An open letter to priest- and deacon-homilists (most of whom will never see it)

[Jaysuitical]

You have been given an extremely valuable gift – a block of 15-20 minutes of precious time for proclaiming the Word of God, catechizing the faithful, and attracting those outside the Church. Please, please, PLEASE don’t use this valuable resource for announcements, fund-raising, or other activities, other than preaching the word.

Last week we had a minute or so of announcements, followed by 7-ish minutes of fund-raising for a new statue of Mary to be placed on the school grounds. Finally we got about 7 minutes of homily. The homily was good (our pastor is a good preacher), but it should have been 15-20 minutes long, not just 7 minutes, in order to do justice to the readings.

Having come into the Church in 1990 into a dreadfully misrun diocese, I would’ve been thankful to have a homily that didn’t include horrific samples of clerical humor, don’t-worry-be-happy self-help snippets, or, most frequently, pure heresy from the pulpit. The homilies have improved vastly from what they were then. I’ve only been present at one dreadful affair, where the priest decided to get the congregation signing and dancing to 'If You’re Happy and You Know It" – I left to go to another slightly later mass at another parish when he was singing “If you’re happy and you know it do the shakey-shakey”.

 

[anp1215]

You have been given an extremely valuable gift – a block of 15-20 minutes of precious time for proclaiming the Word of God, catechizing the faithful, and attracting those outside the Church. Please, please, PLEASE don’t use this valuable resource for announcements, fund-raising, or other activities, other than preaching the word.

Last week we had a minute or so of announcements, followed by 7-ish minutes of fund-raising for a new statue of Mary to be placed on the school grounds. Finally we got about 7 minutes of homily. The homily was good (our pastor is a good preacher), but it should have been 15-20 minutes long, not just 7 minutes, in order to do justice to the readings.

At least you got 7 minutes. A couple of Sundays ago, our pastor reminded us that it was “Commitment Sunday” in which everyone needed to pledge their gifts for the renovations and new construction the parish was undergoing. After spending several minutes instructing everyone to fill out their cards and reading a prayer from the card, he spent the next few minutes while the cards were being collected asking if there were any visitors. As people raised their hands, he asked them where they were from and cracked jokes. Meanwhile, I thanked God that my non-Catholic husband had not accompanied me to Mass that night.

 

[DaveBj]

At least you got 7 minutes. A couple of Sundays ago, our pastor reminded us that it was “Commitment Sunday” in which everyone needed to pledge their gifts for the renovations and new construction the parish was undergoing. After spending several minutes instructing everyone to fill out their cards and reading a prayer from the card, he spent the next few minutes while the cards were being collected asking if there were any visitors. As people raised their hands, he asked them where they were from and cracked jokes. Meanwhile, I thanked God that my non-Catholic husband had not accompanied me to Mass that night.

Actually, we also have had some homily times like that, especially when “support your Catholic school” time comes around. I feel your pain.

Actually I’m sort of plotting to take my Kindle to Mass, and if we have a non-homily homily, open it up and continue my reading in Origen. I’d get a lot more out of that than I would out of a 15-minute exhortation to send my [adult] children to the parish school.

 

[anp1215]

Actually, we also have had some homily times like that, especially when “support your Catholic school” time comes around. I feel your pain.

Actually I’m sort of plotting to take my Kindle to Mass, and if we have a non-homily homily, open it up and continue my reading in Origen. I’d get a lot more out of that than I would out of a 15-minute exhortation to send my [adult] children to the parish school.

Ever had a sister come give an appeal to donate to her order and their work? Which I’m sure is a very worthy cause but COME ON.

The list goes on and on…I guess we can call them non-ilies.

 

[DaveBj]

Ever had a sister come give an appeal to donate to her order and their work? Which I’m sure is a very worthy cause but COME ON.

The list goes on and on…I guess we can call them non-ilies.

