How to write a homily?

     

  SERMON PYRAMID 

Have I memorized the outline? Gone through it aloud? Did I speak the whole thing aloud? How involved am I in it? Is there a place for vitalizing? Am I excited with it?

11. Prepared Delivery

Are there illogicalities in my sermon? Is it dry and concentrated though logical? Are there clumsy, complex, dull wordings? Any sentence, illustrations, quotes unnecessary? Have I to hurry through to finish?

10. Revision

While preparing have I talked directly to people? Was the preparation a dialogue? Did I see the reactions of the congregation in imagination? Who are the various sorts of people to listen? What would they get out of it? Is it personal and conversational? 

9. Visualizing People

will the type be large enough?  Plenty of space? Have I sued capitals, underlining and symmetrical position of words? Will I turn or slide the paper? Do I have proper furniture, microphone clock to check? Any distracting material to be removed from pulpit?

8. The Mechanics

Workout my sermon on my head? Or write it down? The advantages and disadvantages of writings?

7. Composition

Where the whole sermon or any of its parts have too little or too much? Which parts are likely to lack interest or clarity where should there be cutting or strengthening? Are minor matters given major times? Should I leave out anything, which is repetitious or redundant?

6. Proportioning

What is the structure for the best use of material? What is the Chart on sermon’s progress? What are the main and sub points?

5. Full Outline

What are the possible ideas? From my own thinking, experience reading, research and discussion? From contacts, journals, and newspapers?

4. Accumulating Ideas

What the development might be? How to enter into and end the sermon? Is an original sort of conception possible? What does anybody need to hear?

3. Rough Outline

What do the reading really mean? How they can be interpreted what do commentaries, versions dictionaries say?

2. Bible Research

Stating the purpose: General purpose: what is my specific goal? What does the congregation need to hear?  What do Bible readings say? What is most prominent in people’s mind? What is the special feature of liturgical season?

1.Picking the Theme

HOW TO WRITE A HOMILY?

The writer of the homily has to Scripture texts and reflected on the needs of his people. From these two sources he has decided what particular aspect of the general theme should be the message in his homily. Now he begins to think of the Human approach in presenting his message.

1.      First Stage: Human Approach

He starts from a real life experience that corresponds in some way to the scripture event. It may be an incident or just a remark or a quotation from some author or any simple little fat that reflects the human values recognized inn the scripture readings. This not only gets the attention of the listeners but they can relate to it. In this way he is laying the foundation on which he is going to build.

2.      Second Stage: Anthropological Constant (Globalising)

An incident in itself may not appeal to the whole congregation. The preacher must show the universally accepted values contained in it so that each and every person may identify with them. We all have the same human nature so that this stage can easily be carried out. Unfortunately many omit it and take away from the force of their communication.

3.      Third Stage: Revelation

Now we have to throw the light of revelation on these human values. We can use the readings the people have just listened to (without just retelling the parable or the incident contained in them). We can also use the teaching of the Church, council documents, t4adition and lives of the saints, the content of the liturgy etc. these should be a core of doctrine in every homily. Without this we can fail into the fault of mere moralizing. We now go on to draw out the implications of this doctrine for our daily living. (Moralising is giving a series of ‘dos’ and ‘donts’ in the abstract).

4.      Forth Stage: Consequence for Daily Living

We link up God’s revelalito0n with the situation in which our people find themselves. As far as possible we talk in concrete terms about the Christian response Christ is asking them here and now.

5.      Fifth Stage: Link with the Eucharist Celebration

A little thought makes it easy to link our homily with the Eucharist. The homily is intended to help them towards a more meaningful celebration. Since the Christian life is the living of the Paschal Mystery and the Eucharist is the celebration of this same mystery the link is easily made. We show them how to live the Mass in the particular aspects treated of in the holily.

To Sum up:1. Start from life-- from a real life experience that corresponds to Scripture                     event. Analyze its human value, its meaning on human   level.

2.                  Shed light of Scripture on this human experience draw out significance of this; its bearing on our situation.

3.                        Draw out what this implies in daily life, showing how the mystery of salvation which we celebrate and in which we share in the liturgy of the Sacrament gibes new life and calls for Christian living (Avoid mere moralising).

MANAGEMENT OF THE VOICE WHILE  PREACHING

A few hints may be profitably borne in mind.

