Brief and to the point

Rome - Last December, the Archdiocese in Bombay, India, told its priests to keep their homilies (sermons) short and to the point. Auxiliary Bishop Bosco Penha, president of the Commission for Word and Worship in Bombay archdiocese said, “Some priests are still preaching for 20 minutes or more, which is strongly discouraged."

Now the Vatican has weighed in on the subject advising all priests to keep their homilies to 8 minutes or less. "The homily in general should not go over eight minutes – the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate," says Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

Father Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the Venerable English College in Rome agrees. "There is a saying among clergy," he said. "If you haven't struck oil in seven minutes, stop boring." Headon added, "A sermon should not be a lecture, nor is it academic. You need to give spiritual food for thought that will stay with someone for a week."