The Homily Has Its Place…

There are many Christians around the world, both Catholic and Protestant, who consider the Homily (or Sermon), the focal point of their worship service. However, as Catholics we should recognize that this is not the case when it comes to The Mass… On my journey to The Catholic Church, this was quite a transition.

I had always grown up hearing my parents on Sundays commenting on things that the minister had said in the sermon from that morning. After I left home and branched out on my own (once I started going back to church), I still had that mindset that the central focus of my worship needed to be singing songs and listening to the preacher so that I could listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart. That was the whole point of the service right?

For most of my Protestant brothers and sisters, that would seem to be a correct assumption… However, as for myself and my Catholic brothers and sisters, we know (or at least we should know) that this is not the case. The central focus of The Mass is The Holy Eucharist, the sacrifice… Jesus Himself present in body, blood, soul and divinity among us. BUT… the Homily is still extremely important and that’s what I want to focus on with this article.

Ya know… I still find myself even today, thinking after Mass, about the Homily the priest gave only half an hour before. The difference now though is that I think of it, not in a centralized capacity around which my worship is focused… But rather, I think of it from the perspective of the lantern that guides my feet (Psalm 119: 105) closer to Christ’s real presence in The Eucharist through the magnification of His words coming to me through the priest…

“It is here in the homiletic section of the Mass that the priest (in persona Christi capitis) is constructing the bridge that helps to transport the assembly from the Word to the Word made Flesh.”

– Bishop Barron (The Mass)

You see, the homily has its place in the Mass. It is NOT an intrusion or a “break” for the congregation. It is placed at a strategic point of encounter with Christ so that we, as His beloved brothers and sisters, can prepare our hearts, minds and souls to receive Him. To me it’s almost as if, through the readings and then the homily, Jesus is slowly coming closer and closer so that when I behold His Presence in The most holy Eucharist, I am ready to encounter Him in that close, personal and intimate way.

Don’t you think that’s how it should be done? Here’s what I mean… When you court someone… Would you rather they just walk up to you and kiss you? OR would you rather they talk to you first, thus allowing you to build up to that moment of intimacy?

“The homily is not a trite discourse, nor a conference, nor a lesson, but… it is taking up ‘once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people,’ so it may find fulfillment in life.”

– Pope Francis (Evangelii Gaudium)

As far as homilies go, we’ve all either been guilty of, or heard someone comment, regarding the homily as “bad” or “too long” or said something like… “that priest is boring”! I will tell you right now that if you say that you have never had that thought, you’re lying to yourself because EVERYONE has done it at one point or another!

So what are we as lay people in the pews supposed to do during the homily? The homily is the climax of the liturgy of The Word… We are supposed to be listening to the words of Christ, through the voice of the priest. We are to sit attentively, respectfully… Mentally and spiritually preparing to respond to God through our actions and words as we discern how Christ’s message applies to our lives. The liturgy of The Word crescendos to this moment when after we hear the inspired words of the Holy Spirit and Christ, we continue this dialogue as we prepare to enter into the holiest and most intimate moment we can imagine on this Earth…

Becoming one with our risen Lord in the most holy Eucharist…

Until next time my dear reader…

Your Humble Servant in Christ,

William