Canned Homilies - does it matter?

[otjm]

When God calls a man to be a spiritual shepherd and father for His people, I believe He is calling him to something much costlier than becoming a mere reader of others’ thoughts. He is calling him to holiness - that he might shepherd His people to holiness.

Which might mean, if he is going to shepherd his people, that he buy a homily and read it, if he is one of those graced by the charism of priesthood, but not graced with the charism of eloquence. The former, I am absolutely convinced after hearing more than 3,000 homilies and sermons, does not guarantee the latter.

 

[Sunbreak]

It doesn’t bother me if the priest adds something of his own. If he simply reads it without so much as making eye contact with the people, yes it might bother me. If it’s really obvious that it’s a canned homily, this too would bother me.

 

[Aramis]

Does it matter to you whether your priest or deacon delivers a homily that he bought on-line, written by someone else?

Why or why not?

It bothers me a lot.

It shouldn’t.

Heck, for the Byzantine Rite, the homily for Pascha (Easter Sunday) has been canned since the 500’s. When St. John codified the revised Byzantine Liturgy, Pascha has the reading of St. Basil’s Easter Homily was mandated - and still is.

 

[tafan]

When God calls a man to be a spiritual shepherd and father for His people, I believe He is calling him to something much costlier than becoming a mere reader of others’ thoughts. He is calling him to holiness - that he might shepherd His people to holiness.

Maybe he knew another person’s homily better communicated anything he could have said. Maybe it was his holiness that allowed him to be this humble.

I really see absolutely nothing wrong with it, and I think you should be thankful for your priests. Find another thing to be bothered about.

 

[Xantippe]

Beryllos said:

“No problem, but I might draw the line if he sets up a projector and plays a video recording of the sermon on YouTube…”

Funny!

 

[CB_Catholic]

Does it matter to you whether your priest or deacon delivers a homily that he bought on-line, written by someone else?

Why or why not?

It bothers me a lot.

No. some priests are just not good at writing homilies, and there are so many good homilies that others have written that we could benefit from. I would rather hear one of these than a boring, barely understandable homily.

A priest or deacon is not a better priest or deacon because they can write good homilies. These men sacrifice so much to serve God and his people that I think we ought to just thank God for them and tell them how much we appreciate them. Every priest has his own gifts that God has given him, and some just are not gifted at writing homilies, but maybe are outstanding in the pastoral care department, or are excellent Confessors or Spiritual Directors.

Many people don’t have to worry about a homily because there is no priest or deacon around to give one. We should be thankful for what we have.

 

[fide]

Which might mean, if he is going to shepherd his people, that he buy a homily and read it, if he is one of those graced by the charism of priesthood, but not graced with the charism of eloquence. The former, I am absolutely convinced after hearing more than 3,000 homilies and sermons, does not guarantee the latter.

Preaching does not require eloquence! Preaching requires the power and authenticity of holy Truth! Eloquence can be charming and entertaining and artsy and a million miles from God. Was Peter “eloquent” when 3000 were converted on Pentecost? Or was he speaking with the unction and authority of the Spirit in him?

A preacher is called to be transparent to the God within him - and thus he must, must be and remain close to his God. Christ must be his life, and that ought to show in everything he says and does.

 

[Xantippe]

fide,

If he’s a good, holy man, reading other people’s words won’t impede that. We don’t complain when priests read the Gospel, after all. In such cases (I believe, for instance, that of the Cure d’Ars), it was more the evident holiness more than the words that had such a striking effect. And if a priest isn’t a good, holy man (and there certainly are such), reading other people’s words rather than writing his own homilies is probably for the best.

I guess I’ve heard way more bad homilies than you have–ill-thought-out, unorthodox, and meandering. I’ve personally often had the thought that some priests really just ought to read someone else’s sermon or a page from a Church Father.

If I had my druthers, I think I would ban the clerical joke entirely. There seems to be a well-developed homily-writing tradition that there needs to be a joke at the beginning of the homily. 95% of the time, I find them distracting, irrelevant and unfunny.

 

[Xantippe]

Asking a priest to be as inspired as St. Peter is a bit much.

