How long do your Priests homilies last?

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This thread made me laugh a bit… Our priest’s homilies are anywhere from 15-20 minutes and it’s HEAVENLY. I came from a church where the sermons could go from 30-50 minutes so this has been a WELCOME change.

Not to mention 30-50 minutes of rambling and disconnected discussion… Ugh.

I recognize that different speakers have a different level of talent but when I sit down to hear the homily I ALWAYS ask God to help me hear what He wants me to hear. Then I listen as carefully as I can - no matter how bored I get. Sometimes my mind does wander, especially with the bad speakers, but I try. Usually I go away with at LEAST one new thing to make myself better and/or to consider in my walk.
 
The length of the homily at our parish differs depending on which priest is saying mass that day. I’ve never timed any of the priests before, but my guess is that the homilies are about 10-15 minutes long. I don’t mind longer homilies provided that the priest has done all the necessary prep work. I also prefer that the priest stay on topic. It’s very difficult to sit through a homily when the priest is constantly going off on tangents and digressing into commentary on world events.
 
AdVitamParamus said:
The length of the homily at our parish differs depending on which priest is saying mass that day. I’ve never timed any of the priests before, but my guess is that the homilies are about 10-15 minutes long. I don’t mind longer homilies provided that the priest has done all the necessary prep work. I also prefer that the priest stay on topic. It’s very difficult to sit through a homily when the priest is constantly going off on tangents and digressing into commentary on world events.
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You hit the point squarely. That is the problem with the most numbing homilies, the wandering off on tangents. When a priest gets excited, going off on this and that, it is impossible to follow. The refrain of the Allman Brothers “I Was Born a Rambling Man” plays over in the mind. Keep that going over an extended time and the congregation looks like Brave New World has arrived and they are pumping in Soma.

An earlier post was about a longer homily bringing together points from the readings with history, ancient practice and so on. I could easily enjoy a long homily like that. There have been those that I hated to see end. Unfortunately, the longer homily that has a central theme, well-prepared elements, and related points is a rare creature indeed.
 
Georgia said:
An earlier post was about a longer homily bringing together points from the readings with history, ancient practice and so on. I could easily enjoy a long homily like that. There have been those that I hated to see end. Unfortunately, the longer homily that has a central theme, well-prepared elements, and related points is a rare creature indeed.
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This is something I would really enjoy, too. I think at daily Mass that the parochial vicar does a great job giving a short version of this… a very short version, and then ties it in to how we can apply it in the upcoming day(s). (He also has a habit of saying “huh?” on the end of sentences for emphasis, which for some reason I think is really great.)

Father also does a good job in short homilies of tying in some history and practice as well as application. They both give great homilies in my experience so far, and I’d be happy to listen to them talk longer. I am always a little disappointed when Mass is over, so a longer homily from either of them would be a-ok by me.

Since we go over the Sunday readings in RCIA each week, and since both Fathers tend to be there for most if not all of the sessions (so far, anyway), I am privileged enough to get to participate in a bit more of this kind of discussion pretty regularly.

NOTE that you may already know, but last night I found a post by Fidelis that ties in a lot of information on ancient practice, history and the Sunday readings. Here is the one for 2/20:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=537182

I am still working my way through it but maybe you would be interested.
 
Having attended a Protestant church while growing up where we sang for about an hour (the same contemporary songs from week to week) and then listened to an hour-long sermon (unless you went to Sunday school), I do not see why there are so many complaints in this discussion about homilies that are more than 15 minutes long. While I realize that the Eucharist is most important part of the Mass, I would love it if Mass lasted for 2 hours (with half of that time being given to the homily).
 
