Preaching on Pornography

The following guest post is by Deacon Mike Schreck from Church of the Nativity parish. This post originally appeared on the website of My House Initiative, a dynamic outreach of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

Earlier this year, after attending an information session on the dangers of Internet pornography, and especially the resources now available to those who struggle in this area, I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart to preach on pornography. I am a husband and father of four, and also serve as a permanent deacon within the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. I usually preach a couple times a month, and in looking ahead at my preaching schedule, I noticed that I was scheduled to preach on the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time. In the Lectionary for that weekend, Matthew’s Gospel includes Jesus’ admonition that someone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:17-37), as well as the prophet Sirach’s encouragement that we can keep the Commandments (Sir. 15:15-20). Although I was naturally hesitant to preach on such a sensitive topic in front of men, women and children of all ages at a weekend Mass, in my heart I knew that was exactly what the Holy Spirit was calling me to do.

I knew that I needed to warn our parish families about the dangers of Internet pornography, but also that the primary focus of my preaching would be sharing the Good News of hope that is available to those who struggle with pornography. As missionary disciples, we must never condemn the sinner, but we must not shy away from sharing words of hope and encouragement to those who struggle with sin in this or other areas. With so many people of all ages struggling with Internet pornography, and the devastating affects that I know it is having on parishioners’ lives and their marriages, I knew that God was calling me to share the Good News that there is hope and that there are new avenues of support and encouragement now available to those who struggle in this area. And yet, I wasn’t sure how to go about crafting my message of hope on such a sensitive topic.

As I wouldn’t be preaching for another two weeks, I prayed about it a lot! But I didn’t stop there. I also sought input from my brother deacons, from Sam Meier, who coordinates the Archdiocese’s My House Initiative, and from other friends and family members. I ran through a couple drafts of my homily with my unofficial team of trusted advisors, who for the most part encouraged me and gave me good feedback, including recommendations on points I might want to include in my homily. And then, one weeknight while praying in the Church after work, I ran into a friend, who has young children of his own. I approached him and explained my plan to preach on pornography. My friend expressed his admiration that I would tackle such a difficult subject and his belief that there is a need for such preaching, but he also expressed concerns regarding the sensitivity of preaching on such a sensitive topic in front of young children, and of course their parents.

After reading through a draft copy of my homily, he stated that he really appreciated the positive manner in which I was tackling the subject, and he shared with me that he is actually a Covenant Eyes Accountability Partner for one of his relatives and several of his friends, one of whom had actually lost his job as a result of viewing pornography at work. With that being said, he also recommended that I not use the word “pornography” so much, but after mentioning pornography at the beginning of the homily, use references such as “viewing explicit images” or “visiting inappropriate websites” throughout the rest of the homily.

Making this change probably made the homily easier for parents of young children to hear, but it definitely made the homily easier for me to preach as I practiced it with my wife and children, and when I then preached the homily at four of the Church of the Nativity’s five Masses that weekend. The congregation’s response to the homily was pretty amazing. I am used to parishioners sharing words of appreciation and encouragement as they depart, but more than any Mass before or since that weekend, I was struck by the depth of appreciation expressed by a large number of parishioners that waited to come over and shake my hand, express their appreciation, and request copies of my homily to share with friends and family members. Most of these parishioners were men, but I received positive feedback from a number of mothers and wives as well. One parishioner was almost in tears as she asked for a copy of my homily that she might take and share with her husband at home. For weeks afterward, I ran into parishioners in a variety of settings, who thanked me for my homily or asked that I e-mail them a copy that they could share with others.

I was hesitant to take on such a delicate topic, but with the support and encouragement of others, I followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of hope to those who struggle with pornography. With so many men, women and children struggling with Internet pornography and pornographic novels, there is a need for more clergy to share the Good News of hope to those who are struggling. In the words of the prophet Sirach, “You can keep the Commandments.” With God, all things are possible.

Here is the text of Deacon Schreck’s inspiring homily.

Homily Help

Pope Francis devotes a substantial portion (paragraphs 135-59) of his apostolic exhortation on the joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, or “EG”) to the preparation and delivery of homilies, as he recognizes their pivotal role in the proclamation of the Gospel.

One cannot help but chuckle at the Holy Father’s opening comment that homilies can be a source of suffering for ordained ministers and the faithful alike (EG 135). Yet, the fact that most people will readily nod their heads at this light-hearted comment shows that the Church too often falls short in this area. For this reason, it is refreshing that the Pope would pay such meticulous attention to all that goes into the preparation of a homily, recognizing that through the homily God reaches out in love to His people (EG 136).

The Pope stresses the liturgical, Eucharistic context of the homily, which requires that the homily is less a time for meditation or catechesis than it is a time for an encounter between God and the community (EG 137). The homily is a distinctive type of presentation, one that is neither “entertainment” nor a dry speech or lecture (EG 138). It should not be so long that the minister, rather than the Lord Himself, becomes the center of attention.

Pope Francis reminds us that the Church is our mother.  Her preaching should be likened to the way a mother speaks to her child. The faithful should always come away from a homily knowing that they are loved and trusting that the Church has their best interests at heart (EG 139). This “warmth” is fostered by preaching in the faithful’s native language (EG 139) and by the engaging, joyful, and unpretentious manner of the homilist (EG 140-41).

