Pope Saint Gregory the Great:
'Let no one take on him the office of preacher unless he loves his hearers'
Comment: In the patristic era, preaching was not mere communication, but an art form. Beauty was expressed but was often tinged with vanity and ambition. The preacher today faces a similar difficulty. Too frequently, our priests settle for the acceptance of the crowd, not by an exquisite turn of phrase, but by appealing to their preconceived notions and expectations. The preacher no longer challenges his congregation to become as holy as the Father is holy, but offers words of 'kindness' and 'consolation.
Let no preacher today fall into such a trap. He will answer for the souls he has touched, or failed to, at his death.
No comments:
Post a Comment