Pope Francis has told Catholic priests to keep their homilies short to avoid situations where people fall asleep.
Speaking at St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday catechism today, the Pope stated that homilies should not go beyond eight minutes because after that people tend to lose concentration to a point where they fail to understand anything.
“The homily must be short, an mage, a thought, a sentiment. The homily should not go beyond eight minutes because after that attention is lost and people fall asleep. They fall asleep and they are right to do so,” said Pope Francis.
“A homily should be like this (short) and this is what I want to say to priests who talk too much many times and it is not understood what they are taking about.”
He explained that the goal of a homily is to help move the Word of God from the book to life noting that people who fall asleep after eight minutes are right to do so.
This is not the first time that Pope Francis has stressed the importance of short homilies.
In 2018, he appealed to priests to be brief and ensure that their homilies are not more than 10 minutes.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, June 12, 2024
