Canned Homilies - does it matter?

[fide]

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).

Just for the record, to emphasize the importance of the Liturgy of the Word and of preaching in the Mass - this, from Dei Verbum:

1. The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the prophets and Apostles.

Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life. Consequently these words are perfectly applicable to Sacred Scripture: “For the word of God is living and active” (Heb. 4:12) and “it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; see 1 Thess. 2:13).

1. …… For the Sacred Scriptures contain the word of God and since they are inspired, really are the word of God; and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction, in which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a healthy way and flourishes in a holy way.
2. Therefore, all the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become “an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly” since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. ………

In this thread, my concern was, is and will be NOT the “skill” of the homilist - not his ability to “craft” an eloquent, dramatic, engaging and/or entertaining presentation! My concern is for the authenticity of the man when he speaks God for the people of God.

 

[fide]

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.

I’ve been there too, brother. “Skill level” is the last thing I mean to put on the table here. Rather, it is the authenticity of the man and his words, spoken in the Holy Sacrifice.

 

[Ashe_Faelsdon]

I couldn’t write a script this bad if I tried:
Penitent: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession. I dissed my pastor unrelentingly on the internet.
Priest: That is a vile sin. Why did you diss the man?
Penitent: I don’t like the way he prepares his homilies…

I think you need time to mature, or if you are already an adult, you might consider getting professional help.

 

[Xantippe]

fide said:

“Rather, it is the authenticity of the man and his words, spoken in the Holy Sacrifice.”

Are you sure you can tell the difference between “authenticity of the man and his words, spoken in the Holy Sacrifice” and “authenticity of the man and his words, spoken in the Holy Sacrifice plus sweating for hours over a text that will take 15 minutes to read”? Furthermore, unlike Protestant ministers who generally preach one day a week, a Catholic priest has a Mass with at least a short homily pretty much every day. That way lies burnout. The good homilies I’ve heard were generally obviously (to me at least) the product of hours of study and toil. They may look effortless and from the heart, but because of my experience as a teacher, knowing lots of teachers and knowing a number of people who do public speaking, I know how much effort goes into any good piece of public speaking (unless the speaker is freakishly talented).

I guarantee you, if you had to prepare that much spoken text for a large audience for a year, you would start thinking much more kindly about priests who don’t write every single one of their homilies. Gifted secular public speakers give the same talk over and over, but a priest has to give a different talk almost every day for a three year liturgical cycle (and he’d probably better not just repeat his old sermons word-for-word if there isn’t a lot of turnover among parishioners).

All I ask of a homily is that it be true, orthodox, clear, no longer than 20 minutes, and not something I’m going to have to explain in inappropriate detail to the kids later. “Written by the priest himself” is #20 or so on the list.

(I have a family anecdote against “from the heart” preaching. My Pentecostal relatives once had a pastor who was a very talented preacher, but lacking in both good sense and empathy. He once gave a sermon where he was so carried away by preaching “from the heart” that he gave away the lurid and highly confidential details of the biological parentage of a pillar of the church community’s adopted daughter during a passionate (and very ill-thought-out) sermon. I’m told had to go to the family later and apologize for HOURS. So, not a fan of “from the heart” preaching for the average preacher–it can go wrong in so many cringe-worthy ways.)

 

[fide]

Just a quick note to apologize to all the responders to my thread who clearly do not know what I am talking about. I attribute it to my brevity, and my inability to put into few words what clearly (in retrospect) would take a book.

May the Lord lead us all into the fullness of His Truth.

 

[Mr_Clean]

I get what you’re saying. If the priest in question lacks authenticity it certainly brings a negative to the equation. I have not personally experienced this in my Catholic life but sure saw it as a Protestant. It does impact the parishioners when the preacher lacks a true and sincere commitment to his duties. We tend to think of these individuals as being “called” to be shepherds, not posers.

Someone more qualified than I will need to answer the question - does it nullify the mass if the priest is just punching the clock?

 

[pianistclare]

Just a quick note to apologize to all the responders to my thread who clearly do not know what I am talking about. I attribute it to my brevity, and my inability to put into few words what clearly (in retrospect) would take a book.

May the Lord lead us all into the fullness of His Truth.

