MOSAIC, Fall 2009

 

The complaint had been a bee in the fishing hat of the late Fr. Paul Berg for years. The former emeritus professor of philosophy was well aware of how the homilies of parish priests are sometimes viewed as less than inspiring— the presentation as well as content.

The seminary administration, inspired by Father Berg's concern, decided to address the issue at its source by developing a "Preaching skills workshop" for second-year philosophy students. "It was more like a 'preaching boot camp,'" laughs Fr. Eric Weber, assistant professor of theology, about the new course that was held twice per week during term 3, from May 4-25. Father Weber oversaw the course, which was developed primarily by vice rector and dean of formation, Fr. Michael Byrnes.

The workshop had two goals: to instruct the students on the mechanics of effective public speaking, and to ensure the homilies of these future priests would be centered on preaching the undiluted Word of God.

Goal one was accomplished during the 10:00 AM-2:30 PM sessions, with a one hour break in between. Art Beer, chair of the theater department at the University of Detroit Mercy, and his wife, Mary, were brought in to drill the ten philosophy undergraduates on proper presentation techniques, for example, how to use the mouth and tongue to better enunciate consonant sounds. In the afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Beer presented a series of theater exercises that reinforced what the students learned in the morning. One drill had the seminarians memorizing and performing dramatic monologs from various dramas, during which the Beers scrutinized the correct use of inflection and gesture.

 

"I believe these theater experts pulled them out of their comfort zones, to say the least," says Father Weber, "but they handled it all impressively." He noted with a smile how seminarian Patrick Gonyeau threw himself into playing the part of a Baptist preacher from a popular play.

Father Weber was in charge of the second session, from 3 PM-4 PM. Here, goal two was addressed: that every homily should be centered not so much on, for example, the personal experience of the homilist, but instead on the living and active Word of God.

"Homilists should preach the message that Jesus preached," says Father Weber. "That is what will transform the hearts and minds of the congregation."

Seminarian James Grau confirmed the value of the preaching workshop. "It was a great help in preparing us for our homiletics course we will take later as graduate students. I have become more aware of the particular areas of public speaking I struggle with, and more importantly, how to overcome them."

 "Before we become fishers of men, we need to prepare," says seminarian Bechare Sato. "To proclaim the Gospel, we need good methods and this seminar helped with that."

Simply put, "It was a very potent experience," says Gonyeau.
To drive home further the objectives of the "boot camp," the students traveled to two parishes to practice their new skills before a live audience. At Guardian Angels Parish in Clawson, they delivered practice homilies to the parish staff and to parishioners who were invited to remain after morning Mass. The parishioners of St. John Neumann Parish in Canton Township critiqued the homilies, as well, even filling out evaluation forms after each presentation.

"It was wonderful to see these guys grow," says Father Weber. "If they really grew as much as it seemed to me as an observer, then the amount of growth was tremendous."

In fact, say Father, the workshop was so effective it convicted the priests on the formation team to reconsider the way they deliver their own homilies. "Hey, this course might be good for us to take, too!" Father Weber recalls some of the team members saying—including himself—in the workshop evaluation sessions.