I had what I believed to be a brilliant thought recently. My nephew, who just earned a degree in education, was preparing a lesson plan for students with varying learning styles. This was one of his last assignments before graduation, and he had to prove he knew how to reach children who process information by hearing it, seeing it, or working with their hands.

Ah-ha, I thought to myself, this is the problem with my faith life. My learning style is in conflict with how priests preach. I was so pleased with myself that I thought I would ask a couple of preaching professors if they had heard this big news about learning styles.

I did. And, they had.

I talked first to Fr. Greg Heille, O.P., academic dean and a homiletics professor at Aquinas Institute of Theology. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to work as a communications professional at Aquinas Institute. If the school is any way responsible for my lackluster relationship with the Catholic Church, it is because the faculty set the standard so high for liturgy and theological conversation.)

Next, I talked to Fr. Don Wester, pastor at All Saints Church in St. Peters and a homiletics professor at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

Here's what they said:

Fr. Heille:

There is a lot of scholarship that goes into preaching. Everyone thinks of preaching as auditory, but it is also visual. The whole body communicates. It has to do with rhetoric, the power of persuasion.

Fr. Wester:

When I teach preaching, I ask seminarians to first look at themselves and their method for processing information. I call it their hardwiring. Once they understand their own style and how they relate, they are prepared to think about other styles. It fans out from there.

I also asked the men to tell me about how they prepare students to become preachers.

At Kenrick-Glennon, seminarians now take two courses on preaching. Fr. Wester said the seminary hopes to include elective courses in preaching in the next two years.

Aquinas Institute is considered a national center for preaching education. Seminarians there take four semesters of preaching courses. They are videotaped when they preach and review the tape with professors.

Preaching is not simply about speaking but also about having something to say. In that context, every theology class the students take contributes to the making of great homilies.

So, they knew about the learning styles. I did not bring the bit of information that would transform the Sunday morning experience. Still, I felt like my initial reaction had been legitimate. In a lifetime of hearing homilies, I have heard a few that were spectacular, many that nudged me along on my faith journey, and plenty that left me flat, even disheartened.

Both men said something though to suggest I could do something about those flat homilies.

Fr. Wester:
The main document on preaching from the bishops of the United States, Fulfilled in Your Hearing, talks about a three-legged stool: the person who is preaching, the word (or scripture), and the community. There is energy in that transaction.

Fr. Heille:
The Catholic word 'homily' comes from Jewish tradition; it means 'table conversation.' It is an exchange between preacher and congregation.

I would be naïve to believe that by showing up and being an enthusiastic listener I can turn a mediocre homily into a passionate homily. But it can't hurt. If I go expecting to learn something, odds are better I will. If I consider myself a participant, perhaps my posture or the occasional nod will enrich the dialogue.

My nephew would hope for as much from his students.