Looks like you might have just answered your own question. :newidea:

 

[fide]

I get what you’re saying. If the priest in question lacks authenticity it certainly brings a negative to the equation. I have not personally experienced this in my Catholic life but sure saw it as a Protestant. It does impact the parishioners when the preacher lacks a true and sincere commitment to his duties. We tend to think of these individuals as being “called” to be shepherds, not posers.

Someone more qualified than I will need to answer the question - does it nullify the mass if the priest is just punching the clock?

Thank you for the response, Mr. Clean. No, the Mass is not nullified by canned sermons, or by any lack of full self-gift to the holy offering. But the minister doing an injustice to himself and to his congregation. From Dei Verbum (Vat II Constitution on Divine Revelation) we read,
24. …… For the Sacred Scriptures contain the word of God and since they are inspired, really are the word of God; and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction, in which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a healthy way and flourishes in a holy way.

1. Therefore, all the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. **This is to be done so that none of them will become "an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly" since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. **………

Those called (and who have accepted that call!) must live in the Holy Word! It must become so much a part of them, so familiar to them, that they can speak of it, and from it, and upon it as easily as they could speak of their most beloved Friend. And that inner union with the Holy Word must be a visible witness to those to whom they minister - so that all under their pastoral care can believe them, and can believe their Lord, and can grow in holy discipleship from the inside out.

Is that too much to ask? NO! ALL who follow the Lord are called to give ALL for His name’s sake.

 

[tafan]

Those called (and who have accepted that call!) must live in the Holy Word! It must become so much a part of them, so familiar to them, that they can speak of it, and from it, and upon it as easily as they could speak of their most beloved Friend. And that inner union with the Holy Word must be a visible witness to those to whom they minister - so that all under their pastoral care can believe them, and can believe their Lord, and can grow in holy discipleship from the inside out.

Is that too much to ask? NO! ALL who follow the Lord are called to give ALL for His name’s sake.

This all sounds well and good. Heck, I might as well be arguing against apple pie. But in the context of this thread, I strongly disagree your point of view.
You are in effect saying if a priest cannot give a homily as easily as he can speak of his most beloved friend, he is somehow not living up to his calling. Hogwash. For the most serious biblical scholar, it can still take hours of work to prepare a good homily. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out. As pointed out previously, there are many, many legitimate reasons why a priest may not be able to prepare a homily for a given Sunday sermon. To which you seem to be saying, he should be so knowledgeable about scripture, so in love with the Word of God, he should not have to prepare. It doesn’t work that way.
You are judging priests very unfairly.

Please consider Pianistclare’s excellent post #46.

 

[mommamaree]

Thank you for the response, Mr. Clean. No, the Mass is not nullified by canned sermons, or by any lack of full self-gift to the holy offering. But the minister doing an injustice to himself and to his congregation.

…

Those called (and who have accepted that call!) must live in the Holy Word! It must become so much a part of them, so familiar to them, that they can speak of it, and from it, and upon it as easily as they could speak of their most beloved Friend. And that inner union with the Holy Word must be a visible witness to those to whom they minister - so that all under their pastoral care can believe them, and can believe their Lord, and can grow in holy discipleship from the inside out.

Is that too much to ask? NO! ALL who follow the Lord are called to give ALL for His name’s sake.

So you think that any priest must be able to give a homily without any preparation, and that is superior to using prepared homilies offered for other priests to use? That is unfair and idealistic. Priests can and do give their ALL to Christ and His Church, without being able to always deliver homilies multiple times each day. They are humans, and mental and emotional fatigue can happen to the best of them. Choosing to avail themselves of a resource (that preceded the age of the Internet; reusing homilies is an age-old practice) does not mean that they are failing to give their all. I think this is a very judgemental attitude toward priests. And yes, it IS too much to ask.

 

[pianistclare]

The bottom line is…that he was ordained.
He was deemed worthy to become a priest, and as such deserves respect and as much compassion for alleged shortcomings as we would expect ourselves from our spiritual directors.
If persons are that upset about it, upbraid his instructors in seminary.
After that, it’s about attempting to hear what it is that God wants us to learn from any given homily, originally composed or “canned” as the OP so critically describes them.
I’ve never considered “grading” a homily. I always approach it with an ear for learning and gaining insight into the Scriptures. Or morality, Or faith.
God bless.

