More credible, better-prepared homilies to give more relevance to God’s Word, as explained to the congregation. This came to the fore from the 20 free speeches, lasting five minutes each, given during yesterday afternoon’s session of the Episcopal Synod, which is under way in Rome. The synodal fathers, as illustrated today at a briefing in the Vatican newsroom, stressed the need to make homilies more credible and better prepared. They must be taken from God’s Word, not from other sources, and in giving them the priest must not start disputes or, even worse, go against the people. To be a good preacher, they said, one must know Jesus well and then have a life of prayer. From this perspective, the 54 Sundays of the year offer a great opportunity to evangelise and announce the Word, overcoming a certain religious illiteracy. Practical suggestions were given too, for instance to encourage the priests to read more and get more information since the seminary, provide easier translations of the Bible, use such aids as Sunday leaflets that can be taken home for meditation, and even recommend appropriate hearing aids for better hearing.” ” ” “