We do have an annual appeal from members of a convent (?Little Sisters of the Poor?) in Mobile, but that’s always after the final blessing.

 

[Aramis]

If a typical homilist cannot keep our attention more than 8 minutes, then maybe it’s not just the homilist. Are our schedules this tight that if Mass goes over an hour on Sunday morning that we have a crash of events?

8 minutes is, according to my Ed texts, the bottom of the 1st std deviation below normal for adults, and pretty close to the median for HS freshmen. Anything longer is excluding the more than 1/3 of the people. At 15 minutes, you’re losing over half. At 20, IIRC, you’ve lost something between 70% and 90% of the people.

Many will focus back in after a 1-2 minute distraction…

There’s a reason educational lectures should have built in break-points and digressions - it’s to allow a brief break for those with shorter attention spans. Also, lecture attention is aided by taking notes - you switch between tasks and that resets the attention span.

It’s worth noting that, generally, people are not truly aware of how short their attention span is unless and until they see themselves recorded.

 

[nickybr38]

8 minutes is, according to my Ed texts, the bottom of the 1st std deviation below normal for adults, and pretty close to the median for HS freshmen. Anything longer is excluding the more than 1/3 of the people. At 15 minutes, you’re losing over half. At 20, IIRC, you’ve lost something between 70% and 90% of the people.

Many will focus back in after a 1-2 minute distraction…

There’s a reason educational lectures should have built in break-points and digressions - it’s to allow a brief break for those with shorter attention spans. Also, lecture attention is aided by taking notes - you switch between tasks and that resets the attention span.

It’s worth noting that, generally, people are not truly aware of how short their attention span is unless and until they see themselves recorded.

Is this for real?

I feel like such an anomaly. Nothing I love more than listening to long lectures. >.<

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

8 minutes is, according to my Ed texts, the bottom of the 1st std deviation below normal for adults, and pretty close to the median for HS freshmen. Anything longer is excluding the more than 1/3 of the people. At 15 minutes, you’re losing over half. At 20, IIRC, you’ve lost something between 70% and 90% of the people.

Many will focus back in after a 1-2 minute distraction…

There’s a reason educational lectures should have built in break-points and digressions - it’s to allow a brief break for those with shorter attention spans. Also, lecture attention is aided by taking notes - you switch between tasks and that resets the attention span.

It’s worth noting that, generally, people are not truly aware of how short their attention span is unless and until they see themselves recorded.

I don’t think people are even aware of how much our collective attention spans have degraded. I ran across an old copy of Time magazine from the 1960’s and compared it to the new one I got in the mail this week. Difference was amazing - and I don’t just mean how thin the magazine is now. The 1960’s articles were much longer, much more densely written, more sophisticated and analytical. The current issue is built around content that is, on the whole, shorter, more simply written, almost a précis of what an article would have been in the “old days.” Much more “fluff” in the content, too. If a homily is to “get across,” it can’t ignore attention issues. Edward R. Murrow’s reporting would probably fail today; people want “sound bites” instead.

 

[Aramis]

Is this for real?

I feel like such an anomaly. Nothing I love more than listening to long lectures. >.<

Yes, it’s for real. There is a difference between listening to and remaining attentive to a long lecture, and quite likely, you’re unaware of when you lose focus.

 

[triumphguy]

Is this for real?

I feel like such an anomaly. Nothing I love more than listening to long lectures. >.<

I love them too. But then I’ve learned how to listen having spent 12 years in post secondary education listening to lectures.

Most people haven’t done that.

And Tarpein Rock is correct - our attention spans have diminished.

People try and say things in 140 characters or less nowadays! And we use google and Wiki to become instant experts.

 

[m134e5]

8 minutes is short if the priest really knows how to prepare and deliver a homily. It’s an eternity if he doesn’t. Priests should have a good enough awareness of themselves that they know whether or not they are a gifted preacher. If they are, they can- and should- use that gift to reach souls, and 15-20 minute homilies are fine. If they’re not, they need to recognize that and keep it around 5 minutes.

