Why are Homilies so long anyway?
To answer that question, we start by realizing that we don’t always understand the Word of God perfectly when we first read it or hear it at mass. Whenever we read or hear a Bible passage, we should ask ourselves: “What is God saying here?” Sometimes it is pretty easy to listen to God; sometimes, it is not so easy. Sometimes reading the Bible can answer questions that we have; sometimes reading only seems to bring more questions. We humbly recognize that understanding everything about God and us is not always super-easy. So, in humility, we realize we need help. That is where the preachers of the Word come in— those who have been given a special grace to help God’s people understand better his communication with us. With years of prayer and study, some preachers can become incredible resources, such as Cardinal Newman, who was known to preach on average about an hour and a half for every sermon! Imagine if Fr. Antony or I had homilies that long! Attendance would probably be much fewer than it is now.
Speaking of Fr. Antony, we wish him the best in his new assignment that starts on July 1, at St. Peter in Jupiter. May the Lord continue to bless him in his ministry here in our Diocese.
We will miss him a lot.
Fr. Bob, Pastor
