Why most sermons are AWFUL (and three steps to fix them)

Preaching is such an important part of the Christian worship experience. Unfortunately, it is not always a good one. Here's what I think is wrong with most liturgical preaching and three steps to improve it.
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[@SnowyLynn225]

I grew up a very convicted atheist. I was angry and hostile against even the idea of faith. At university a friend brought me along with her to church, just to show me what it was like. I agreed to go along, just because it was important to her and I was curious. I imagined it was going to be like all the Remembrance Sunday or School Christmas Services I had been dragged along to as a Girl Guide, i.e. monotonous, stuffy, stuck in the past. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was the sermon that really caught me - for the first time, I felt like I was actually hearing the message, like the sermon was addressed to me personally, as if the Priest had looked inside my heart and saw all the pain I harboured there. I remember trying to hold back tears. Needless to say, I kept going back to that church, joined a Bible study group and eventually had an experience that just convinced me there had to be some truth in the matter and I ended up getting Confirmed a year later. A good sermon can change lives

[@GinoMEGuain]

Amen.

[@moses2998]

Im curious, why were you hostile and angry against the idea of faith? And what did the priest exactly say in his sermon that spoke to you?

[@rhwinner]

Comment of the Month. Bless you and yours.

[@SnowyLynn225]

@@moses2998 I think more than anything, the anger came from a place of jealousy. I was hurting and so wrapped up in my own pain that I was angry that people could find peace through faith; I thought they were burying their heads in the sand and that they could write off the unjust suffering of others by saying “it is God’s will” or “there are things we can’t understand”. This is the subject the Priest approached in his sermon, but also that of pain and forgiveness. I was so embittered against the world and thought I knew better than anyone else. It was only when I heard the Priest discuss the importance of forgiveness and acceptance, not as a form of weakness as I had always seen it, but as a form of liberation, that I could recognise how much of my own pain was caused by the grudges and anger I held.

[@moses2998]

@@SnowyLynn225 Do you remember that what he said when he explained the pain/suffering of others and the idea of God’s will?

[@justpinkcandy]

the best homilies i've heard are ones where the officiant shows how to apply the gospel/readings to my daily life

[@GoFartherPodcast]

Word up! Literally!

[@albertfuertes2794]

Exactly! I use to fall asleep during sermons. When something the Priest says wakes me up is a sign that he is saying something interesting...

[@yoda40]

Yes I agree . So much easier to understand as is such an important part of our life

[@kentmathewgargantiel4312]

we have a priest like that here. and he is so funny

[@racheldemain1940]

I heard a lovely Homily last week, The Preacher asked us to look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan and how we identify with those involved in the story and how, at times, we can be a mixture of all of them. It is a Parable that we know well, almost without really delving into it so to re-discover those we feel familiar with is interesting.

[@acrusader.1801]

Fr. Casey, my brother isn't that religious, but surprisingly he really enjoys watching your videos! May God reward you eternally!

[@johnmulvey5121]

Yes! We should all encourage one another to spread the word by distributing these clips of Fr Casey's and Bishop Baron's talks and sermons, also available here on You Tube .

[@bentoth9555]

I'm in the same boat. Haven't been in a church in something like ten years but I love Father Casey's videos.

[@marietav7342]

God has given Fr. Casey wisdom and keeps increasing it in him because he loves, supports and defends Pope Francis and the TRUE Catholic Church headed by Pope Francis thats why his good influence on people is great and he has already converted many people through his effective sermons and good examples. Praise God!

[@derekmorgan3074]

I'm not Catholic, but I really, really love these vids.

[@GinoMEGuain]

@@marietav7342 Your post has warmed up my heart. God bless you! ❤

[@penny1186]

When my daughter was a toddler she used to say loudly in church “is it over yet?”. Our father was wonderful. at the end of mass he started to say “It’s over now” to everyone with a big smile on his face. He also had times he would tell stories to the children and then explain to the congregation how it applied to the gospel readings. He was wonderful and our whole family, even my daughter and father and mother-in-law loved him. He is now retired and we miss him greatly. Everyone since has been boring. They don’t try to show their human side or care about the children.

[@haywoodjblome4768]

@@frcasycole4824 Imagine faking a scenario of a baby getting leukemia just to scam people out of their money. That's just sad

[@milantoth6246]

@@frcasycole4824 you are one terrible human being.

[@rhwinner]

Fr Jim at St Jude's in Westlake grew up on a farm 20 miles from his parish and liberally sprinkles his homilies with stories and lessons from his childhood. We thank God for him every day...

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you....

[@karenkushla3975]

My favorite chestnut from one of my favorite priests: "Jesus was preaching the Old Testament. He couldn't preach from the New Testament because it hadn't been written yet." I was in the choir, facing the congregation, and had to squelch my giggles.

[@jurgenmateuseichelbaum324]

Isn't curious that this video came to my feed exactly when I was stuck in the preparation of a sermon? Thank you, Father Casey, and may the blessing of God be upon you always!

[@MatrixRefugee]

The Holy Spirit must've had a hand in it.

[@jollygoodyo]

@@MatrixRefugee Or the Almighty Google

[@kathyalex778]

Now I feel less guilty when I may get bored during a homily. I really think more priests should be taking public speaking classes, lessons, or at least accepting feedback because it matter what they're saying but also HOW they say it, especially to capture the attention of young people in church.

[@stephenjohnson9632]

The biggest problem with homilies in the Church is that it guides, but doesn’t teach or evangelize. Many Catholics, especially ex-Catholics, can’t/couldn’t explain the kerygma. Priests should remember that many don’t know the very basics of the Christian faith and it should be the goal of each priest to never let it be said that someone who went to Mass never was taught that God sent His Son, Jesus to die for their sins and rose again the third day in victory over sin and death and it is through faith and faithfully believing in and abiding in Christ that one may enter eternal life. That is my goal as a catechist, but it must also be the goal of the priests, lest the Church be not much more than a self-help group with a dash of Jesus. We cannot afford to offer this anymore. It is harvest time in the midst of war. We must not lose sight of this. More must be asked of the hearts and minds of those in the pews. We are sheep in need of a tender shepherd, but we are also warriors in need of a commander under the authority of the King.

[@frankrault3190]

I'm very happy you say! When I was a kid, missionaries went from my country (in Europe) to Africa. Now, several decades later, our country runs short on priests. The bisshops did invite African priest to give a hand and share the faith with the locals. What they saw left these new African priests with some dreadful feelings: The congregation, as some of them said, seemed to be as dead as a mummy, lacking even the tiniest traces of the warming fire of faith.

