The best formation Deacon Steve Kramer has ever received were the four summers he spent as a taxi and limo driver. “It really prepared me for pastoral counseling,” he says of his year’s shuttling people back and forth. “They sit, they open their heart, and pretty much they figure out that they’ll never see you again. So they open up in a different way.

On “Preach,” Steve delivers a homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, initiating the Scrutinies for catechumens in the O.C.I.A. process. Departing from the usual Year C readings, Year A Scriptures are employed, better suited for those preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil. The Scrutinies prompt catechumens to confront their sinfulness and embrace God’s merciful love through reflection, repentance and exorcism.

Listen to Steve’s homily on this week’s episode of “Preach.” In their conversation afterwards, Steve and host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., discuss preaching to the needs of the community, the importance of listening and balancing themes of sin and God’s merciful love when preaching.

Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings.

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“Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc. 

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