1.      Do not begin on too high a key. One is particularly apt to do this in the open air, or in a large and unfamiliar church, or when much excited. It is wonderful how difficult a speaker finds it to lower the main key on which he has once fairly stated. He may become aware of it in three minutes and make repeated effort to correct the mistake, but in most cases he will fail, and when impassioned passages come, in which the voice must rise, it will rise to a scream. Every one has often witnessed this process. It is, of course, not impossible to change the key, and this should be carefully attempted when necessary. But the great matter is to avoid beginning wrong. Tenor voices, it obvious, are especially apt to begin too high.

                        

            We must not begin on a high key, and yet the text should be distinctly heard. The difficulty thus arising when the audience is large may be overcome by stating the texts slowly, distinctly and, if necessary, a second time, and by projecting the voice, instead of elevating it.

2.      Do not suffer the voice to drop in the last words of a sentence. Though it must often sink, returning to the general pitch of the discourse. It must not fall too suddenly or too low. It is not uncommon for the last words to be quite inaudible.

3.      Never fail to take breath before the lungs are entirely exhausted; and usually keep them well filled. This will generally be done without effort in extemporaneous speaking; but in recitation and reading it requires special attention. Moned says: “ For this purpose, it is necessary to breathe quite often, and to take advantages of little rests in the delivery.”  A speaker must not gasp in his breath through the mouth but breath through the nostrils, regularly and steadily. He must keep the head and neck in an upright posture for the sake of breathing freely as well as for other reasons; and there must be nothing right around his throat.

4.      Look frequently at the remotest hearers, and see to it that they hear you. If particular persons anywhere in the room have grown inattentive, they may often be aroused by quietly aiming the voice at them for a moment.

5.      Let there be variety-of pitch, of force, and of speed. Monotony is utterly destructive of eloquence. But variety of utterance must be gained, not by assuming it from without, but by taking care to have a real and marked variety of sentiment, and then simply uttering each particular sentiment in the most natural manner. Emphasis requires much attention. In speaking, a correct emphasis will be spontaneous whenever one is fully in sympathy with his subjects.

For the rest, let rules alone, and think not about your voice but your subject and those on whom you wish to impress it. Except that when some marked fault has attracted attention or been pointed out by a friend, care must be taken to avoid it hereafter.

PERSONALITY OF THE SPEAKER: IMPLICATION

           

The qualifications we have received are very demanding. Such goals may not be realized in our lifetime, but they none the less serve as goals which the sprit of God can help implement so that we may be more effective in filling the call of God.

            The ingredients of a speaker combine to make up what the rhetoricians have traditionally called ethos. Note the well-known comments of Aristotle regarding ethos.

Persuasion is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. We believe good men more fully and more readily than others; this is true generally whatever the question is and absolutely true where exact certainty is impossible and options are divided. This kind of persuasion, like the others, should be achieved by what the speaker says, not by what people think of his character before he befits to speak. It is not true, as some writers assume in their treaties on rhetoric, that the personal goodness reveals by the speaker contributes nothing to his power of percussion; on the contrary, his character may almost be called the most affective means of percussions he possesses.

Twenty-five centuries of history note seriously altered this conclusion. The possibility exists that Aristotle was wrong in assuming that ethos is the most powerful of the three means of persuasion, but modern experimentation does support the conclusion that ethos contributes to persuasiveness.

            For our purpose it is helpful to note that ethos is of two basic types:  antecedent ethos which is the role title, position that a man brings into situation, and manifests ethos, which is what the man actually projects in the speaking situation.

            Even if a man has no antecedent’s ethos to speak of, he may earn status with his hearers during his message or address. Ethos may also be altered in adding to being created. The dress, voice, manner perceived sincerely, the introduction given to the speech all these have their effects upon changing the speaker’s ethos.

           

Contemporary studies of ethos have settled on the following elements in defending this concept operationally: 1) Expertness 2) Trustworthiness 3) Personal Dynamism. It can be argued with empirical evidence as support that the personal life and character of the preacher does have its impact. And the things that have been said in homiletics textbooks for many years are basically true, there must be integrity, the man who says one things and does another cannot be trusted, and the man who loves the good life does another have a claim to listeners. Integrity breaks down when there is separate existence of the house of life and the house of doctrine.

           

A significant form of preparation for preaching is preparation of the preacher. Effectiveness in the pulpit is indeed tied to the life, the integrity, the Christian character of the man, which declares the gospel. Good men are of their message and will be heard.