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

Amen, amen, amen, you took the words right out of my brain.

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

@@frankrault3190 That is the danger that forcing Christianity out of the public square does, as has been done in many western European countries, it is yet another means of smothering the flames of faith, when parents don’t teach their children, when schools don’t teach their students, and win people try and put God in a box to keep him from actually changing them. It is all part of this idea which is extremely prevalent in Protestantism, and unfortunately seems to be becoming more prevalent in Catholicism, that the church must move with the world, rather than moving the world.

[@1234poppycat]

@@frankrault3190 The African priest we had for a time was very difficult to understand . His accent was mostly inpenetrable .. We told him this eventually after he reacted with amazement that we did not respond to what he said but he carried on the same !!

[@SoleaGalilei]

As a former teacher, I can relate to a lot of this. Putting yourself in the shoes of a student who doesn't already know the material is one of the hardest things, and I think you touched on that when you talking about imagining the questions someone else might have about scripture. And exactly as you say, it's not realistic to teach everything about a topic in one lecture or even one semester, but if you can inspire the students to want to learn, they'll keep learning long after they leave your class.

[@janesse5675]

The most memorable homilies I remember are the ones that truly make a connection to people. The more personal the topics are, the more united I feel with the church if that makes sense. Father Casey, I started reading your book and I hear your voice narrating in my mind from watching so many of your videos! I love it so far and I've learned a lot from only a few chapters in!

[@lorijones1015]

My Priest is a passionate speaker and his homilies are relevant and holy. Our community is blessed.

[@abehalex7294]

As a priest, my best moment is sharing the Word. I look forward to preaching always. One thing which I have always done to help me in preaching is always to stay focused on the text and not ruminate over many ideas. Every good homily makes ONE point. Thanks for this Fr.

[@musicmama2864]

Yes! Make your point and stay focused. I want my kids to leave Mass remembering the message. God bless you, Father.

[@ontarioguyincalgary4845]

Thank you father and pray for me please 🙏

[@treeroofgrass]

In my observation, when the homily is preached extemporaneously, those are 100000000000 times better than something well prepared but read verbatim off a typed document. Reading the homily is the worst because it just turns into a cold intellectual data-dump

[@josephlim6854]

This is not easy for any priest in any community. What can grab a teenager's attention may be different from a grandparent's. The points you mentioned are very helpful --- especially the strong concise phrase or sentence that can easily be remembered (and repeat it a few times throughout the homily.) One thing that may also help is improving audio in church as it's hard to understand the priest in certain churches where one can clearly hear an echo or if the fan or air conditioning nearby is so overpowering it's hard to hear the priest.

[@musicmama2864]

A good homily attracts my teenage sons as well as it does me and my husband. It does that because it's about Jesus/prophets and humanity. I always tell them they'll get a small treat after Mass if they can tell me something from the homily. They listen!

[@johnmulvey5121]

Right, the audio is important and often bad. The concise phrase or sentence is good too!

[@milianamorowitz79]

@@musicmama2864 p

[@yalechuk6714]

In my place we usually have a specific mass for teenagers and kids

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

@@yalechuk6714 I’m not really a big fan of that, as it to an extent treats younger people as less capable of understanding the gospel, a good homily is like a Pixar movie, capable of being enjoyed and understood by people of all ages.

[@Abelard4567]

I'm a licensed preacher in my tradition. I love preaching. I find that people often don't hear what I thought I was saying. I think that I say things and God uses it to speak to people. I do my best to prepare good sermons, and, I hope, God works through that.

[@edwardallan1449]

For three years in my ministry and as a young ordained, preparing my homily is the most difficult part. I really feel the pressure. There are some times that my homily seems to be ok but there are some times that I don't even understand what I am really saying or I have a fear that people might not understand it. But what keeps me to continue in preaching is because the Word of God never runs of words. It continue to inspire us, it continue to give as life. And now, I started my Facebook page in order to continue to preach even in social media. Thank you for this video.

[@musicmama2864]

May the Holy Spirit inspire you to reach your audience!

[@learnbibleversethroughpict6027]

@@musicmama2864 Amen🙏🙏

[@michaeljoealvarez1551]

Will be praying for all priests. May the Holy Spirit guide them in their homilies. 🙏🏻

[@asianhippy]

Even the ones who commit gross crimes against children? Then get special protection from the church.

[@mekavio8231]

@@asianhippy indeed, there is no good from the church... as for any religion.. just use common sense please, there is no god watching over you, just you...

[@alhilford2345]

And may the Holy Spirit guide them in their faith.

[@mekavio8231]

@@alhilford2345 there is no holy spirit..

[@learnbibleversethroughpict6027]

Amen🙏🙏

[@montecarloss305]

We've encountered priests who give great, energizing, and interactive homilies, but don't seem to care about the Eucharist. The cult of personality should never overshadow the true realities of the Mass. Blessed are the parishes that have both great preaching and a priest that believes in the True Presence in their words and actions.

[@ThePolishRapunzel]

This video was so on point! My husband and I will now start going back to in-person mass again as we are fully vaccinated. But we were enamored by virtual Sunday masses that we watched during the pandemic that were from a parish that is in a different state. Watching mass was very enjoyable and enlightening at this particular parish. Whereas, I fear my mind will wander during masses at the church by our house because I feel that the homilies are usually disjointed and rarely have any relationship to my own experiences or the world as I know it. I will try to make an effort to get the most out of mass as I can. I think preaching is a gift that unfortunately not everyone has, but maybe the art of preaching can be taught better in seminaries.

[@barblacy619]

We went back to mass last June, the Eucharist isn’t the same without Precious Blood, but I understand. I still watch several on line mass homilies I just fast forward to the homily. It is enriching to see the same Scriptures from various angles. Besides I can’t hug the TV.

