By Abraham V. Llera
“Eight
minutes, with 15 minutes as maximum,”
according to Abp. Malcom Ranjith who used to be the Prefect of the
Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW) of the Vatican. “Eight minutes, the
average time a listener can remain listening,” agrees Abp. Nikola
Eterovik, former Secretary General for the Synod of Bishops of the Roman
Curia.
“Eight minutes,” agrees Fr.
Andre Headon, vice rector of the Venerable English College in Rome which
prepares men to become priests. “There’s a saying among clergy,” adds Fr
Headon, “’If you haven’t struck oil in seven minutes, stop BORING.’”
“It should be brief,”
cautions #138 of Evangelii Gaudium, and should not be “a form of
entertainment,” [emphasis mine] as many priests, it seems, take it to be.
If the homily goes too long, e.g., 45 minutes, it disturbs two characteristic
elements of the liturgical celebration: its balance and rhythm,”
reminds Evangelii Gaudium. This means that “the words of the
preacher must be measured, so that the Lord, more than his minister, will be
the center of attention.”
Unfortunately, some priests
seem to think otherwise. Look at them sing. Or crack jokes.
Or talk about last night’s episode of a teleserye.
Did they really intend the singing to help the faithful understand the need for
sorrow for sin in these days leading to Advent? Or is it simply to call
attention to their singing prowess?
Was the joke intended
to make a wealthy business owner listener impatient to get home so
that he can give the instructions that will give SSS and PhilHealth coverage to
his employees, long denied of this basic employees right? Or did Father
oblige with a joke because that is what most Catholics, sad to say, come to church
for: to be entertained?
And the teleserye. Did
Father mention that in order to stir the congregation into such a fervor they
would henceforth look at their wealth not as theirs, but as a good common
to all, ready to be given to everyone in need? Or did Father do that
for the “Okay si Father” comments
that invariably come with it?
Homilies must be scrupulously
prepared for one week in advance, and, as Pope Francis has said, must be
limited to the Scripture readings of the day, avoiding sociologism, politics,
or vainglory, the last one apparent the moment the priest starts talking
about himself.
Especially to be avoided is
useless chatter. To include in the homily, the diocesan priests’ retreat
in Betania, Tagaytay, and how they would be going there on different flights to
make sure there’ll be priests left in case of a mishap is dangerously
approaching “useless chatter,” especially on a Sunday when St. Luke talks about
persecution, and about the need to even speak all the more about Christ.
Homilies are difficult to
prepare, because it takes a lot of effort to keep homilies short. But it
doesn’t require a 45-minute homily to whip the congregation to fervor and to
specific and firm resolutions where they can apply the message of the day’s
readings in their lives.
In fact, precisely the
opposite is bound to happen. Often along the way, the homily hits pay
dirt, and a firm resolution forms up in the heart of the listener. But
instead of wrapping up, Father rambles on for another 10 minutes, so you
listen, and finds out that Father is talking about Bato de la Rosa now and
Pacquiao’s all-expenses-paid-US-trip gift to him. Then Father suddenly ends his
homily which leaves you wondering what it was Father was driving at.
Worse, in the process, you have forgotten your firm resolution.
Finally, it'd help if the
preacher checks his facts first. It wasn't Nero who destroyed the Temple of
Jerusalem, and watched it burn from a distance. The Babylonians did the first
time, and Titus (not the bishop of Crete) under orders from his emperor father
Vespasian did the second time, but it was not Nero.
Something bereft of love
cannot be pleasing to God. Long homilies, to the extent that they’re often but
not always the product of ill preparation, simply have no place in such a
celebration as the Holy Mass.
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