Women preaching?!

[ThomasJC]

I’m quite new to the Catholic Church and I’ve got an important question:

Is it allowed for women to preach (during mass)?

Next sunday the sermon will be done by a woman which is afaik forbidden. Should I go anyway?

 

[Spirithound]

A layperson (including nuns and unordained monks) may not give the homily. I think there is a provision that the priest may give a short homily, and then someone else may say something that is not a homily.

You have to go to Mass; you do not have to go to that parish.

 

[ThomasJC]

Thank you! Now I know that it’s forbidden.

But should I go? I’d like to go because I like to be there. Are there reasons for ME not to go there?

 

[COLOS]

You have to go to Mass; you do not have to go to that parish.

Yeah, I would steer clear of that too.

Just make sure to note that it isn’t that women don’t have anything beneficial to add or somehow are completely unable to provide some form spiritual help. That’s not at all what the Church is saying by prohibiting any non-ordained person from giving the homily. The Priesthood isn’t about temporal power or oppression. The homily is part of the Mass, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can only be offered by an ordained man.

It seems that people will find or make any small crack in the rubrics and laws through which they can do whatever they feel like doing.

Let them create a different forum for teaching and speaking. Some place other than the Mass.

Are there reasons for ME not to go there?

Egh, that’s a tough call for someone else to make for you.

It appears to be illicit (from my vantage point waaaaay across the internet), but I don’t think that it would invalidate anything. The question is whether or not taking part in something illicit, yet totally beyond your control, would be reason for going elsewhere.

 

[ThomasJC]

Thank you! That really cleared it up.

I think I will go and hope they don’t do stuff like that too often

 

[srferdave]

Does the priest speak at all after reading the Gospel?

 

[Waiting]

I’ve run into that situation, too. You can go. That doesn’t affect the Mass, itself. The Bishop eventually transferred the nun who was preaching. elsewhere. Maybe this is a one-time situation, and the priest has allowed it for a reason.

 

[ThomasJC]

The woman is replacing the priest giving the homily completely. Afaik no one told the bishop or he pretends not to know…

 

[Waiting]

The woman is replacing the priest giving the homily completely. Afaik no one told the bishop or he pretends not to know…

The Bishop needs to be informed. Also, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk with the priest and get some answers. I’d get a small group to talk with the priest. He’d likely be more willing to explain fully if he knew many were upset with the situation.

 

[srferdave]

The Bishop needs to be informed. Also, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk with the priest and get some answers. I’d get a small group to talk with the priest. He’d likely be more willing to explain fully if he knew many were upset with the situation.

I agree with this advice.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

What might be technically happening is that there is no homily and that a woman is speaking on behalf of the missions or some kind of apostolate in place of the homily?

 

[itsjustdave1988]

I’m quite new to the Catholic Church and I’ve got an important question:

Is it allowed for women to preach (during mass)?

Next sunday the sermon will be done by a woman which is afaik forbidden. Should I go anyway?

According to*** Redemptionis Sacramentum***:

“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 a Deacon, but never to a layperson.” (no. 64).

“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***” (no. 66)

“If the need arises for the gathered faithful to be given instruction or testimony by a layperson in a Church concerning the Christian life, it is altogether preferable that this be done outside Mass. Nevertheless,*** for serious reasons*** it is permissible that this type of instruction or testimony be given after the Priest has proclaimed the Prayer after Communion. This should not become a regular practice, however. Furthermore,*** these instructions and testimony should not be of such a nature that they could be confused with the homily, nor is it permissible to dispense with the homily on their account.***” (no. 74).

“the homily on account of its importance and its nature is reserved to the Priest or Deacon during Mass.” (no. 161)

“As regards*** other forms of preaching***,*** if necessity demands it*** in particular circumstances, or*** if usefulness suggests it*** in special cases, lay members of Christ’s faithful may be allowed to preach in a church or in an oratory outside Mass in accordance with the norm of law.” (no. 161)

 

[Riddle_me_this]

On the basis of 2 Timothy 3:16 I think that I might want to apply the councel at Matt 18:15-17 and bring up the scripture to the priest from 1 Timothy 2:11, 12.

