The Pope noted that sometimes priests may speak at length, leaving the congregation confused about the message. He stressed the importance of clear and concise communication of the Word of God. "The homily should help transfer the Word of God from the Book to life."

In reporting on the Pope's remarks, Courtney Mares pointed out that Francis often exceeds this time limit in his own homilies. On Holy Thursday this year, the pope's homily for the chrism Mass was more than 20 minutes long.

The pope made the comments on homily length off the cuff during a reflection on how the Bible is "inspired by God and authoritative."

He urged Catholics to prioritise personal spiritual reading. He recommended that Christians carry a 'pocket Gospel' with them to read during spare moments throughout the day, emphasizing the importance of individual spiritual growth.

While personal spiritual reading is important, the Pope also highlighted the role of the community in understanding Scripture. "Among the many words of God that we listen to every day in Mass or in the Liturgy of the Hours, there is always one that is meant specially for us. Something that touches the heart. Welcomed into the heart, it can illuminate our day and inspire our prayer. It is a question of not letting it fall on deaf ears." Read more

A leading Catholic theologian says the need is clear. It's expressed in a strong "lament" emerging from the "listening phase" of the Church's global synodal process.

Professor Anna Rowlands from Durham University says a strong, universal theme emerging from the listening phase was concern about the quality of sermons.

"The quality of homilies is a major, major universal feedback across the Church - people lamenting, either sermons that are just too hurriedly prepared or sermons that are too abstract and intellectual, or sermons that lack any kind of real meat and content to them.

"So there's a kind of lament from across the world that we would like better homilies that genuinely feed us spiritually. Well that doesn't require a policy change in Rome to make that happen."

Rowlands has been seconded to the Vatican for two years to help with the Synod.

She'll be working with both the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

Her role will focus on the synod process for the Vatican and Catholic social teaching for the Dicastery.

It's "all hands to the pump" after the global grass-roots listening process and, in the last few weeks, the continental phase meetings, she says.

"Now we are going to pivot and turn into the next stage of the synod which is the discernment phase, where it is our task to reflect together on what the global Church has said, what the priorities should be for reflection."

Rowlands says the process is "advisory" to the Pope.

She is one of the few people to have read every document submitted to the synod office from the worldwide church as a result of the listening phase.

Besides the need for better homilies, several common themes emerged from these documents.

Issues such as better governance, more transparency, the response to the abuse crisis and recognising the dignity of the baptised for women were themes that came up, although with different emphases, in different parts of the world.

New Zealand's contribution exemplified

Rowlands says in some areas of the world, such as New Zealand, there had already been change in response to the listening phase

Local churches have realised lay participation could be increased in areas such as renewal and outreach, without the need for discernment at the universal Church level.

"Lots of things were things that could be acted on without needing major policy change from Rome," Rowlands says.

Better formation for priests and lifelong formation for the laity are among them.

The synod process is leading up to two meetings in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024.

Source

• The Tablet

Does your fridge door, like mine, collect sayings that become little teachings fastened by magnets?

And do those teachings increase to find space in other parts of the house?

I'd like to share with you, some of my favourites, although not all of them have the name of an author.

This was written by an anonymous 15th century monk: "Find thyself, tis half the path to God. Then lose thyself, and the rest of the way is trod."

By my desk, is a much-repeated prayer: "O God, take from me everything except my emptiness and your grace."

A desert author who still speaks to my heart, is Carlo Carretto.

These words are on the notice board: "Do not worry about what you ought to do. Worry about loving. Do not interrogate heaven repeatedly and uselessly saying, 'What course of action should I pursue?' Instead, concentrate on loving."

This mini fridge homily can be a comment on consolation and desolation: "Happiness and unhappiness are the high and low tides on the edge of a great sea of contentment."

Sometimes I need to read that.

Another fridge homily: "Soul-making requires that you die to one story in order to be reborn to another story, The wounding of the soul is an invitation to new growth."

Carl Jung offers this reminder: "We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the programme of life's morning."

Finally, here is a beautiful Christmas reflection that comes from Anthony de Mello S. J. It has been shared many times on retreats and has given much gentle healing.

The events of history were controlled for my coming into this world
no less than the coming of the Saviour.
The time has to be ripe, the place just right,
the circumstance ready,
before I could be born.

God chose the parents of his Son
and endowed them with the personality they needed
for the child that would be born.
I speak to God about the man and woman
that he chose to be my parents
until I see that they had to be
the kind of human beings they were,
if I was to become what God meant me to be.

The Christ-child came, like every other child,
to give the world a message.
What message have I come to give?
I seek guidance from the Lord to express it
In a word or an image.

