ABSTRACT
In Roman Catholicism the mass constitutes the central focus of worship, the climax of which is the sacrificial offering by the priest of Christ's body and blood. John Carroll well understood the need for elegant preachers who, versed in the American idiom, could compete in a Protestant America so fond of orators. A preacher must be eloquent, capable of using the language in a way that he moved his audience by the sheer power of his words. Father Ferdinand Farmer lamented the infatuation of some Catholics for beautiful oratory. Most American teachers of homiletics in the late eighteenth century favored a plain and natural style free from either extreme or artificial embellishments or roughness. Irish preachers were an exception to some of the standards established by these teachers of homiletics. The call for distinguished preachers was universal among Catholic congregations, regardless of their location or ethnic composition.
