Catholic Homily Layout

Fr. Michael Denk

Hi all, I've been doing all of the training videos and it seems like Verbum 8 is the last training.

I'm looking for selections on a good layout, mostly because I don't want to miss any of the amazing features that I keep finding.

For example:
Lectionary

All of my resources that are specifically homily commentaries for the Sunday reading

commentaries (How do I make sure they are all showing and not hidden)

Text parallel

catechism

books

anything else you can think of?

Is there a way for you to export your layout so I can import it?
Can this layout be used in the web version. I use the web most because it works across ios android and windows and am rarely in front of my pc

any other advice for homily training for Verbum 10?

Fr. Michael Denk
TheProdigalFather.org

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Have you watched Roza, Devin, and Andrew Dalton. Verbum Advanced Homiletic Training. Bellingham, WA: Verbum, 2015.?

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264086#Comment_1264086

Yes, I have but it is outdated version 7 I think. Are you aware of one with version 10? It is just very difficult to follow because the features they are describing don't appear on my version. I'm just hoping someone can get me a good layout so that I can save time. Thanks for your response.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264125#Comment_1264125

I'm just hoping someone can get me a good layout so that I can save time.

I looked at your web site. Nicely done and quite professional. But mainly I was just trying to understand how you'd want to use your Verbum in your daily life. Of course, MJ's the expert.

- Study? If so, basic tools, maybe highlighting support, auto-support for what you're studying?

- Devotional? Quick access to the Fathers, maybe Home Page, and so forth. I assume Homilies are already a favorite.

- Training ... just exploring the Verbum features and how to best use?

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264131#Comment_1264131

Glad to know MJ is the expert! Thanks for the compliment on my web page:)

My primary use for Verbum is homily development. To be honest I don't like the built in tools.

I just want to figure a layout that would somehow be lined up with the lectionary showing me corresponding commentaries, especially commentaries on the structure of the lectionary readings. This would be very helpful for making connections with the readings. It would also be nice to have the roman missal incorporated with the readings, prayers and prefaces. So I'm looking for an all in one layout for preaching on the lectionary and roman missal for Sundays.

I have tons of commentaries. I also have some that are written specifically for Sunday mass readings.

I use a couple of physical books like

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Soul-Reflections-Readings-Cycle-ebook/dp/B09Z775C6R/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HBQKNFW4APS4&keywords=peter+kreeft+food+for+the+soul&qid=1689095655&sprefix=peter+kreeft+food+for+the+soul%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1

and this video series:

https://catholicproductions.com/products/mass-readings-explained-include-trial

Could you recommend any verbum resources like these which focus on the lectionary?

Thanks for your help!

Noel Fitzpatrick

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264133#Comment_1264133

I appreciate very much the expert, friendly and clear replies I got from this forum and from Logos/Verbum (Skype) recently.

As an ordinary Catholic ‘hewer of wood and drawer of water’ I would like to reply to Fr Denk’s posts, in the hope it may be useful to others and someone might like to suggest improvements As you can see it is based on recent replies to me. Thanks again.

I have several Layouts I use but the most helpful; has in my tool bar:

Praying the psalms (Brueggemann)
The Priority of Christ (Barron)
The Use and Abuse of the Bible (Wansbrough)
Psalms – THOTC Ps (Grogan)
Anchor YBD (Freedman)
You can understand the Bible (Kreeft)
Faithlife Study Bible
Praying the Psalms in Christ (Kriegshauser)

In the top left pane of my favourite layout I have:

NRSVCE
NABRE
RSVCE

In the bottom left pane:

Passage Guide
Notes on Psalms

In the right pane I have:

NColBC Ps (Bergant)
The Catholic Study Bible - NABRE Notes (Collins)
TOTC Ps 1-72 (Kidner)
A Cath Comm on H S (Orchards)
THOTC Ps (Grogan)

This favourite Layout of mine is preliminary and I hope to improve it. As you can see it is influenced strongly by my current interest in the Psalms in English. I was considering submitting something like this as a separate theme, but preferred to post as a reply to Fr Denk.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264501#Comment_1264501

As an ordinary Catholic ‘hewer of wood and drawer of water’ I would like to reply

Thank you, Noel! I was hoping for examples from studying folks! Hope you keep adding ideas.

