Length of homily?

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A friend of mine and I were discussing what the length of a homily should be. She said they were only supposed to be about 8 mins. I was under the impression that weekdays were supposed to be shorter, but the Sunday ones were to be longer?

The thing that neither one of us know, however, is if there is some sort of directives as to how long they are supposed to be?

TIA
 
I don’t know how long homilies are supposed to be but this is my experience. The first parish I belonged to had two priests, both very good & knowledgeable. One always read from a written homily and generally fell in the 8-10 minute mark. Wonderful homilies that bridged the readings and life today. The other priest also gave amazing homilies but did so without notes. His homilies could top the 15 minute mark. I didn’t mind as he made me think.

My next parish has a wonderful priest who could give a 12 minute homily and not really say anything at all. He is a wonderful loving priest but homilies are not his strong suit. In my current parish the priest is known for his very short 5-6 minute homilies but he always ties it together.

So I don’t know what the rules are but I personally would rather get a short homily and learn, think, or be challenged, than a long homily that leaves me scratching my head or forgetting it the minute we start the creed. 🙂
 
There is no rule. A long meaty homily can seem like 5 minutes; a short boring homily can feel like an hour.

And when they meander and repeat everything 4 times in a different form? Well, I’m convinced that a visiting priest at a former parish made it his mission to teach us what eternity was all about.
 
I’ve heard great teaching in a 1-minute, 2-sentence homily at a weekday Mass, and have heard long rambling 15 minute homilies that basically said nothing at Sunday Mass. I’ve also heard great long ones and empty short ones.

I therefore think that length is a poor standard against which to measure the impact of a homily.

That 1-minute 2-sentence homily was given at a 7 am Mass by the rector of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. I kept chewing on what he said all through my workday afterwards.
 
OraLabora said:
I’ve heard great teaching in a 1-minute, 2-sentence homily at a weekday Mass, and have heard long rambling 15 minute homilies that basically said nothing at Sunday Mass. I’ve also heard great long ones and empty short ones.

I therefore think that length is a poor standard against which to measure the impact of a homily.

That 1-minute 2-sentence homily was given at a 7 am Mass by the rector of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. I kept chewing on what he said all through my workday afterwards.
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THIS^^^

Homilies should be as long as they need to be to be instructive and inspiring.
 
A homily isn’t even required at daily Mass.

As others have said: content is what is important.
 
I’d say it’s subjective, but I don’t understand why some Catholics (not pointing fingers at anyone here) seem opposed to long homilies. Some subject matter takes longer to go over. And I love a good rousing sermon. Perhaps it’s the ex-protestant in me, but when we get a priest that gives a great homily, I love it, whether it’s a short one or a long one. I was speaking with one visiting priest a couple weeks ago that said he had one parishioner that would visibly hold up his watch and tap it 30 seconds into the priest’s homily. And this priest is a great speaker, it’s not like he’s boring or hard to understand or any of the things that might make me impatient. I guess for those who just hate listening to the homily, take it as an opportunity to offer it up for the Holy Souls or something.
 
AKDee said:
I’d say it’s subjective, but I don’t understand why some Catholics (not pointing fingers at anyone here) seem opposed to long homilies. Some subject matter takes longer to go over. And I love a good rousing sermon. Perhaps it’s the ex-protestant in me, but when we get a priest that gives a great homily, I love it, whether it’s a short one or a long one. I was speaking with one visiting priest a couple weeks ago that said he had one parishioner that would visibly hold up his watch and tap it 30 seconds into the priest’s homily. And this priest is a great speaker, it’s not like he’s boring or hard to understand or any of the things that might make me impatient. I guess for those who just hate listening to the homily, take it as an opportunity to offer it up for the Holy Souls or something.
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Content.
Content.
If a long homily is all about “nothing to do with the Gospel” then, I prefer brevity.
 
Maybe it’s the fact I am southern, but I prefer long, loud dynamic preaching. I have heard that in Africa, the preaching often is very long.
 
