Do you know Father Wingit? I bet you do.
Father Wingit is that priest who has not actually prepared a homily since seminary.
Every Sunday, Father Wingit wanders the length of the sanctuary, back and forth and delivers a 30 minute homily with no point, vague platitudes, and a lot of hand movement.
I have seen Father Wingit get so confused 20 minutes into a homilectomy that he just stopped, stood for 30 seconds, and then started the creed. You have never seen so many relieved faces.
Two Christmases ago Father Wingit was well into a Christmas homily when he inadvertently (I think) told the child-packed Church that there is no Santa Claus. Luckily my children had zoned out.
Father Wingit loves to ask us to clap for everyone even remotely involved in the liturgy. This past Sunday we had six, count ’em, six separate applause calls. Well, we all get into liturgy for the fame and recognition after all. My children know that if they clap, I will go all Sharia and start chopping off hands.
When Father Wingit simply cannot wing it and is completely stuck, he calls all the children up to the sanctuary. He tells them to listen to their parents and throws holy water at them.
Father Wingit is likely to break out in a random hymn during any part of the mass but particularly during the consecration. The transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus just doesn’t have the wow factor don’tcha know? Needs a little pizzaz. He is fond of Christmas hymns, even in July.
Dear Father Wingit, do us all a favor and don’t wing it. If you can’t be bothered to spend 30 minutes preparing a 7 minute homily, why should we bother to listen to you?
Dear Father Wingit, if you cannot be interesting in 5 minutes, another 25 minutes is not gonna help. Trust me.
Dear Father Wingit, if you do not think the Mass is interesting enough to leave alone, you are doing it wrong.
Dear Father Wingit, Cardinal Ratzinger, now the Pope, said this about applause. “Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. ” Read it. Learn it. Live it.
Dear Father Wingit, the Mass is not your playground. When we notice you, guess who we are not noticing? C’mon, guess. He has a beard….
December 18, 2012 at 4:32 am
Went to one of Fr. Wingit 's Masses a couple weeks ago. He winged it thru the whole Eucharistic prayer. Had to write my bishop.
December 18, 2012 at 2:57 pm
I've been subjected to this pablum and buffoonery for so many years. Somewhere, I know, Catholics are getting what they need, but not in this diocese for the most part (there are exceptions). It's really a shame, because there is so much opportunity for evangelization here in Utah. The Mormon culture is being subsumed by the larger, consumerist culture and a vacuum is being created. Servant of God, Cora Evans, pray for our priests.
December 18, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Santa?
Sorry couldn't help myself. He does have a beard, though. 😉
December 18, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Santa?
Sorry couldn't help myself. He does have a beard, though. 😉
December 18, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I was thinking of Santa as well?
December 18, 2012 at 3:58 pm
In seminary we were told, "If you haven't struck oil in ten minutes, stop boring."
December 18, 2012 at 5:21 pm
My own Fr. Improv preaches decent short homilies, but feels he must "improve" the Roman missal by frequent additions of his own. These are rarely successful.
December 18, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Father Wingit is exactly what I called the priest from a parish I attended on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
I truly felt sorry for the regular parishoners, how can they be completely spiritually fed without a solid sermon week after week? My family is so blessed to attend a FSSP parish where the sermons are always well prepared and hard hitting.
December 18, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Went on an odd sojourn to an RC church a few months ago to hear a Latin Mass. The celebrant took the preaching slot to talk about his bowels for ten minutes. There was no religious, let alone theological content. It was one of the very few moments I could actually be smug about being Anglican. Recent events have rather demolished that smugness, however.
December 18, 2012 at 8:17 pm
I do hope all of you making online comments about these priests have mentioned to the men themselves how their homilies are unhelpful in a charitable manner. You also may want to check and see if they are lonely and the homily is the only time they feel like anybody is paying any attention to them.
December 18, 2012 at 9:27 pm
They think they're letting the Holy Spirit move.
December 18, 2012 at 10:02 pm
I've known some, but we are currently blessed with a priest who types out his homily for every day — and they're even posted after delivery at Mass on our parish website.
December 20, 2012 at 12:07 am
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December 20, 2012 at 12:13 am
A Church full of Fr. Wingits — all in "good standing" — leaves me with absolutely zero compunction about attending Mass at the SSPX chapel.
December 20, 2012 at 2:22 pm
We had a priest once who winged his sermons. The dear man simply could not preach. But when it came to the Mass, he was say the black, do the red and was the most holy man I have ever known.
I forgave him his rambling homilies.
January 1, 2013 at 4:02 am
If you want an insight into a priest's spirituality, listen to him preach. Length is not as important as content. Is the content there? Is there any depth? Is their any wish to focus on the readings and what roots those readings are in specific church teachings? Does he show how these teachings challenge our actions and our world? Does he ever speak of the sacraments (especially confession, baptism, and Eucharist) on a regular basis? Does he ever extol the devotional life, prayer, the reading of Scripture, writings of the saints? Do they give evidence that he has read and prayed since he left the seminary? Is there any flow or connection with the homily of last week (usually the readings have such a flow)? While he doesn't need to be flashy (and really shouldn't) is there any sense of holiness, conviction, or a witnessed metanoia? Content! Content! Content! Any good priest knows that his words spoken will come back at judgment and he will be held accountable for how he fed the flock entrusted to him. Final tip: if he can't 'read the black, do the red'…then his homilies will follow suit as well.