Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast

As “Preach” begins its Lent 2026 series, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. sits down with liturgical theologian Anne McGowan to ask a foundational question: what is Lent for — and how do these practices reshape our faith, not just our habits for six weeks? Together, they trace its history from a two-day fast in the early Church to the 40-day season we know today, and explore its theological arc in the Sunday lectionary—from temptation and transfiguration to water, light and life, and finally the passion that leads into Easter, where new Christians are baptised and the faithful renew their baptismal promises.

0:00 Introducing the Lent 2026 series

2:30 Meet Anne McGowan: why she loves the liturgical year

6:20 You can’t understand Lent without Easter

8:10 The history of Lent: from two days to 40 days before Easter

10:40 Lent: a season of challenge and joy

15:05 Compunction and joy: do we have to choose?

20:55 The Sundays of Lent explained: from temptation to the passion

31:13 Preaching the whole journey of Lent

34:49 Preaching more than just the Sunday readings this Lent

36:22 How to come alive this Lent

A Preacher’s Guide to Holy Week: These are long liturgies. Be brief!

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“Things are happening [in Minnesota]  that my friends and family elsewhere are really having trouble understanding,” Laura Kelly Fanucci says,  “because the media is saying one thing, and all these partisan politicians are saying another thing.”

“But sometimes I think what Jesus [is saying in the gospel], is that when you are close to the center, sometimes you will know things about the mystery of God that are going to be difficult for other people to understand.”

Award-winning author, Laura Kelly Fanucci, joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to share what she has been preaching on her Instagram account @thismessygrace since U.S. federal immigration agents fatal shooting of  Renee Good, and later, Alex Pretti. After attending Mass the Sunday following the killing of Renée Good and hearing no mention of it from the pulpit at her parish, Laura began offering three-minute homilies on Instagram.

In this conversation with Ricardo da Silva, S.J., Laura offers practical advice for preaching in this historical moment marked by violence, terror and community upheaval. In her daily Scripture reflections on Instagram Laura models how to thread the needle of preaching the gospel and responding to surrounding events, without slipping into partisan rhetoric.

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Every year we take out the nativity. We arrange it carefully. Mary. Joseph. A baby in a manger. It feels sacred—one of the last spaces in our world left untouched.

But contemporary retellings challenge that calm. This year in Dedham, the Holy Family was removed and kept in the sanctuary for protection from ICE. In Evanston, the baby Jesus wrapped in emergency thermal blankets, his hands bound with zip ties. A few years ago in Bethlehem, a Lutheran pastor placed the Christ child on bomb rubble. We demand these displays be removed.

But what if the real danger isn’t the frame we construct—traditional crib or contemporary protest? What if it’s that we’re so busy fixing on one perfect pageant or one protest image that we miss the actual context of Jesus’ birth? We assume Mary and Joseph were turned away. Luke doesn’t say that. The Holy Family is welcomed into a warm home, pressed shoulder to shoulder with people doing all they can to make space. The house owner says: this is all we have. And it’s accepted. God is born there.

Ricardo tells us in this surprise Christmas Eve homily: God does not wait for us to clear space. He enters even when lives are full, when schedules are packed. Still, room is found. That’s the nativity we are living and called to live.

This is Ricardo’s final episode before moving to Rome in January to join the Jesuits’ international communications team. He’ll continue hosting Preach from there. We’re taking a brief break and will return just before Ash Wednesday with a new Lenten series. Please fill out our listener survey—your feedback helps shape what comes next. Merry Christmas!

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“I really appreciate it when the truth is spoken very plainly,” says Tsh Oxenreider. Homilies that cut to the chase—and call us to conversion now. Host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., speaks with writer and podcaster Tsh Oxenreider about what active waiting means during Advent; sitting with discomfort, resisting the rush to Christmas. They explore the traditional meanings of the liturgical weeks—joy in week three, love in week four—what penance looks like in this season, and the O Antiphons. Tsh speaks directly about what she needs from preaching: homilies that tell the truth plainly and call us, here and now, to confess our sins and get right with God.

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This week on Preach, we’re offering an Advent treat. Host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., sits down with fellow producer Maggi Van Dorn for a rare on-mic conversation about the spiritual power of Christmas carols. Drawing on their work as producers of another America podcast, “Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols,” they reflect on what these songs can teach preachers:


that the liturgy is more than the homily.


that beauty itself does theological work: it’s not just what is said, but how it’s delivered. The structure, rhythm, and form—whether in music or a homily—carry meaning and touch the heart.


that good preaching must reach the heart before the mind.

After their conversation, we bring you the second episode of “Hark!” Season 5: “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

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