Your priests' homilies: are they over the heads of many people, or too are they too simplistic?

[SacredHeartFan]

My pastor gives great homolies! He tells enough jokes to keep everyone awake. But he keeps to his point and he talks about the liturgy and the feast days of saints in the past week. Sometimes he does get fired up about political things but only when it relates to the readings.

 

[Miraluna]

One practice that has enriched the homilies for me is not what the priest does, but what I do. As a family, we read all the readings before Mass. My husband reads and leads the discussion. I interject with explanations and connections for our 10-year-old. So going into Mass, we are focused and have a general idea of what the homily will be. Then after Mass, on our drive home, we discuss it: sometimes our discussion prior to Mass was right on target, or sometimes the Priest provides something we had not considered.

 

[Pug]

Are they over the heads of typical parishioners?

Are they challenging but still comprehensible?

Are they neither challenging nor simplistic?

Are they too simplistic or “dumbed-down”?

If you mean by “dumbed-down” that they are easy to understand and they don’t present much new info, then this is so. But, so what? Even the simplest homily can be emotionally or spiritually challenging. I can study mathematics if I want to bend my mind into knots. Remember that story about the confessor who told someone who did the sin of gossip to go take a goose feather pillow and rip it open and let the feathers go? Then the next time they talked he told that person to go gather every last feather up. That is how hard it would be to undo the effects of the sin of gossip. Easy to understand, no? Intellectually challenging, no. Helpful to the one who hears, yes! (I’m not sure if this was St. Phillip Neri, or if it really was a Rabbi or well, I don’t remember the exact story, but you get the idea.)

However, I have heard several homilies in my life that appear to lead one to conclude a wrong fact because some nuance was too studiously avoided. But, the priest may well know his audience better than I do. I have no special insight into the mind of the local congregation above his. Perhaps he was right to avoid the nuance, and I was wrong to think it ought to have been included. Homilies are limited by the format and duration. Choices must be made. Nearly all of what I hear falls well within the limits of that and the natural variations of temperament and skill. I’m often amazed by my current priest’s ability to evoke an image and a connection with the circumstances of the times 2000 years ago.

 

[Michael038]

Both my Pastor and our Deacon’s homilies are very good. I feel truley inspired by them both. Our PV’s are pretty good too, just hard to understand sometimes because he is a fast talker with a lower voice. I tend to move to the front more at his Masses.

 

[Fitswimmer]

The homilies at my EF parish are excellent-very scholarly and always leave me something to “chew on” over the week. Our Rector is from the Institute of Christ the King and our Priest in residence is a college professor so I can count on well researched work.

Yesterday’s sermon was on Grace, and Father not only referred to the catechism definiations of actual and sanctifying grace, but he also reminded us how to protect the grace in our souls through frequent reception of the Eucharist and frequent Confession.

The OF parish where I attend daily Mass is also blessed with excellent preachers. The sermons are brief, because it is a lunchtime mass and people need to return to work, but again-there is always something that stays with you throughout the day.

I’m really blessed…

 

[Biblioassistant]

Our deacon is a fine man but a poor homilist. He tends to speak like a ham actor (he’s not like that normally) and his homilies are dry.

Our priest is also a fine man and a superb homilist. He seldom speaks more than 5 minutes, but you think about his homilies all week.

The finest and most holy priest I ever knew was one of the worst speakers. He’d stand up and free associate for 25 minutes, putting the congregation to sleep. But he was a saint - a more holy and kind man I have yet to meet.