How can the non-ordained, the lay faithful, engage in preaching the faith? This was the question tackled in a new book chapter entitled “Towards an Inclusive Model of Eucharistic Preaching in the Catholic Church,” authored by the Institute of Religion’s Assoc. Prof. Mary Erika N. Bolaños, PhD, concurrent Principal of the Senior High School.
Engaging with Edward Hahnenberg’s insights on lay homiletics, the new work explores an inclusive model of Eucharistic preaching within the Catholic Church to examine the “evolving ecclesiology since Vatican II, emphasizing a synodal and participatory Church.” Using the experiences of lay Catholic preachers as data, Bolaños argued that these “exemplify the potential for engaging the faithful,” acknowledging diversity of charisms and pastoral adaptability, among others. Bolaños called for a broader understanding of “Eucharistic preaching beyond ordained ministry.”
The SHS Principal, who also teaches at the Institute of Preaching of the Philippine Dominican Center for Institutional Studies stated that there is a need for “responsible lay involvement in preaching, recognizing the Spirit’s call for an inclusive and authentic ministry while upholding the liturgical and sacramental integrity of the Eucharistic celebration.”
The chapter is part of the new book entitled “Lay Eucharistic Preaching in a Synodal Catholic Church,” edited by fr. Gregory Heille, O.P. of the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The book is a product of a March 2024 gathering of twenty-seven preachers and theologians, who delved into the question of whether “a synodal church in mission could make a theological case to commission a more extensive and diverse pool of qualified lay preachers and evangelists to preach the Word of God at the Eucharist.”
