Preach Like Elmer Gantry

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 07, 2025

Jesus sends out His 72 advance men to prepare the way for His coming. It’s a good guess that the disciples are in training for the priesthood. They travel light, eat the food placed before them, proclaim the Kingdom, and if the people do not receive them with respect, they knock the dust off their feet in testimony against them and move on to the next city. Their work prefigures the Liturgy of the Word and anticipates the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The Mass has two main components: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word begins with the opening hymn, Sign of the Cross, the Penitential Rite, the Gloria, and the Readings. It continues with the (usually) brief homily and concludes with the Creed. The Prayers of the Faithful transition to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The Liturgy of the Word fulfills and replaces the worship of the synagogue. Recall the scene of Jesus in the synagogue reading from Isaiah (cf. Lk. 4: 16-30): “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor….” He concludes, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” He was unpersuasive. “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong.” Sometimes perfect homilies are annoying.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist fulfills the worship of the synagogue and replaces the worship of the Temple sacrifice with the one Sacrifice of Jesus. We present our gifts during the Offertory. We recall the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday during the Sanctus. During the Canon, the priest in Christ consecrates the bread and wine. We recite the Our Father and prepare to receive Communion. During Mass, we enter into the eternal mystery of faith: the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. With His priest as His advance man in the Liturgy of the Word, Jesus comes to us in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

A priest should not underestimate the importance of his words, delivered in the name of Jesus. Big-picture violations of the Ten Commandments are always fair game for priests from the pulpit. For example, government programs that fund Planned Parenthood violate the Fifth Commandment. The massive national debt steals from future generations and violates the Seventh Commandment. The clergy articulate Catholic principles and the laity applies those principles using prudential judgements under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The clergy must carefully respect the rights of the laity.

But popular expectations often overestimate a priest’s abilities. Surveys confirm that most Catholics desire homilies with entertainment value. Good luck. And beware. The polished rhetoric of Fulton Sheen is spiritually appealing, but it’s more likely you’d encounter the narcissistic drama of Elmer Gantry.

In the 1960 movie, Burt Lancaster portrays Elmer Gantry’s flamboyant and charismatic bible-banging tent-preaching style with his fiery showmanship. Gantry captivates audiences through his booming voice, dramatic gestures, and emotional appeals. He mixes scripture with folksy humor. His sermons stir the crowd and evoke emotional responses. He manipulates the Gospel for personal profit, with his powerful emotional connection.

With professional admiration and a hint of envy, within the clerical club, we know priests with compelling homiletic styles. They’re doing God’s work, maybe. One priest developed a reputation for powerful preaching. He attracted hundreds of people from other parishes to his church, all eager to hear his message. Over time, he noticed a disturbing trend. After his homily, many departed for the parking lots. Who needs Holy Communion with Father Fabulous preaching? His church had become a Protestant mega-church. The spirit of Elmer Gantry was upon him. So, he took up the collection before the homily.

Most priests work hard on homily preparation and hope their remarks nourish the spiritual lives of their parishioners with truths that apply to everyday living. They are duty-bound to preach Jesus, His Gospel, and the authentic Catholic faith. Many Catholics, unhappy with the preaching of priests, often leave the parish and join the local Protestant mega-church with those evangelical preachers who preach like Elmer Gantry. Sufficiently entertained with the electronic keyboards, acoustical drums, and high-tech music, they make their rejection of Holy Communion official.

The Liturgy of Word fulfilled by the Liturgy of the Eucharist helps us place the homiletic remarks of a boring priest in the proper perspective. As a young priest, I delivered the homily during the Saturday vigil Mass. I struck out. Discouraged, I returned to the rectory and joined a priest friend as he watched the evening news. Remote control in hand, he asked me how my remarks went. I said lousy. His response was perfect: “Sometimes we waste our time preaching, waste the time of the people, and even waste God’s time.” His glib remark reminded me not to take myself so seriously. Work hard and be happy with a reasonable batting average.

We cannot emphasize too much the Real Presence and that beautiful theological word, Transubstantiation. Jesus comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine with His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The grand finale of every Mass is Holy Communion. The Mass concludes with the priest sending us to proclaim the Gospel with our lives.

Whether a homily is interesting or boring, or muddles the distinction between Catholic principles and prudential judgements that belong to the laity, the priest, like the 72 disciples, prepares the way of Jesus. Those who receive Holy Communion leave Mass with far more than they deserve. If you’re looking for your priest to preach like Elmer Gantry to soothe your boredom, look for a Protestant mega-church. If you’re expecting to receive Jesus, bear with His advance man if necessary, and anticipate the devout reception of Holy Communion.