Fr. Ed Foley, vice postulator for Blessed Solanus’ canonization cause, receives $220K grant for ‘Preaching with the Sciences’ program

DETROIT — Priests deliver hundreds of homilies each liturgical year. After a while, even the most insightful and creative priest can use some added inspiration to help him bring the word of God to life. 

“I’m concerned that Roman Catholic preaching sometimes doesn’t have much imagination,” Fr. Ed Foley, OFM Cap., told Detroit Catholic. “Jesus was an amazing storyteller.”

Fr. Foley, a retired professor and the founding director of the Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry program at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, hopes to spark the imagination of priests and deacons with his new project, “Preaching with the Sciences: An Imaginative Approach to Roman Catholic Homiletics,” for which he received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation last year. 

The $220,000 grant was awarded to the project through the Catholic Theological Union (CTU), where Fr. Foley serves as the Duns Scotus Professor Emeritus of Spirituality. 

“One thing that science teaches us is that we’re wired to tell stories; we can use science to preach and make connections between liturgy and life,” said Fr. Foley, who also serves as vice postulator for the Capuchins’ canonization cause of Blessed Solanus Casey. 

In his own homilies, Fr. Foley has been using scientific anecdotes for years. For a recent Sunday Mass, he referenced neuro-endocrinologist Robert Sapolsky’s book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,” to illustrate that stress in animals is good and necessary for survival but that humans’ long-term psychological stress is not desirable for our minds and bodies. He connected this idea to St. Paul’s writings about anxiety in Corinthians 7:32-35.

“Preaching with the Sciences” is a 31-month project that began in October. The endeavor includes five scientists with expertise in biology, pathology, cognitive science, astronomy and climate science, as well as 11 homilists — priests, deacons and professors from around the country. The scientists provide webinars in their area of knowledge for the homilists, followed by question-and-answer sessions, in a quest to discover the links between the science and God’s word. 

Using the information they’ve acquired, the homilists are then charged with writing outlines for more than 100 Sundays and feast days over the course of the liturgical year, including all three cycles in the lectionary. The bullet-pointed outlines suggest scientific findings and resources to pair with the Scripture for each day, and are made available for homilists everywhere to use as a guide. 

The friendship of science and faith

Fr. Adam DeLeon, S.J., was humbled to be asked to participate as a homilist.  Fr. DeLeon is a theology teacher and campus minister at Loyola High School in Detroit.

“Growing up in Cleveland, a priest once related the size of the Sea of Galilee to how it compares to the size of Lake Erie, and I still remember that,” said Fr. Adam DeLeon, SJ, a theology teacher and campus minister at Loyola High School in Detroit. 

Fr. DeLeon was asked to participate as a homilist in the program, bringing his experience with the Jesuits’ Ignatian spirituality to his preaching. 

“Ignatian spirituality allows prayer to use the fullness of all five senses,” Fr. DeLeon said. “In preaching, why wouldn’t I want to engage with the physical and scientific world to bring the Gospel to life?”

With a degree in religious studies from Holy Cross College in Massachusetts, Fr. DeLeon doesn’t consider himself well-versed in the sciences, yet he embraces the opportunity to work with preeminent scientists and scholars.  

“I know the Church has had a rocky relationship with science at times in our history, but I’m surrounded by Jesuit scientists, and these are men of deep faith. I can see the connection is there between science and reason,” Fr. DeLeon said. “By God’s grace, I’ve been blessed with the gift of faith while some are blessed with deeper scientific understanding. We all have different gifts but the same Spirit, and we’re learning from each other.”  

In his 1988 letter to Fr. George V. Coyn, SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory at the time, Pope John Paul II wrote: “Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.”

Making Christ one’s ‘tuning fork’

Fr. David Bechill, pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Lincoln Park, points to St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings on science. Aquinas believed science and religion share a love of the search for truth, and that truth for both come from the same source: God.  

Though he typically doesn’t use homily aids, Fr. Bechill does draw from that which he reads, observes and learns and is open to using “Preaching with the Sciences” resources.

“If there’s a good image or anecdote in science, I’m glad to use it,” Fr. Bechill said. “Science and religion are opposed like the thumb and pointer finger — you use one to grasp the other, as we can also use science to grasp God in the world. When science and religion are in dialogue, they help reveal God to us, and also us to ourselves.”  

Fr. Bechill has used science in his homilies before. In one, he explained a physics concept he found fascinating: why orchestras use an “A” note to tune their instruments. He compared this fact to the crucifixion, urging people to make the cross of Christ their “tuning fork” in life. 

Fr. Foley says preaching is a conversation with God and His people, mediated by the preacher. Knowing that adults between ages 18 and 35 are leaving the Catholic faith in larger numbers, he believes it’s imperative to find creative ways to reach the people in the pews. 

“When we look at great novelists or composers, we know that imagination takes work, as does preaching. I have a responsibility to know the stories and anxieties of my congregations and then close the gap between God and them,” Fr. Foley said.  

Being in awe of science is not limited to those who hold a science degree.

“I think as priests, we have degrees in philosophy, but not many have a background in the sciences. We’ve not been nurtured to see the fascination and the mystery that science gives us,” Fr. Foley said. “Whether or not the people who created the Hubble Space Telescope were religious, the images that come back explode my religious imagination.” 

Fr. DeLeon plans to use his classroom at Loyola High School as a testing ground for his outlines. 

“As I build my muscles in the sciences, I can bring content to my students and see what resonates, what makes sense or what doesn’t,” Fr. DeLeon said. “What a gift to be able to bring the wisdom and knowledge of these amazing scientists to the west side of Detroit. That’s the universal Catholic Church in action.”

The first of the outlines and webinars will be available through a portal on CTU’s website in April 2022 for priests and deacons, though anyone is welcome to access the site. Outlines will post gradually according to the liturgical calendar approximately a month before the designated Sunday.

The project will wrap up in May 2023. After the outlines are complete, people will be invited to submit outlines for consideration and content will continue to be added to the website. 

Learn more

To learn more about “Preaching with the Sciences: An Imaginative Approach to Roman Catholic Homiletics” and check for updates, go to www.edwardfoleycapuchin.org.