“If you don't spend time writing your homily today and you just get up and give it, ask ChatGPT or Claude — they’re gonna do a better job than you,” says Brendan McGuire. In the third episode of our series on Preaching for Missionary Discipleship, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. welcomes Brendan McGuire, pastor of St. Simon Parish in Los Altos, California, and a former Silicon Valley technology executive who now advises the Vatican and Anthropic on AI ethics. A longtime teacher of homiletics, McGuire recently led formation sessions for Jesuit scholastics in Florence on using AI in homily prep — and brings that teaching here, making the case for a disciplined “deep prompt,” built from a preacher’s own best homilies, over a “thin prompt” that produces something generic and derivative.

Timecodes:

0:00 AI may prepare a better homily than you

2:29 Meet the Silicon Valley priest advising Anthropic and the Vatican

4:00 Recalling his first homilies — 30 years ago

8:20 Preaching as an ‘art’

11:41 Preaching that leads to "missionary discipleship"

15:33 Not just the words of the homily — but the delivery

18:20 A nun challenges him to change how he preaches

23:00 AI homilies: Yes or No? 25:19

25:58 AI homilies: thin prompts vs. deep prompts

30:10 AI Hallucination and scriptural analysis

37:20 What are the ethical guardrails for an AI homily?

Brendan’s homilies: https://www.frbrendanmcguire.org/homilies-master

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“Jesus doesn't put burdens on us,” says Jean-Pierre Ducharme, O.F.M. “Jesus invites us into a relationship where we are graced and blessed by God.” Continuing our series on Preaching for Missionary Discipleship, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. welcomes Jean-Pierre Ducharme, O.F.M., Minister Provincial of the Holy Spirit Province, Canada. He makes the case for homilies that center the relationship Jesus invites us into — one of freedom and joy — rather than dwelling on sin and placing undue burdens on the congregation.

Timecodes:

0:00 Preaching shouldn’t burden people

4:05 A synodal style of preaching

7:31 Reading: Matthew 13: 21-43; Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of heaven

9:26 Jean-Pierre’s homily

17:32  A sermon vs. a homily

20:21 All preachers must talk about grace

22:03 Focusing on mission in our preaching

27:45 Homilies should only make one point

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As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, preachers face a sacred responsibility– to proclaim the Gospel and heed the signs of the times, without getting lost in political ideologies. When Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore was asked to preach at a Mass consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he did just that.

 He joins “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss his preparations for this auspicious occasion and what it means to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Timecodes:

0:00 What does it mean to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart?

4:43 Setting the scene: Preaching at the spring plenary of the U.S. Bishops

7:42 Jesus’ high priestly discourse in the Gospel of John

9:05 Archbishop Lori’s homily 

20:23 Preparing a homily for the nation’s 250th anniversary

23:40 How not to let your homily go off the rails

28:00 We must identify as Catholics first, before political affiliations

31:44 Preaching without jargon

34:10 What does it mean to preach for missionary discipleship today?

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Along the U.S.-Mexico border, Flavio Bravo, S.J., celebrates Mass in migrant shelters among people living in fear and uncertainty. Reflecting on John’s resurrection appearances in which Christ shows his wounds and breathes his Spirit, Flavio preaches the risen Christ, not as an idea, but as a presence encountered in woundedness. Flavio joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to speak about preaching resurrection and hope from within places in which migrants are suffering as part of this Easter series of the "Preach" podcast.

0:00 A Haitian girl blesses the priest

2:07 Meeting Fr. Flavio Bravo, S.J.

2:48 Crossing borders: arriving in the U.S. as a teenage refugee

5:00 Who comes to the border today

9:34 Inside Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries

11:35 Homily: The risen Lord is the crucified one

24:50 How preaching grows out of daily ministry

25:57 The Gospel stories we never wrote down

27:54 How his preaching has changed

28:39 Resurrection within suffering—not escape

30:25 Preaching on the move: new faces each week

32:00 Joy at Mass: children, bells, holy water

35:10 Sustaining the work: community and self-care

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How does one keep their belief in the resurrection in a war-scarred area of the world? In this third episode of Preach’s Easter series, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., speaks to Brother Peter Iorlano, F.S.C., who has lived and ministered at Bethlehem University in the West Bank for over 20 years, accompanying Palestinian students and colleagues through occupation, conflict and loss. He is also the university’s vice president for human resources.

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“You see the light in people's eyes come back and you see faces start to move instead of being frozen," says Tom Weston, S.J.,  speaking about his experience ministering to people in addiction recovery. “The humanity is reborn [...] it's resurrection.”