 

[Xantippe]

pianistclare said:

“I’ve never considered “grading” a homily. I always approach it with an ear for learning and gaining insight into the Scriptures. Or morality, Or faith.”

You’re a better person than me, pianistclare.

I confess to having whiled away many an hour playing “find the heresy” when we lived in DC, but it wasn’t exactly hard.

An orthodox canned sermon is infinitely to be preferred to a heterodox original sermon, I have to add.

 

[fide]

This all sounds well and good. Heck, I might as well be arguing against apple pie. But in the context of this thread, I strongly disagree your point of view.
You are in effect saying if a priest cannot give a homily as easily as he can speak of his most beloved friend, he is somehow not living up to his calling. Hogwash. For the most serious biblical scholar, it can still take hours of work to prepare a good homily. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out. As pointed out previously, there are many, many legitimate reasons why a priest may not be able to prepare a homily for a given Sunday sermon. To which you seem to be saying, he should be so knowledgeable about scripture, so in love with the Word of God, he should not have to prepare. It doesn’t work that way.
You are judging priests very unfairly.

Please consider Pianistclare’s excellent post #46.

There is one good reason why a homilist - or catechist, or other minister of the Word, must “remain in My words”. And I tried to express that reason above. There is no demand for a homilist to be an engaging speaker, or an entertainer with fresh opening jokes for every homily (how I wish they would all omit the joking around), or a Ph.D. Bible scholar. He is to open the Holy Word for the people, and help them to bring it to life in their lives. He is to help them toward their call to holiness, and to fruitful ministry. That does not come in a can. It comes from listening.

And I’m not speaking about being “knowledgeable about Scripture”! I am speaking about knowing Jesus. We in the pews don’t need to learn “about” Scripture - we need to encounter Christ in the Holy Mass - in His Words, and in His Eucharist. That comes from time in the Word - and that is a very good investment of time, for any Christian, especially a minister of the Word.

If he does not have time for that, he is too busy about other things. Maybe a weekend retreat listening to the Martha and Mary episode might help him. One thing is needful, Jesus said. One thing.

I sincerely hope you can hear what I am saying. There is power in Scripture! That is why there IS a “Liturgy of the Word”! It is important!

 

[fide]

pianistclare said:

“I’ve never considered “grading” a homily. I always approach it with an ear for learning and gaining insight into the Scriptures. Or morality, Or faith.”

You’re a better person than me, pianistclare.

I confess to having whiled away many an hour playing “find the heresy” when we lived in DC, but it wasn’t exactly hard.

An orthodox canned sermon is infinitely to be preferred to a heterodox original sermon, I have to add.

Given that choice, I would rather the priest slowly read the Gospel several times, pausing after each sentence, for time to meditate and listen, and leave the commentary for another time. I heard of one priest who did that. He had the humility to apologize to the congregation for not having prayed over the passages for that day, and so he would rather just let us all listen, with him, to the holy word and pray the Spirit to help us hear it as we should. He slowly read the passage, and allowed several minutes of silent reflection before the Mass continued. Thank God for such a humble man, and for such reverence toward the Holy Word!

 

[HelenRose]

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.

Not if the priest gives credit where credit is due. I would be wrong if he claimed authorship of the homily.

 

[tafan]

And I’m not speaking about being “knowledgeable about Scripture”! I am speaking about knowing Jesus. We in the pews don’t need to learn “about” Scripture - we need to encounter Christ in the Holy Mass - in His Words, and in His Eucharist. That comes from time in the Word - and that is a very good investment of time, for any Christian, especially a minister of the Word.

If he does not have time for that, he is too busy about other things. Maybe a weekend retreat listening to the Martha and Mary episode might help him. One thing is needful, Jesus said. One thing.

I sincerely hope you can hear what I am saying. There is power in Scripture! That is why there IS a “Liturgy of the Word”! It is important!

I will say it one last time, and then give up: you need to stop assuming a priest has his priorities out of whack, is not holy enough, is not authentic enough, etc just because you do not like his style of homilies.
A weekend retreat listening to one scripture story? Seriously? Who puts on these types of retreats?

Be thankful for our priests, they give their whole lives for service to us.