 

[tafan]

8 minutes is short if the priest really knows how to prepare and deliver a homily. It’s an eternity if he doesn’t. Priests should have a good enough awareness of themselves that they know whether or not they are a gifted preacher. If they are, they can- and should- use that gift to reach souls, and 15-20 minute homilies are fine. If they’re not, they need to recognize that and keep it around 5 minutes.

I think in general, 15-20 minute homilies are substantially too long regardless of the ability of the priest.

 

[LilyM]

I love them too. But then I’ve learned how to listen having spent 12 years in post secondary education listening to lectures.

Most people haven’t done that.

And Tarpein Rock is correct - our attention spans have diminished.

People try and say things in 140 characters or less nowadays! And we use google and Wiki to become instant experts.

Well, our physical fitness has deteriorated too. The answer is not to pander to people’s physical or mental laziness, but challenge them a bit so as to exercise and build up their mental and physical muscles!

 

[triumphguy]

I thought I would go straight to the horse’s mouth - so I Googled “How long should a homily be + Vatican”: this is what I found.

Homilies should be under eight minutes long, says head of synod office
catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1001007.htm

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Homilies should be no longer than eight minutes – a listener’s average attention span, said the head of the synod office.

Priests and deacons should also avoid reading straight from a text and instead work from notes so that they can have eye contact with the people in the pews, said Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops.

For flock’s sake: keep homilies to eight minutes, Vatican tells clergy
Catholic prelate says priests and deacons should keep sermons brief and maintain eye contact to keep flock well-tended
guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/12/vatican-advises-shorter-catholic-sermons

“The homily in general should not go over eight minutes – the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate,” he said, adding that clergy should keep abreast of current affairs so that a sermon addresses issues of local or national concern.

The archbishop also wrote that it was normal for churchmen to have patchy communication skills or to struggle with preparing homilies. To counter this, he suggests following the pope’s lead by spending a week writing a sermon that is engaging and relevant.

His advice was welcomed by Father Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the Venerable English College in Rome, which trains men for the priesthood.

“There is a saying among clergy,” he said. “If you haven’t struck oil in seven minutes, stop boring.”

Headon, who gives sermon-writing classes, said the recommendations were likely to be of use in the UK, where the church was competing against different media for people’s attention.

“The hardest sermons to write are the shortest. You have to be really disciplined and they have to be extremely well-crafted. A sermon should not be a lecture, nor is it academic. You need to give spiritual food for thought that will stay with someone for a week.”

 

[triumphguy]

Well, our physical fitness has deteriorated too. The answer is not to pander to people’s physical or mental laziness, but challenge them a bit so as to exercise and build up their mental and physical muscles!

So maybe we should have 20 minute spinning sessions while the priest intones the CCC

 

[anp1215]

We do have an annual appeal from members of a convent (?Little Sisters of the Poor?) in Mobile, but that’s always after the final blessing.

Which is fine. This was in place of the homily.

 

[LilyM]

So maybe we should have 20 minute spinning sessions while the priest intones the CCC

Hehe … well, beats cutting the homily to 30 seconds (because I can just see some bright spark saying that if advertisers can get a message across in that short a time …)

 

[DaveBj]

As the OP I am requesting that we get off the topic of the length of homilies and back on the topic of reserving homily time for homilies only.

 

[triumphguy]

As the OP I am requesting that we get off the topic of the length of homilies and back on the topic of reserving homily time for homilies only.

I think everyone agrees with that.

Everything else should go at the end of mass, before the recessional hymn.

 

[Aramis]

Hehe … well, beats cutting the homily to 30 seconds (because I can just see some bright spark saying that if advertisers can get a message across in that short a time …)

I’ve seen a few of those 30 second homilies that actually worked. Then again, the homilist in question was brilliant, and knew very well everyone else in the chapel… (private mass with 2 altar servers…)