[@yobgodababua1862]

A good homily really prepares you to lovingly accept the body and blood. I have been blessed to have had several pastors who had a knack to really digging into the reading and finding a way to make us THINK about what the word really means to us as people as faith... (One of them was a Franciscan, but several were Jesuits)

[@susankesia1783]

Perhaps some priests aren’t meant to preach, but only teach! I thank you, Fr. Casey, for spreading your net along these KZbin lines so I can have a conversation with another person about my faith by listening to your videos. Shalom

[@maryhildreth754]

The priests style is really important in my opinion. I've seen lecture style, casual storytime style, and at protestant churches I've seen fire and brimstone emotional style. Unfortunately I've also seen dry monotone style as well and I've also seen some who always manage to guilt and blame the listener. I know we arent supposed to go church shopping to find the priest who we like best (and some actually look for the prettiest church instead) and we are supposed to go to the church that serves our area, but here in Alabama I have noticed that so many people will drive an hour to fill up a church with a priest who can give a good homily, while the church five minutes from their home has barely 20 people there. How common is church shopping and what do you think about it?

[@treeroofgrass]

I notice the same thing. Churches with good homilies have full pews, others like the church I attend, the priest is ok, preaches an orthodox message, but isn’t great at delivery...let’s just say the church has been social distancing for a decade.

[@Murph_gaming]

The fire and brimstone schtick gets old too, it's like ok instead of rambling about everything you think is wrong with the world why don't you encourage your congregation to be better people and thus better Christians through acts of charity, showing mercy and compassion?

[@carlosreyesf19]

I sometimes feel guilty for getting distracted during the sermon, though I guess it's not always my fault haha

[@emftechEE]

Great to see you over here in this channel bro, it’s great for our soul…

[@carlosreyesf19]

@@emftechEE hahaha well, I got to know this channel thanks to you!

[@clauAra.2176]

I take notes during de homily and review them during the week.

[@mariamarquez7417]

Klaus Espi..same here..I even told our Parish Priest and I attend mass daily..thought I'm the only one

[@b1denison]

I totally agree! I’ve been through homilies that nearly put me to sleep. Also. Please don’t just regurgitate the scripture to me, tell me something of relevance that brings the gospel to life.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@matthewkennedy6213]

Br Casey, I go to Mass every weekend (as I’ve done all my life) but it’s your homilies that I eagerly look forward to every Monday morning for consolation, guidance and inspiration. Thank you and please keep up the great work.

[@WHix-om4yo]

Many thanks Fr. Casey! I grew up in the deep south as a Baptist. The impression that I got as a kid was that we are all going to hell and unless we followed some undefined path to "salvation". Sermons went on for an hour, harping on a passage from the old Testament, often never connecting with the Gospels or even mentioning Jesus Christ. Then, 20 years ago I came home. As a Catholic, I feel like a 'real Christian'. I listen to every homily with interest, trying to tie the Gospels into life. Most of the homilies that I have heard and read have shown real effort and are inspirational in their own way. However, the most memorable and moving homilies all came from priests belonging to a congregation known as the 'Passionists'. Don't get me wrong, because I love your homilies, as well as those from Bishop Robert Baron and Fr. Mike Schmitz on KZbin. Keep the Faith!

[@frcaseycole4135]

My dearly beloved Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior . As you will recall, The challenges presented by the 2020 was unprecedented and unexpected in the annals of recent history.The entire world was so down for about three monthsBy the coronavirus pandemic that was not a respecter of persons,class,status,religion,nations and kingdoms. The Pandemic was a levelers of humanity,systems and governments and it brought to bear everyone that the only thing that important denominators in the existence and essence of man and humanity is the omnipotence and sovereignty of the Almighty God. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God”(psalm 61:11).I saw a vision that you should support a child that is sick of leukemia in a motherless Foundation in Nigeria called Saviour Motherless Foundation,support the child finically and “God will open all your closed doors and bless you abundantly” ([e-mail] ) God bless you

[@tatianaroldan3364]

I believe there is no boring Homilies!When you go with an open heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always present. Therefore, rejoice and blessed His Holy name for granting you the opportunity to listen the Holy Gospel!!! Amen ✝️🙏✝️

[@DragonMama-yt3zs]

I would just be happy if somebody would teach a certain priest that I know that ending every sentence with okay is not exactly the best way to give a sermon.

[@luluq01]

HUGE ISSUE! Glad to hear you address this because I truly feel it directly correlates to people leaving the Church. You are an excellent communicator. I look forward to your videos/homilies. Personally, from attending mass through the years, I can recite almost every gospel by memory. Nothing new- or so I thought. It was only after connecting with Bishop Barron that I listened to the Word and it became the Word on Fire. His ability to explain, to bring us into the times, mentality, and culture of the times when the gospel was written has drawn me many times to think “so that is what that gospel meant!” He picks up on every nuance in those readings. The gospel becomes alive. I found a priest at a local parish who had the ability to move us this way. Last week we were told he is being transferred to another parish in a different city. Back to square one…

[@powerofk]

Here's the thing, Fr. Casey - if the priest is a good homilist, he will keep the congregation enraptured even if his homily is half an hour long (Pope St. John Paul II was famous for hour-long homilies; another example is our recently passed Fr. Graham Golden, O. Praem., who often had homilies that were 20-30 minutes long, but never seemed that way). If he isn't a good homilist, even a 5 minute homily feels like forever.

[@frcaseycole4135]

My dearly beloved Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior . As you will recall, The challenges presented by the 2020 was unprecedented and unexpected in the annals of recent history.The entire world was so down for about three monthsBy the coronavirus pandemic that was not a respecter of persons,class,status,religion,nations and kingdoms. The Pandemic was a levelers of humanity,systems and governments and it brought to bear everyone that the only thing that important denominators in the existence and essence of man and humanity is the omnipotence and sovereignty of the Almighty God. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God”(psalm 61:11).I saw a vision that you should support a child that is sick of leukemia in a motherless Foundation in Nigeria called Saviour Motherless Foundation,support the child finically and “God will open all your closed doors and bless you abundantly” ([e-mail] ) God bless you

[@powerofk]

@@frcaseycole4135 Yeah, though Fr. Graham did not die from the pandemic - he was killed due to injuries received from a horrific car crash in which he was T-boned while he was pulling out of the Norbertine Abbey to go get pizza. Oddly enough, the reason why he was going to get pizza is because he missed the group dinner due to administering the anointing of the sick to a very sick person in the hospital. Fortunately, the driver involved is facing charges, and he turned himself in. And the city of Albuquerque petitioned the state to rename a major street after Fr. Graham.

[@tesschavit3009]

Let us pray for all our priests who dedicate themselves to their people with generosity and unknown sacrifices

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@kstepko]

The same thing happened in the congregation I attended and in many others on the Sunday after 9/11. Despite a steady stream of people dropping by the church all week, so incredibly troubled, the sermon that was already written prior to the 11th was what we heard on Sunday morning. It happened on a Tuesday! There was ample time to write a new one!

