Summary of guidelines received from Dominicans
and others regarding Preaching

* PREPARING TO PREACH: Study, pray, ponder the Word. Let the Word be in us and transform us. Learn the background of the Word when it was originally used. How do the insights relate to the listeners who will hear you preach? Remember the sermon is no so much about us as about the Word working in us, through us and among us. See the integral relationship between what we preach and our commitment to Justice and Peace. As Dominicans we are called to be prophetic preachers. This does not mean laying on layers of guilt but of building up the possibility of another world that is more just. Remember Jesus always preached with people’s needs, hurts and interests in mind.

* Eye contact is important when you preach. However, when people look around Siena Center Chapel, their voice gets lost and cannot be heard clearly. Each homily should leave people with a sense of hope and challenge and that no effort is too small to make a difference.

* Don’t use words like AMEN or IN THE NAME GOD THE FATHER……at the end of the homily.

*  We need to remind people in the pew they also have a role. The preacher needs their interest and energy and it is not helpful to look out and see people praying the Rosary, nodding, not paying attention. Consider this: Maybe God is waiting to surprise you if you come with an open mind.

* Sermon/reflection at Liturgy of the Word or Prayer Celebration can be up to 5-to 7 mns in length and liturgical preaching from 8 to 10 mns.

* Preaching means reaching down into the hungers and questions in people’s hearts and allow God to grace them with hope and meaning. We do not change people’s conduct by telling them what to do. We help them see things differently and then they will act differently.

* Don’t use a taped message or warmed over message that you have used several years in a row. People thirst for a live, fresh message at each Eucharist.

* Make sure your beginning relates to the rest of the homily. The opening words should relate to and lead into the homily.

* Remember the homily is only one part of the liturgy. Try to relate it to the whole.

* A good approach to preaching a truly bad homily is to moralize. When you convey a message that “everything you are doing is bad or not quite good enough and you must try to do better” will not motivate or change people.  Challenge yes, Moralize no. There are different ways to make a moral point. Preacher can include herself by asking “What does this Word call me, call us to”  and explore some options. It call relate to the injustice around us and point to some ways we can transform our world. If appropriate, share something about the ways God has worked in your life.

* Every sermon must have the hearers in mind. Ask yourself “What is the Mission in your homily?” That means calling people to a deeper prayer life, listening more carefully to the Word and to respond to the call we have heard.  People should not leave the homily saying “So what?”

* Giving feedback on the homily is a time to be sensitive and caring in your response to the homilist. We have a feedback form on hand.