Should a layperson give the homily at a Good Friday Mass?

[Simon_Templar]

Are laypeople allowed to give the homily at the Good Friday Mass? Our pastor says yes since it not a normal Mass.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Actually, the service on Good Friday is not a Mass at all but a Communion service.

If a priest or deacon is present, he should lead a Communion service but a properly-deputed layperson may do so. As for the homily, if one is to be given by a layperson, he must be properly-deputed to do so; however, the Communion service rite does not mandate that a homily must be given (cf. The Rites, Volume One, pages 649-653). That being the case, ordinarily speaking, it would seem prudent that a layperson not give a homily at a Communion service in order to avoid blurring the lines between clerical and lay responsibilities.

On Good Friday though, the liturgical document that lays out the rubrics of the Holy Triduum liturgies states about the Good Friday Communion service:

The readings are to be read in their entirety. The responsorial psalm and the chant before the Gospel are to be sung in the usual manner. The narrative of the Lord’s Passion according to John is sung or read in the way prescribed for the previous Sunday (cf. n. 33). After the reading of the Passion, a homily should be given, at the end of which the faithful may be invited to spend a short time in meditation (Paschale Solemnitatis 66, emphasis added).

In this case, if a priest or deacon is not available to lead the Good Friday Communion service, it does appear that a properly-deputed layperson could both lead the service and give the homily.