Posted on 09/18/2018 8:36:53 AM PDT by Salvation
During a recent day trip to Sicily, Pope Francis said that homilies should not last more than 8 minutes and that the entire Mass should be completed within 40 (although he may have been exaggerating on this second point). He has said similar things before.
He is entitled to his opinion, of course, but I disagree. No sweeping generalization about sermon length is necessary. There are cultural and even local differences that come into play. In my own parish I offer two rather brief masses, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, that are about 45 minutes long; our Sunday morning liturgies are a good bit longer. Our choir Mass lasts 90 minutes and those that come seem to enjoy it immensely. They say they are enriched in the extended worship of God and appreciate a longer sermon that explores the proclaimed word more thoroughly. It is a tradition here. In many parts of Africa liturgies can last upwards of three hours!
I will grant that no one wants to hear a long homily that contains only 5 minutes of content, but there are forms of preaching that teach out of the sacred text and delve deeply into its meaning and application to our lives—and this takes more than 8 minutes! There are some Catholics in this country who admire Protestant preaching because it typically features a rich message and makes it relevant to everyday life. For the record, though, most Protestant sermons are about 30 minutes long.
At some point, Catholics need to decide what they want in a homily: a short “thought for the day” reflection or something more substantial, which takes more time. Maybe we should offer them such options.
My deeper concern in the demand for briefer sermons and shorter Masses is that today we are in desperate need of liturgies that are more than perfunctory. In a world as secular and hostile as ours we need more prayer and instruction than ever! There are 168 hours in a week; removing time for sleep, that leaves more than 100 waking hours. How does 8 minutes of instruction and less than an hour of worship in total stack up against all those other hours, many of them filled with things that are downright poisonous to the faith?
Rather than simply focusing on length, perhaps it would be better to speak to effective and compelling liturgy and preaching. There are many fine preachers, Catholic and Protestant. It is well within the realm of human ability to preach powerfully, and it is my experience that God’s people will gladly listen to a good sermon even if it is considerably longer than 8 minutes.
In my mind, an 8 minutes ceiling is just too limiting. (There are times when brevity is required for good reason; for example, I have given 3-minute sermons as part of 30-minute televised Masses for shut-ins.) One might hope that the Pope, who sits atop a worldwide Church, would recognize the diverse situations and preferences that exist rather than suggest such a general, restrictive notion.
For the record, the homily Pope Francis gave following his remarks about brief sermons was 17 minutes long—not a bad length for a Sunday homily!
Our liturgies last 2 hours. We stand. For the Epistle and the homilies we get to sit on the floor. Fritz would be outraged. Especially since the homilies pull no punches and are on spiritual growth, and taking up your crosses, not being dragged around by them...
Francis is your typical Jesuit. Most do what they feel like doing at Mass not what they are supposed to do. Francis hardly ever genuflects or makes the sign of the cross. He has always acted like he could careless about Mass. This is typical for snoddy acedemic liberal Jesuits.
My late uncle, who was a Catholic priest until his death in 1994, always said the homily should be no more than 10 minutes. Anything over that causes loss of the congregations attention spans! He was absolutely correct!
Back in the day people would tune in on TV to hear Bishop Fulton J. Sheen talk for a solid 30 minutes. I have attended friends’ Protestant church services that lasted 90 minutes or more, with a 20 to 30 minute sermon. The time flies by if the speaker is talented and is making valid points.
Of course not everybody can be Fulton J. Sheen.
The congregation cheered when Pope Francis called for a 40 minutes Mass. I dare believe they would have cheered even louder if he had said Mass is no longer necessary. Very sad. The Mass is the merger of Heaven and Earth... I agree with wanting the homily to be relevant and no longer than necessary... but who wants to arbitrarily limit our communion with Heaven?
Our pastor’s sermons typically run in the 20-30 minute range, usually toward the upper end. He maintains interest.
It is not about the length of homily/sermon or the talent of the one giving it. It should be about the worship of the people hearing the Word of God as it works on their hearts. Those who love the Lord will not much think about the length, but only the content. Is the content something the Holy Spirit is using to convict them of sin, or to exult the name of Christ Jesus, etc. If someone is worried about the length, they don’t get it.
“If someone is worried about the length, they don’t get it.”
When a person gets a little older, sitting in the pew enjoying your arthritis, sciatica, asthma, fluctuating blood sugar, peripheral neuropathy, torn rotator cuffs, and assorted aches and pains from decades of broken bones and other injuries can make a person grateful for a shorter Mass.
Sounds like you need a new orthodox-minded priest.
Glad to hear both of you are OK.
I’m a lector too. My priest has told me that I am a lector who enunciates so that people can understand.
I also “proclaim” the First or Second Reading as it might have been done in the days of Jesus, not shouting, but definitely emphasizing with my voice.
BTW, where are all the men lectors?
**“If someone is worried about the length, they don’t get it.”**
Amen, brother!
In the northeast, that is extremely rare! I am not talking about just one priest or one parish. It’s everywhere! The church is infested.
I think Msgr is referring only to Sunday Mass homilies. His columnt is more about the freedom of a priest to choose, depending on his parish and the circumstances, how long a homily will last.
Msgr. Pope’s parish has a 9:00 am and 11:00 am Mass, in between which is Sunday School for children and for adults. There is also a Saturday vigil and Sunday 7:00pm Mass. I’ve attended his church (it’s now my parish) for 11:00a and 7:00pm.
The Sunday @ 11:00am is the long Mass, so there’s a lapse until 7:00pm. People in the parish know the drill. If you go to the 11:00am Mass, you know it’s going to last the better part of 2 hours. At that Mass, not only is the homily a full half hour, but it’s like a “high” Mass where everything is sung either by the (fantastic!) choir or the choir and congregation. And, week after week, that Mass is well attended. I personally hate to miss it. If a parishioner is short on time, they can go to one of the other Masses.
When I was young I lived near G’town Hospital and many grad students who were my neighbors would go to Mass in the hospital’s chapel ... in and out in 16 minutes!
I suffer with many of those and others. Still, it is not about the length, it is not about the comfort of my body, it is about the growth of my soul. Sad you don’t get that.
“it is about the growth of my soul. Sad you don’t get that.”
Sanctimonious much?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.