Freitas, Tiago André Fernandes2026-05-272026-05-272026-05-249a7d74cc-1ede-42b5-aa28-1874f75f8369http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/57841The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses unprecedented challenges to homiletic practice, compelling a shift in focus from the textual proficiency of the machine to the ontological status of preaching itself. Through a theological-pastoral analysis anchored in sacramental dogmatics and in dialogue with digital religion, this article scrutinizes the validity of algorithmic mediation in the ministry of the Word. The study establishes a tripartite normative framework—assistance, delegation, and substitution—demonstrating that while technical support is legitimate in preparatory tasks, the syntactic success of generative models acts as a critical mirror, exposing a pre-existing crisis of frequently generic and standardized preaching. It concludes that, within a sacramental framework, the homily constitutes an unrepeatable liturgical and spiritual event, requiring the authority of an embodied subject vulnerable to their own message.engHomilyGenerative artificial intelligenceSacramental theologyPastoral liturgyDigital religionPriestly mediationresearch article10.3390/rel17060630