Homilies, Written or Not

Jul 11, 2014

Q: For many years in the seminary, and now about to finish seminary formation and preparing for apostolate, I have noticed that some priests, even bishops, be it in seminaries or in parish, write out homilies and read them out at Mass. Others preach from the heart. My question is this: What is the official position of the Church as regards preaching a homily? Is a homily to be written or not? Is there any canonical provision regarding this? -- A.M., Enugu, Nigeria

A: There is very little official legislation regarding the homily. Certainly, Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium amply treated this topic and has touched upon it frequently, above all in meetings with clergy. Several bishops have commented to me that he also brings up the topic in their private meetings during their official, five-yearly ad limina visits to the Holy See. It is obviously something dear to his heart.

Among the counsels offered for preparing the homily, the Holy Father states in his apostolic exhortation:

“156. Some people think they can be good preachers because they know what ought to be said, but they pay no attention to how it should be said, that is, the concrete way of constructing a sermon. They complain when people do not listen to or appreciate them, but perhaps they have never taken the trouble to find out the proper way of presenting their message. Let us remember that ‘the obvious importance of the content of evangelization must not overshadow the importance of its ways and means.’ Concern for the way we preach is a profoundly spiritual concern. It entails responding to the love of God by putting all our talents and creativity at the service of the mission which He has given us; at the same time, it shows a fine, active love of neighbour by refusing to offer others a product of poor quality. In the Bible, for example, we can find advice on how to prepare a homily so as to best reach people: ‘Speak concisely, say much in few words’ (Sirach 32:8).

“157. Simply using a few examples, let us recall some practical resources which can enrich our preaching and make it more attractive. One of the most important things is to learn how to use images in preaching, how to appeal to imagery. Sometimes, examples are used to clarify a certain point but these examples usually appeal only to the mind; images, on the other hand, help people better to appreciate and accept the message we wish to communicate. An attractive image makes the message seem familiar, closer to home, practical and related to everyday life. A successful image can make people savour the message, awaken a desire and move the will towards the Gospel. A good homily, an old teacher once told me, should have ‘an idea, a sentiment, an image.’

“158. Paul VI said that ‘the faithful … expect much from preaching, and will greatly benefit from it, provided that it is simple, clear, direct, well-adapted.’ Simplicity has to do with the language we use. It must be one that people understand, lest we risk speaking to a void. Preachers often use words learned during their studies and in specialized settings which are not part of the ordinary language of their listeners. These are words that are suitable in theology or catechesis, but whose meaning is incomprehensible to the majority of Christians. The greatest risk for a preacher is that he becomes so accustomed to his own language that he thinks that everyone else naturally understands and uses it. If we wish to adapt to people’s language and to reach them with God’s word, we need to share in their lives and pay loving attention to them. Simplicity and clarity are two different things. Our language may be simple but our preaching not very clear. It can end up being incomprehensible because it is disorganized, lacks logical progression or tries to deal with too many things at one time. We need to ensure then, that the homily has thematic unity, clear order and correlation between sentences, so that people can follow the preacher easily and grasp his line of argument. -- Answered by Legionary of Christ Fr Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university.

--Continued next week