[@Mjl449]

I once attended a church where the priest was a huge fan of The Soporanos and would try to relate what he was talking about to an episode to explain it better. His love for The Sopranos was hilarious and made what he had to say very interesting and relatable in today’s terms.

[@amycummingsirishdancemom8467]

Oh man what an awesome priest. I would love that!!

[@mirandamaples]

I wish I could have heard his homilies! ❤

[@blaisemacpherson7637]

That actually sounds pretty fun

[@cachorrovinagre2979]

Sometimes the problem is not in the sermon, some people do not give a chance and go straight to the cell phone. As for the clergy, I think it is important for the preacher to pay attention to the time, the longer the homily the less people will hear, I think the ideal time is 10 to 15 minutes depending on the speed of speech.

[@frcaseycole4135]

My dearly beloved Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior . As you will recall, The challenges presented by the 2020 was unprecedented and unexpected in the annals of recent history.The entire world was so down for about three monthsBy the coronavirus pandemic that was not a respecter of persons,class,status,religion,nations and kingdoms. The Pandemic was a levelers of humanity,systems and governments and it brought to bear everyone that the only thing that important denominators in the existence and essence of man and humanity is the omnipotence and sovereignty of the Almighty God. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God”(psalm 61:11).I saw a vision that you should support a child that is sick of leukemia in a motherless Foundation in Nigeria called Saviour Motherless Foundation,support the child finically and “God will open all your closed doors and bless you abundantly” ([e-mail] ) God bless you

[@maryannewillequer3305]

My pastor's homilies are 20 minutes long! And we all sit & listen to them. They are as you stated, relevant, scripture-based. Oh, yes, they incorporate a PowerPoint, too, as not everyone is capable of just sitting and listening for 20 minutes. As a result, I remember quite a bit about what he talks about! Thanks, Father Casey, for your thoughtful words.

[@musicmama2864]

Wow! That sounds like a well-organized presentation!

[@l.elmo.di.scipio]

Oh, boy, a series of extremely bad homilies has punched me in the gut in the past. Right now, 3/4 parishes in my area, a Latin American diocese, are suffering this problem right now, and it can be downright depressing to the faithful. This needs to be addressed ASAP, as I see it is a common problem across all Catholicism. Good video, blessings in Christ Jesus.

[@greydaze234]

As a kid, our pastor was known for his “fun socks” collection. He said he had a few plain black socks for serious events like funerals, but otherwise I don’t remember ever seeing the same socks twice. For “regular” Sundays, he’d step out from behind the pulpit to show off and describe his socks. But once a month, we had Children’s Mass, and he’d bring the kids up to sit in front of the altar, and link his socks to the message he would preach. I don’t know how much adults necessarily enjoyed it, but it certainly got this kid to pay attention each week!

[@jendoe9436]

Everyone has their own unique style. My priest is a big Mickey Mouse fan, and collects Mikey and the other characters. Often he’ll gave some Mickey item on him whether it’s a small bag, key chains, etc. I do remember for a homily he brought out a giant rose for a Valentine’s day style talk. Thing was almost taller than him 😂 My favorite though was on Palm Sunday and he brought out a stuffed Donkey from Shrek.

[@Chief_2023]

The best Homilies I’ve heard and remember to this day are short homilies and relatable. Other Homilies are forgotten the second the Priest ends his Homily. Most folks are already day dreaming at minute 7 or 8. 💯

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@Simone-bb8yv]

Dear Father Casey, you are an incredible preacher, and you are homilies are great! Keep doing this! God bless you!

[@VABJMJ]

Here in Brazil what most makes homilies hard to go through for me is that they are more often than not very bland unchallenging platitudes. A lot of "good-feeliness", very little "you need to straighten up your deeply broken life". Granted I actually like to hear homilies that directly (or as directly as possible) touch on my personal flaws and inspire me to better myself. My wife is different and she is very turned off by that type of homily (she also dislikes vague feel goody homilies too though), so I think a priest will never satisfy everyone all the time (but varying in the amount of hellfire throwing might help balance things out to help the most amount of people). But one thing is certain: no one I know likes a priest that only speaks platitudes and feel goody nonsense that doesn't seem to affect him personally. Be it giving a rough "get your life together" homily or a homily full of hope and wonder at the glory of God, a priest needs to make sure it comes from the heart. If he is doctrinally sound, going from the heart rarely fails I believe.

[@leighdf]

Making it relevant: My preacher once related this story (which I'm abridging)... in old logging communities it was standard practice when a tree was sawed down to brand the end of the log before floating it downstream. Unscrupulous loggers downstream sometimes cut off the ends of logs and re-branded them. So the preacher of that community preached a homily about the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal". Everyone praised the sermon, yet went home to continue re-branding logs. So the next week he re-phrased the commandment: "Thou shalt not cut the ends off thy neighbors' logs". The point for US, of course, was that we ourselves must understand the spirit of God's Laws, and not fool ourselves into believing that we are somehow clever enough to circumvent them. From creative tax returns, to abusing free samples, to walking into a store to ask about a product that we intend to buy on-line... we find more ways to "justify" sin than there are sins.

[@pd417]

Growing up in an old school Italian parish, our priest said the mass in Latin. His homilies might as well have been in Latin too, incredibly dry and had absolutely no relevance to me or my brothers and sisters. Today, our priest is a guy I’ve known since he was a teen, he grew up here. Absolutely terrific. His homilies are funny, relevant, on point and best of all, non-political.

[@hackman669]

Right on!

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

I wouldn’t criticize a priest for being political necessarily, so long as it’s not too overbearing, politics is after all downstream from many other things including religion, so if there is say a political party which is openly hostile towards the church and its teachings, I’d say it would make sense for the parish priest to mention that once or twice to the congregation, just not to be so ham fisted about it that it takes away from Christ.

[@barbarak2836]

@@allthenewsordeath5772 I would be extremely put off by a political sermon, there should be a separation between church and state. Religion should speak for itself; no one should try to force anything down anyone else's throat. That is NOT what religion should be. It is supposed to comfort and inspire you, not get you all het up. Sadly, that's what politics seems to be for.

