Q: Given your experience how long ‘should’ a Sunday and a weekday homily last?
I ask this given my experience of those who have strong views about the length of the homily and a diminishing capacity to concentrate given we are living in a sound bite, texting and instant communication context.
Thanks Paul for sharing your vast experience with a priest who is only relatively new to his craft.
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A: The only reference I’ve seen is in the Introduction to the Lectionary, paragraph 24:
“From this living explanation, the word of God proclaimed in the readings and the Church’s celebration of the day’s Liturgy will have greater impact. But this demands that the homily be truly the fruit of meditation, carefully prepared, neither too long nor too short, and suited to all those present, even children and the uneducated.”
I write my Sunday homilies out and limit myself to about 600 words. They can be found on my website HERE.
