Vivian Boland identifies two movements following Vatican II relevant to Catholic preaching. One is a strong emphasis on the liturgical homily. The other is a call to all members of the Church to be ‘preachers’ – witnesses to the Word of God.

Before and after
Having been a very young altar server, I am just old enough to remember parish life ‘before Vatican II’. The key moments of preaching way back then were the sermon at each Sunday Mass, the Sunday afternoon sermon that came between the recital of the Rosary and the celebration of Benediction, the Lenten Mission sermons preached by Passionists, Redemptorists or another religious order with a reputation for ‘popular’ preaching, and the Good Friday ‘Passion Sermon’ which had its own fixed content and style.

The parish clergy took turns giving the Sunday morning sermon. Whoever was ‘on’ preached at each Mass and the sermon was based, not on the Scripture readings, but on a programme of catechetical instruction prepared by the diocese for each Sunday of the year. The topic of the Sunday afternoon sermon seemed to be at the preacher’s discretion. The Lenten Mission sermons tended to be revivalist in style, calling people to conversion in line with the season being celebrated, and success was measured not only by the attendance at the sermons but by the number of people who went to confession during the mission. There was normally a week for men, a week for women, and a week for younger people. In line with the established structure of a Catholic catechism the sermons dealt with doctrine, moral teaching, the sacraments and prayer.