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

@@barbarak2836 The state should not impose itself on religion, but that does not mean religion should not play a role in the public discourse. The so-called separation of church and state is a fairly new phenomenon historically, and came about as a means of preventing the state from imposing its preferred religion on the populace, as a consequence of this overtime more and more western nations have fallen into the trap of enforcing a sort of default atheism on their populace, by encouraging a removal of religion from the public square. For the most radical example of this you should look at France, where public displays of religion, and especially public displays of religion on public grounds, are either out right criminalized, or heavily socially discouraged, and many of the nations churches rather than being the property of the church, have become the property of the state. Of course this goes back to the French revolution, when the reign of terror particularly targeted the church, and the clergy, as a means of improving revolutionary fervor. I fear I am rambling however, so I shall put it more concisely. You are right that the church should not endeavor to become the state, historically speaking it is rather bad at it, however if your assertion is that church teachings should not or cannot inform public policy in a morally enlightened manner, then it is fair to say that you are mistaken.

[@barbarak2836]

@@allthenewsordeath5772 To each his own; I do not want to be lectured or harangued in church (or anywhere else) on what I should think politically, no matter what that is. To me, that is not what I go to church for, but I realize everyone is different.

[@jamesjc]

Fr Mark Goring delivers great little homilies on his KZbin channel 🙏🏼 I think to deliver a good homily a prerequisite is to lead a faithful, holy and virtuous life. Only such a life can truly inspire their homilies.

[@jennierod81]

We’re blessed at Holy Spirit with Fr Pat and Fr Steve, and I really enjoyed your homilies when you were there as well.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you..

[@PadrecitoPio]

Thanks Father Casey for the tips that I will use when I become a Priest.

[@quisutdeusmfl]

it all starts loving everyone no matter what

[@musicmama2864]

God bless you on your journey.

[@acrusader.1801]

Please become a traditional priest, we need you!

[@PadrecitoPio]

@@acrusader.1801 I will be both if possible😊

[@mekavio8231]

@@quisutdeusmfl like the cover-up of the pedo-priest-rapes, the vatican always has an anwser...

[@KB_2161]

I would love to hear you and Fr Patrick explain EVERYTHING that happens in the mass. Don't skip over anything; go over all of it in its entirety.

[@deb9806]

One of the reason I loved and love "The God Squad" with Rabbi Gelman is he would tell stories or parables about our religion or his and make it so interesting and thought provoking. It can stay with you for weeks or longer if good. It is a gift but most can improve. I felt that way about India recently and the lack of mention as that woman did about 911. Some churches took up collections, ours didn't. I didn't stop going, but i understand what she means. You need to feel fed, feel part of a large group of believers.

[@johanbergstrom-allen6700]

Someone masquerading as Fr Casey (using his photo but misspelling his name as Casy) is posting replies to comments asking you to support an orphanage by emailing a certain address. It's a scam.

[@charlesbuzbee1043]

Very nice Father thank you. I love your homilies. Father Casey has a soundtrack? I heard it. When are you going to release it for purchase? I Have my tickets for Cruella Saturday. Have a wonderful Memorial day!

[@andyiswonderful]

I have to say that you are quite correct. I knew two priests that always used the homily to teach the congregation about scriptural exegesis. Excruciatingly boring.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you....

[@JG-ww3xc]

I agree Fr. Casey, well said. My trifecta of great weekend homilists are Bishop Barron, Fr. Mike Schmitz, & Fr. Rich Pagano. You have any others to recommend?

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.

[@gpanthony]

This is such a great and important message, and is something that I think we really need to embrace in our Masses. When I was in middle school/ high school, I went from a kid who would take ANY opportunity to skip mass (so I could watch anime and play video games) to one who really looked forward to going and learning in Mass because my family moved to a Church that had a Priest who knew how to make that week's lessons in the Readings relevant to my modern life in a ways that were relatable and easy to understand, even for a teenager. Even today, I will still travel to that Priest's parish (which is over an hour's drive away) to listen to him speak and I still respect him as one of the wisest men I know of.

[@frcaseycole4135]

My dearly beloved Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior . As you will recall, The challenges presented by the 2020 was unprecedented and unexpected in the annals of recent history.The entire world was so down for about three monthsBy the coronavirus pandemic that was not a respecter of persons,class,status,religion,nations and kingdoms. The Pandemic was a levelers of humanity,systems and governments and it brought to bear everyone that the only thing that important denominators in the existence and essence of man and humanity is the omnipotence and sovereignty of the Almighty God. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God”(psalm 61:11).I saw a vision that you should support a child that is sick of leukemia in a motherless Foundation in Nigeria called Saviour Motherless Foundation,support the child finically and “God will open all your closed doors and bless you abundantly” ([e-mail] ) God bless you

[@patrikpalenik2849]

Fr. James Mallon in his book Divine Renovation Guidebook, p.138 provides this very helpful "Sunday Homily Content Check" Scriptural Theme (from the Readings) What do I want them to know? What do I want them to do? Why does it make difference? Hook (good homily starter) Humor point Personal element Kerygma Does it feel like Good News?

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.....

[@anikathomas2509]

I still remember during my high school the priest asking us to jot down important points...now I understand why......I really miss those days

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

I sometimes feel uncomfortable to go to church bc. I often shed some tears bc. of "too much" faith. I'm so moved over Gods power.

[@xrisc131]

I was a Baptist deacon prior to coming into full communion with the church. There are only two things I miss about the Baptist church: the music and the preaching. Catholics… we have the fullness of the faith that was once and for all time delivered so preach it proudly and loudly.

[@racheldemain1940]

You mention Eucharist. i am an Evensong fan! To be close to God in the Evensong Service , an end to the day and a quietening of the body and Soul for the night. It is really special in the Winter when the Cathedral is bathed in soft light and it is dark outside and so cosy inside. The wonderful Collect "Lighten our Darkness" is so beautiful.

[@barbaralynch5139]

I grew up in a retirement community, and most of the parishioners were seniors. Other than CCD and the annual carnival, there wasn't anything else offered for the kids. The homilies were totally written/spoken with the senior community in mind. One day, at a crowded Mass, I was around 9 or 10, and whispered to my dad "Church is boring". Right after I said that, the priest said "kids tell me all the time that church is boring...what do they think this is, Disneyland?!". My dad never forgot the look on my face--there was no way the priest could have heard me from where we were sitting.

