Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast

Season two of “Preach” has wrapped. Before we pause until fall, please share what moved you this season, what you’d like more or less of, and any ideas for future episodes to shape next season's lineup. In this bonus episode, Ricardo and Maggi Van Dorn – his co-producer on “Preach” and producer of America Media’s newest podcast – introduce “The Spiritual Life with Father James Martin, S.J.” They discuss what preachers can gain from the show and share the first episode featuring Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe is a Dominican friar, former Master of the Dominican Order, and a widely respected author. Pope Francis chose him as retreat leader for the Synod on Synodality. In this episode, he shares insights on Dominican spirituality, friendship with God, and living with cancer. “The Spiritual Life” is hosted by Father James Martin, S.J., a Jesuit priest, bestselling author, editor-at-large at America Media, and founder of Outreach. The show explores how people pray and find God in daily life. Each episode features listener questions answered by Father Martin and his guests in a relatable “Dear Abby of the soul” style. Guests include Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, Pete Buttigieg, and Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. 🎧 Take the “Preach” listener survey and follow “The Spiritual Life with Father James Martin, S.J.” every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Get daily Scripture reflections and ⁠⁠⁠⁠support⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We become like the things we contemplate,” the Rev. Hank Hilton says. In this homily for Corpus Christi, Year C, Hank draws on ancient philosophy, childhood boat rides on the Jersey Shore, and his mother’s wisdom to reflect on the transforming power of Christ’s kindness—to friends, enemies and strangers. In this episode of “Preach,” Hank shares the three-step preaching method he’s used for decades: concept, exegesis, application. He explains why he usually starts with a story instead of a quote, and how conversations at the church door shape his message. He also introduces Holy Chow, his parish’s food-truck ministry serving not only meals but the peace of Christ. Guest: Hank Hilton is pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Hillsborough, N.J. A former Jesuit, he holds advanced degrees in theology, philosophy, psychology and economics, including a Ph.D. in land resources. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Get daily Scripture reflections and ⁠⁠⁠support⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people hear “Holy Trinity” and think “mystery”—something abstract and hard to explain. But for Dianne Bergant, C.S.A., the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year C, is a chance to root the doctrine in daily life. She invites us to see it instead as “the relationship that human beings have to the Creator.” God, she says, “literally serves us”—through creation, Christ, and the Spirit, who “does not go alone” but “works through us.” In this episode of Preach, Dianne reflects on preaching as an introvert, why she never writes her homilies, and her memories of teaching exegesis at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago—including to a quiet, thoughtful student now known as Pope Leo XIV. “He was a very good student,” she recalls. “I have kept every grade, a record of every grade. So when I say he was a good student, I have evidence.” Guest: Dianne Bergant, a Sister of St. Agnes and distinguished scholar of the Hebrew Scriptures, taught for over 40 years at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and served on the Pontifical Biblical Commission. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Get daily Scripture reflections and ⁠⁠support⁠⁠ “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Say “Holy Spirit” and most picture a dove or gentle fire. But Anthony SooHoo, S.J., turns to a wilder Celtic image: a honking goose in flight—untamed and impossible to ignore. It’s how he preaches Pentecost: the Spirit who startles us into new life and calls the church to fly together—rather than just waddle along. For the Solemnity of Pentecost, Year C, Anthony draws on the physics of flight and a Kierkegaardian parable about ducks. In conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., he explores imagination in preaching and the art of going off-script—especially when the Spirit honks. Guest: Anthony SooHoo, S.J., professor of ancient Near Eastern studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and pastoral staff member at Caravita, an international English-language Catholic community. Get daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine⁠⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seventeen years ago, Ricardo da Silva, the host of this podcast, heard a homily that has stayed with him ever since. It was preached by his novice master, British Jesuit priest Paul Nicholson, and began with a simple but unforgettable image drawn from medieval art: Jesus’ feet dangling in the air, his body swallowed by clouds. Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Year A, Paul returns to that homily, reflecting on how visual art and imagination can lead those who receive a homily beyond scriptural explanation or catechesis and into prayer. Together, he and Ricardo explore how this feast—so often understood as a moment of departure—can also reveal God’s nearness and how that insight might shape preaching at funerals and help preachers speak to grief, absence and hope. Guest: Paul Nicholson, S.J., director of the Jesuit Institute in the United Kingdom. Get daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shortly after Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV, Bill Gabriel, O.S.A., received an unexpected email from a student at Malvern Prep in Pennsylvania. The student asked, “Is this your boy?” alongside a photo of the new pope. Bill replied, “I wouldn’t say he’s my boy, but he is our brother,” referencing their shared Augustinian bond. The student responded, “Well, I guess that makes him my brother too.”  Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C, Bill finds resonance in his homily between the risen Christ’s parting words—“Peace be with you”—and Pope Leo XIV’s call for “an unarmed and disarming peace.” Guest: Bill Gabriel, O.S.A., Head of Mission and Ministry at Malvern Prep. Get daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine⁠⁠⁠ “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Every time I proclaim one of Francis’ homilies, my heart is filled with joy,” says Greg Heille, O.P. “It’s heart speaking to heart.” Recorded just hours before Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV—while the cardinals were still in conclave—Greg joins “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to reflect on the homiletic legacy of Pope Francis: always on message, spoken from the heart, simple without losing depth. He proclaims a homily by Francis for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C, in 2022, where those qualities shine through. Grounded in a single verse from John’s Gospel—As I have loved you, so you also should love one another—the homily weaves together themes of holiness, simplicity and love in action. Guest: Greg Heille, Dominican friar, preaching professor at Aquinas Institute of Theology and author of The Preaching of Pope Francis. Get daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine⁠⁠ “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this captivating discussion, John Connell, an award-winning author and organic farmer from the Irish Midlands, shares his profound insights from years of working with sheep. He reflects on the symbolism of sheep as care and vulnerability in the context of the shepherd’s relationship with Jesus. John emphasizes the quiet bravery of sheep and how gentle voices can guide them, drawing parallels to spiritual leadership. His journey from journalism to farming highlights the joy of reconnecting with nature and the deeper spiritual lessons that emerge from caring for animals.

When fishermen set sail, Deacon Marlowe Sabater says, they place one foot on the deck—and the other, unknowingly, “in the watery grave, because you just won’t know what’s gonna happen out there.” Born and raised in Metro Manila, Marlowe now ministers to seafarers and port workers—many of them migrant workers from his native Philippines—through the Diocese of Honolulu’s Apostleship of the Sea ministry. Facing unpredictable storms and countless dangers at sea, every safe return to shore, he says, is “an everyday miracle.” Marlowe is our guest on “Preach” for the Third Sunday of Easter. In his homily, he reflects on the Gospel story of the risen Christ meeting his disciples on the shore and connects it to the faith of those who work and live at sea today. In conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., Marlowe draws even further from his ministry—meeting workers at the docks to pray with them, to minister to them and to share the trust that sustains us all amid life’s storms: “When Jesus is in our boat, he has the capability of calming the storm of our lives.” When he’s not at the ambo, on the docks or behind a desk, Marlowe finds his anchor in family life with his wife, Maggie, and their two sons. He credits Maggie as his “editor in chief,” offering the honest feedback every preacher needs. “Sometimes she’ll read my homily and say, ‘I don’t feel it,’” he says. “And it’s back to the drawing board—and she’s always right.” Get daily Scripture reflections and support “Preach” by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Stanton, co-director of Discerning Deacons, champions the role of women in the diaconate and fosters community within the Church. She emphasizes the importance of the Book of Acts during Easter as a guide for contemporary challenges. Casey challenges listeners to engage in collective faith, especially with marginalized voices, as society grapples with fear and uncertainty. Her insights inspire a call for deeper community connections and advocacy, making a powerful case for the transformative spirit of togetherness.