Are homilies critiqued?

An interesting question over at The Catholic Telegraph, newspaper for Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The answer is provided by the Rev. David Endres:

Q: Are the homilies of priests and deacons critiqued? The homily quality among preachers varies considerably. Some are outstanding; others are poor. Are continuing education classes available and/or required for clergy especially in the area of homily development and presentation?

A: Yes, the homilies of priests and deacons, are always critiqued – at least informally – by those in the pews, but formal evaluation after ordination is limited. Still the inconsistent quality of Catholic preaching has been recognized, and there are efforts to address the quality of preaching and opportunities for preachers to improve.

When the U.S. bishops published Preaching the Mystery of Faith (2013), they cited Pope Benedict XVI’s post-synodal exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity) which noted that “the quality of homilies needs to be improved.” Later that same year, Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), wrote, “We know that the faithful attach great importance to [the homily], and that both they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them!” (135).

That the perceived quality of homilies varies considerably from preacher to preacher may often have less to do with the formation and training of preachers and more to do with differences in aptitude, temperament, and personality – among both preachers and their hearers. Congregants have different expectations for the homily; whether one wants to be taught, entertained, encouraged, or uplifted.

The ministry of preaching, which is a faculty that comes with ordination, does not attract only the vocally gifted, the eloquent, and the charismatic. Rather, it attracts a great diversity of personalities, from the soft-spoken introvert, who would – in certain contexts – prefer to be sitting in the pew than standing in the pulpit, to the extravert who brings great energy and drama to the homily; from the poet, who skillfully and naturally weaves words together in vivid pictures, to the essayist who works for hours to find the right words to convey what is in his heart and what he believes God wants him to preach.

Read his complete answer here. 

While we don’t have any formal evaluation process at my parish, I’ve learned that people aren’t shy about sharing their opinions. Personally, my wife remains the best barometer and most constructive critic (which, now that I think of it, may be one good reason to argue in favor of married priests…)