 

[fide]

fide,

If he’s a good, holy man, reading other people’s words won’t impede that. We don’t complain when priests read the Gospel, after all. In such cases (I believe, for instance, that of the Cure d’Ars), it was more the evident holiness more than the words that had such a striking effect. And if a priest isn’t a good, holy man (and there certainly are such), reading other people’s words rather than writing his own homilies is probably for the best.

I guess I’ve heard way more bad homilies than you have–ill-thought-out, unorthodox, and meandering. I’ve personally often had the thought that some priests really just ought to read someone else’s sermon or a page from a Church Father.

If I had my druthers, I think I would ban the clerical joke entirely. There seems to be a well-developed homily-writing tradition that there needs to be a joke at the beginning of the homily. 95% of the time, I find them distracting, irrelevant and unfunny.

Hello Xantippe. I doubt that you’ve heard more bad homilies than I have! If you have, I offer you my sincere condolences.

I should probably be more clear: I am not writing in opposition to homilies that include even lengthy quotes from other godly sources, citing men and women who have put into words very beautifully, the saving mysteries of God. I understand that some men have difficulty expressing what is in their heart.

BUT I am writing against the practice - apparently wide-spread and popular, in Catholic and non-Catholic churches - of subscribing to the weekly service of a complete homily/sermon provided, keyed if you like to the liturgical calendar/Lectionary (for Catholics), complete with the opening joke and a few human-interest stories in the middle. This to me is shameful, and is harmful to the congregation and to the minister himself. Especially when the human-interest stories are in first-person (I did this and saw that and I said and he said to me and etc.) and the homilist reads it as if he did see and say and wrote and experienced the whole thing.

I first realized that this can happen when I heard the exact same (first-person) funny story told by two different priests - with no attribution to another writer or priest to whom it really happened. If indeed it ever did really happen.

And I agree with you about the inappropriate nature of jokes in a homily. I don’t find many jokes in Jesus’s preaching, or anywhere else in the New Testament. We are not there to be entertained.

 

[fide]

Asking a priest to be as inspired as St. Peter is a bit much.

I do ask priests to be as focused on their interior life of prayer as God wants and expects them to be, shepherds of His people as they have agreed to be.

 

[Xantippe]

fide said:

“Especially when the human-interest stories are in first-person (I did this and saw that and I said and he said to me and etc.) and the homilist reads it as if he did see and say and wrote and experienced the whole thing.”

I was wondering about that. That’s definitely not OK.

“And I agree with you about the inappropriate nature of jokes in a homily. I don’t find many jokes in Jesus’s preaching, or anywhere else in the New Testament. We are not there to be entertained.”

I think Jesus is actually a bit of a humorist, but he doesn’t tell “jokes.” People obviously found Jesus very engaging.

If a joke is on topic, it will stick with the audience in a way nothing else can, but unfortunately very few homily jokes are on topic. As a positive example, the priest at my brother’s wedding told a joke about a department store where women can pick out husbands. It’s the first joke here:

clickhere.gr/content/jokesdtlen.asp?jokesen_id=326

I wasn’t there, but it sounds like it was a really good jumping off place for a homily about marriage and being patient and understanding with one’s spouse–my Protestant dad remembered the joke exactly and told it to me after the wedding. But, 9 times out of 10, jokes are just irrelevant and distracting.

If you’ve heard a lot of bad sermons, what makes you think the priests reading canned sermons would do better with their own compositions?

I’ve noticed a general improvement in Catholic preaching over the last several years. I very rarely hear a really bad homily these days. (At one of the local parishes, we have an Indian missionary priest who insists on telling jokes at the beginning of his homilies that no one can understand.) I was attributing the improvement to our move South (where there is a strong local tradition of emphasis on preaching among our Protestant brethren), but I’m now wondering if I don’t have the canned sermons to thank.

 

[signit]

I don’t mind the “canned homily”; I assume the priest chose to use it for a reason, because it’s a general message that would apply at this time and place.

Our parish priest is a very nice man but he gives the longest, most repetitive and boring sermons, people have left the parish because of this. I wish he would by something on-line that would be well stated and worth listening too. It would not bother me at all.

Unfortunately, I’ve experienced the same thing; one person stopped going because he couldn’t take Fr. So-and-so’s “long-winded” homilies.