 In this episode we continue our Easter series on preaching the hope of the resurrection in a broken world. Our guest Tom Weston, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, counsellor, and man in long-term recovery, who has devoted most of his priestly life to working alongside people battling addiction — leading 12-step based retreats, offering counseling and spiritual accompaniment, and lecturing internationally. 

Together with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., they discuss how we can all be witnesses to the resurrection and recipients of God’s grace, no matter how dark our lives may seem. 

Timecodes:

0:00 We can see the resurrection clearly in those in recovery

7:00 Tom Weston’s homily

17:07 God’s grace is greater than our human will power

21:45 How much should a preacher reveal about themselves in a homily?

25:00 Grace isn’t only for those in recovery

26:40 What does the resurrection look like?

28:47 Preaching hope in darkness

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What does it mean to preach resurrection into a broken world? In this first episode of our 2026 Easter series, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., welcomes Alberto Solano, a New Testament scholar at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. Together, they open up the post-resurrection appearances in John’s Gospel—Mary in the garden, Thomas in the upper room, Peter by the charcoal fire—and ask why the risen Christ keeps showing up not to the powerful, but to the grieving, the fearful, and the lost. 

Timecodes:

0:00 The risen Christ first meets the outcast, the fearful, the rejected

1:25 What do the resurrection appearances in John have to offer preachers today?

2:50 Alberto Solano brings scripture scholarship to Preach

4:26 Why does Jesus call Mary Magdalene by name?

8:50 What did “resurrection from the dead” mean to a Jewish people?

18:46 “Doubting Thomas”—or the most faithful disciple?

22:20 Your worst moment isn't your whole story

27:04 Why does the Church turn to John at Easter more than the other Gospels?

34:40 Acts — how the early Church learned to love its enemies as neighbours

38:45 What does Easter call preachers to say?

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What is fasting for? What biblical precedent do we have for the practices of fasting and abstinence? And how can preachers steer between the two extremes of self-punishment and loophole hunting? “Preach” concludes its Lent 2026 series on the three classical pillars of the season with a conversation on fasting.  Host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. is joined by James Keane — senior editor at America and a writer who has spent some time reflecting and writing on what fasting is and what it’s for.

Timecodes:

0:00 What’s fasting for?

2:00 The Brazilian loophole to abstinence during Lent: capibara 

3:55 What does the church teach on fasting and abstinence?

6:53 Fasting is meant to bring you closer to God

8:35 Biblical citations of fasting

11:05 Fasting evolved alongside seasons of food scarcity and abundance

14:10 St. Ignatius’ fervour for fasting

16:10 Avoiding the two extremes of self-punishment vs.  loophole hunting 

18:58 Pope Leo XIV’s message this Lent

James Keane’s articles on fasting:

On fasting: The difference between our preaching and our practice

7 things you never knew about fasting

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What is almsgiving — and why does the Church teach that it is more about justice and right relationship than simply personal charity or philanthropy? As “Preach” continues its Lent 2026 series on the three classical pillars of the season—prayer, fasting and almsgiving—we turn to almsgiving, perhaps the most confronting of the three. In this conversation, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. is joined by Kerry Robinson, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA., and author of Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy, and a Spiritual Call to Service, a book that reflects on generosity as a spiritual practice rooted in faith.

Timecodes:

0:00 Generosity is at the heart of almsgiving

2:30 Our cognitive dissonance with money and faith

5:43 How Kerry became a steward of her family’s 80-year-old foundation 

8:20 About Catholic Charities U.S.A.

11:50 Biblical teachings on giving alms 

16:36 Mother Teresa: “never take away the right of another to be generous”

21:30 We need both charity and justice

26:24 New insights from Pope Leo and ‘Dilexi Te’

28:08 Preach almsgiving with thanksgiving

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What is prayer? And maybe more importantly for preachers—what are we inviting people into when we stand in the pulpit and speak about it? As “Preach” continues its Lent 2026 series, we turn to the three classical pillars that shape the season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In this first conversation, focused on prayer, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. is joined by Amy Ekeh, Director of Mission Advancement for the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, retreat leader, author and adjunct instructor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Sacred Heart University. Amy is the author of several books, including:

 Stretch Out Your Hand: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus

Come to Me, All of You: Stations of the Cross in the Voice of Christ

 Lent: Season of Transformation

Timecodes:

0:00 We can’t be afraid to ask for God’s help

1:25 Who is Amy Ekeh?

2:50 Prayer is relational

7:57 Prayer is nurtured in community

14:30 Good preaching requires you to know your congregation

16:53 Ask for healing! The people in the Gospels did.

21:38 Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer

26:16 Carving out space for silence

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