The length of a…
Homily.
How long should a homily be? I read on another blog how a woman and her husband had to sit through a 40 minute homily at Sunday Mass yesterday, without possibility of escape, since they were seated in the front row. Not always, but sometimes newly ordained priests can be as long winded with their homilies as they are with the advice they offer in the confessional. For some folks, it can be a bit too much to sort out after the dissertation is over, especially if they happen to be the impatient types.
While reading Rorate Caeli I noted Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige had this to say concerning long homilies:
” As for the homilies, they must relate, as the Pope has underlined, exclusively to the catechetical aspect, avoiding sociologisms and useless chatter. For example, priests often veer towards politics because they have not prepared well the homily, which must, instead, be scrupulously studied. An excessively long homily is synonymous with a scarce preparation: the correct time for a sermon must be of 10 minutes, 15 at most. It must be acknowledged that the culminating moment of the celebration is the Eucharistic mystery, which does not mean downplaying the Liturgy of the Word, but clarifying how a correct liturgy must be applied.”
Looks like those who don’t like long homilies have friends in high places. I wonder if the Pope could shorten up his? Remember how JPII would go on and on? ;)
November 5th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
OH….I don’t mind long homilies so much, as long as they’re GOOD. A few years ago I went to a church that was without a pastor, and so they always had a visiting pastor. One Sunday, it was a priest from Nigeria or somewhere. He went on for 45 MINUTES, stating and re-stating the same thing several times. I remember counting it. Just when it seemed he was done, he’d launch into it again!
The woman sitting next to me had been quite healthy at the beginning, but by the end, she was naught but dry bones. I had a few grey hairs by then, too.
And the homily was only mildly interesting the first time around.
And then there are other painful liturgies. Yesterday I was subjected to a family behind us who insisted on letting their little girl kick the pew, rattle the hymnals, and otherwise inflict whatever was loud and caused the most reverberation against the pew. I kept waiting to get kicked in the head.
Then a woman arrived late and sat next to me, and continually cleared her throat. I am guessing she was trying to be unobtrusive, but I wished she’d just cough and hack until she was done rather than sit there trying to clear her throat constantly.
And it was a LOOONG Mass because Father gave a short homily, introduced a guest speaker to discuss the financial situation of the parish (full stewardship parish with very serious financial issues going on), and if that doesn’t make my eyes glaze over, I don’t know what does! Talk theology, I’m interested. Talk numbers, I revert to Jr. High pre-algebra and my mind goes away.
November 5th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Hey,
I’m the woman trapped on the front row, and the problem was NOT the length of the homily. I’m a convert, I’m used to 45 minute sermons!
The problem was that it was, as my husband put it, 10 minutes on the gospel followed by 40 minutes on the building fund. Literally.
And that wasn’t even the main problem. The main problem was that the pastor invited a layman from the congregation to come up and tell a story of how he accidentally ran over his one year-old son with a golf cart, and then made a deal with God that if God would let his son live, he’d do something for God.
God granted the miracle, so the man came and told our pastor about it. The pastor’s response was to have the man come and tell his story from the pulpit, the moral of the story being that we should all therefore dig deeper into our wallets for the building fund — which is financing NOT a sanctuary or an adoration chapel, but a large social hall for, you know, youth dances and the like.
My husband and I both felt it was manipulative and creepy. And even if it had only lasted five minutes, we would have felt the same way.
November 5th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Karen - Sorry I didn’t pick that up when I read the post. I was just appreciative to read a post by someone who seemed not to like long homilies. I hate it when they drone on. Your situation was even worse.
November 5th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
In the typical Protestant service they do not celebrate the Eucharist - they celebrate the “Word” … they don’t have the Eucharist. Their celebration of the “Word” has grown from the sermon and moved over to the musical word. Now, an hour and a half to two hour service is taken up with singing and preaching…and the congregation doesn’t seem to mind.
Now, we have the Eucharist, and some places celebrate it well - others not so well. But we sure do not celebrate the Word like they do - in sermon / homily or song.
A good 10-15 minute teaching would be welcomed … too often it is not well done…and takes more than 10-15 minutes.
I read someplace that when Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State, he would send back written reports with a note attached which said “Too long - shorten and resubmit.” He’d do this a minimum of twice, and maybe more BEFORE HE’D EVEN READ IT.
Maybe we need a homily inspector service which would do the same thing.
November 5th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Julie,
“Insisting on letting their little girl kick the pew” is an interesting phrase. It takes many years to train those short catechumens.
Homilies in Nigeria (and I think other African countries?) often last a very long time. Get used to those Nigerian priests; there are a lot of them, and a lot more coming!
November 6th, 2007 at 8:04 am
I don’t know if it’s the length so much as it is the message or the messenger. A well delivered homily on a good topic that goes long is fine with me. A boring topic, like finances, is too long from the get-go.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Jeanette ~ She was wandering all over the pew, was walking back and forth on the kneeler, and basically was all over the place.
I remember being that age, believe it or not, and I was NOT ALLOWED to do any such thing. And my Mom did not remove me from Mass, either. It’s called “discipline” and consistent parenting.
