A sermon is something that we all try to avoid, but as Catholics, it is something we subject ourselves to at least once a week when we go to mass.
As humans, a long and boring sermon is almost always a mood killer, so you really can’t blame people when they prefer some churches or priests to others, like in my case where I have a black list of the priests or churches that I would rather avoid so I don’t sin any further in my thoughts, when boredom turns into frustration inside a supposedly holy place.
All this could be avoided if priests would only listen to the advice of Pope Francis, who has repeatedly been advising them to keep their sermons under 10 minutes.
“After eight minutes, preaching gets dispersive and no one understands,” the 87-year-old pontiff said in an off-the-cuff remark during a recent general audience at St. Peter’s Square.
“Never go over 10 minutes, ever! This is very important. Priests must not preach about themselves but about the Gospel,” he added, drawing applause from the gathering.
This is the third time the pope had given a similar reminder, but from the way a lot of homilies are still delivered, it seems that a lot of priests still have a difficult time complying, subjecting their flock to lengthy sermons that beat around the bush or lose the train of thought so that their captive audience often have no other option but to nod off, grumble internally, or disconnect as they endure the penance.
Although the Pope did note that certain sermons can go on for 20 to 30 minutes, but he said that for preaching to be effective, it must have “one idea, one sentiment, and one invitation to action” – all delivered within 10 minutes.
In my long experience as a church-goer, I would say that there are 3 kinds of preachers when it comes to sermons. The first can deliver a homily within 10 minutes and deliver a message, and for that, they are a blessing to their flock. The second cannot stay within 10 minutes, but can still manage to engage their audience, which can make the latter forget that the former has gone overtime. The third, which is unfortunately the most common kind, can neither stay within the Pope-recommended 10 minutes nor hold the attention of their hostages, and these are the ones that I try to remember so I can avoid them next time.
I would assume that priests probably have a course or get training for giving sermons, but being taught to do it is one thing, and doing it every day (or at least weekly for the big audiences) is another, and just like with everything involving humans, the quality of innate talent varies wildly. However, if there is no grading or ranking system involved, then it is quite possible for some of the less talented ones to think that they are giving amazing sermons when the reality is far from their perception.
A timer being displayed during the homily would be the most brutal and efficient solution, but I don’t think many priests will agree to that.
If you come to think of it, this is one case where a crowdsourced ranking system from the faithful could help priests come to terms with their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to sermons. Something like that would allow the lower ranked ones to strive for improvement, and for the meantime, make up for it by keeping their sermons on the short side to compensate for poor delivery. Such self-awareness will allow them to either master the sub-10-minute homily, or come up with better ones if they insist on going over the Pope-recommended time frame.
After all, if the homily is about introspection and self-improvement of the flock, then shouldn’t the shepherds also be constantly doing the same, especially when it comes to their messages and how they deliver it? A constant pressure to keep it under 10 minutes if it’s not that great, or deliver really awesome ones if they insist on going overtime, could be good for everyone involved, especially those who try not to, but are still getting turned off by sermons that don’t have a point and take too long.*
