Who can give a homily?

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Morning_Star15

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I was recently speaking to a seminarian, who told me he would soon be giving a homily during Sunday Mass. When I said that I didn’t think this was allowed, he said that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops had changed the rules to allow him (who’s neither a deacon, priest or bishop) to give a homily.

I’ve tried searching for information on this rule change, but I haven’t found anything. Can anyone provide me with some information as to whether he was in fact correct, and if so, how far-reaching is this extension of permission to give a homily?

Thanks in advance for your replies. 🙂
 
It is against Canon Law:
Code: 
  	 				Can. 767 ß1 The most important form of preaching is the homily, which is part of the liturgy, and is reserved to a priest or deacon. In the course of the liturgical year, the mysteries of faith and the rules of Christian living are to be expounded in the homily from the sacred text.
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ß2 At all Masses on Sundays and holydays of obligation, celebrated with a congregation, there is to be a homily and, except for a grave reason, this may not be omitted.
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Since the Bishops cannot change Canon Law on their own, the seminarian is misleading you. Report him and the Pastor to the Bishop immediately. If this does not work, take it to the Papal Nuncio and Cardinal Arinze (Prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments)
 
I don’t see how this is possible. The following excerpt (bold emphasis is mine) is from the instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, issued by the Vatican in March 2004. Pope John Paul II “ordered it to be published and to be observed immediately by all concerned”:

[64.] The homily, which is given in the course of the celebration of Holy Mass and is a part of the Liturgy itself,142 “should ordinarily be given by the Priest celebrant himself. **He may entrust it to a concelebrating Priest or occasionally, according to circumstances, to a Deacon, but never to a layperson.**143 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”.144

[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

A seminarian is a layperson. The practice of seminarians giving a homily at Mass has further been specifically prohibited. It can’t be much plainer than that. So until your friend is ordained a deacon, he should not give a homily at Mass. (He might possibly give a talk in other situations, e.g., at a retreat outside the celebration of Mass.)
 
A document of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops lists it as an abuse for seminarians to give a homily.

In discussing the 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum it has:

“5. Abuses indicated
All the abuses indicated in the Instruction are not equally serious, and so it is also important to evaluate their gravity. In addition to those most serious cases which involve sacrilege, the simulation of the Mass, or concelebration with ministers of Ecclesial Communities that do not have Apostolic Succession, other abuses include: …
Entrusting the homily to a layperson (nn. 64-65), seminarians, theological students, or “pastoral assistants” (n. 66);”

This is from cccb.ca/site/content/view/2317/1226/lang,eng/ .
 
has anyone bothered to ask the seminarian if he is a deacon? He is still a seminarian until he is ordasined a priest, in most circumstances; when ordained a deacon he still has, generally, a pastoral postion to fill, and then often conclusion of shis studies before he is ordained a priest. He is ordained a transitional deacon.

Perhaps this seminarian was? It is entirely possible that he was not, but it seems that ll posters have presumed that he has not been ordained…
 
otjm said:
has anyone bothered to ask the seminarian if he is a deacon? He is still a seminarian until he is ordasined a priest, in most circumstances; when ordained a deacon he still has, generally, a pastoral postion to fill, and then often conclusion of shis studies before he is ordained a priest. He is ordained a transitional deacon.

Perhaps this seminarian was? It is entirely possible that he was not, but it seems that ll posters have presumed that he has not been ordained…
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No, he’s not a deacon yet, and I mentioned that in my OP. 🙂 He’ll be ordained a deacon in September, so he’s pretty close, but not yet.

Thanks for your replies, everyone. I really hope that the seminarian and the pastor were misinformed about this - they’re both very nice people (I know both of them) and I can’t imagine either of them deliberately breaking Canon Law and furthermore pretending they’re not doing so.

I’ll bring this up with the pastor next time I see him - I really hope that the seminarian was joking (he has quite a sense of humour), although he most certainly didn’t seem to be joking about this when he told me, which, along with what I said about him above, made me think that what he said about the CCCB might be true.
 
Well, it turns out that he wasn’t joking about giving the homily - It turns out he gave it on Easter Sunday, as I just saw someone compliment him on it on Facebook. 😦

Looks like I’ll definitely have to talk to that pastor now…
 
usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter2.shtml

Here’s the rules from the US Council of Bishops. I don’t know if there is a complimentary set of regulations from Canada. At our parish, occasionally a seminarian will come and give a reflection to fund raise for the seminary on “Seminary Sunday” or one of the seminarians who is a transitional deacon will say a homily prior to ordination.
The key is…never a lay person…including a lay pastoral associate who in the past with a different pastor did it regularly.
He’s not here anymore…Thank God!
 
stbruno said:
usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter2.shtml

Here’s the rules from the US Council of Bishops. I don’t know if there is a complimentary set of regulations from Canada. At our parish, occasionally a seminarian will come and give a reflection to fund raise for the seminary on “Seminary Sunday” or one of the seminarians who is a transitional deacon will say a homily prior to ordination.
The key is…never a lay person…including a lay pastoral associate who in the past with a different pastor did it regularly.
He’s not here anymore…Thank God!
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Thanks!

I talked to the associate pastor today (couldn’t snag the pastor himself) about this. He told me that he knows I’m right about this, but not to blame him or the pastor because the Bishop apparently gave a dispensation for this a few years back…a little vague on which bishop and when. He also said that it seems to be a general practice in the Archdiocese of Toronto to have seminarians in their final year before ordination to the Diaconate to give a homily in a parish as part of their training. He didn’t know this for sure, though. He told me I don’t need to worry about this particular seminarian, as he won’t be preaching again until he’s a deacon anyway, but I’m still thinking about the possibility that this is a general practice in the Archdiocese.

I don’t know if I should try to investigate this and how - contact the seminary, the new Archbishop… I don’t want to make any accusations unless I know that this is in fact happening. And there’s always a chance that the new Archbishop is already dealing with this himself, or will do so in the near future.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what, if anything, I should do about this?
 
I suggest writing a letter to the bishop, providing him with the evidence that the wrong thing is happening.

From the 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum:
“[183.] In an altogether particular manner, let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favouritism.
[184.] Any Catholic, whether Priest or Deacon or lay member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan Bishop or the competent Ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. It is fitting, however, insofar as possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the diocesan Bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity.”
 
What is the church’s position on women giving the homily during Mass?
 
Chortle said:
What is the church’s position on women giving the homily during Mass?
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From the GIRM:
he 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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.
 
rlg94086 said:
Do you mean Novus Ordo exceptions or no exceptions (as in none)? 😉
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No as in none. A priest or a deacon are the only persons with the right to give the homily. This includes Novus Ordo and TLM.

For the OP: if your parish is allowing women to give the homily, bring it up with your diocese. This practice must be stopped.
 
catholicmessage said:
No as in none. A priest or a deacon are the only persons with the right to give the homily. This includes Novus Ordo and TLM.

For the OP: if your parish is allowing women to give the homily, bring it up with your diocese. This practice must be stopped.
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I knew this, I was just having fun.

I have been to a parish that has had a lay person do the homily, one of them had the parish finance person (happened to be a woman, but that is irrelevant) review the parish’s financial situation in lieu of the homily. :eek: These are certainly abuses.
 
rlg94086 said:
I knew this, I was just having fun.

I have been to a parish that has had a lay person do the homily, one of them had the parish finance person (happened to be a woman, but that is irrelevant) review the parish’s financial situation in lieu of the homily. :eek: These are certainly abuses.
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I just say your wink. I should have read more carefully. :o
 
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