I heard her parents correct her ONCE.
And yes, she was adorable and I offered her “peace” when the time came. I don’t hold her responsible for her behavior because she’s too young. But her parents are old enough to know when intervention is needed to protect the sanity of other adults in the vicinity; ie the CONSTANT pew kicking.
If you had been there, you’d be in agreement with me.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Oops, meant to address the Nigerian priest issue.
I have no problem with Nigerian priests, and in fact, there is one who visits my parish quite a bit, and he’s wonderful.
Yes, his homilies tend to run long, but they are very interesting, he makes his point, and moves on. He doesn’t beat the point to death in as many ways as he can think of until he runs out of air.
The priest I cited before did exactly that. Had his homily simply been long, it would have been fine. He simply wasn’t a good homilist…and it didn’t help he was a little difficult to understand. And no, that’s not why he restated his point so many times over. I think he just didn’t know where to end.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I am blessed to have a pastor who sticks to the readings and a schedule - no more than 10 minutes.
Julie — I’m in complete agreement with you. Some, not most - thank God, of the children in our church are never disciplined. They are still acting like little goons when they are 10 years old.
What is most striking to me is how I see no signs of piety developing in these little ones. No little prayer books and, never being told that Jesus is on the altar. So sad.
November 6th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Well, I once heard an idea for those who get watered down or non-theological homilies. Instead of putting money in the collection, but in a note saying “No doctrine, no dollars.”
It’s interesting that in the old Mass the sermon was not considered a proper part of the Mass, as the priest would take off his maniple and set it on the Missal. Of course with the reform, the homily has been so emphasized that many priests will focus all their energy on that, then pick the shortest Eucharistic Prayer so they can “get out of there.”
“Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so” therefore, Father, you don’t have to tell me every Sunday in your homily. Just teach me the Faith of the Catholic Church.
[steps off soapbox]
November 6th, 2007 at 10:01 am
oops, that’s supposed to read: “Insted of putting money in the collection, PUT in a note saying “No doctrine, no dollars.”
November 6th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Oh how I long for 10 minute homilies!! UNLESS they are by the pastor of my old parish back home–his homilies were so brilliant and well planned, you could listen to him for hours and hardly notice it for all you were learning! But, sadly, such homilists are rare and far between. Sigh.
November 6th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Uncle Jim: “I read someplace that when Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State, he would send back written reports with a note attached which said “Too long - shorten and resubmit.” He’d do this a minimum of twice, and maybe more BEFORE HE’D EVEN READ IT.”
“Maybe we need a homily inspector service which would do the same thing.”
Now, let’s edit that:
Uncle Jim: “Kissinger would send back reports with a note: “Too long - shorten and resubmit.” He’d do this twice BEFORE HE’D EVEN READ IT.”
“Maybe we need a homily inspector service.”
Shortness is a blessing. I’ve attended a fair number of weekday Masses recently and have found that the five minute homily is far more memorable than the 20 minute Sunday version. (Father Harvey Egan who specialized in a five minute Sunday homily to make room for his guest speakers was an expert in getting quickly to the point).
My favorite short homily came at St Olaf’s in downtown Mpls the day after my graduation from college.
I have no idea what the speaker at my graduation had to say, but the Sunday celebrant had a very short homily, the theme of which was “You don’t always get your first choice in life.” Pretty good for a graduation address too, I would say.
But the priest sealed his message with a question for the congregation: “You married folks, how many of you married your first love?” After five or ten seconds of silence, the married members of the congregation burst into laughter, but with their eyes straight ahead, not daring to look at their spouses. I was there with my folks but didn’t dare to look at them either.
If priests can’t afford a “homily inspector” they should spend time daily reading the “Letters to the Editor” in their local newspaper. None get published that don’t get to the point quickly.
November 6th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Gee, ray. Thanks for the help with my comment - and you were right on. I didn’t take the time to go back and get to the point. I’m not sure what the edited version said, but it definitely was shorter.
November 7th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Julie, I hardly ever notice other people’s children; we’re just way too busy trying to get our eight in line. Please do remember that we are trying, and it’s amazing how many folks with prolife messages on their bumper stickers have no tolerance whatsoever for children at Mass. (I don’t know who you are so this isn’t directed at you.) If the little ones are walking the pew quietly, 15 minutes into a boring sermon, I do let them, though I stop the kicking when it reaches my attention.
I hope lots of children attend Mass and that “too many children at Mass” is the biggest “problem” my parish has next year.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Oh, snap.
On All Souls’ Day, which was ALREADY the Mozart Requiem Mass and therefore long, the homilist gave a THIRTY FIVE minute homily.
Too. long.
People with babies WILL NOT be around for Holy Communion if you talk for that long during the homily. The babies just won’t make it.
By the way, my mom had nine kids and if we had dared to act up at Mass, we’d have been killed. There’s no doubt in my mind.
I don’t care if we were 3 or 16, she’d have killed us.
Of course, those were the days of the ten minute homilies.