The catholic mass makes you "feel good" but can you remember the homily?

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The catholic mass makes you feel good but can you remember the homily. The next day? Or remember what was the scripture reading was?
 
Well you psychologically remember things when they are super interesting or repeated frequently.
I would say that readings at mass fall in between the 2 and are not easily remembered, but I would say the homilies I do remember when they are well laid out and interesting.
 
It is said that for many of us, only about twenty percent that we hear we can remember whereas the remaining eighty percent we don’t. If we use visual in our talk, it will add perhaps another few percents to which we can remember. As we grow older, the capacity to remember would continue to decrease.

Such is how short human memory is, we just need to hear the word of God everyday, every time as often as we can.

It does not help if the homliy is poor and the presentation is monotonous or our attention span is short, we probably do not bring the homily home. But we get to receive the Body of Christ during Communion when we are eligible, and the grace of the mass carries us through the day.
 
dann said:
The catholic mass makes you feel good but can you remember the homily. The next day? Or remember what was the scripture reading was?
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I would say it depends on how good the homily was. It would depend on whether or not the scripture reading was applicable to this time in my life.

In the end we need to remember we don’t go to mass because we are there to learn something. Mass is not a Bible study. We are there for the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior. There are 167 other hours in the week where we have the opportunity to read scripture, to study, to listen to great homilies or apologists. But that one hour is about partaking in the perfect sacrifice given to us to present to God.

Justin Martyr

“God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [minor prophets], as I said before, about the sacrifices at that time presented by you: ‘I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord, and I will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name is great among the Gentiles . . . [Mal. 1:10–11]. He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us [Christians] who in every place offer sacrifices to him, that is, the bread of the Eucharist and also the cup of the Eucharist” (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 41 [A.D. 155]).

Don’t get me wrong nothing worse than a boring homily, but that’s when we need to remember we aren’t there to hear a guy preach from the pulpit. The Mass for a Catholic is something greater.

God Bless
 
dann said:
The catholic mass makes you feel good but can you remember the homily. The next day? Or remember what was the scripture reading was?
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Sure. Last weekend’s Masses had a theme of charitable giving to others. At the Saturday vigil mass I attended, the priest told a story about how he had his family to Thanksgiving dinner and then afterwards when they were all expecting to take the leftover food home, he sent it to the homeless shelter, to the shock of some of his nieces and nephews. (I cannot imagine why anyone would be surprised about a priest doing this, I’m even more surprised that he apparently bought the dinner and had his family over instead of one of the secular members doing it, but whatever.)

The Mass on Sunday that I attended for an event had a similar theme and included a story about two travellers who pitched individual tents in the cold and the guy who let two strangers and a camel bunk with him because of the cold survived the night, but the guy who wouldn’t let anybody else in his tent froze to death.

Stories are good ways to remember things. That’s why Jesus used so many parables.
 
My husband always asks me what the homily was about after mass which has really helped me get better at remembering.
 
I cannot tell if you are questioning the the memories of Catholics, or if this is an obtuse and passive-aggressive way to suggest that the Catholic Mass should be more focused on Scripture, even though the whole Roman Missal (the book from which the Mass is read) is based and steeped in scripture.
 
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That’s interesting. The mass is not a bible study. But the divinity you are participating in.
A sacrifice of divine order.

And if everyone believed that.
There would be no non catholic churches.
 
This thread reminds me of a supposed incident from the life of Pres. Calvin Coolidge, who was known for not talking much. He came home from Sunday morning church, and someone asked him, “What did the preacher preach about?”

“Sin.”

“Well, what did he have to say about it?”

“He was against it.”

😃

D
 
ConfusedLucy said:
My husband always asks me what the homily was about after mass which has really helped me get better at remembering.
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Your comment made me think about a Matthew Kelly seminar I went to. He said instead of trying to remember the 3 readings and the homily try to remember just one thing about all of them. When you get home write down that one thing about mass today and any other thoughts you have pertaining to that one thing ( your life now, your sorrow, your joy , your pains, etc). Get in the habit of doing this weekly. After a year go back and reread those thoughts and you will marvel at how well you grew spiritually or how you were so worried about something that really wasn’t a big deal or you will be able to see how God answered those prayers.

Just thought I’d share if anyone was interested.

God Bless
 
If it was a good homily, yes. There are some homilies that I heard in my first months in RCIA and I still remember them.

I am blessed that we have excellent homilists in our parish.
 
dann said:
And if everyone believed that.

There would be no non catholic churches.
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Yeah it’s a sad that so many have forgot. Jesus gave us the perfect sacrifice (His Body and Blood) to offer to the Father along with our own sacrifice of our bodies (which thus makes us acceptable sacrifices to God) Romans 12:1.

Sacrifice to God has been part of God’s covenant from the beginning. Why people believe sacrifice is no longer necessary and it is more important to sit and listing to some guy talk, about a Bible verse, for 45 minutes is beyond me.

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but do we honestly believe the Apostles sat around all week working on 45 minute homilies and practice their guitar getting ready for Sunday services?

God Bless
 
The main purpose of the Mass is not the homily or the Scripture readings but the Eucharist.
It’s also not about making us feel good, but also giving ourselves to God as He gives Himself for us.

That said, the homily and Scripture reading can be kinda important, and how memorable it is depends on how relatable it is to you, and how memorable overall it is.
 
Sometimes I remember the homily and the readings for a good while. Sometimes I forget them. But I always remember that I received Jesus personally, and was present at his one sacrifice re-presented sacramentally, enduring from Calvary to eternity.
 
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dann said:
The Catholic Mass makes you feel good but can you remember the homily. The next day? Or remember what was the scripture reading was?
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The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass does a great deal more than make me feel good. It bathes me in the salvific grace of Jesus Christ being sacrificed to his Father for all of mankind’s sins.
 
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