The Homily
After all the readings at Mass comes the homily, sometimes
ministers are the teachers of the Church.
The homily is the teaching moment at Mass. In fact, it is the most
important teaching moment in the Church. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church in paragraph 132 says that “the liturgical homily
should hold pride of place” among “all forms of Christian instruction.”
we can apply them in our own lives. The Catechism number 1349
says that the homily “is an exhortation to accept this Word as what
it truly is, the Word of God, and to put it into practice.”
Many popes have written and spoken about the homily, especially
Pope Francis. He often exhorts priests to make sure that their
homilies are “not boring” and that they put much prayer and effort
into the homily.
Whether we like the preacher or the preaching, we must always be
attentive and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us ever more through
the homily.
For further study:
CCC 132 • CCC 1349
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referred to as the sermon. The homily can only be given by
a bishop, priest or deacon. This is because these ordained
The homily is meant to teach about the Scriptures, and how
Notes