(Vatican Radio) The Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium or The Joy of the
Gospel is continuing to draw reaction and comment from scholars, NGO’S and the media.
One of the areas which has provoked interest has been the Holy Father’s remarks on
preaching the Gospel. In the document Pope Francis says the homily “should be brief
and avoid taking on the semblance of a speech or a lecture… it should be a “heart-to-heart
communication” and avoid “purely moralistic or doctrinaire” preaching”. Speaking
to Lydia O’Kane about the theme of Homiletics in the Exhortation, Jesuit Father Michael
Rogers who was the coordinator of English-language outreach and catechetical efforts
for the Society at World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil and is pursuing advanced studies
in Fundamental Theology at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University says the homily
“is supposed to be a dialogue between the preacher and his congregation, the sense
that if the Homilist, be it either a Deacon or a Priest… if somebody is preaching,
one of the things that should be happening is that you have already listened to the
community and that you have listened to the word of God and that those things coming
together, that’s where you find the message.” Fr Rogers adds that Pope Francis
does not want preachers to use theological language that won’t make sense to people
outside. Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Jesuit Father Michael Rogers