Week day Mass- homily is about 5 minutes
Sundays and Holy Days- homily is about 10-15 minutes
 
Young_Thinker said:
Having attended a Protestant church while growing up where we sang for about an hour (the same contemporary songs from week to week) and then listened to an hour-long sermon (unless you went to Sunday school), I do not see why there are so many complaints in this discussion about homilies that are more than 15 minutes long. While I realize that the Eucharist is most important part of the Mass, I would love it if Mass lasted for 2 hours (with half of that time being given to the homily).
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I hereby invite you to take my place at our next 90-minute Mass! Maybe you can convince Father to round up his homily and make it a full hour, although you might be the only one left in the church when he finished! I feel certain that he would not object to lengthening his homily and in fact you might be nominated to be on the Pastoral Committee to fight the church members who remind him that 60 minutes is the usual time allotted for Mass.

😃

I think the Eastern Orthodox services are even longer than 2 hours, aren’t they? I’ve never been to one but have heard that they are marathon sessions. I think I’d have to bring bottled water, snacks, etc. I guess it’s whatever one gets used to while growing up.

For Protestants, the preaching really IS the main event, no? For Catholics, the Eucharist is the main event and the homily is a part of the Mass, but my understanding is that it is not supposed to overshadow the Lord’s Supper.
 
OrganistRob said:
At our Parish, our Pastor’s homily usually lasts 8 to 14 minutes. The other priest who is in residence has a record of 43 minutes.
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Darn, I really thought I had the prize sewn up, and then along you come with your spoiler priest, on the outside rail!

:D:rolleyes:
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Darn, I really thought I had the prize sewn up, and then along you come with your spoiler priest, on the outside rail!

:D:rolleyes:
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My parochial vicar went 45 minutes one time. The pastor at another parish broke that record. He went a full hour.

I will say this. My parochial vicar is one of the finest homilists in our diocese. On occasion, I will, with his permission, put one of his homilies on my blog.
 
Homilies, properly prepared, are a blessing, however long they may be.

Who decides how long the mass shall be? 40 minutes? 55 minutes? 75 minutes?

My complaint is this: Our church is in the habit of singing only as many verses of any hymn as:
  1. The priest reaches his chair from the processional
  2. The very instant the gifts are prepared
  3. The communion procession is finished
  4. The priest et als have reached the rear of the church during the recessional
If all verses of a hymn are pertinent, should we be stopping the “sung prayer” so the mass doesn’t last TOOOOO long?

Mass should take as long as it takes.
 
Well, we do that too, singing the verses only until the celebrant gets where he is going.

The discussions get to something that reminds me of the old “Where’s the beef?” commercial. If the homily is educating, if it is spiritual, if it lifts us up, no one notices the length. If it is majority filler, we feel bored and we feel somewhat ill treated.

I’ve seen so many homilies that hit the point, came to what would be a dramatic conclusion and then wandered off for what seemed to be forty days in the desert. There is nothing wrong with ending once the point has been made. There is no reason to go on, seemingly to satisfy some unofficial mandated length.
 
5 to 10 min weekdays

10 to 15 weekends depending on the priest one priest in my diocese sometimes has about a 20 min homily but he gives very good homilies
 
one more thing my favorite saint padre pio had a history of giving really long homilies
 
TheRealJuliane said:
I hereby invite you to take my place at our next 90-minute Mass! Maybe you can convince Father to round up his homily and make it a full hour, although you might be the only one left in the church when he finished! I feel certain that he would not object to lengthening his homily and in fact you might be nominated to be on the Pastoral Committee to fight the church members who remind him that 60 minutes is the usual time allotted for Mass.

😃

I think the Eastern Orthodox services are even longer than 2 hours, aren’t they? I’ve never been to one but have heard that they are marathon sessions. I think I’d have to bring bottled water, snacks, etc. I guess it’s whatever one gets used to while growing up.

For Protestants, the preaching really IS the main event, no? For Catholics, the Eucharist is the main event and the homily is a part of the Mass, but my understanding is that it is not supposed to overshadow the Lord’s Supper.
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Thank you for bringing humor into this situation! I would gladly do so if I had the opportunity, but I also really like the priest at my parish. I know that the Eucharist is more important, but would not you agree that the average Catholic does not learn enough about his faith (though that seems to be more because of inadequate catechesis than anything else).
 
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