Colm Fitzpatrick
Bishop Michael Curry Homilies still have the power to move the hearts and minds of listeners, priests across Ireland have said.
Their comments come against the background of international praise for a “passionate” and stirring sermon by a US Episcopalian bishop who spoke last weekend at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Commenting on Bishop Michael Curry, who is the current presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, Fr John Harris, OP, said: “I think what struck me about the man was his evident belief in what he was talking about. That’s what struck me. I think he was very passionate, it just goes to show that people do respond when the message is right. He spoke as a believer and it definitely came from the heart.”
The Newbridge-based Dominican priest added that in his own experience, parishioners are keen to listen to the homily at Mass, adding that they respond to it in their own way. “I think they do like to hear about God; they are not too interested in social commentary. I think people who are going to Church now are going to Church because they want an experience of God and that’s what they’re looking for, in my view anyway. When they come, it’s really for us preachers to sort of bring their minds to God,” Fr Harris told The Irish Catholic.
Unselfish
Bishop Michael Curry spoke at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19 and told the congregation of 600 people that Jesus began the “most revolutionary movement in human history”, stressing that his love was expressed on the cross in an “unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive” way.
According to the well-known Down-based priest Fr Brian D’Arcy, Bishop Curry stood out because he was an “evangelical preacher” rather than a theological preacher.
“I think he was one of those people who actually communicated his message brilliantly and enthusiastically and it wasn’t just words…he seemed to believe his words,” Fr D’Arcy said.
He added that the homily is “the most important thing a priest does”, and that if you don’t believe the message personally then you should not preach it.
Sentiments
Echoing these sentiments, Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap., author of Homily, Hints and Prayers: Daily Mass Readings, said that the day of the “spoken word” isn’t gone, pointing out that a good homily will always hold people’s attention and speak to them personally.
Referencing Pope Francis, Fr O’Flynn stated that the homily is a dialogue between “God and people”, and that the preacher mediates the Good News to others and should be able to translate it into their personal life situation.
“The homily should leave people at the end of Mass with a greater recognition of where God is in their lives at the moment,” he said, adding that our religion is beautiful as it gives us meaning to life, direction, and a future.