Generic_Name said:
As others have said: content is what is important.
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Our regular priest keeps it short & sweet - and there’s always something to think about. We had a visiting priest this Sunday - oh my word, his homily was long - & he said nothing.

The only thing I remembered is what he said in his long pre-homily before Mass - that the NT reading meant we didn’t have to follow rules. Later he omitted the Gloria, which made me wonder if he was breaking rules, or just forgetful?
 
Bonnie said:
Our regular priest keeps it short & sweet - and there’s always something to think about. We had a visiting priest this Sunday - oh my word, his homily was long - & he said nothing.

The only thing I remembered is what he said in his long pre-homily before Mass - that the NT reading meant we didn’t have to follow rules. Later he omitted the Gloria, which made me wonder if he was breaking rules, or just forgetful?
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yikes!
 
Most people in the US are used to shorter homilies. Of course, the main reason for shorter homilies, especially at larger parishes, is because of having self-imposed time limits on Masses due to the parish Mass schedule. That’s really all the reason for 8-12 minute homilies. And priests saying multiple Masses will often repeat their same homily at all Masses, so even if the Mass is the last Mass of the day, it won’t have any longer of a homily.

However, when I was in college, I took classes during the summer after my first year, and our priest went on vacation. The visiting priest was a monsignor from India, and he had quite lengthy homilies, which could have easily been split into 3-4 homilies in one. Also, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI generally had long homilies (Pope Francis’s are amazingly short compared to his immediate two predecessors).
 
adamhovey1988 said:
Maybe it’s the fact I am southern, but I prefer long, loud dynamic preaching. I have heard that in Africa, the preaching often is very long.
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Well then that “1-minute” homily I heard had to be the longest one I’ve ever heard, because it was so incisive, and so strongly invited interior reflection and review of conscience that it basically lasted day as I kept replaying it in my mind! 😛

I guess the cradle Catholic in me prefers brief homilies that get to the point, and actually do make a point. I don’t mind long if they have meat. But long, rambling and never really getting to the point… heard too many of those. One parish where our schola used to sing had a priest that was particularly notorious for rambling, empty homilies.

On the other hand I love long elaborate chanted liturgies with bells and smells. 😉
 
The priest we had when I converted always kept the homilies short and on point. Just a sentence or two on weekdays, and scarcely more than 5 minutes on Sunday. Always very good and on point too. I guess I got spoiled. Now it seems like every priest I see is trying to give a protestant sermon to me, but I guess it’s the former Baptist in me. It doesn’t help that I have had two kids in the mean time who don’t sit well yet, I’m kind of hard of hearing, and our new priest is from another country and his English is much more difficult to understand. Either he’s getting easier to understand or I’m getting better at listening though, slowly but surely.
 
I guess my priests’ homilies vary. Sometimes they seem like they go on for awhile and other times I feel like they are over within 2 minutes (I know they’re not actually that short). I am assuming many priests want to keep a Sunday mass at 1 hr (at least in the US) so they aim for 8 or so minutes?

However, one of our priests has done a lot of work in Europe and said that masses are much more “go with the flow” there. Not when it comes to important stuff like how a mass needs to be executed, but like when the mass starts and ends.
 
I think there’s a principle that says if a point or message can’t be made in 6-8 minutes, it won’t be made in 15 minutes either. I have also noticed some distinct cultural differences in homilies from foreign visiting priests. Young priests from Africa and especially Poland seem to give “homilies” that come across as long scolding sessions. Priests from India seem to give longish but quite gentle teachings. Visiting Irish priests - who are always older - are wonderful to listen to are are usually quite loving and often funny.
 
During the daily 6:30 am Mass in our school chapel (which will resume on July 4 at the opening of classes) the homilies last for 2 minutes. Or if Fr. Spiritual Director is in a hurry, he omits it altogether. If the topic is not wholly about the gospel, it is mainly used to point out to the students attending the Mass on what school rules they break and how it is applied in the gospel.

