Pope Francis: Keep your homilies short to prevent the faithful from falling asleep
Pope Francis has again urged Catholic priests to keep their homilies short, this time warning that they should not exceed eight minutes or risk seeing the faithful fall asleep.
During his general audience on catechesis this Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope explained that the objective of a homily is to “bring the Word of God from the book to life.”
“But the homily for this must be short: an image, a thought, a feeling. The homily should not exceed eight minutes because beyond that time you lose attention and people fall asleep,” he said.
This is not the first time that Francis has insisted on the importance of short homilies. In 2018, he had already urged priests to “be brief” and not to exceed ten minutes.
The Pope’s recommendations mirror those of Archbishop Nikola Eterovic in his 2010 book on the 2008 Synod of the Word of God, advising to limit homilies to eight minutes and avoid improvisations.
However, Francis often exceeds this limit in his own homilies. On Maundy Thursday this year, his homily for the Chrism Mass lasted more than twenty minutes.
The Pope made the comments on the length of homilies in an extemporaneous manner during a reflection on the Bible, which he describes as “inspired by God and authoritative.” He added that “the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Scriptures… also makes them perpetually alive and active.”
Francis also encouraged Catholics to take time to read and reflect on a passage of Scripture daily, recommending carrying a “pocket Gospel” to read during free moments of the day.
“But the spiritual reading par excellence of the Scriptures is the community reading in the liturgy of the Mass,” he stressed. “Among the many words of God that we listen to every day at Mass or in the Liturgy of the Hours, there is always one that is intended especially for us. Something that touches the heart. Welcomed in the heart, it can brighten our day and inspire our prayer. It’s about not letting it fall on deaf ears,” concluded Pope Francis.
source: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
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