[@MatrixRefugee]

Something similar happened to me: I was a rambunctious three year old and during one especially long Mass, I tried climbing over the back of the pew. Both my parents grabbed me and hauled me back onto the seat. As they did so, I yelled out 'Help! Save me!" At the final blessing, the priest made some comment like 'if someone feels like they need to be saved, you've come to the right place'.

[@jesseholthaus8357]

I have found usually the shorter the homily, the easier it is to remember. My favorite homily was only 2 sentences long.

[@thethreefriends3002]

I love the thumbnail!

[@BreakingInTheHabit]

Thanks! I worked very hard on it!

[@davidleannsorondo9493]

I don't know who the intended audience of this video is, but as a recently ordained deacon, the impact of a good or bad homily is terrifying. While I have received more positive than negative feedback, I try to listen to what the congregation is wanting - and needing - to hear. Thank you so much for your ministry and may God continue to bless you!

[@davidleannsorondo9493]

@@frcasycole4824 This is a rather unexpected reply from Fr. Casey with grammatical errors, especially since the name is misspelled. I am afraid someone is using Fr. Casey's name to promote something without his consent.

[@treeroofgrass]

In my observation, when the homily is preached extemporaneously, those are 100000000000 times better than something well prepared but read verbatim off a typed document. Reading the homily is the worst because it just turns into a cold intellectual data-dump

[@winstoncottage344]

I wish the priests were told to preach CATHOLIC teachings rather than the amorphous stuff we get dished up every week. No wonder people who leave the church to go to some "relevant" protestant church down the road seem to think that it doesn't matter, that it "all the same" when clearly it is not. It is just that they haven't been told what the points of difference really are. I get the feeling that the Church authorities seem to think that people somehow absorb it - but from where? Certainly not in Catholic schools any more. And they are no longer being taught it in Church either.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@DavidS-pt7hc]

I’m in NC?, if you are passing through Goldsboro, stop by the FPHC and a listen to our pastors sermon. You’ll be on your feet with hands raised praising God. In addition, at the end of the service there’s an altar call. Do you have altar calls?

[@johnnyg.5499]

I am fortunate to have two priests at my parish who give fine homilies. I attend Mass on late Saturday afternoons. Sometime during the following week, I ALWAYS make it a point to listen to the homily of Fr. James Meeks and a wonderful Lutheran Pastor (or two) that video their homilies. I have done this for the past year, and have never felt so spiritually ALIVE and AT PEACE.

[@ancelmoaguirre899]

Thank you brother. You made me to reflect upon this important ministry. I will follow your suggestions. God bless

[@marimakesstuff3900]

I've heard homilies that made me regret coming to church at all. the priest who almost botched my grandma's funeral was one of those, unfortunately.

[@jbmni2002]

Exactly… when ii was a kid… in the homily but when an english speaking priest making the homily …. I can’t understand a bit… but as my father says the important thing is we go to church every Sunday…

[@patresiagultom8560]

That was really true! I remember some priests who enjoy preaching to themselves. I mean that their voices sometimes too soft I can barely hear. But, I keep going to the church because I remember the point is I worship God, try hard to be focused even the priests homilies not good enough to support my faith.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.

[@lindaeaton8367]

Pray for your priest as often as you hope to receive.

[@dannyboy536]

True. Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning lectures reignited my interest in Religion more than any priest (the few that I had listened to) and then Bishop Barron's sermons and podcasts were exactly what I needed. Bishop Barron speaks to many but particularly uses and confronts popular culture. He often preaches to atheists and to lapsed Catholics. I was a lapsed Catholic and now I am less so. I'm still finding the path but I feel I am being led.

[@EnderElohim]

Cool :D As a convert i kind of not even have a local church while i have 3 mosque around me and it might be related to our islamic goverment. Well wish me luck or better pray for me. I hope i can join sermons one day

[@musicmama2864]

I will pray for you, Ender.

[@clairebertha8102]

I think there are a lot of good sermons on KZbin. God bless and help you❤

[@EnderElohim]

@@clairebertha8102 Any suggestion?

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

If your English is good enough, both bishop Robert Barron, and catholic answers post their homilies on KZbin, and many of the broadcasts of the late bishop Fulton Sheen are available here as well. I think the biggest concern for you of course is access to the sacraments, and on that count I will pray for you.

[@EnderElohim]

@@allthenewsordeath5772 Yeah even though i have typos and grammar issues, english is kind of my native language at this point XD My actualy native language turkish is way to mangled with islamic vocabulary. i'm gonna check "robest barron" and "catholic answers" for sure thanks ^^ Currently i don't have church and denomination. Soo i kind of only have my bible. My only view on denominations currently is that i need to follow a apostolic one for sure especially because of how bible point the church. I have visited a few catholic church where i can visit after long journeys before covid wasnt limiting everything but i saw many churches deserted or nobody there. Only able to talk with a friar at one but wasnt able to go there again Thanks for praying man.

[@scottwarthin1528]

Only thing that keeps me consistently going to every week's Mass are the Bible readings and the Homily. Pointless for someone like me attempting to engage my focus in the rituals, the singing, the rote chants, blah, blah, etc., etc. Regardless of how my faith has waxed and waned, as an adult, I've always loved the Bible. Its all about how The Bible is relevant in the here and now.

[@johnmulvey5121]

Very good! All priests should heed this.Why the isn't this taught to trainees priests. For years I have witnessed the tragedy of people gazing at the priest, week after week year after year (the ones who have stayed) l listening to the most awful sermons. A good sermon is a rarity; what the hell is going on?

[@duaneadams5210]

I grew up as a Catholic but left the church after the aftermath of Vatican II did all it's damage. It was the Traditional Latin Mass that drew me back, but in the interim I attended a few different Protestant churches. I learned that in most Protestant denominations, their seminaries TEACH how to RESERCH and how to PREACH. I myself was in the Catholic seminary for several years and never was the art of preaching every mentioned or taught. The art of preaching was suppose to be a grace you automatically received upon ordination. (I believe that to be a false belief). Bottom line, the Protestants do it better. Even most of the Traditional Latin Mass priests can't preach worth a crap.

[@roberteaston6413]

James Robison, a Southern Baptist, said that an African American once came up to him and said"You preach pretty good for a white man". Even though James Robison has enjoyed great success as an evangelist he said that when a Black preacher gets going he reaches a level that a white man cannot attain.

[@flyesouisi]

Glad to know I am not alone in this. I almost never get more than one lesson to meditate on from any homily, no matter how long it is.

