Holy Ghost in the Catholic Machine: Spirit-Structure Tensions in Parish Preaching Work

Books on Catholic preaching from theological, biblical, rhetorical, and mechanical angles abound. This book is nothing like those.

Using interviews with thirty-nine parish priests, Sigler exposes the deep roots of the Catholic preaching problem in the church’s own organizational structures, revealing how seminary education, working conditions, parish norms, and even beliefs about God constrain priests from preaching well. Along the way, three preacher profiles emerge, capturing the array of preaching-related ambivalence, exhaustion, frustration, and anxiety that plague the vast majority of priests.

Thankfully, not every priest suffers. Through the example of one preacher profile, Sigler shows how priests who fully embrace their cooperation with the Spirit in preaching steer clear of the preaching-related pressures and tensions that grind so many of their brother preachers down. Exploring these priests’ exceptional approaches to their vocational identities, day-to-day parish work, and relationships with the Spirit provides every other priest with surprisingly practical guidance for finding peace in preaching.

In the voices of priests that fill these pages, a rare conversation about the cold, hard realities of preaching in the Catholic Church begins. Out of their vast experience, intriguing disagreements, and profound insights, Holy Ghost in the Catholic Machine draws hope for better preaching.

J. E. Sigler earned her PhD in Organizational Communication from Purdue University, specializing in work and vocation, particularly how organizational structures influence people's experience of work. Her research has been published in Homiletic & Pastoral Review, the Journal of Communication and Religion, and the Journal of Media and Religion. She currently lives in Falls Church, Virginia, where she conducts research on employees' experience of work and organizations' efforts to improve that experience.

To view a 1-hour webinar summarizing her book Holy Ghost in the Catholic Machine, click here.

Her work on vocational discernment was featured at the Virginia Tech TEDx conference in 2013. View her talk here.

For a more in-depth discussion of further research from her interviews with nuns, view her 2016 webinar for the Christianity & Communication Studies Network here.