THE PREACHRERS’ QUALIFICATIONS

1. PIETY: Piety is a quality of soul. It is moral earnestness rooted in a continuing experience of fellowship with God. It is reverent devotion to the will of God. It is not a pose that is struck. It is not suture but moves with the glow and warmth of the Christian grace. It is not otherworldly in any sense of proud withdrawal from human interests but mingles with life in the strength of Christian virtues. It is not weak but heroic and is the inspiration of the heroism, which is the “brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh”. It is spiritual reality that entertains no simulation, and spiritual realism that recognizes and challenges the moral and spiritual enemies of life. It is not too much to say that this quality of spirit is the prime requisite to effectiveness in preaching. It inspires the preacher himself with ardent zeal, and keeps the flame alive amid all the icy indifferences by which he will so often be encompassed. It gains foe him the good will and sympathy of his hearers, the most ungodly of whom will fell that devout earnestness on his part is becoming and entitles him to respect. And to this is promised the blessing of God upon the labors, which it prompts. Much false theory and bad practice in preaching is connected with a failure theory and bad practice in preaching is of piety in the preacher. Just rhetoeucal principles as well as other and far higher consideration imperative require that a preacher of the gospel shall cultivate personal piety. It is bad rhetoric to neglect it. 

2. NATURAL GIFTS: The preacher needs the capacity for clear thinking, with strong feelings, and a vigorous imagination; also capacity for expression, and the power of forcible utterance. Many other gifts help his usefulness; these are well nigh indispensable to any high degree of efficiency. Each of these can be improved almost indefinitely, some of them developed in one who had not been conscious of possessing them, but all must exist as natural gifts.

3. KNOWLEDGE: There must be knowledge of religious truth and of such things as throw light upon it, knowledge of human nature in its relations to religious truth and of human life in its actual conditions around us. It was a favorite idea of Cicero that the orator ought to know everything. There is of course, no knowledge, which a preacher might not make useful. We may thankfully recognize the face that some men do good who have very slender attainments and yet may insists that it should be the preacher’s lowest standard to surpass, in respect of knowledge, the great; majority of those who hear him, and it should be the sacred ambition to know all that he can learn by lifelong and prayerful endeavor.

            Piety furnishes motive power; natural gifts; cultivated as far as possible, supply means; knowledge gives material; and there remains.

4. SKILL: This does not refer to style and delivery but also to the collection, choice, and arrangement of materials. All who preach eminently well and the same thing is true of secular speakers will be found, with scarcely an exception, to have labored much to acquire skill. Henry Clay became an accomplished orator by diligent cultivation of his natural gifts. In an address to some law students at Albany towards the close of his life he mentioned that during his early life in Kentucky, he commenced, and continued for years, the practice of daily reading and speaking upon the contents of some historical or scientific book. These off hand efforts were made sometimes in cornfield, yet others in the forest and not infrequently in some distant barn with the horse and the ox for my auditors.

            We are told that the Indian orators were known to practice their speeches beside a clear pool as mirror.

VERBAL DELIVERY

1.RATE:

                         The normal speaking rate is between 125 and 190 words per minute. A reduction in listen-ability begins somewhere above 200 words per minute. Speakers should strive to be rapid enough to show vitality and yet slow enough to be certain; there is distinct articulation and comprehensibility. A proper rate is one that is both varied and sufficiently rapid to insure interest in the sermonic movement. As a congregation increases in number and the acoustics become more difficult, the rate should be slow and down to accommodate that particular situation.

2.VOLUME:

                         Some speakers prefer to shout in and attempt to add emphasis. However, when a sermon is simply an extended shouting session, there is no emphasis art all. Sometimes a decrease in volume will give the desired emphasis. Unfortunately, it is too seldom used. Any change in pave or pattern will help a speaker to achieve a measure of emphasis. And of course we should not confuse volume with unction.

3. TONE:

                         A frequent fault of pulpit men is the so-called preachers tone or ministerial melody. This strange-glass voice is characterized by a habitual pitch tone, that is, it “makes statements sound like questions, the preacher gives a rising inflection at the end of indicative sentence just as he would with interrogative sentences.”

4. EMPHASIS:

                         There is a verbal form of underlining know as emphasis though which we stress important words and subdue those that are less important. Newkrik Lamar’s very helpful book, how to speak the written word, says that able communicators have generally avoided two pitfalls common to public speakers: Overdramatic speech and colorless speech. One, they have discovered is as bad as the other. Triumphed-up enthusiasm is readily detected. Audiences feel embarrassed in the presence of such speakers. They are trouble by the experience so much that they frequently, feel contempt for the charlatan. When this occurs in the pulpit it is especially heinous. Falseness in delivery marks the sermon with questionable ness. Frequently, falseness arises out of noble intentions. The preacher wants the people to be enthusiastic about his message, but when he finds no natural enthusiasm within him he restores to fabrication. The results are reciprocally disastrous. On the other hand, he becomes an actor (of the method school variety) instead of a person whose method is an indigenous whole characterized by verbal and naturalness.

