4-Week Course
Overview
Learn how to craft an engaging homily, and cultivate the study, prayer, and pastoral practices that will support you as work to feed the congregation on the Word of God. Deepen your appreciation of the sacramentality of the Word, your mediating role as a preacher, and the communal functions of preaching.
Topics include preaching as a vocation, the homiletic form, crafting for the ear rather than the eye, and consultation with the congregation. Based on the Boston College resource Touchstones for Preaching, this course is designed for ordained and lay preachers to explore how to craft an engaging homily and to share tips on how to cultivate the habits needed to compose and deliver weekly homilies.
Topics
- Week 1 - Introduction to the course
- Week 2 - Crafting the Homily
- Week 3 - Integrating the Process of Preparing a Homily into One’s Life
- Week 4 - Using Consultation
Special Features
This course includes:
- Discussion of four video presentations by Rev. Msgr. James A. Mongelluzzo and Rev. William T. Kelly available at bc.edu/preaching;
- Text transcripts of each featured video;
- A study guide written by Dr. Barbara Radtke that guides participants through the course material;
- Weekly questions for reflection and discussion; and
- A regularly updated Resources page for further study of topics discussed in this course.
All STM Online: Crossroads courses include these features
- Participants have access 24 hours/7 days a week to the course's password-protected web site.
- Each participant belongs to a small Community for Conversation and faith sharing guided by a facilitator.
- The course site is usually available to participants at least three months after the course has ended.
- An orientation in how to navigate the web site is always available.
- Technical assistance is easy to contact and prompt in returning a message.
- A Certificate of Active Participation is awarded to those who post at least three messages of substance for each week of content.
Time Commitment
A participant can expect to spend an average of approximately 3-4 hours each week. This commitment includes both the assigned reading and interaction online.
Certificate Requirement Categories
- Spirituality and Prayer
- Sacraments and Liturgy
Content Scholars:
Rev. Msgr. James A. Mongelluzzo, (video), a priest of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, and faculty member at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary and William T. Kelly, S.T.D., a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston.
