An Italian priest has come up with a manual to answer what he thinks is a preacher's common prayer, how to keep his flock interested in what he's saying.The guide, available on the Verona diocese website, is called Everything A Priest Should Know To Keep The Faithful From Getting Bored.
The author, Father Mario Masina, says preachers should kick off their sermons with ''a question, an anecdote, a news story, something topical but not too blown up by the media''.
It is crucial to vary styles of delivery ''to keep up a feeling of spontaneity'' but at the same time preachers must ''read up on everything'' to avoid giving the impression that they're ''just trotting out something for the umpteenth time''.
The most important thing, Father Masina says, is ''knowing when the end is coming up'' - which shouldn't be more than ten minutes from the start, and ''preferably sooner''.
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(Source: ANSA)