GESTURES

            The language of the gesture is important. Many distinct and meaningful signals may be sent via the gesture. Generally, they should be omitted during the opening moments of the sermon because people are not yet prepared. They must first warm to the message and the messenger. Once the preacher and parishioners are involved in the sermon, gestures are very appropriate with in the total communicative process. One textbook on preaching says:

            There are four-conversasional gestures, so-called because they are the basic hand and arm movements from which all other gestures are derived. The index finger gesture is one of location and mild emphasis. The clenched fist denotes dramatic ad strong emphasis. The palm-up gesture reflects affirmative and ever pleading emotion. The palm-down gesture displays disapproval, rejection, or contempt. Descriptive gestures, which are variations and communications of the conversational actions, are as infinite as the moods they communicate. 

            Gestures are very easy for some, and very difficult for others. Whatever you do, make certain that your gestures are natural. Avoid these titled extremes of elocutionism. This is no place in a manuscript to record the appropriate gesture. If it comes, fine. If it does not come, well and good. They should not be tacked on. They should flow very naturally from a wholehearted involvement with the message being shared.

            What are the qualities of good Gesture? They certainly ought to be definite. Either makes a gesture or do not make it. There is no value to half with hands or flailing of the arms is always distracting. This king of perpetual motion is simply a nervous churning of the sir. Those who practice such gymnastics are advices to put their hands on the pulpit until they learn control. The ‘face fondlers’, ‘tied tightness’, and ‘pants jokers’.

            Gestures should be characterized by variety.  It is very easy to fall into some comfortable pattern in which you use the same gestures again and again. A thoughtful critic, church officer, or faithful friend should be regularly consulted to discourage if there is anything that needs attention. I once heard of an eccentric professor who, when his lecture approached a high point, would make a circular gesture in the air. And once he hit that point, he would puncture the circle with his pointed finger. Rather than being helpful, this move was looked upon by the class as rather humorous division from the otherwise dull lectures. Variety, not predictability, is essential. 

            Gesture ought to be properly timed. A gesture that is either premature or late confounds than confirms truth. Gestures, in summery, must flow naturally from the material as an indigenous part of the preacher’s total expression of truth.

EYE CONTACT

            Preaching is a form of conversation. It necessitates an awareness of the listener who is being addresses. When the congregation is viewed simply as blurred mass, the preacher is too wrapped us in his own thoughts and manuscripts of his listeners. Stevenson and Dielhl say:

When you talk with people look at them, one by one and see what they are saying back to you pantomimically. Keep yourself in dialogue with your listeners. Some ministers address their small congregations as though they were vast concourses of two thousand people. The late Charles H Spurgeon is said to have addressed two thousand people as though he were speaking personally to one man.

            Because the preachers are not caring on a soliloquy, they are to look people in the eye, not simply staring but seeing them so as to discover what their reactions are. The goal is more mental directness than more physical directness, a relationship with the listener, which makes him feel that the speaker is thinking of him and talking personally to him. This goal is difficult to achieve for the manuscript-bound preacher. According to one study, as would be expected, audience do prefer maintenance of good eye contact in a face-to-face situation.

            Speaker ought to gaze adequately toward each listener successively or toward well-spread representatives listeners when the audience is too large for contact with each individual. One should avoid looking downward, out the windows, or over the listener’s heads. Too much concentration on certain sections or individuals, while ignoring others should be avoided. One man whose messages are thoughtfully prepared and generally well delivered, gazes over the listeners heads to the back of the sanctuary. Although the truth he shares is important, one senses remoteness in the interchange. The electric spark, which should leap between pulpit and pew never, occurs when no eye contact is affected. The speaker should strive for a balance between blankness of expression and an intensity of eye contact created by starting. Adequately pause for a second or two with a listener, and then move to others. On the other hand, rapid eye movement, which is shifty and darting, which does not stay long enough on any individual, gives an impression of anxiety.

            Certain mechanical hindrances to eye contact should be cared for. Eye, glasses sometimes glare, especially when lighting is at a bad angle. Unbalanced or other wise inadequate lighting, a difficult angle between the pulpit and the pews, or placement of the speaker at too great a distance form the audience all these contribute to the problem. When there is a lack of eye contact a barrier is crated. People should inspire us; look at them in ordered that they may do it. Eye contact gives the speaker an opportunity to interpret the effect of what he says. Sensitivity to interpret the effect of what he says. Sensitivity needs to be developed-it will serve you well. Give everyone the impression that he is important and that you are interested in communicating with him.

 Fr. Albert Leo

Precious Blood Missionaries