No Homily?!

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murphdog261

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This Sunday, during the reading of scripture, the deacon went up to read the Gospel of Luke. After he had finished the gospel, and the congregation sat down for the homily, the deacon said “and now if we could have a moment of your time dedicated to Mrs. *** *** about her volunteer human relief program”

This lady then spoke about her program, which was very interesting, but I was still confused because it seemed to be taking the place of the Homily, or at least it was in the same time-slot as the Homily usually is. The woman also referred to the gospel reading to aid her speech, which sounded nice, but now it was like her words WERE the Homily! I’ve just never seen a layperson take the pulpit during the time of the Homily, as it has always been the priest or the deacon.

I’m just wondering if this was a divergence from required Catholic procedure during a Mass.

Peace in Christ

-Murph
 
I have seen this done numerous times for various missionary groups, visiting priests, etc…

I can’t say I like it, but I have seen it all over the states, so…?
 
Hi All,

The sad fact is, that your parish priests have 1 hour per week to advance any agenda to the congregation. Most parishioners do not attend daily mass or other church related functions during the week, so there is precious little time to make available to such missionaries and causes.

It is indeed unfortunate that the time meant for homilies are taken by this type of activities, but I don’t know how priests and deacons can capture the parishioners attention for important church related issues/causes otherwise.
 
jburgherr said:
Hi All,

The sad fact is, that your parish priests have 1 hour per week to advance any agenda to the congregation. Most parishioners do not attend daily mass or other church related functions during the week, so there is precious little time to make available to such missionaries and causes.

It is indeed unfortunate that the time meant for homilies are taken by this type of activities, but I don’t know how priests and deacons can capture the parishioners attention for important church related issues/causes otherwise.
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I always saw room after Holy Communion was done, just before the final blessing. Whenever any other layperson or guest priest wants to say something, this is usually when it was done.

Is there some sort of guideline that the Catholic Church has created for instructing the Mass?

Thanks

Peace in Christ

-Murph
 
Dear Rob,

The relevant document is the GIRM-- the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which you can find at the United States Catholic Bishops website here.

Specifically, the portion dedicated to the Liturgy of the Word.

The instruction reads:
The Homily
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  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
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  1. 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.
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** 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
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After the homily a brief period of silence is appropriately observed.
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Another relevant document is, “Redemptionis Sacramentum.”

Some relevant portions, one from the other parts of the Mass,
65. It should be borne in mind that any previous norm that may have admitted non-ordained faithful to give the homily during the eucharistic celebration is to be considered abrogated by the norm of canon 767 §1.145 This practice is reprobated, so that it cannot be permitted to attain the force of custom.

66. The prohibition of the admission of laypersons to preach within the Mass applies also to seminarians, students of theological disciplines, and those who have assumed the function of those known as “pastoral assistants”; nor is there to be any exception for any other kind of layperson, or group, or community, or association.146
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Or, perhaps, more to the point:
74. If the need arises for the gathered faithful to be given instruction or testimony by a layperson in a church concerning the Christian life, it is altogether preferable that this be done outside Mass. Nevertheless, for serious reasons it is permissible that this type of instruction or testimony be given after the Priest has proclaimed the Prayer After Communion. This should not become a regular practice, however. **Furthermore, these instructions and testimony should not be of such a nature that they could be confused with the homily,**156 nor is it permissible to dispense with the homily on their account.
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God bless,

-Rob
 
Thank heavens I only see this two or three times a year, but it is annoying. I have nothing against it being done after Communion, but there needs to be a proper homily reflecting on the day’s readings, even if it’s shorter to accommodate the guest speaker.
 
Same thing occurred at the Mass I attended this Sunday. The Archdiocese annually asks each parish to welcome a missionary to talk at all the Masses and appeal to parishioners for funds. Typically, these addresses effectively take the place of the homily. Ought they to? Not appropriately. (Unless, perhaps, the missionary happens to be a priest or deacon who can wield that pitch into his homily). Rather, it belongs after communion. But the practice has long been to allow the missionary to talk at the time when the homily would otherwise be. Perhaps the priest will first offer some brief words of exhortation or introduction which may technically “qualify” as a homily (despite the fact that the more extended talk by the religious then takes precedence).

That said, the reality is that it is difficult to hold the attention of parishioners for that long or at a time other than this. In fact, when I have sometimes been at Masses where an entire procession of people line up after communion to make an announcement or appeal for their special interest, er I mean ministry, it can grow quite frustrating. “Let me out already! Or at least allow me to be quiet and pray!” is usually my thought at that point. How much better is it going to be, then, if we allow some sister to get up and offer her schpiel for 15 more minutes? (Not to mention the concern that, “We have to get everyone out of here before the next Mass’s attendees start to show up in the parking lot”.) And will anyone stick around long enough for a second collection to be completed?

So what’s a poor pastor to do?
 
Well! You would not have seen THIS at a Traditional Latin Mass!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist! 😉

Moderator, please don’t ban me! :tsktsk:
 
murphdog261 said:
This Sunday, during the reading of scripture, the deacon went up to read the Gospel of Luke. After he had finished the gospel, and the congregation sat down for the homily, the deacon said “and now if we could have a moment of your time dedicated to Mrs. *** *** about her volunteer human relief program”

This lady then spoke about her program, which was very interesting, but I was still confused because it seemed to be taking the place of the Homily, or at least it was in the same time-slot as the Homily usually is. The woman also referred to the gospel reading to aid her speech, which sounded nice, but now it was like her words WERE the Homily! I’ve just never seen a layperson take the pulpit during the time of the Homily, as it has always been the priest or the deacon.

I’m just wondering if this was a divergence from required Catholic procedure during a Mass.

Peace in Christ

-Murph
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What this woman did was illegal. She violated the laws of the Catholic Church. The bishop should have her arrested and tossed in jail. He should also have the deacon and priest who aided and abetted her in the commission of her crime jailed as well.
 
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