If he doesn’t respond then you will have to escalate matters.

 

[puzzleannie]

Thank you! Now I know that it’s forbidden.

But should I go? I’d like to go because I like to be there. Are there reasons for ME not to go there?

read the answer again
only an ordained minister may give the homily
when a non-ordained person, man or woman, speaks it is by definition NOT a homily
yes there are occasions when a non-ordained person may give some message or testimony, after communion is the preferred time but they can speak when the pastor allows.
No this is not a valid reason to miss Mass.
In any case, it is not your responsibility to oversee this but the priest’s so there is no reason for you to absent yourself.

 

[benedictgal]

read the answer again
only an ordained minister may give the homily
when a non-ordained person, man or woman, speaks it is by definition NOT a homily
yes there are occasions when a non-ordained person may give some message or testimony, after communion is the preferred time but they can speak when the pastor allows.
No this is not a valid reason to miss Mass.
In any case, it is not your responsibility to oversee this but the priest’s so there is no reason for you to absent yourself.

However, he can choose not to go to the parish that weekend and, instead, go to Mass elsewhere. You don’t have to go to your parish to fulfill your Sunday obligation. You can go to another Catholic church.

If I were the OP, I would not go to Mass there during that time, but, find another parish.

 

[puzzleannie]

If you have a question about anything going on in your parish the first person to ask is the priest. It is still no reason to absent yourself if this is a onetime thing.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

… a non-ordained person may give some message or testimony, after communion is the preferred time but they can speak when the pastor allows.

Actually, the instruction from the Vatican states that it is preferred that it NOT be during the Mass at all, but “for serious reasons it is permissible… *after the Priest has proclaimed the Prayer after Communion.” *In other words, after communion is not merely the “preferred” time, but it is the “permissible” time.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

I think it is a matter of prudential judgment whether or not you go to another parish on that weekend. I have had similar issues with my pastor injecting what I consider liturgical abuses into the Sacred Liturgy.

I’m the kind guy that hates to “parish shop”, but instead I prefer to stay put, and give “fraternal correction” to the pastor when such things are done. I love him. But he needs to know that it is not “his” Mass, but is the Catholic Mass that he is entrusted with.

I wrote a 9-page letter to my pastor, and when he ignored me, I discussed it with the bishop. My pastor changed many of the things he was doing, but every once in a while, he continues to inject what I contend–and the bishop agrees–are unapproved adaptations contrary to the liturgical norms and beyond his competence as the pastor to change. What do you do? I have already manifest my opinion for the good of the Church as Lumen Gentium states. It is not a lack of knowledge at this point, but a lack of discipline. None of variations are so serious so as to warrant removal of the pastor from his duties. Yet, he shouldn’t be doing them, he knows he shouldn’t, but does it anyway. It is a terrible distraction from the Sacred Liturgy every time it happens. I try to not let it bother me too much, as I too do many things I know I should not do. He’s got a different kind of temptation than I do, but in the final analysis, he too struggles with sin, as do I.

Sometimes I’m at a place in my spiritual journey that I can “take” the distraction. Sometimes not. When I’m not, I go to the cathedral, or to the next-closest parish, where I have found they consistently celebrate the Sacred Liturgy according to the liturgical norms prescribed by the Church. Everybody needs a break once and a while from the unapproved liturgical experimentation that often occurs when pastors knowingly go beyond their authority.

 

[laszlo]

This is the US version of the GIRM

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

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.

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

After the homily a brief period of silence is appropriately observed.

Can. 767 §1. Among the forms of preaching, the homily, which is part of the liturgy itself and** is reserved to a priest or deacon,** is preeminent; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Here is a another perspective on the decision to go, or not go, to a Mass where a liturgical abuse is expected.

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.”

If the OP goes he can be a witness to what happens, report it and hopefully have the situation corrected. Or perhaps he realises a mistake has been made, for example, the woman is performing the role of commentator, not giving the homily.