Saturday, March 12, 2011

learning experience

I preached tonight and will be doing it again tomorrow as well. My focus was on how Jesus' temptation in the desert recapitulated (I love that word) the Israelites' own journey through the desert.

After I delivered my homily, I kept thinking of other things I could have talked about. Themes from the prayers would make me think, "Why didn't I mention that?" There were a lot of different things that I could have covered.

It is kind of comforting for a couple reasons:
First, I've learned that it's best to just talk about one thing instead of all the "great" ideas you have running around in your head.
Second, it makes me a little more confident about preaching in the future. Sometimes after preparing a homily, I have no idea how I'll preach on the same reading the next time it comes around. Tonight gave me a glimpse into just how much can come out of a set of readings.

2 comments:

Father Rob said...

Awesome reflection, Deacon. Also, sometimes, listening to the readings during Mass may bring something new to light - and those may make it in your homily. Gotta love the power of the Holy Spirit!

Anonymous said...

There was a lot to choose from in these readings. I went with the Fall and the problem of evil, but your idea crossed my mind, and, if it was a little closer to Advent, I might have talked about "many" and "all" in the second reading. I share your concern about getting other ideas. Prayer is so essential.