The Gospel Message

Thirty years ago, when I was in protestant seminary, there was a student in one of my preaching classes who got a low grade on a sermon he gave in class because, according to the teacher, "it was not clearly declaring the full gospel message of Christ". Now, I would agree that Catholic priests need to do their best in preaching, and that they should not be unclear about what the gospel message actually is. Yet, I also noticed (years later) that the criticism that student received would likely not have been given in a Catholic seminary (but for reasons you may not expect).

I remember his sermon quite well, and there was nothing about it that was unorthodox (it would have been considered a fairly good homily in most Catholic parishes today). The reason the criticism would not happen in a Catholic seminary is not, however, that Catholics have lower standards. No, there is actually a much deeper reason that most Catholics are so used to that they do not even recognize it.

Few people would complain that a homily was not "specific enough about the gospel message" in a Catholic church because most people in Catholic churches know that the homily is not the only place where they will hear about the saving work of Christ. The Mass has more references to the salvation of Christ than most of us realize. I think someone once counted them and came up with about one hundred distinct references.

If the priest has to make a detailed reference to Christ's work of salvation in every homily, then that leaves little time for him to speak about other subjects (unless his homilies are an hour long; and trust me, I did that as a Presbyterian and it is not fun). The Mass is so filled with the teaching about the "gospel message" (i.e. mankind fell into sin and needs salvation, and Christ came and sacrificed Himself so that we can be saved), that most Catholics just take it for granted.

I encourage you to work extra hard the next time you go to Mass to pay attention to the message of the Mass. Listen to the words of the prayers and recognize that they are not just given haphazardly; there is a specific order to them. They lay out salvation history and tell us of the work that Christ did for us. Yes, it is possible to sit through Mass and miss the message (that is called "distraction" and it is a sin), but it is not too complicated to figure out if you try. In fact, the Mass is easier to understand than the Scriptures--the Apostles designed the Mass as an explanation of all that we need to know to serve God. Attend Mass regularly and pay attention; let it sink in and you will know the entire gospel message (no matter what the homily is about!).