Homily or Sermon?

[GoLatin]

I have heard both terms, homily and sermon used.

Which is older? Which is more proper?

Is “sermon” older? I have an old LP record(1958ish) with the voice of His Holiness Pope Pius XII on it. On the back of the record case it has a list of what is on the record. One of the things is “Sermon in Latin”.

So what is right? Which term was used most before Vatican II?

Thank you!

 

[palmas85]

GoLatin:

I have heard both terms, homily and sermon used.

Which is older? Which is more proper?

Is “sermon” older? I have an old LP record(1958ish) with the voice of His Holiness Pope Pius XII on it. On the back of the record case it has a list of what is on the record. One of the things is “Sermon in Latin”.

So what is right? Which term was used most before Vatican II?

Thank you!

Although homily is the accepted term these days prior to Vatican II the most commonly used term was sermon. While homily may have been used I don’t recall it, and in checkingthrough my old missals, I see that sermon is the term used.

 

[puzzleannie]

A homily is specific a teaching that expands on the message of the lectionary readings, given by a priest or deacon. It should relate the scripture message to “real life” and assist the listeners to incoporate the gospel in their Christian living. A sermon is a talk on any aspect of Christian doctrine, and may or may not relate to the readings, and is usually more didactic.

 

[Kielbasi]

A homily is just a short sermon, by definition.

“Homily” is the term ordinarily used in the Catholic church in the present day, and is therefore the most proper. More descriptive as well, as Catholic homilies are ordinarily much shorter than the Protestant sermon.

Its also an older term, derived from the older Greek language, ‘sermon’ derives from Latin.

 

[Chatter163]

Various sources provide varying definitions of the term homily, but I believe that it became popular in this country during the 1960’s, as homily implied a scripture-based sermon or reflection. The term does appear in the Holy Week reforms of the 1950’s, when the rubrics prescribed a homily (homilia) for the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, on the subject of Our Lord’s mandate and the Holy Eucharist. It gradually gained popularity after that, as the liturgy began to be rendered in the vernacular.

 

[BayCityRickL]

puzzleannie:

A homily is specific a teaching that expands on the message of the lectionary readings, given by a priest or deacon. It should relate the scripture message to “real life” and assist the listeners to incoporate the gospel in their Christian living. A sermon is a talk on any aspect of Christian doctrine, and may or may not relate to the readings, and is usually more didactic.

…yeah, but a homily is a sermon. there’s very little difference. There’s probably never been a pure homily. Listen to the priests on EWTN and see that they’re all over the map.

…I like to use the word sermon exclusively, just to tick people off. This is one of those “distinctions without a difference” or as some say, “antics with semantics.”

Ditto for the words pulpit and ambo. I never heard ambo before, now that all that’s used.

by the way, who really cares?

 

[Deacon_Ed]

In the early Church it was called a homily because it was usually a teaching on how to live out the Scriptures. A sermon became more common when the teaching aspect was considered redundant since people were no longer in need of general catechesis. Sermons, then, became more directed in that the priest would explain how one was to live and to correct the sin in one’s life. If we look at the vast majority of what were called sermons they were about reform or, as it is called in Greek, metanoia.

The Church has issued guidelines for the homily and it is to be an opportunity for the bishop, priest or deacon to provide concrete ways in which the people can incorporate the Scripture into their daily lives. This may include metanoia but that may be (and usually is) ignored.

In point of fact, for the average person in the pew there is little or no difference between a sermon or a homily. BTW, the length of the talk has no bearing on whether it is a homily or a sermon – that would be based upon the secular definition of a homily as a “short, pithy saying.”

Finally, in my diocese (Orange in California) the bishop has issued directives to us that our homilies are to take on a more catechetical tone.

Deacon Ed