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dal11
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is the fact that only deacons and priest can give homilies and read from the gospel a practice or teaching. has this always been the case for 2000 years, or in some part of history were others allowed.
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FrRobSST
Guest
The only examples I can find of women preaching in the early Church was in Gnostic areas. Women did have their part in teaching women in how to live out their faith, but they did not proclaim the Gospel in the public liturgy of the Church or preach the homily.
To this day, the preaching of a homily by a layperson has essentially remained banned in all Catholic Churches throughout the world.
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gelsbern
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I would have to say that it has always been the case as even St. Paul indirectly forbade women from teaching in the churches (at least the congregation at large) as if you aren’t allowed to speak, you can’t possibly teach or give a homily. Although women could teach other unmarried women and of course children. I say unmarried women because the responsibility to teach regarding religion was a duty of the husband.
So scripture and history is behind the church’s beliefs on women not giving homilies. There’s a bunch of other scripture and if you would like I will pull them up too.
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gelsbern
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I would have to say that it has always been the case as even St. Paul indirectly forbade women from teaching in the churches (at least the congregation at large) as if you aren’t allowed to speak, you can’t possibly teach or give a homily. Although women could teach other unmarried women and of course children. I say unmarried women because the responsibility to teach regarding religion was a duty of the husband.
So scripture and history is behind the church’s beliefs on women not giving homilies. There’s a bunch of other scripture and if you would like I will pull them up too.
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bogeyjlg
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No lay person (including men) are allowed to give the homily. I am quite sure that is not a new thing.
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gelsbern
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Doh! yer right, for some reason I read women in there somehow. Mea culpa.
Although it is odd, Fr. Rob and I were chatting on Yahoo but we didn’t know each of us was replying to the question, and we both mention about women. Very interesting that we would both respond to something that wasn’t there.
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gelsbern
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Ahh that would explain where we got women from, I was hoping that I wasn’t losing my mind.
In response to your question, I am not sure without doing some investigation as to why exactly lay people can’t give homilies, I can only speculate that the laity may inadvertantly teach error, or not portray what they are trying to teach in a way that avoids confusion, so therefore the Church in order to be more sure of what was being taught within the churches, only allows those trained to do the teaching.
In response to your question, I am not sure without doing some investigation as to why exactly lay people can’t give homilies, I can only speculate that the laity may inadvertantly teach error, or not portray what they are trying to teach in a way that avoids confusion, so therefore the Church in order to be more sure of what was being taught within the churches, only allows those trained to do the teaching.
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Exporter
Guest
gelsbern said, " I can only speculate that the laity may inadvertantly teach error, or not portray what they are trying to teach in a way that avoids confusion, so therefore the Church in order to be more sure of what was being taught within the churches, only allows those trained to do the teaching."
This is an excellent post. I totally agee.
This is but a reason for laity not giving a homily. There are specific "rules’ for the Liturgy that prohibits laity from give a homily. Deacons and priests can give a homily.
This is an excellent post. I totally agee.
This is but a reason for laity not giving a homily. There are specific "rules’ for the Liturgy that prohibits laity from give a homily. Deacons and priests can give a homily.
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FrRobSST
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This is true, but as I have learned, Rubrics (Ritual Law) generally have as their genesis a real incident that required correction. It was always the tradition of the Church that those who were successors to the Apostles and those with whom they endued the Diaconal, Presbyterial, and Episcopal orders were the ones who were given, by the working of the Spirit, the Sacramental Grace of the Mystery of Orders.
At some point, people who did not recieve this grace began yapping somewhere, and it became necessary to codify by rubric, instruction, and canon the fact that only a properly ordained deacon, presbyter, or bishop can offer the homily at Mass.
In some places, there is limited authorization, when a priest is not readily avaliable and where a Liturgy of the Word or Presanctified Eucharist is administered on Sundays, for a layperson to read an address prepared by the bishop or his delegate. It is not permitted to do what Anglicans have started doing, having a layperson write a sermon and then send it to a priest for approval. It must be an address composed by a cleric in holy orders who then gives it to a layman to read. Even this can give the appearance of impropiety, and thus is highly shunned in all but absolutely exceptional cases in most places.
That being said, I’ve been to events at Latin-Rite Churches where the priest gives the entire Homily over to someone to talk about the latest goings on in the nursery school. I shudder to think what is happening in other liturgical churches. At least the Eastern Rites in communion with Rome and the Orthodox don’t do such nonsense.
Rob+
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