Lincoln Diocese joins nationwide ‘Compelling Preaching Initiative’
By Deacon Matthew Hecker, Ph.D.
for the Register
Focus groups discussed what is going well, what can be improved, and the role of the laity.
The Catholic Diocese of Lincoln has launched a new program as part of the nationwide “Compelling Preaching Initiative.”
With few exceptions, every time we attend Mass, we hear a preached homily. As a result, preaching is a subject that touches the life of every Catholic. The responsibility to preach the word of God is given to bishops, priests and deacons. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task ‘to preach the gospel to all men,’ in keeping with the Lord’s command. They are ‘heralds of faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers’ of the apostolic faith, ‘endowed with the authority of Christ.’” (CCC 888)
Conversely, the responsibility to prepare the “soil of the soul” to fruitfully receive the word of God is given to the lay faithful.
In his book, “Why Preach,” Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. – best known as the editor of the popular daily prayer guide, Magnificat – states:
“By his faithful preaching of the Gospel, the preacher reveals people’s heart to themselves, gives them the power to make judgments that liberate them, and imbues them with the certainty, confidence and gladness before which hell itself cowers. This is why there is preaching in the Church.”
Further, quoting from Pope Benedict XVI, “Why Preach” includes: “The aim of preaching is ‘to tell a man who he is and what he must do to be himself. Its intention is to disclose to him the truth about himself, that is, what he can base his life on and what he can die for.’ And that disclosure is not a discourse; it is an encounter.” Good preaching then should provide a powerful or compelling encounter with the living God.
To that end, the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln entered the Compelling Preaching Initiative. The program is focused on homiletics. It is an extension of work already underway by the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. The McGrath Institute received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to study preaching in the Catholic Church across the country.
“The idea is to offer professional development centered on homiletics for our priests, as well as emphasize the importance of coming prepared to Mass for our laity,” Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln explained. “Our diocese was not selected to participate in this project because we suffer from deficient preaching, but because we have solid and effective preaching already taking place, and because we have an openness to build on what we have, to make it even better.”
Dr. Joshua McManaway, who is leading the program for the McGrath Institute, said it is a great opportunity to build on the work they’ve already started with a cohort of about 12 other dioceses, parishes and apostolates across the country.
“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the Diocese of Lincoln on this long-term project to make good preaching even better and to help the laity receive the wisdom of the Church and her Scriptures so that they can come to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ with greater devotion,” Dr. McManaway said.
Together with Father Douglas Dietrich, the vicar for clergy, Dennis Kellogg, the communications director for the diocese, shares responsibility for implementing the Compelling Preaching Initiative. During the week of April 22, Kellogg coordinated a series of focus groups.
“We decided we would target five different groups within the diocese,” he said. “What we were looking for is their perspective on preaching, as it currently exists in our diocese. We can then build on the recurring themes that come from the different groups.”
Kellogg said five separate focus groups were held for “high school students, priests, seminarians, college students, and parishioners.”
According to Kellogg, the focus groups each met for about an hour, and usually ranged from eight to 10 people. Some attended virtually when necessary, given the expanse of the diocese, covering more than 23,000 square miles.
Dr. McManaway was present to facilitate the sessions. Kellogg said Dr. McManaway led the participants through a series of questions.
“Then we sat back, took notes, and listened to the cross talk, the answers and people’s reaction to the answers. It was kind of free flowing… ,” Kellogg said, “and we stressed that we wanted their honest opinions.
“We didn’t record the sessions, or put any names down,” he continued. “We wanted people to speak freely from their perspective, about how things were going in the diocese.”
“It is heartening to see so many people in this diocese who love their priests and the Church,” Dr. McManaway said after the focus group sessions. “Secondly, it was interesting that the same concerns over Catholic preaching were articulated by every group, from high schoolers up to retired parishioners, seminarians and priests alike. The clergy and the laity are very much on the same page about what is going well, what is needed, and each group seemed to walk away hopeful about the possibility of improvement.”
The next task, Kellogg said, will be for him—and Dr. McManaway—to analyze the information they collected, “focusing on those common points between the groups, things that were pointed out that everyone seems to agree on.”
They will then “take that information and consider what could be done to either build on or improve in these areas. What kind of speakers do we need to bring in next fall? Are there specific projects that we do within the diocese to close the gaps that might exist or build on what’s working?” he said,
Kellogg said any decision about next steps would be shared by the diocese and the McGrath Institute.
“We don’t want to look at just the areas that need help,” he added. “But also, what are we doing really well? And how do we encourage that to continue? And foster that – not just in the priests, but in the laity.”
Kellogg said one project already underway as part of this effort is designed for the lay faithful and can be seen weekly in the print version of the Southern Nebraska Register. The Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies in the Diocese of Lincoln is providing prompts for each Sunday reading.
“The goal is to help everyone start thinking about the readings before they get to Mass,” Kellogg said. “That will hopefully make everyone more open to what the Lord may be trying to say to them through Scripture and the priest’s homily.”
Kellogg said more projects and training will be developed in the coming months based on some of the feedback from the focus groups.
SNR photos | Natalie Bender
