Sermon Notes?

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White_Peony

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Is it permissible for a Catholic to take homily notes? Or is that just protestant?
 
Greetings White Peony,

It is permissible. I usually dictate the homily by shorthand so that I can have the homilies to refer to later on. It can be done in a way that is not distracting nor a problem for the priest. I have let my priest know what I am doing during the homily and he has no problems with it.

Of course, here’s a thought, I just had. I could buy a tape recorder and tape his homilies and then do the dictating at home. That’s less distracting.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
I have a dear friend who routinely writes notes from the sermon in the margins of her Magnificat.
 
You can also ask your priest or deacon if they “write out” their homilies and ask if you can have a copy.

I have quite the collection of notes, reflections & homilies that I have collected over the years. 😃
 
Of course you can take notes. Why would that be Protestant?
 
I think most priests would be overjoyed that someone is paying attention!
 
I used to write detailed notes when I was in my 20s. Last year I tried to revive the habit but stopped after the second time because I had the idea that the priest thought I was ‘spying’. I suspect that he may have had a few parishioners complain to the bishop.

I may start again because I can hardly ever remember what the sermon was about. Plus it is a great idea. This time I will let the priest casually know what I am doing, so that there are no misunderstandings.
 
Anathama_Sit said:
Of course, here’s a thought, I just had. I could buy a tape recorder and tape his homilies and then do the dictating at home. That’s less distracting.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
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Tape recorder?? What’s that? 😃

I’ve often wondered if this is permissible. I get so distracted by all the noise that I can’t seem to stay focused during the homily. I think it would be helpful to have it recorded on my phone or something and listen to it on the drive home. The only thing I’ve wondered is if priests wouldn’t like the possibility of their sermons being distributed. Though, my priest does give good sermons on Hell, sin, and confession, which really should be shared with those who aren’t at Mass.

My priest writes out his homilies, and reads them almost verbatim, but he does go off his notes, which is when it gets interesting.
 
In the old days, when Catholics were very poor, it was nearly impossible to afford even the stub of a pencil. Episcopalians, on the other hand, had expensive Parker fountain pens and finely stitched journals with hand-laid paper. Thus began the Catholic/Protestant divide on note taking.:D:D

These days, the situation is somewhat different, owing, in part, to the easy availability cheap ballpoints, such as the BIC; and to Vatican II reforms.

It is now perfectly alright to take notes during homilies, so long as you can afford paper, and do not use the Roman Missal pew cards.
 
We had our children take notes often when they were younger to make sure they were paying attention. 😃

have made notes of specific thoughts in the margins of my Magnificat, the bulletin, or the visitor envelopes! It would probably be much more discrete to just bring a journal.

I would not recommend recording a homily without your priest’s permission. Recording from a pew with a phone wouldn’t be very clear anyway.
 
Greetings Deo Gratias42,

I usually record them without them knowing about it, it is discreet. And I never distribute them, I keep the homilies in my computer as things for meditations or anything. If I did want to use it, I always ask the priest and usually they are very happy to let me do so.

Ahhh I like priests who preach about Hell. It is very much needed in Today’s world.

God Bless,
Anathama Sit
 
If you want to tape the homily, you need to ask permission otherwise, it could be problematic. Otherwise, as long as you are quiet about it, most priests have no problem if someone takes notes provided they are not tip taping on a iPad or laptop. I’ve been taking notes forever, so I just write them down in a book. Just make sure you write legibly otherwise you might have a few problems rereading your handwriting later on.
 
Good to know. I still wouldn’t record a homily without permission though. When you take notes, it is the highlights and paraphrased ion your own words. A recording is the entire homily in the priest’s voice. And even though we don’t plan to publicize, it is still the priest’s decision as to whether he wants it recorded by anyone.
 
I gained permission from our Priest to record them, infact he is good enough to have the recorder with him, rather than me do it from afar (so to speak) I am keen to learn and relatively new (4 yrs) to our Parish.

He actually remarked he would have to double check what he was saying now as there was at least one Preston paying attention (although I am sure this was in jest) 🙂
 
It is even possible that the recording without the other party’s consent is a violation of your state’s law on such things (wide variation from state to state on whether one or both must consent, etc.).

Now that I think of it, it is a violation of the speaker’s copyright right’s.

hawk, esq
 
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