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Call for sermons to be livened up

In his weekly “fax” to the New Zealand province, Fr Brian Cummings, the Provincial of the the Society of Mary New Zealand, drew Marist’s attention to a recent call by the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravassi, who asked priests to liven up their sermons and avoid being dull!

Fr Brian Cummings

Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said that priests who used theological language that was formulaic and boring risked making the gospel irrelevant.

Grey, dull and flavourless sermons need to be livened up with graphic stories and scandal contained within the Bible, the Cardinal said.

“The advent of televised and computerised information requires us to be compelling and trenchant, to cut to the heart of the matter, to resort to narratives and colour.”

Fr Cummings recommended reading more of what the Cardinal had to say at  at: CathNews.co.nz

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November 12, 2011 Filed Under: New Zealand Tagged With: CathNews, Foreign Lands, Media, New Evangelisation

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