿鱼视频app being shot, that goes right through the air, clear to the heart. Work on clarity.