Meeting this year with the priests of Rome, Pope Leo spoke about the use of Artificial Intelligence—the ubiquitous AI—in the preparation of homilies.  Rather than repeating the cautions of the Holy Father, I want to emphasize what can be learned from his teaching regarding the dynamic and content that should characterize the preaching offered to the People of God.  I will highlight three elements.

First, the Pope emphasized that priests should be engaged in “truly knowing the community . . . called to serve.”  People change; life situations vary; economics/politics/family situations are constantly in flux.  To preach to those given into his care, a priest must know his people.  Without this appreciation, his words on the Gospel will be aimed at an alien community.  I regularly celebrate the Eucharist on a Sunday in one (or more) of three places.  One is St. John’s University; one is a convent for retired sisters, and one is a parish Church.  The people who seek to listen to and learn from the Word of God in each of those places is different.  A completely different homily is not needed, but one that acknowledges their stories and the recognition of how unique they are.  Yes, a priest should know his community to preach for them in a worthwhile manner which corresponds to their world.

Aligned with this arises the need for a priest to direct his words to “real life” and not just some imagined world.  How must the Gospel be heard in a way that responds to current needs and values?  When/how/where does it address the lived experience and teaching as embraced by the belief of their minister.  Leo writes: “We can offer a service that is inculturated in the place, in the parish where we are working, people want to see your faith, your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ.” The sermon must have a pastoral as well as personal origin and application.

Secondly, the homily should flow from the training of the priest and the application of his insight into the Word of God being proclaimed. The Holy Father writes regarding the process of sermon creation: “The brain needs to be used, our intelligence must be exercised.” Unless the clergy engages intellectual and spiritual muscle, derived from study and reflection, the message will be atrophied.  The lesson will be weakened rather than strengthened and focused.  One of the fundamental works that Vincent de Paul gave to his community involved the training of priests.  Vincent knew that people were not being served sufficiently by ministers who had too little training and study.  For the good of God’s people, he became involved in seminary work.

Here is a last point, though probably the first in importance: the homily must flow from and express the faith of the priest.  It should be born in reflection and prayer; it should be nourished in this environment.  Pope Leo teaches that a homily should express “time spent with the Lord” flowing from a “life authentically rooted in the Lord.” (One can see how a document created by a machine cannot participate in this reality.)

The personal faith of the priest should find expression in his words.  The homily should be a creation that flows from his mind and heart—one that finds expression in his actions.  If, in fact, the sermon is the most important task of a priest in preparation for a Sunday celebration, it must express who he is and what he hopes and how God has been speaking to him.  The preparation and delivery of a homily is a participation in the creative act of God who chooses to reveal the divine self through the Church and its human ministers.

Naturally, one must always recognize the role of the Holy Spirit in both the speaking and hearing of a homily.  One could profitably seek in the writings of Vincent de Paul his emphasis on “preaching the Gospel to the poor” and how this preaching should be exercised.

The Holy Father summons those who have the privilege and responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel to be deeply and personally engaged in this effort, to take it on as a sacred task.  It is a blessing both for the minister and for the community served.