I can't link to it right now because Logos.com is under maintenance but in Verbum 10 features there is indeed a new video from Catholics for Verbum 10.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264501#Comment_1264501

That's great. Thank you for this. I believe there is a way to export this. Would you mind trying so I can important as layed out as you have described.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264086#Comment_1264086

I think a better way of explaining of what I'm looking for (and perhaps it doesn't exist) is I'd like to click on the Sunday readings and have an organized commentary of windows that will line up all of my commentaries and how they interrelate to the first reading, psalms, second reading Gospel and the prayers from the roman missal

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264520#Comment_1264520

Hmmmm all I can find online and within the app is based on verbum 7 with a warning that verbum 8 may look differently

Kevin S. Coy, OFS

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264584#Comment_1264584

Here is a link to some V10 training.

https://www.youtube.com/@VerbumSoftware

KSC

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264133#Comment_1264133

Fr. Michael, I think much of what you seem to be trying to do is achievable, but there are some variables at play...

I'm not aware that custom Layouts can be exported/imported, so whatever you end up with is likely going to have to be created or refined manually and then saved as a named Layout. I'll assume you know how to do that from the videos you've referenced.

I'm also going to burst your bubble regarding the web app: it is quite limited compared to the desktop app. I barely use it, but I don't think you can even create Layouts - you can choose a window pane organizing scheme, but that's barely half a loaf.

Despite all that, you can build a Layout in the desktop app that accomplishes the kind of synchronized study environment you envision. However, the amount of screen real estate you have available to use will be a limiting factor in how much you can display at once. I have a customized Layout I call Sunday Readings which works well for me, but it's based on the availability of multiple monitors, and obviously I don't know how practical it would be in your scenario.

You say you don't like the built in tools, but does that extend to the built-in Lectionary Layout? It seems to accomplish from within the main application window at least much of what you're after. Have you tried tweaking that and saving it as a Named Layout? Where does that Layout fall short for you?

If it's a matter of incorporating commentaries synced to the liturgical calendar, you could add those resources and set up a 2nd Link Set for those and the Lectionary and Missal windows??

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264580#Comment_1264580

https://verbum.com/product/228483/verbum-10-full-feature-upgrade

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264624#Comment_1264624

Yes, thank you I have visited that training. It doesn't include the advanced homiletics and preaching. However I am making my way through the verbum 7

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264625#Comment_1264625

I'm hoping once I lay everything out on PC it will work on the web app. I like the idea of multiple screens which I have. Does it save layout for multiple screens.

And yes now that I'm learning lectionary lay out that does seem to help.

However for some reason it is linked to the catechism commentary and not the catechism

What I'm trying to get at is for example I have those resources I've been using which are lectionary commentaries and tie in all of the readings but it is limited to the hard cover peter kreeft book that I have. He ties together all of the readings

Is there a resource for verbum that can do this? I'm wondering if maybe it is a search tool

First reading AND Gospel OR psalm OR second reading being the prompt

Ideally i would like the lectionary to show up and then have verbum magically pull together commentaries that include references of the other readings for that day.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264625#Comment_1264625

I'm hoping once I lay everything out on PC it will work on the web app. I like the idea of multiple screens which I have. Does it save layout for multiple screens.

And yes now that I'm learning lectionary lay out that does seem to help.

However for some reason it is linked to the catechism commentary and not the catechism

What I'm trying to get at is for example I have those resources I've been using which are lectionary commentaries and tie in all of the readings but it is limited to the hard cover peter kreeft book that I have. He ties together all of the readings

Is there a resource for verbum that can do this? I'm wondering if maybe it is a search tool

First reading AND Gospel OR psalm OR second reading being the prompt

Ideally i would like the lectionary to show up and then have verbum magically pull together commentaries that include references of the other readings for that day.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264625#Comment_1264625

I'm hoping once I lay everything out on PC it will work on the web app. I like the idea of multiple screens which I have. Does it save layout for multiple screens.

And yes now that I'm learning lectionary lay out that does seem to help.

However for some reason it is linked to the catechism commentary and not the catechism

What I'm trying to get at is for example I have those resources I've been using which are lectionary commentaries and tie in all of the readings but it is limited to the hard cover peter kreeft book that I have. He ties together all of the readings

Is there a resource for verbum that can do this? I'm wondering if maybe it is a search tool

First reading AND Gospel OR psalm OR second reading being the prompt

Ideally i would like the lectionary to show up and then have verbum magically pull together commentaries that include references of the other readings for that day.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264639#Comment_1264639

However for some reason it is linked to the catechism commentary and not the catechism

Sounds like the commentary is given a priority over the catechism. You can correct this in the library - right side panel.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264625#Comment_1264625

Vaguely remember, in one of my last trainings, that one of the two priests actually had a page where you could imports their saved layouts I can’t find it anywhere now, of course.

it looks like there is a way to export the layout

‘see print export in the dialogue box attached

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264658#Comment_1264658

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264658#Comment_1264658

Sorry my link isn't posting and not sure if I can post a picture

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264658#Comment_1264658

Sorry my link isn't posting and not sure if I can post a picture

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264639#Comment_1264639

Does it save layout for multiple screens.

