Customer Reviews

An Introduction to the Homily

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Robert Waznak has provided an introduction to the homily that is ideal for the beginning preacher. After providing a brief journey through the evolution of Roman Catholic preaching, Waznak focuses on the post-Vatican II Church's call for the renewal of the contextual homily (versus sermonizing on doctrine & moral exhortation). The book reviews the five characterics of the homily in the Catholic tradition and then moves on to discuss the various images of the homilist as herald, teacher, interpreter and witness, with an emphasis on interpreting our contemporary lives in the context of the Word of God (bottom-up homiletics). The last chapter offers some wonderful insights as it contains Fr. Waznak's responses to "the most frequently asked questions" he has encountered regarding the homily. What I appreciate most about this book is Father Waznak's style of providing direction and encouragement without being so detailed and tedious as to overwhelm those who are but apprentices in the art of preaching. Yet, his notes at the end of each chapter are bibliographic goldmines of additional homiletic resources. This short volume is clear, easily comprehended, inspirational,hope-filled and encouraging.

Fr. Waznak has provided a very insightful and practical guide for the construction of homiles. Particularly helpful is the section entitled "Questions Often Asked about the Homily".

One area of concern: in section 2 "The Homilist as Herald, Teacher, Interpreter, and Witness" pp.56-57, he wrote that Karl Barth "...lived to regret that while he was a parish preacher during World War I he never mentioned the war in his sermons." The author sources PP.118-9 of K Barth's text "Homiletics".
However, if you turn to that text, you will see that Barth said just the opposite! This is not a trival matter. It goes to the heart of Fr. Waznak's premise in this section that the "...only acceptable option the homilist has is to engage a particular culture's habits of the heart with both the balm and the challenge of the gospel. Preaching becomes not a matter of ignoring or denouncing the world but confronting it with the gospel's power to transform." Barth's position was totally misrepresented to appear to support the authors contention. Barth believed that the text alone could provide the basis for relevancy, with out frequent resort to discussion of daily life or even illustration. Perhaps Barth later changed his mind, but not in that source.

Overall, the book is worth the price of admission. For those interested in the homily, this book is a good place to begin.

-Basic understanding of modern homiletics
-Not a "technical manual"...try something else for technique (although there is an excellent section in the back that can give some basic guidelines
-ESPECIALLY GOOD FOR THE PERSON WHO LISTENS TO HOMILIES