The Vatican has a suggestion:
Homilies should be no longer than eight minutes — a listener’s average attention span, said the head of the synod office.Priests and deacons should also avoid reading straight from a text and instead work from notes so that they can have eye contact with the people in the pews, said Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops.
In a new book titled, “The Word of God,” the archbishop highlighted some tips that came out of the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Bible. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, reproduced a few passages from the book in its March 10 edition.
The archbishop wrote that it’s not unusual for preachers to recognize that they have less-than-perfect communications skills or that they struggle with preparing homilies. Everyone should spend an appropriate amount of time to craft a well-prepared and relevant sermon for Mass, he said.
He said Pope Benedict XVI starts working on his Sunday homilies on the preceding Monday so that there is plenty of time to reflect on the Scripture readings from which the homily will draw.
Archbishop Eterovic praised an initiative by the archdiocese of Paris, called “Improving Homilies,” that has been offering courses and guidelines for priests and deacons
Among the guidelines’ many helpful suggestions, he said, is that “the homily in general should not go over eight, minutes — the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate.”
posted March 10, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Our local associate pastor, Father Bob (not real name) preaches for an average of 30 to 35 minutes on any given Sunday. Several parishioners have talked to him about it he doesn’t care. He thinks that he is a great orator, and he is not. So, rather than go to church and leave unfullfilled, I’ve found another church where the priest’s sermon is 10 to 12 minutes long and he is fantastic.
Also, attendance is down slightly as are contributions. Why the Catholic Church doesn’t routinely evaluate a priest’s abilities is beyond me. Being a priest shouldn’t be like being a tenured college professor who can do whatever he wants and the administration has no recourse.
posted March 10, 2010 at 11:43 pm
My teacher and mentor at the University of Scranton , the late William Tome, SJ would always insist a homily should never go much more then about 8 minutes. First because this was the normal attention span of an adult. But equally, it requires the homilist to whittle away the extras and unnecessary tangents and sharpen his message.
“Shoot a laser beam, not buckshot” with a homily he would implore.
I might add Deacon Greg I have read many of your homilies here on your blog and you too are brief, focused and powerful in your writing. Laser beams!
posted March 11, 2010 at 8:03 am
As a tenured college professor who is regularly evaluated on my teaching, I wonder, too.
Fr. Gerard Sloyan (the author of Preaching the Lectionary) once told me that the single best thing a homilist can do is to write out his homily. (Which is not to say read it…).
posted March 13, 2010 at 9:23 am
Eight minutes?
It depends on the homilist. One could listen with rapt attention (for 20-30 minutes) to a skilled and brilliant homilist like NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan or Fr. Benedict Groeschel or the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
posted March 17, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I just read with interest a news article on Archbishop Eterovic’s book “The Word of God” summarizing the recent synod by the same name. With over twenty-five years of preaching experience, I agree with the comments brought out in the article. My question to Deacon Greg, do you know if the book by Archbishop is available in English. Blessings from Sacramento!
posted March 17, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Hi, Ray!
I haven’t seen it anywhere … it doesn’t show up in any Amazon search, or on Google, either. It may just be available in Europe.
Dcn. G.
posted April 1, 2010 at 4:38 pm
My former pastor, who was the best homilist I’ve ever experienced, kept his homilies between 7 and 9 minutes. I know, because I would record them and post them to our parish website. He also worked from an outline (if that) because from Saturday evening to late sunday morning, the same homily would be a little different, but better. I commented to him once about it, and he says “I watch the reactions of the congregation to see what works and what doesn’t and adjust accordingly at the next mass”. His homilies start with an attention-getter, they develop a specific point throughout their duration and at the end, make the point specifically and end on a single termination point (no rambling).
He has been my example for my homilitics should the path I’m walking end at the Diaconate as I envision.