[@5kydragon347]

I am very thankful to have a Priest that delivers wonderful Homilies. One of my goals each Mass is to take away one big thing from the Homily. It helps me to stay engaged and to keep from daydreaming. I have only heard one poor Homily from a visiting Priest. There was nothing wrong with the message, only the delivery. It’s very difficult to listen when someone speaks in monotone😅 God Bless everyone!

[@ToonGal12]

Perfect example of great preaching (this gets a bit long): When my Grandma passed away a few years ago, we attended her funeral at her church; a very small one that honestly was practically no bigger than my living room and dining room (I don't think it even had a speaker system and just had to rely on the priest for his voice to carry, which shows you how small it was). Virtually all of us had never been to her church before. She was also Orthodox, so we were unfamiliar with the typical ceremonies there. The priest, bless him, knew that our family was entering unfamiliar territory, and having to mourn the loss of a loved one that had been our family rock for 98 years wasn't helping. So not long into Mass, he kind of stopped everything for a moment to address the rest of the congregation/regular church-goers there and (I'm paraphrasing here) basically said, "Hey everyone. We're here to mourn the loss of this woman who was a staple in the community, and celebrate her life, and obviously, her family is here. But most of her family is Catholic, and obviously don't frequent here, so they don't know that we conduct things a little differently here. So every so often, I'm going to have to pause to explain certain things to them, so this Mass might go on for just a bit longer than usual. But for those of you who have been coming here week-to-week for years, we can use this opportunity as a refresher for why we conduct Mass the way we do, what all these hand movements mean and why, because often we can get so used to our routines that we forget what it all meant to begin with. So please be patient with the family, okay?" What followed was one of the nicest, engaging Masses I've been to in a long time, in which the priest ticked off all the various volunteer work and other stuff my Grandma did over the years, sang songs in Polish (and we were given pamphlets with English translations so we could roughly follow along), and intermixed the Bible readings with examples of how we could take the lessons of the stories and apply them to our modern lives. It's been years now, and obviously, all the specific things he said that day have been forgotten, but the thing I'll never forget is the warm feeling I had (oddly enough, considering this was a funeral). The priest knew full well we were most likely only going to be there that one time, and yet, he went out of his way to make us feel welcome, feel included, and took the time to explain all the customs. He could've easily just conducted business as usual and expected us to catch up, but instead, he turned Grandma's funeral into a Mass I'll not soon forget. That church was tiny, but the hearts in it were large.

[@frcaseycole4135]

My dearly beloved Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior . As you will recall, The challenges presented by the 2020 was unprecedented and unexpected in the annals of recent history.The entire world was so down for about three monthsBy the coronavirus pandemic that was not a respecter of persons,class,status,religion,nations and kingdoms. The Pandemic was a levelers of humanity,systems and governments and it brought to bear everyone that the only thing that important denominators in the existence and essence of man and humanity is the omnipotence and sovereignty of the Almighty God. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God”(psalm 61:11).I saw a vision that you should support a child that is sick of leukemia in a motherless Foundation in Nigeria called Saviour Motherless Foundation,support the child finically and “God will open all your closed doors and bless you abundantly” ([e-mail] ) God bless you

[@brockmackin8913]

Fr. Casey: I am 2 1/2 years into a 6 year discernment/formation process leading, God willing, to being ordained as a permanent deacon. I found this video to be very helpful. In particular, I appreciate the idea of connecting the readings to people's lives.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you....

[@paulwhealon9388]

Dear Fr. Casey, I understand the purpose behind this video. I am a Catholic sitting in the pew. I hear a sermon nearly every time I am at Mass [and other religious events]. I can cite to you the "awful" sermons that you are referencing. I have also had the opportunity to hear and understand great sermons. But, I have found a different form of "awful" sermon in my parish recently. My parish is a small community that doesn't have a full-time priest. The pastor is also the pastor of another, near-by church. So, there is one priest to split between three Sunday Masses. In order to provide the liturgy at both churches, a visiting priest [in residence at another parish in our city] will share the liturgical duties with our designated pastor. Unfortunately, this visitor is the source of "awful" sermons. He is a priest from Africa incardinated in our diocese. Even if English is his native language, it is impossible to understand a word he is preaching. Whenever I realize that he is say Mass and will be preaching, I struggle through the first parts of the Mass to attune my ears to his accent and cadences of English in preparation for the sermon. Then, when he stands to preach, I lose his train of thought less than one minute into his sermon. He appears to be a well-prepared and informed preacher. He seems to be learned in the Scripture, the teachings of the Church and appears to wish to reach the congregation. His sermon is also written out and he follows this prompt closely. It is simply too difficult to know what he is saying. I understand that missionaries around the world have to use the language of the people that they are speaking to in order to best convey the message of salvation. English speaking missionaries learn Chinese, Japanese, Urdu, Swahili, etc. in order to better approach the people of a different country. I don't know if they have as much difficulties in speaking a foreign language as a priest coming to the United States might have with English. I also think that, if their native [colonial] language is English, they may believe that they are doing it correctly. From my experience with several foreign English-speaking priests, they are not aware of this deficiency. And, if I want an understandable sermon - preferably not an "awful" sermon, how can the priest be told that he is not understandable? I am certain that a member of the congregation mentioning this will not carry much weight as he has been accepted by our bishop to be active in our diocese. I believe that my faith is strong enough to withstand this challenge; but, I would really prefer to hear an understandable and good sermon.

[@alhilford2345]

Please be kind and patient with this priest. He is doing his very best, and probably realizes that you have difficulty understanding him, and yet he has been assigned to a parish where many people are complaining about his sermons. Imagine how unhappy he must feel.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@bettyangwenyi1797]

Thanks, Fr. Can you talk about what to do when suffering through an awful homily? Is the mass still life-giving?

[@websurfin9575]

Preaching repentance is never wrong to do! That said, the over-all message of this video is accurate & informative.

[@JdAskins99]

Like with many things in our faith, the best example of a homily comes from Jesus during the first mass. His message was crafted specifically for the Apostles, but is still relevant for us today. He warns them of the trials to come, assures them of His mercy even though they will fall, and instructs them to serve the people of the world in His name.

[@LostArkLover]

Just heard the news on 215 child remains found in canda under a catholic school. I hope you guys stay safe and remain strong in God's spirit.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you..

