Do You Feel Short-changed / Homily

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There’s been more than enough times - sigh -
when it was time for the homily - and the Priest skipped it.
It’s an awkward moment, when you begin to sit…
and then you resume standing…
But expounding on the Gospel, the readings, was brushed over by the Priest.

Is that an actual option that an ordained Priest can exercise ?

Does anyone know where - do homiies rank - in importance - during our mass ?
 
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A homily can be short, but I don’t believe it can be skipped entirely… It’s a necessary part of the structure of the mass.
 
A homily can insist of one word but must occur.

A priest does not owe anyone a homily. You do not get “gypped” if you don’t get the one that is to your standard. A priest can say “God is good” and that is more than sufficient.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
A homily can be short, but I don’t believe it can be skipped entirely… It’s a necessary part of the structure of the mass.
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During weekday Masses or Saturday morning Mass the homily can indeed be skipped.

However, on Sundays and Solemnities a homily is mandatory.
 
I myself am more attracted to the rituals - the liturgy, the prayers, the Eucharist. I don’t feel the need of a homily.
Not all priests are gifted to say one and that doesn’t mean they are not good priests. One who does not say a homily does more good than one who says a really bad homily that may not inspire Christian thoughts and faith in everyone. A bad homily took me away from Church when I was 18. Dunno. Maybe my comment is too self-centered based on my experience but I hope maybe it’s… something.
 
Mary888 said:
Not all priests are gifted to say one and that doesn’t mean they are not good priests. One who does not say a homily does more good than one who says a really bad homily that may not inspire Christian thoughts and faith in everyone. A bad homily took me away from Church when I was 18. Dunno. Maybe my comment is too self-centered based on my experience but I hope maybe it’s… something.
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If that’s the case, they can just use a Patristic homily verbatim.
 
I know some of what my pastor does, and I know that is only a fraction of his responsibilities. I have seen him bring himself to the church on days he is miserable with some bug or clearly exhausted to say daily Mass. I’ve heard the accounts of him being called out to the hospital in the dead of night, and he still arrives for Mass promptly at 7:30 the next morning. I’ve watched him listen patiently to parishioners whine about the temperature of the church or the colour of the flowers or the volume of the speakers on days when he’s literally been rushing from funeral to meeting to Mass.

So if he’s tired, or unwell, or just needs a break from that one homily on that one night, I’m certainly not going to feel like I’ve been slighted. I’m just going to say an extra prayer for him and whatever he’s had to endure that day.
 
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Spyridon said:
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ProdglArchitect:
A homily can be short, but I don’t believe it can be skipped entirely… It’s a necessary part of the structure of the mass.
Click to expand...
During weekday Masses or Saturday morning Mass the homily can indeed be skipped.

However, on Sundays and Solemnities a homily is mandatory.
Click to expand...
I didn’t think of Daily Masses…typically if one is going to them they will know a bit more about the structure of the Mass.

Even on Sundays and Solemnities a homily is not required to be any length. As I mentioned before, 3 words would more than suffice.
 
Here are the relevant passages from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM):
  1. The homily is part of the Liturgy and is strongly recommended,[63] for it is necessary for the nurturing of the Christian life. It should be an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass of the day and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners.[64]
  2. The homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant himself. He may entrust it to a concelebrating priest or occasionally, according to circumstances, to the deacon, but never to a lay person.[65] In particular cases and for a just cause, the homily may even be given by a Bishop or a priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate.
There is to be a homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation at all Masses that are celebrated with the participation of a congregation; it may not be omitted without a serious reason. It is recommended on other days, especially on the weekdays of Advent, Lent, and the Easter Season, as well as on other festive days and occasions when the people come to church in greater numbers.[66]

After the homily a brief period of silence is appropriately observed.
 
I had to attend Sunday Mass at an airport once (it was my only option while traveling for work). I seem to remember there was no homily (or maybe it was extremely short). I just remember I thought it was odd. But maybe that is a special circumstance.
 
