Better advice than Fr. Z.s on what to do about bad homilies :

Ignore them from the get go. And expect the priest to do his duty.

btw 'bad' is rather weak. Horrid, as in depressingly drawn out while saying nothing, is a more accurate description.

Is it alright for mothers to prepare horrid meals for their children? Of course Not. And if some mother does, do we do penance and fast in slim hope that she might figure it out that she's being negligent? Or should we perhaps take the situation seriously and charitably intervene because sometimes prayer is not sufficient?

The difference between negligent mothers and negligent priests is that priests all too commonly don't take their duty seriously. As more than evidenced by the annulment scandal where priests commonly give a stone to those with marriage difficulty when they've been asked for bread.

If a mother gave her children stones to eat instead of bread we would rightly be less than understanding? But yet we're asked to be understanding with grown men who are supposed to be living right ordered lives.

That is all just a bit ass backwards. We're being asked by Fr. Zuhlsdorf to expect mothers to be more responsible and mature than men who are priests.

Over on the Father Zuhlsdorf blog :
What to do about bad homilies

A reader writes asking about “bad homilies”:
Every once in a while, you get a real clunker, one that isn’t just theologically weak, but turns what should be a feast into over microwaved junk. What is the proper response?

You want to know what to do?
Get down on your knees and pray for the priest who gave it.
Fast.
Do penance for his intention.
Be happy you have a priest when many – many – don’t.
That is what you do.

Bad, (as in horrid), homilies "once in a while"??!! Try like virtually always and you'll get a whole lot closer to the mark.

Far better advice is to just ignore them from the get go, besides they're virtually never relevant.

It used to bug me that most novus ordo homilies were as incomprehensible as a Pope John Paul II encyclical, (and is there anything less comprehensible than Theology of the Body?), but perhaps we're better off for it. After all, the Faithful can't be scandalized by what they can't understand in the first place.

Secondly, the advice Fr. Z gives smacks of syrupy hyper piety. And is the kind of enthusiastic piety all too commonly found among novus ordo homeschooler types, and among traditional mass going types. Telling them to get on their knees to pray for some priest to do his duty feeds that enthusiasm.

Being happy for having a priest is tantamount to being happy for having running water. I'm glad to have running water, but I should have running water, it's not a luxury.

Similarly, why should I pray, fast and do penance that a man does his duty? Get real. His doing his duty is the minimum. Priests have a duty to not give bad homilies. Not giving bad homilies isn't exactly heroic virtue in action.