Yes. When you "Save as named layout", or subsequently "Update active" when you have a custom named layout loaded, it will save the layout of all open windows, with all their contents, wherever they are on your computer desktop. The only exception to this I'm aware of is that any windows that are minimized when saved get restored non-minimized.

I have those resources I've been using which are lectionary commentaries and tie in all of the readings but it is limited to the hard cover peter kreeft book that I have.

This is confusing. Most of the lectionary commentaries I have in Logos treat all three or four of the readings for a given Sunday, more or less in the same place. They can be synced to a lectionary resource by assigning a link set between them. There's not a ton, but there are some. Obviously most commentaries are organized by Biblical reference, not by lectionary number, so they need to be invoked by clicking on a ref link in the lectionary or something.

Is there a resource for verbum that can do this?

I think the Passage Guide more or less does what you want, except that it is Biblical reference based, so it is not going to pull up related material for all four readings at once. It does a good job of what it was designed to do once you tweak it to display only what you want.

have verbum magically pull together commentaries that include references of the other readings for that day.

This is certainly a potential product improvement suggestion. It could work either like the Topic Guide, where the lectionary number (or whatever is being used as an indexing milestone) could be treated as a "topic" with which various resource entries are tagged, or it could work like a beefed-up Passage Guide which took multiple passage reference values as arguments and then collated them. There's nothing like that today, at any rate...

Sorry my link isn't posting and not sure if I can post a picture

You need to upload the pic using the paperclip icon on the toolbar in the message editing window.

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264670#Comment_1264670

[View:https://photos.app.goo.gl/2zjpDcWFh9pM14Pf8:550:0]

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264671#Comment_1264671

Here is the image to print or export

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264581#Comment_1264581

I think a better way of explaining of what I'm looking for (and perhaps it doesn't exist) is I'd like to click on the Sunday readings and have an organized commentary of windows that will line up all of my commentaries and how they interrelate to the first reading, psalms, second reading Gospel and the prayers from the roman missal

Hi Fr Michael. Just to confirm, what you are asking is not possible currently in Verbum.

Ideally Verbum (and Logos) would have a Liturgical Guide, comparable to the current Passage Guide, Sermon Starter Guide, etc. The difference would be that the Liturgical Guide would revolve around a liturgical date, following a specific liturgical calendar that the user could choose. The guide would be specialized in helping you not just find commentaries about the individual passages, but also the relationship between them (especially the first reading and psalm, and, on Sundays and feast days, their relationship to the Gospels - the 2nd reading is independent). Unfortunately something like that doesn't yet exist... maybe some day. As well, Verbum has some features to link resources that use liturgical days (using the Link Set feature), but in my opinion they don't work well enough yet to be recommendable (once the "Follow" option is integrated into the desktop software - it already exists on the mobile app-, maybe that will change?).

In the meantime, the best you can probably do is create a layout designed to facilitate studying one by one the individual readings of the liturgy, and then using a Word document or notes in Verbum to jot down ideas, questions, etc. that you then organize into a homily. For something like this the Sermon (or Homily) Starter Guide can also be useful, but the process included in the software generally haven't yet really been optimized for those of us who follow liturgical calendars.

FWIW, I organize my homily layout like this:

Upper left - Bible, Sermon Starter Guide, Missal, Lectionary
Lower left - Bible with "Send hyperlinks here" activated. That allows me to explore passages referenced in commentaries without moving my main Bible (which would be on the passage I'm studying from the day's liturgy)
Upper right - Commentaries
Lower right - Bible dictionaries, lexicons (I'll also add things like the Catechism, etc. as needed here usually)

Kevin S. Coy, OFS

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264843#Comment_1264843

Ideally Verbum (and Logos) would have a Liturgical Guide, comparable to the current Passage Guide, Sermon Starter Guide, etc. The difference would be that the Liturgical Guide would revolve around a liturgical date, following a specific liturgical calendar that the user could choose. The guide would be specialized in helping you not just find commentaries about the individual passages, but also the relationship between them (especially the first reading and psalm, and, on Sundays and feast days, their relationship to the Gospels - the 2nd reading is independent). Unfortunately something like that doesn't yet exist... maybe some day.

I would definitely vote for this....

KSC

Fr. Michael Denk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264843#Comment_1264843

Wow, Fr. Roza, thanks for your response. I will indeed set this up. And thank you for clarifying that what I was looking for does not exist yet.

I remember from past videos that there was a way to share layouts, and I thought you or Fr. Andrew Dalton had them in one of these help columns or on a web page. Does any of that sound familiar?

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1264874#Comment_1264874

I'm pretty sure sharing layouts is not possible. What can be shared are Documents and custom Guides.

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