The Holy Father considers preaching to be something much more than the cold, detached communication of truth. Rather, in the homily, truth goes hand in hand with beauty and goodness and is thereby ordered to a heart-to-heart encounter with the Lord (EG 142). This emphasis on the heart is a game-changer, as it moves the typical response from one of boredom to one of authentic fervor (EG 143). Still, it’s not enough that our hearts be on fire; they must also be enlightened by the fullness of divine Revelation (EG 144). This Revelation gives us our identity and makes us desire the embrace of our heavenly Father.

Pope Francis then turns to the important subject of homily preparation. He says that a “prolonged” period of study, prayer, reflection, and “pastoral creativity” must be devoted to the homily. A preacher who does not take this admonition to heart is, according to the Holy Father, “dishonest and irresponsible” (EG 145).

The homilist prayerfully approaches the Mass readings. These biblical texts must provide the subject matter for the homily. The ordained minister manifests “reverence for the truth” by patiently and humbly striving to understand the meaning of a particular text (EG 146). While every detail is important, the preacher must never lose sight of the primary message that the sacred author is trying to convey. For example, “if a text was written to console, it should not be used to correct errors” (EG 147).

Also, to ensure that a passage is not taken out of context, it must be read in light of “the entire Bible handed on by the Church” (EG 148; cf. Catechism, no. 112).

A point of emphasis for Pope Francis is that the preacher must have “a great personal familiarity with the Word of God” (EG 149). He’s not referring here to scholarly erudition, but rather holiness. “Whoever wants to preach must be the first to let the Word of God move him deeply and become incarnate in his daily life” (EG 150). People “thirst for authenticity,” and this thirst can only be quenched by preachers who are living witnesses to what they preach.

In fact, Pope Francis quite bluntly states that a homilist who does not spend time with the Word of God in prayer is “a false prophet, a fraud, a shallow imposter” (EG 151).

As one traditional way of listening to God’s Word, the Holy Father recommends lectio divina. Such a meditative reading of Scripture begins with a study of the literal sense of the text but then leads to the consideration of the spiritual senses, so as to bring about personal enlightenment and renewal in Christ (EG 152; cf. Catechism, nos. 116-17). We must never stop taking pleasure in the daily encounter with God’s Word! (EG 153).

The Pope then turns to the question of how to bring the message to the people. He says that it’s not a matter of “shrewdness or calculation” but a matter of “evangelical discernment,” which leads the preacher in the Spirit to say what the people really need to hear (EG 154). Therefore, the homilist must not seek to answer questions people don’t have, nor should he strive simply to be hip or interesting—the Pope says we have TV for that! (EG 155).

The Holy Father says homilists should frequently use “images” that help the faithful connect the message to their own lives (EG 157). The best homilies are simple, clear, direct, and well-adapted to the audience (EG 158). And, in the concluding the section, Pope Francis calls for homilies that are “positive” (EG 159), which offer hope, point to the future, and offer attractive ways to grow in love of God and neighbor.

Preaching to the Masses?

On occasion the issue arise as to who may give the homily at Mass. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) provides clear guidance on this issue:

“The Homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant himself. He may entrust it to a concelebrating priest or occasionally, according to circumstances, to the deacon, but never to a lay person. In particular cases and for a just cause, the homily may even be given by a Bishop or a priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate” (no. 66, footnote omitted).

Similarly, the Code of Canon Law, canon 767, provides:

“Among the forms of preaching, the homily, which is part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to a priest or deacon, is preeminent; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year. . . . It is for the pastor or rector of a church to take care that these prescripts are observed conscientiously.”

The requirement that the homily be given by an ordained minister is not a denigration of the laity. In fact, it should be noted that all baptized Catholics have the right and duty “to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 900). Through Baptism, all Christians participate in Christ’s prophetic office, and are called to bear witness to the Gospel not only by example, but also by proclaiming the Word of God to believers and non-believers alike (cf. Catechism, nos. 904-07).

Homilies, World Youth Day, and the Rosary

I wasn’t going to blog today, but I came across a couple articles at Catholic News Agency that I thought were worth sharing.

First, in “Reaching teens: the priest who roared,” Mary Hasson tells about a recent experience of her teenage son, who was won over by the homily of a visiting priest whose passion was contagious. I think there’s an important lesson there not only for priests and deacons, but for all of us when it comes to communicating our faith to others. In addition, I don’t think young people are the only ones who sometimes need to hear a passionate, challenging presentation of the Gospel!

Second, in “Experiencing the universal,” Jessica Harris provides an interesting insight on the value of World Youth Days to get youth to think outside their “bubble” as members of a Church that is truly universal–something we need to do even when WYD isn’t going on.

Also, ZENIT reports that at this week’s Wednesday Audience,  Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the daily recitation of the Rosary, emphasizing that it is a tool to grow in the theological virtues and a path for cooperating in the plan of salvation. He referred to the Rosary as a “school of prayer for us,” and he expressed his wish that the month of October, which is dedicated to the Rosary, would assist in discovering “the beauty of this simple but efficacious prayer.”

For our archdiocesan posts on the Rosary this month, click here.