On Thursday, October 25, the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis held its annual Great Preacher Award Banquet and Ceremony. The Honoree at this year’s event was Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D., of the Diocese of Memphis. Under the leadership of Acting President David G. Caron, O.P., the event was a grand success. Offering a clear, fraternal, dynamic welcome and introduction to the Honoree, Fr. Caron paved the way for Bishop Steib as he went on to offer an excellent preaching presentation. The Bishop began by saying: “I just preach the best I can; that’s what I do, hopefully inspiring others to proclaim God’s good news.” Referencing a homily once given by Pope Gregory the Great and Gregory’s use of Ezekiel 3:17a & 33:7a ~ “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel.” Bishop Steib urged us to be watchpersons, preachers proclaiming from the heights, unafraid and on fire with the Word. Bishop Stein went on to say that preachers must do so without arrogance but in ways grounded in humility; preaching must necessarily be accomplished “in a manner understandable to the people amongst whom the preacher preaches.”
Bishop Steib continued: “To preach is to be on fire with the presence of the living God so as to help in the unveiling of God’s mysteries. How can there be fire in the pews if there is ice in the pulpit?!” He spoke of Thomas Aquinas and how he was always impressed by St. Thomas as ‘scholar’ but later came to understand Thomas as preacher who was both a noble and a beggar. “I wasn’t aware of Thomas’ poetry and prayers until later and I learned from Thomas the beauty of expression and how it must always come from the heart. In his own prayer, Thomas begged to be anointed with the Word. Applying the everyday realities of everyday living, preaching is an amazing adventure in which people and preacher are brought into a clearer encounter with the mysteries of God.”
