Pope Francis in one of his recent Angelus addresses, reminded the clergy that “preaching long spiritually-empty homilies, can reduce the Word of God to a mere set of abstract concepts that put souls to sleep, instead of awakening them”. How very true, especially in these days of parish feasts and long novena services where priests from other parishes are invited to celebrate the Eucharist and preach homilies that are sometimes irrelevant and extend beyond peoples’ endurance and tolerance limits.
Senior citizens are the ones most affected, who, despite their ill -health, make sacrifices to attend these church services. The homlies on Sundays also, are also repetitive and intentionally prolonged to go beyond the stipulated guidelines of 10-minutes duration. Many of these homilists are in the habit of narrating their experiences during their younger and seminary days, instead of focusing on the day’s readings and gospel. In short, there is no substance in many of today’s homilies which needs to be corrected.
