After the morning Mass, and breakfast, I have embraced a slow day today during which I can prepare more carefully the sermon for tomorrow’s Mass in the Cathedral of Camden for the Assumption.
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Do Priests every get homily writer’s block? I always wonder how the Holy Father especially thinks of new things to say, since his every word is recorded!
Hopefully the Holy Spirit has something to do with it, along with ‘pondering the Word of God’ as Mary did. However I am glad that, unlike the Pope, my homilies are neither recorded nor written down to be checked later! However like all homilists, including the Pope, I do sometimes get the ‘I know what you really meant Father’- guaranteed to be something I not only didn’t mean but hadn’t even thought of! One last thought: it is often the homilies I am least happy with that make the greatest impact- an invitation to humility if ever there was one!
“…t is often the homilies I am least happy with that make the greatest impact- an invitation to humility if ever there was one!”
Amen!
Often we priests will hear a parishioner say: Twas a fine sermon ya gave Father! And I often think and would love to say: thank you, but could you tell what I said? LOL!
Father, is there any chance that the Assumption Mass will be either audio/video recorded so those of us who can’t make it to Camden can still hear your sermon?
Anthony: Possibly.
Hi, John, please come back to Cleveland, the beautful weather arrived with you and left with you. Sadly, we here had to work all day leaving only a scant 90 minutes for homily prep . . . and Celebration does a bad job helping with the holy days. There’s always the JBC!
Dear Father Westsider,
I have an unusual favor to ask of you. Would you mind addressing Father Zuhlsdorf as “Father” on the blog? I suppose that among you priests, you routinely call each other by your first names, but it embarasses some of us laymen to be privy to your personal conversations. It’s kind of like watching your parents kiss–you know they do it, but please, not in front of the kids! He’ll always be “Father” to most of us and you addressing him otherwise makes us feel, well, uncomfortable.
With all due respect,
Tomas Lopez
Tomas, I have to say your post had me laughing for quite a while lol
Cecilia: Me too! If I had been drinking something, I would have done a “spit-take”!
Tomas, I’m not getting the joke. W/S
No joke to be gotten, Father.
Tomas – I see you point and I must say that I agree that I always prefer that Priests are addressed as Father in my presence, too. To me, it is much like the wearing of a Roman Collar. I think it is so important in this culture that there be vigilance about the fact that Priests are set apart – especially around women, although I think it applies generally. So, is it fair to say that Tomas is saying something like – it is fine if you want to go jogging together in sweat suits, but it is helpful if you please wear a Roman Collar around me? If so, it is like the standard I hold my girls to – there are things I let them wear in the house due to the appropriateness of our family intimacy that I would never in a million years allow them to wear outside.
Thank you, AveCrux. I guess everyone else just thinks my request is inappropriate–or a joke.
Not so much inappropriate but retro.
Retro. I’ll take it–I’ve been called worse.