[@diorocksmetalon5993]

I'm Episcopalian, and our Deacon, God love her, speaks so slowly I have to double the speed on KZbin when she preaches. Plus she drastically exceeds our regular priest's 10-15 minute limit on the Homily. Amen about doing and saying too much. It can be brutal.

[@staceylumley1309]

You had a great Homily this past Sunday Father Casey.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.

[@kyndread71]

The sermon structure in the Catholic Church really speaks to me. We use a passage from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and then apply those lessons to today's happenings. And it totally makes sense.

[@johnforgas772]

I’m trying to think of a gentle way to get this video to my parish priest. He means well, but I find myself praying for brevity.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you..

[@mercywalschek2695]

Thank you for sharing. I am giving a talk about my faith at a woman's tea. Not really a sermon. But, I still wanted to be able to reach my audience for Christ. I haven't really spoken in front of a group since my baptism 20 years ago, except for bible studies. I don't really count those since it wasn't just me sharing. Your tips are very helpful. Thanks again.

[@danielrhouck]

Even though I’m an atheist, this video is relevant to me too. It’s relevant to anyone who wants to do public speaking: you always need to tailor the talk to the audience and circumstance. (Also, nitpick: sep 15, 2001 was the Saturday; she would have gone on the 16th and not after)

[@thebuda01]

Or she may have headed to Saturday evening mass. Most parishes have a Saturday evening mass around 530 or 6pm that sounds as a Sunday mass as they follow a sundown to sundown calendar.

[@thebuda01]

You are right though, this is good advice for anyone called to publicly speak on something. It's why we remember the Gettysburg address.

[@therealperegrine]

It's interesting how big effect what you DON'T say can have. It can even be the smallest thing. One sunday as I was in the sacristy getting stuff ready for the next mass, a man comes in and is visibly very upset, he goes to the priest and has a lot of questions. Without going into any details, the readings that day was St Paul's letter to the Ephesians about "Wives should be submissive to their husbands". The man was very upset and sad that the priest didn't talk about that and explain that since that's something people quite often can't understand, especially when the priest explained the church's teachings to the man after the mass he got quite sad that the priest didn't explain it when preaching.

[@galihjati443]

as a former human that almost broke 10 God commandments (well technically all of them), lately many priests or preacher makes mistakes by considering themselves higher than any church member, I'm still serving the church, well Indonesian Lutheran church counting to 6 years with handful of people knew until now, because I made promises with God, though being treated like dirt sometimes, tragically by some of our priests, I always felt joy and happiness serving there. However I agree Fr Casey, please oh please take your craft seriously, be more sensitive, don't use reason that you're busy when someone in your church ask important things, be honest and sincere, always come when someone is inviting you to their home without considering this some one is rich or not, act more like a priest, not like a boss. Man that felt good I can finally write it down, thanks Fr Casey for lifting a burden in my thoughts.

[@Emcron]

basically the same issue as in academia: knowing lots about a subject doesn't necessarily mean u can teach it (or keep listeners' attentions, for that matter). makes me thank God I had v engaging Catechism teachers growing up!

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@terriomalley181]

Excellent points!! My favourite homilies and the ones that have been most memorable for me have always been when the preacher tells us about a personal experience that they’ve had, how it relates to the Gospel message and how we can apply it to our lives today. Thank you Father Casey. God bless you always!!

[@terriomalley181]

@scott turbitt - Hi Scott!! My second reply to you today. I love watching Father Casey’s videos, but I don’t usually comment. What a blessing to be able to have Father speak at your parish. As you said, with God’s grace you will welcome him soon to share the Word of God. God bless you!! Jesus, I trust in You!

[@michaelellixson3633]

What a great message that this has today. I haven’t been going to church for almost 2 years now because of that very reason that the homily just have nothing to do with what is going on in either myself or the congregation. It’s sad and I wonder sometimes that if the preacher stays as this one has for 12 years or so that he gets a little same old thing with the crowd and just gives them the nuts and bolts of the message and that’s it

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.

[@nataliaabello]

This is so important! My hope and prayers for Priests to be guided by the Holy Spiritu to touch our hearts and souls with their homilies.

[@ipso-kk3ft]

In my experience (and from what I've learned from some of the saints), often the best sermons are Christocentric at the core, going back to the person of Jesus Christ and the core of the Gospel. A sermon may branch out and go through many topics, but it must come from and return back to Christ.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you...

[@lydiapereira1942]

Bless you Fr Cassey. I truly agree with you.100%

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you.....

[@matthewcamareno4127]

Fr. Casey, Thank you for your sermons they always Connect with me. God bless you Fr. Casey. Amen 🙏

[@jollyjohn5820]

Thank you for your great inspiration on the importance of relevant homily which most priests ignored or refused to change. I hope that this will reach out to all the priests and bishops that poor homily will leave the faithful goes astray. Poor homily in a mass leave the faithful faithless.

[@frcasycole4824]

Thanks for your comment and support. your comment and constant support have brought me this far. Keep supporting [e-mail] it's an orphanage that has a baby dying from Leukemia please send donation to the MD email for more Support and your prayers will be answered and your healing will manifest, after donating, pray with Psalm 51, 46 130, 24, only faith can move mountains we are God's children of the most high God, Remember we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against evil power's, against rulers of darkness, God bless you

[@Frank-in-PalmSprings]

So true! I was fortunate to have been a seminarian in Rome in the late 1970s. The priest that regularly preached at our Sunday Mass, frankly, was a very poor homilist. So after our Mass and breakfast, during "free time", a few of us would go to the American Episcopalian Church in Rome. Their services were in English, usually was the same Gospel, but their preacher was EXCELLENT! We just did our best to blend in (no clerical-wear!) and loved the Spirit speaking to us in this beautiful environment! 🙂

[@alhilford2345]

So you were a seminarian in the late 1970s. Didn't they teach you that it is a sin to participate in a non-Catholic religious service? I'm guessing that you are not a priest, and possibly not even a Catholic now.

[@Frank-in-PalmSprings]

@@alhilford2345 Since my childhood and post Vatican II, the idea of "no salvation outside the Church" or not respecting ecumenical points of view are loooong gone! Even as an altarboy in the 60s, we made trips to several Orthodox Churches (Greek, Russian) and Episcopalian Churches to dialog and participate in their faith traditions. Even Popes, going back to John XXIII, have done same. As seminarians we were encouraged to evangelize our faith, but respect the faith journey of others. Although my road didn't take me to Ordination, my Catholic faith is at the heart of who I am.