One of my former priests was long past the retirement age, and was coming down with Parkinson’s, but was still plugging away and doing his best. It was his tradition to skip the homily on the Feast of the Holy Family (the first Sunday after Christmas). Mostly, it was because all of the Christmas services (he served two parishes) really took a physical toll on him, and he just needed an easy day. So he might say a sentence about the gospel, and he’d invite us all to sit and think about it for about a minute, and then he’d continue on with Mass.

Another former priest was retired, and was also elderly and sick, to the point of needing to drive his car from the rectory to the chapel (which was like a 30-second walk), but he did the weekday Masses. His homilies were probably a paragraph long, but they were compact and punchy.

So, those are the situations where I’ve usually encountered the minimal homilies-- there’s a definite pattern; the priest is not physically in the best health condition; he does his best, but he doesn’t have the stamina he had 50 years previously as a young priest. 🙂
 
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Spyridon said:
40.png
ProdglArchitect:
A homily can be short, but I don’t believe it can be skipped entirely… It’s a necessary part of the structure of the mass.
Click to expand...
During weekday Masses or Saturday morning Mass the homily can indeed be skipped.

However, on Sundays and Solemnities a homily is mandatory.
Click to expand...
All the daily masses I’ve ever been to (admittedly, not that many), have had homilies, so I assumed they were still required. Thanks for the info.
 
Mary888 said:
I myself am more attracted to the rituals - the liturgy, the prayers, the Eucharist. I don’t feel the need of a homily.
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Same. I rarely pay attention anyway.
 
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One day during daily Mass, Father was clearly suffering from flu. The homily was a condensation of the gospel reading with, “What does God ask of you?” added at the end. That was it. Shortest homily or sermon I’ve ever heard but was entirely sufficient.
 
I’m not sure it is required weekdays but on Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation it is required.

Can. 528 §1 The parish priest has the obligation of ensuring that the word of God is proclaimed in its entirety to those living in the parish. He is therefore to see to it that the lay members of Christ’s faithful are instructed in the truths of faith, especially by means of the homily on Sundays and holydays of obligation and by catechetical formation. He is to foster works which promote the spirit of the Gospel, including its relevance to social justice. He is to have a special care for the catholic education of children and young people. With the collaboration of the faithful, he is to make every effort to bring the gospel message to those also who have given up religious practice or who do not profess the true faith.
 
I wonder if the Lord feels gypped when we dismiss his sons, the priests? 🤔

Try not to let things like this color your Mass experience.
Often, on Sundays when the passion is read, they do a very minimal homily. There can be many reasons, illness even, if there is only one priest per parish, as is the case here.
 
It takes surprisingly little to meet the requirements for a homily. As mentioned by a previous poster, you never know what’s going on in a priest’s life. He may be sick, exhausted, upset about something, etc. Sometimes they have the best intentions to write a good homily and life throws them a curve ball.

I’ve known some good priests who were just terrible at homilies. There are worse flaws a priest can have so if this is the biggest issue with a priest I won’t complain. They are people too, with their own strengths and weaknesses, just trying to do the best they can with what they were given.

It so happens that right now, all my priests are good at giving homilies and they do it every day. One in particular is very eloquent and can take a deep spiritual matter and break it down so anyone can understand. But listening to him talk is a gift, not a right.
 
Talitha712 said:
It so happens that right now, all my priests are good at giving homilies and they do it every day. One in particular is very eloquent and can take a deep spiritual matter and break it down so anyone can understand. But listening to him talk is a gift, not a right.
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Also, it helps to remind your priest that you enjoy the homilies. One priest I know decided not to give homilies for a couple of weeks in the summer, because it was warm and he thought people would rather finish Mass and enjoy the sunshine than sit and listen to him. A couple of parishioners went to him after the first week and told him they were really missing hearing his homilies, so he started giving them again.

He had no idea people enjoyed hearing his homilies and thought they were just sitting through them.
 
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