… but upon reading the article more closely, it is more like “Vatican official recommends”. Most articles and quotes were in conjunction with the release of this document:
onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/HomileticDirectory.pdf This document recommends short homilies.
Thank you for taking the time to look these up! This document from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments looks very interesting.* I look forward to going through at least some of it.
In addition the recommendation for the 8-minute homily came in a book by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic.
catholicnewsagency.com/news/homilies_should_be_no_longer_than_eight_minutes_advises_vatican_prelate/
“Improvisations must be avoided,” the archbishop continues, “since the homily is too serious of a reality to be delivered to the faithful without adequate planning.” Archbishop Eterovic
Several of us seem to agree with Archbishop Eterovic on this point.
But, my question still remains, and is perhaps expanded. This seems to be a more modern phenomenon, unique to our time in history. Great saints and fathers of the Church were known to have preached for an hour or more. This isn’t a Protestant vs. Catholic thing. The fathers of the Church also had Jesus in the Eucharist and I just don’t buy the argument that Protestants preach more because it is all they have. When did we start to expect short homilies and why? Can we not handle more than 8 minutes?
I imagine we’d have to turn to Fr Taft to know more about how attentive those early faithful were to St John Chrysostom/golden-mouthed, and others. There seems to have actually been a great deal of inattention in those liturgies. I love it on Feasts when instead of the priest or deacon preaching, a homily from one of the Church Fathers is read. I wonder how much these are studied in seminary. Would be a very good thing. I know some Evangelical seminaries do study them.
In any case, as I said before
Protestant and Evangelical… I think that is something we could learn from them, those who are really masters at preaching.
I’m merely guessing here, but I think with some exceptions, Dominicans for example are the Order of Preachers, it would seem that many who enter the Catholic priesthood do so with preaching not at the top of what they thirst to do. The sacraments would seem generally more compelling.
In the East with the set prayers of our Liturgy running about an hour and 30-45 minutes plus a homily there can be the tendency to hold that the “Liturgy IS the catechesis”. After years of hearing the faithful talk it’s clear that while our prayers are catechetical, there is a great deal more that does need to be taught outright, in a well prepared homily, and in adult classes.
In addition to what seems a clearly off the cuff homily, I also don’t like is when the priest starts with a joke, which he’s clearly gotten off some homily prep website, and goes on with more content which likewise seems to have come not from his own encounter with the readings or the Feast day, but from someone else, on line or in some other prepared text.
However, I have found that every time it seems someone indeed has gotten fed by that very homily. God works in mysterious ways!
*Did you happen to notice,
babochka, that this was released on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, whose Fast we’re in now?
) that says something to the effect of, “If you need me to speak for five minutes, I need a week to prepare; if you need me to speak for an hour, I’m ready now.” I’m not sure if the quote is authentic, but it does speak to the point that it can be more difficult to craft a good short homily than a longer one.