Christ came into this world
to walk a certain path, fulfil a certain destiny.
He consciously fulfilled what had been ‘written' for him.
As I look back I see in wonder what has been "written" and has been thus far been fulfilled in my own life,
and for each part of the script, I say, "Thanks, to make it holy with my gratitude.

I look with expectation and surrender
on all that is to come, and, like the Christ,
I say, "Yes, Let it be done…"

Finally, I recall the song the angels sang
when Christ was born.
They sang of the peace and the joy
that give God glory.

Have I ever heard the song the angels sang
when I was born?

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

That's the conclusion of a new Pew Research Center study, released Tuesday (Aug. 23), which asked 5,000 people about their search for a new church or other house of worship.

"This is what people value in a congregation — a good message, a good homily that resonates with them and gives them guidance," said Greg Smith, Pew's associate director for religion research.

More than 4 in 5 people (83 percent) put preaching at the top of their checklist. Preaching was followed by clergy and lay leaders who make them feel welcome (79 percent) and an appealing style of service (74 percent).

And for those pastors, imams and rabbis who are wondering how a snazzy website factors into potential congregants' searches, the survey reveals that in-person encounters carry much more weight.

"This may be because some of the factors people say they value the most in choosing a congregation — the quality of sermons, the style of services and a welcoming leadership — are difficult to assess over the phone or on a website," the researchers concluded.

Why do people look for a new house of worship?

The most common reason given (34 percent) is because a congregant has moved. Far less frequently did respondents cite a theological reason or dissatisfaction with the house of worship they used to attend, or the clergy who led it.

About half of those searching for a new congregation (48 percent) considered switching denominations. But for two groups in particular — Catholics and members of historically black churches — switching is uncommon, with only a third reporting such a change as a consideration.

"When searching for a new congregation, Americans value quality of sermons and feeling welcomed." Graphic courtesy of Pew Research Center
The survey also found that:

— Half of American adults (51 percent) say they attend religious services regularly — at least once or twice a month. Continue reading

Sources

• Religion News Service, article by Lauren Markoe, a national reporter for RNS since 2011.
• Image: The Times of Israel

The quality of Catholic homilies, of course, varies widely according to the specific parish and priest involved.

I have actually heard some of the best sermons of my life in Catholic Masses. But I have also heard plenty of lousy homilies too.

So, if the common view on Catholic homilies has at least some basis in fact, it can only strengthen the Church if those responsible for offering homilies consider ways to improve them.

As a sociologist of religion who has studied and reflected upon church meetings and sermons for many years, I suggest the following, which I think can significantly improve the quality of many Catholic homilies.

Focus on one point

One of the main reasons that homilies and sermons are bad is because they are unfocused; they try to make too many points at once. If so, that problem is readily fixable. How?

Before addressing this problem, let us remember as background that success here is not defined by the homily itself, but about how hearers are formed by homilies—their practical effectiveness in communicating truth.

It does not matter that a homily is amusing or elegant or theologically astute or anything else in and of itself.

Preaching is not ultimately about the homily or the person giving it. It is rather about effective communication by which the Church forms God's people in truthful and good ways.

Ideally, the homily and homilist should become somewhat transparent, so that the message of the homily stands out and impresses itself upon the hearers in a way that forms them well.

That said, how can the problem of unfocused homilies be fixed?

The answer, I think, is to focus the homily on one and only one really important point.

Way too many sermons (both Catholic and Protestant) have, as I have said, little focus. They often ramble about, saying various and sundry things that are more or less true and may be quite admirable.

But, having listened for fifteen, thirty, or forty-five minutes, those in the pew end up walking away with little clue about what the speaker actually said.

Much is spoken with minimal impact.

Everything we know about human cognition and learning tells us that both operate with severe limits, even for smart people.

People can only absorb so much information and engage so many challenges at one time. Continue reading to find out what a successful homily looks like.

Image: University of Notre Dame

The Pope made this plea at the ordination of a Rome pastor as an auxiliary bishop.

Ordaining Bishop Angelo De Donatis in Rome on Tuesday, Pope Francis reminded the new bishop of something he had told him earlier.

"Let your words be simple so that everyone can understand. Don't give long homilies," the Pope said.

"Allow me to ask you to remember your dad and how very happy he was to have found another parish in a town nearby where the Mass was celebrated without a homily!"

"Homilies should be the transmission of God's grace. Simple, so that everyone can understand them and everyone will want to become a better person," Pope Francis told the new bishop.

The ordination took place at the Basilica of St John Lateran, on the feast of dedication of the basilica.