During the 8am Sunday Mass in my (soon-to-be former) Parish, if the Parish Priest is preaching, it takes him about 10-15 minutes. If the guest priest is preaching, it takes him around 20 minutes since it includes interaction with the people about the gospel and readings being read
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
I think there’s a principle that says if a point or message can’t be made in 6-8 minutes, it won’t be made in 15 minutes either. I have also noticed some distinct cultural differences in homilies from foreign visiting priests. Young priests from Africa and especially Poland seem to give “homilies” that come across as long scolding sessions. Priests from India seem to give longish but quite gentle teachings. Visiting Irish priests - who are always older - are wonderful to listen to are are usually quite loving and often funny.
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I’ll agree in general, but there are specific points that need more time to be drawn out. Take a different discipline, for example mathematics, as an analogy. Principles of mathematics build on each other. You don’t start on day one learning about derivatives. First, you have to learn how to count. Second, you need to learn how to add and subtract. Then multiply and divide. Then fractions, decimals, exponents, and algebra. Eventually, you get to geometry and pre-calculus. Then, finally, you are ready for calculus.

Take this over to the realm of preaching. I often times will read, here and elsewhere, something along these lines, “Why don’t we ever hear any homilies on why you shouldn’t receive communion in a state of mortal sin?” The answer, to be perfectly blunt, is because people’s attention span isn’t long enough to handle a homily to properly lay out this point. (Now, that said, I have preached on this before.)

It’s not as simple as going up and saying, “Remember, folks, the Church teaches that you shouldn’t receive Holy Communion if you’re not in a state of grace,” and being done with it.

Off the top of my head, you need to adequately explain AT LEAST the following points (keeping in mind that people are at different points…someone may be setting foot inside a Catholic Church for the first time in years, for instance).

  1. *]What is mortal sin?
    *]What does it mean to be in a state of grace?
    *]What is the Eucharist?
    *]Why shouldn’t we receive Holy Communion when NOT in a state of grace?
    *]What might constitute a mortal sin?
    *]What are the consequences of mortal sin?
    *]What are the remedies for it? (The LAST thing you want to do as a preacher is leave someone in a state of despair)
    *]Address the objection, "So, you’re saying I’m not WORTHY to receive Holy Communion? How dare you judge me! Haven’t you ever heard Jesus say, “Judge not?”

    Again, these are just off the top of my head. In general, the more controversial the topic, the more time you need to give a good catechesis on it.

    Yes, long preaching can be a problem. But, only preaching half a message due to having a self-imposed seven minute time limit is a bigger problem, in my estimation. Personally, I’ve preached homilies that were two words long and homilies that were 20 minutes long. It all depends on the topic. Obviously, the 20 minute homily had more that needed to be fleshed out for it to make sense. I’d say my average is about 7-10 minutes, but I do think it’s problematic when we limit ourselves by that.
 
Here’s Pope Francis on the topic:

The homily cannot be a form of entertainment like those presented by the media, yet it does need to give life and meaning to the celebration. It is a distinctive genre, since it is preaching situated within the framework of a liturgical celebration; hence it should be brief and avoid taking on the semblance of a speech or a lecture. A preacher may be able to hold the attention of his listeners for a whole hour, but in this case his words become more important than the celebration of faith. If the homily goes on too long, it will affect two characteristic elements of the liturgical celebration: its balance and its rhythm. When preaching takes place within the context of the liturgy, it is part of the offering made to the Father and a mediation of the grace which Christ pours out during the celebration. This context demands that preaching should guide the assembly, and the preacher, to a life-changing communion with Christ in the Eucharist. This means that the words of the preacher must be measured, so that the Lord, more than his minister, will be the centre of attention.

Full text here: w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#II.%E2%80%82The_homily

So: don’t drag it out too long, and make sure it doesn’t take away from the importance of the Mass itself. Sound principles. 🙂
 
The correct answer is 9 minutes and 45 seconds. Anything shorter lacks substance; anything longer begets drowsiness. 😃
 
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