And I agree with you about the inappropriate nature of jokes in a homily. I don’t find many jokes in Jesus’s preaching, or anywhere else in the New Testament. We are not there to be entertained.

I’d assume, though, that the jokes are there for a reason; possibly to reduce stress or put the audience at ease; possibly as a “hook” to keep people listening.

 

[pianistclare]

Wow. As I said in my earlier post, I’ve only ever encountered one priest with an internet homily. In my area, there is not widespread use of them.
I also do not subscribe tot he notion that a 5 minute homily is better than a 20-30 minute homily. As Xantippe asserts, it’s the content that matters. For people whom we all have heard say that they “couldn’t take” the long winded homilies: Maybe the priest is pounding home a point that we need to hear. Glossing over an important point in the Gospel, or point of morality doesn’t help anyone, and isn’t that the reason fro the homily; The instructional aspect of the priests remarks? I’ve had discussions with friends in the parish about “this week’s homily” and more often than not, people will say “oh, I always tune that out…or, it was about parenting, (or something) and I’ve raised my kids, so I didn’t pay attention. Why? Was it good?”.
THIS is what I find more distressing.
A priest friend always says that he preaches 1500 homilies a weekend. Because everyone hears what God wants them to know.

I’m just not sure that God needs us to check the internet for authorship of them.

At any rate, if this is a problem for some, why not just approach the priest in charity and ask him why he does so? The answer might be also enlightening.

Peace.

 

[christofirst]

I have experienced instances of this, and I suppose it could become a crutch for some priests to avoid coming up with their own homilies. But I try to put myself in their shoes - maybe their crowded schedule does not permit the time needed to prepare a homily, or maybe they are going through a period of burn-out (it happens), when inspired thoughts are not forthcoming. In these cases, a well-prepared homily from some one else is better than no homily at all. With this in mind, it does not bother me.

 

[tafan]

Perhaps a priest was called to a hospital during the te he had scheduled to prepare his homily.
Perhaps a priest does not consider himself knowledgable about a topic he wishes to address.
Perhaps he was not scheduled to preach that day and was unexpectedly called on.
Perhaps a priest came across a very good homily and he thought it imprudent to try to improve.
Perhaps a bishop prepared a homily to be read at all parishes that particular Sunday.
Perhaps he was sick during the week and could not prepare the homily.
Perhaps ( as is the case on our parish), a priest is just learning English. Or conversely, he is just learning Spanish and it is a Spanish mass.

All sorts if viable reasons exist. Calling into question a priests holiness for any of these seems exceedingly unjust.

You do realizes my priests spend hours each week preparing a 10 minute homily.

 

[vallancec]

Don’t get me wrong I love a good homily prepared of from the heart, but I love hearing the word of God and receiving Christ in Holy communion.

 

[mommamaree]

Does it matter to you whether your priest or deacon delivers a homily that he bought on-line, written by someone else?

Why or why not?

It bothers me a lot.

That depends. Is it short and to the point? If yes, then I love it. I do not get as much out of rambling, long homilies. I also do not like personal anecdotes in a homily.

Personally, I love it when a priest gets out a sheet of notes and calmly reads it, so that nobody can mistake his message, and everyone benefits, and since he is sticking to one topic, no one gets fidgety. If he is the author, or if he uses a good homily of another priest, I don’t care.

 

[Mr_Clean]

As an ex-protestant I would caution people to not focus too much on the skill level of your priest. Lets remember the why and not so much the how.

 

[TheDoctor]

As an ex-protestant I would caution people to not focus too much on the skill level of your priest. Lets remember the why and not so much the how.

Thank you my brother. Very well said.

If anyone thinks the main focus of Mass is the homily, they have missed the miracle that happened on the altar.

Not every Priest is a gifted speaker. Or writer. Or organizer. Or story-teller. Or inspirational. Or clear. Or even should be in parish work. Cut them some slack if they use some source material or shamelessly steal a great homily from someone else. It is not the main reason we should be there.

P.S. - If by the grace of God I am able to one day be with Him in Heaven, one of the things I would ask is to be allowed to sit in Mass in years past and hear the homilies of men like Dominic, Fancis De Sales, Padre Pio, Fulton Sheen, etc. (and I am sure not every one of their homilies was a “winner” either).