After anointing the new bishop with oil and giving him the Book of the Gospels, the pope was about to present him with his episcopal ring, a "sign of fidelity," but first Pope Francis told him, "Do not forget: Before this ring, there were the wedding bands of your parents. Defend the family!"

In his homily, the Pope asked the new bishop to be patient with priests, seminarians, the poor and laypeople who come to him looking for assistance and counsel.

"Many times you will need a lot of patience," the Pope said, "but the kingdom of God is built that way."

"And close to the beginning of the Year of Mercy, I ask you as a brother to be merciful," the Pope said.

"The Church and the world need so much mercy. Teach priests and seminarians the path of mercy with words, yes, but especially with your behaviour."

In his mercy, God always makes room for everyone in his heart, Pope Francis said, so priests and bishops should "never chase anyone away".

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Image: Breitbart

Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, a former president of the Canadian bishops' conference, released the text of his synod speech on his blog.

He proposed three courses of action for the synod.

• "That this synod considers the possibility of granting to married men and women, well-trained and accompanied, permission to speak in homilies at Mass in order to show the link between the Word proclaimed and the lives of spouses and parents."
• "That in order to recognise the equal capacity of women to assume decision-making positions in the Church, the synod recommends the appointment of women to positions they are able to occupy in the Roman Curia and in our diocesan curias."
• "Finally, concerning the permanent diaconate, that this synod recommends the establishment of a process that could eventually open to women access to this order, which, as tradition says, is directed non ad sacerdotium, sed ad ministerium ["not to priesthood, but to ministry"]."

Archbishop Durocher also called on the synod to state that a proper interpretation of Scripture can never justify male domination over women.

"In particular, this synod should affirm that the passages where St Paul speaks of the woman's submission to her husband do not justify male domination over women, much less violence towards her," the archbishop said.

He cited World Health Organisation figures that state one third of women worldwide are victims of domestic violence.

The archbishop said the equal dignity of women and men in the Church must be clearly shown to the world.

He cited Benedict XVI's 2006 address to Rome's clergy asking whether it might be possible to give women more offices of ministerial responsibility.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Salt and Light TV

In a letter to priests and deacons, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit stated: "Many people have been sacramentalised, but never evangelised."

Such people "knew about God, but they didn't know him".

Another group of people in the typical Mass congregation are the "practical atheists", Archbishop Vigneron wrote.

These people do not reject God outright, but compartmentalise their faith and spend most of their lives in a "secular, consumer world", living as if God did not exist or had no meaning in their lives.

Other people come to Mass "biased" by media, entertainment and academia, which tell them that faith is incompatible with reason.

Also present at Mass are the "seemingly dead", who arrive late and leave early, do not pay attention or participate, and do not seem to want to be there.

Then there are "the bored and the blasé", those who have seen only a "dumbed down and neutered" version of Christ and the Gospel.

But deep down, Archbishop Vigneron said, everyone at Mass wants the same thing - an encounter with Christ.

It is the priest's responsibility to help facilitate that through his preaching.

Sadly, Archbishop Vigneron noted, many people in the pews have heard the phrase "God loves you", but have not internalised it.

Without encountering the love of Christ, "the faith simply looks like rules and regulations".

Ultimately, priests and deacons foster an encounter with God when they preach Christ crucified, he wrote.

"The cross is the single greatest demonstration of love ever seen. Help them to understand it. Repeatedly call their attention to it. Help them to understand God doesn't simply tell us he loves us; He shows us."

Among other suggestions the archbishop offered were occasional series of themed homilies, preaching using examples from the preacher's own life and applying the readings to the "concrete situation" of the community.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Catholic Vote

"We have seen many abuses among the clergy - alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, gambling abuse, money abuse, travelling abuse, vacation abuse.

Today, I invite you to turn your hearts to another very rampant and widespread abuse among priests - homily abuse."

"Yes, abuse of the kindness of the people who are forced to listen to long, winding, repetitious, boring, unorganised, unprepared, mumbled homilies."

"In jest but certainly with some truth, the people say our homilies are one of the obligatory scourges that they must go through every Sunday." Continue reading

Speaking after presiding at an ordination Mass at St Peter's Basilica on April 26, the Pope also warned the newly ordained against being vain priests.

"A priest is ugly who lives for his own pleasure," Pope Francis said, adding that such a priest "acts like a peacock".

Francis also said priests should nourish God's people with their homilies, while making sure they are not bored.

Ensure "that your homilies are not boring; that your homilies reach the heart of the people, because they come from your hearts," he said.

"What you say to them is what you have in your heart."

In Reconciliation, priests are called "to forgive, not to condemn", the Pope said.

Continue reading