Many heads go into priest's voice

If the Sunday homily at St. John the Evangelist parish in Schenectady sounds familiar to Don Buckley, it's because he had a hand in its creation.

Mr. Buckley, a lector, belongs to a homily preparation group that assists Rev. Richard Carlino, pastor, in writing his Sunday talks. The group meets once a month to discuss upcoming readings, talk theology, share faith and discuss how the readings affect parishioners' lives.

The goals include helping Father Carlino to tailor his homilies to parishioners' needs, to help Catholics become more involved in the preparation process and to connect homilies to people in the pews.

Effective preaching

Father Carlino noted that he celebrates hundreds of wedding, funeral and weekend Masses every year.

"You are constantly preaching, and that is the challenge," he said. "I hope to become a more effective preacher. Studies have shown that many Americans are not happy with their [priests'] preaching. I want to touch people's lives; I want to tap into the sense of the faith of the people, to get a sense of their spiritual and human needs."

He welcomes the group members' "tremendous insights. They do their homework; they come prepared. I'm learning all the time."

Groundwork

The advisory group, which has been meeting for a year and a half, includes Father Carlino, Mr. Buckley, another lector from the parish and a student from neighboring Union College.

The members go over the readings, drawing out particular phrases and words that mean something to them, and engage in faith-sharing over it. As they do, they generate ideas, reactions and responses.

Mr. Buckley enjoys the give-and-take among the members and appreciates the views Father Carlino brings to the table, calling them a "mini-theology course."

Prep work

Mr. Buckley prepares for the sessions just as he gets ready to read on Sundays: He goes through the readings, sentence by sentence, studying them in depth. That process helps connect him more to the Mass.

"Simply listening once on Sunday, unless you're very familiar [with the readings], I find that you don't get much out of it," he explained.

Because he has taken part in the group, "the readings are familiar when you hear them on Sunday, and you say, 'I remember what we were thinking'" during the homily prep. "It makes for a much bigger impact."

Research

Father Carlino already has experience with this kind of group: As a doctoral student, he did part of the research for his dissertation by sitting down with pastoral care employees, doctors, nurses, patients and families at his assignment at that time (Albany Medical Center) to discuss homily ideas.

He hopes to extend homily prep to other parishioners, as well as add a second facet to the program: a monthly critique group of other parishioners for feedback so he can continue working on "style and effectiveness."

"People are giving me specifics all the time; for example, 'you speak too rapidly,' or 'you're too organized,'" he said. "I want to see what they like, too."

(3/23/06) [[In-content Ad]]