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May 28, 2023NEW YORK (OSV News) -- On Pentecost Sunday, May 28, America Media will launch a weekly podcast to help Christian preachers develop their craft "and captivate their congregations in more effective ways," said a news release announcing the podcast.
"Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast" is one of three projects from America Media in New York "that will inspire and enable Catholic priests, deacons, lay liturgical preachers and those in training for ministry to cultivate compelling preaching in their own ministries," the release said.
Jesuit-run America Media is a leading provider of Catholic editorial content and America magazine, a national weekly, is its flagship publication.
Hosted by Jesuit Father Ricardo da Silva, "Preach" is funded by a grant awarded to America Media by the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.
On Nov. 30, 2022, the Lilly Endowment announced the first 32 grants in the new initiative, which was begun to "help Christian pastors strengthen their abilities to proclaim the Gospel in more engaging and effective ways."
"The ultimate aim is to foster and support preaching that better inspires, encourages and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully," the Indianapolis-based endowment said.
"Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast" will follow the Catholic Church's weekly liturgical calendar. In each episode, listeners will meet Catholic preachers, learn about their communities and hear their Sunday homilies, delivered with a podcast audience in mind. In the second half of the show, preachers will unpack the making of their homilies with Father da Silva to offer "a privileged peek into their lives as ministers of God's Word, to enable all preachers to keep preaching the Good News."
The episodes will feature a diverse cast of Catholic preachers who will answer the questions "What makes a great Catholic homily? And what goes into the art of delivering it well?" by discussing their techniques, approaches to interpreting Scripture and the spiritual reflection necessary to enable great preaching.
"One thing has become clear as our team has developed this podcast over the past months and spoken with preachers far and wide: preaching has little to do with perfect prose and polished delivery," said Father da Silva, a Jesuit from South Africa living and working in Manhattan, where he serves as associate editor at America Media and associate pastor at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit parish in New York.
"The most compelling homilies are, in fact, those that embrace the vulnerability and radical openness of the one who is tasked with breaking open God's word," the priest said in a statement.