Deacons preaching homilies

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Tis_Bearself

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I’m just curious as to other people’s experiences with deacons preaching homilies. I’m seeing more and more of this lately, even at parishes where there are multiple priests (which usually also have multiple deacons). These are often very large parishes, and my guess is that since preaching a homily is something the deacon is allowed to do, the priests often delegate that task so they themselves can focus on tasks that require a priest.

At the parishes where I regularly attend, there are two older deacons who are pretty good homilists. One of them is an elderly charismatic who gets very poetic and the other is just a down-to-earth older man.

There are also two deacons in middle age or later middle age who are not such good homilists. I have also heard at least one not-so-great homily from a deacon a few miles up the road. Common issues include getting overtly political in the homily, talking way too long, choosing an uncomfortable topic (one deacon preached a kind of weird homily at a holiday Mass, all about his relative’s recent cancer death - it would have been great for a bereavement Mass but didn’t fit for the holiday), or getting too deep into analysis at a CAF Apologetics level which doesn’t interest/ goes over the head of most of the audience. These homilies stand out to me because the priests across the board these days tend to be very good homilists, much better than back in the 70s and 80s.

I presume the deacons get training in homiletics? Is it the same training the priests get? Is this a matter of years of experience, or natural skill level?
Not trying to beat up on the deacons but the difference in quality in some cases between deacon preaching and priest preaching is noticeable.
 
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I did notice at my last parish the deacons were given several opportunities throughout the year to give homilies. We had many deacons and 2-3 priests at our large parish. The homilies were more about a personal story than a scholarly homily. I could tell they had worked hard on the homilies and they were definitely honored to be able to give the homily, but I would rather have the homily from the priest himself as he is the shepherd of the flock. I have no problems with deacons
giving classes in regards to our faith.
I agree their homilies run long.
 
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We have 13 deacons. A visiting priest noted he was protected by a phalanx of deacons. I think our priest to deacon homily ratio is probably 1:1 so we hear from each priest much more often. They have so much time to prepare the homilies as they are scheduling whose turn it is weeks in advance that they are always quality. I get homily homesick sometimes when we travel to visit family.
 
We have quite a few deacons at my parish. I’ve only ever heard one homily from a deacon and that was at his first mass after his ordination. :woman_shrugging:t4:
 
It’s interesting that the deacons at your parish don’t do homilies often. I’m hearing deacon homilies a lot lately and it seems odd to me because like I said the parish giving the deacons the most homily time also has 3-4 priests plus other priests who occasionally visit. I wondered if our pastor thought the deacons needed practice in this area or if it was something they specifically requested to do. Several of my other parishes have had deacons who assisted at Mass but rarely gave homilies at Mass, and their preaching was usually done during prayer services, prayer group meetings, retreats, etc rather than at Mass.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Not trying to beat up on the deacons but the difference in quality in some cases between deacon preaching and priest preaching is noticeable.
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I think it’s exactly the same situation as it is with priests – some are just better at it than others.
 
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Our parish has the deacons give the homily the first Sunday of each month. All other Sundays are our priests. I think it’s beneficial for our priests to hear homilies every now and again instead of always giving them. It gives them a little break, it feeds their soul and it helps to hear someone else’s perspective sometimes instead of only their own.
 
The deacon and priest in my parish usually take turns with the homily. Usually priest for major celebrations like Easter, Christmas, Christ the King day etc and the deacon would preach the next day if there are Masses (with the same celebration) several days in a row.
 
Most of the homilies I’ve heard from Deacons have been very good! There was one though who would use props… one prop was a wooden paddle, another was a selfie stick. I can’t remember why, but I didn’t like it.
 
I think generalizing about deacons is a waste of time. There are all kinds just as there are all kinds of priests. Some deacons are great at homilies, others not so much. Some priests give great homilies others don’t. Some priests like having deacons do homilies part of the time others do not. It is the decision of the pastor as to whether and when deacons give homilies.
 
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Deacons preach when the pastors want them to. Some often some not so often some never. Just like priests they are trained in homiletics. Just like priests some are great homelists some are not.
 
In our Archdiocese, it’s typical that a deacon will preach about once per month; that’s the standard, but not necessarily true in all cases. Whether their homilies are “good” or not is about the same as a priest’s - it depends on the person, the listeners’ opinions, and all sorts of factors. In regard to training, again, it depends; most deacons and diocesan priests can be presumed to have the same homiletics course. Some (priests or deacons) may choose additional coursework that adds to this, either as electives or just by virtue of making them more knowledgeable in certain areas. Life experiences and so on will factor in as well. Finally, some religious orders will have different requirements. For instance, Dominicans receive a full year course in preaching (of course), while the diocesan homiletics is a single semester.
 
We have ten or eleven deacons at my parish. For a while it was typical to have them preach about once a month. But anymore. I don’t often hear them preach at the Masses I attend. It seems that now they tend to preach when there is a feast or Gospel reading that relates to their particular area of expertise in ministry or secular life.

At my parish it is often a deacon who presides at weddings and funerals, so they do get their opportunities to preach.

And yes, some deacons are better preachers than others, just as it is with priests. I would imagine that ANY priest or deacon gets better at speaking the more often he does it. Of course there is more to preaching than just speaking.
 
I’ve seen it a lot, but my parish only has one priest. I imagine the deacon gives the homily mostly just when the priest is sick.
 
I am currently in formation for the permanent diaconate. Homilies/preaching is one of the ministries of a permanent deacon. As others have said, some are good at it and others are not. Speaking personally, it is very difficult to stand in front of a group and express a cohesive idea in under 10 minutes. Please have mercy on your deacons and pray for them.

As for the “liberal” bent of some, I have not experienced this in our group in formation.
 
SMHW said:
At my parish it is often a deacon who presides at weddings and funerals, so they do get their opportunities to preach.
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Not what I would have thought.

Although I know it does happen, I would have intuitively thought that the vast majority of Catholic funerals include the Mass- which means of course the priest is presiding.
 
A Pastor, one Associate, four Permanent Deacons, five Visiting Priests here - ALL on the preaching roll. We’ll get homilies from 25-minute pounding hellfire & brimstone shouters all the way through insipid 2-minute speedy Gospel paraphrasers.

It sort of reminds me of F.G.'s movie line: “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get…”

(Stay flexible.) 😃
 
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