Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) –
In a press conference held in the Holy See Press Office this morning,
Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments, presented the “Homiletic
Directory” drawn up by the same dicastery during the mandate of his
predecessor, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera. The cardinal was
accompanied by Archbishop Arthur Roche and Fr. Corrado Maggione,
S.M.M., respectively secretary and under secretary of the
Congregation.
“Often, for many faithful, it is
precisely the homily, considered as good or bad, interesting or
boring, that is the yardstick by which the entire celebration is
judged”, explained Cardinal Sarah. “Certainly, the Mass is not
the homily, but it represents a moment relevant for the purpose of
participation in the holy Mysteries, that is, listening to the Word
of God and the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord”.
“The Directory was not born without a
reason. The aim is to respond to the need to improve the service of
ordained ministers in liturgical preaching”, he continued, noting
that during the 2005 Synod of Bishops ordained ministers were asked
to prepare their homilies carefully, and basing them on adequate
knowledge of the Sacred Scripture. “This is the first fact to bear
in mind”, he underlined: “that the homily is directly linked to
the Sacred Scriptures, especially the Gospel, and is enlightened by
them”. During the same Synod, it was also requested that in the
homily “the great themes of the faith and the life of the Church
should resound throughout the year”, in order to “help
demonstrate the nexus connecting the message of the biblical readings
with the doctrine of the faith as expressed in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church”. He added, “on the basis of these expectations,
Benedict XVI in the exhortation Sacramentum caritatis … encouraged
reflection on the matter”.
The bishops returned to this issue in
the Synod on the Word of God, and Benedict XVI in the exhortation
Verbum domini, while reiterating that preaching appropriately with
reference to the Lectionary was “truly an art that must be
cultivated”, also indicated that it would be opportune to compile a
directory on the homily, so that preachers might find help in
preparing for the exercise of their ministry”.
“The way was thus prepared and the
Congregation initiated the project. A further impetus to bring it to
a conclusion was provided by the emphasis placed on the homily by
Pope Francis, who reserves 25 points to this theme in his apostolic
exhortation Evangelii gaudium: 10 to the homily and 15 to its
preparation”.
“The homily is a liturgical service
reserved to the ordained minister, who is called upon by vocation to
serve the Word of God according to the faith of the Church and not in
a personalised fashion. It is not a mere discourse like any other,
but rather a speech inspired by the Word of God that resounds in an
assembly of believers, in the context of liturgical action, with a
view to learning to put into practice the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.
Among the criteria mentioned in the
Directory, the Cardinal mentioned, “first, the homily is inspired
by the Scriptures inserted by the Church in the Lectionary, or rather
the Book that contains, for all the days of the year, the biblical
readings for the Mass; second, the homily is inspired by the
celebration of which these readings form a part, or rather, by the
prayers and the rites that constitute this liturgy, whose main
protagonist is God, for Christ His Son, in the power of the Holy
Spirit”.
“Obviously”, he concluded, “the
homily makes demands of he who pronounces it. Therefore, the
preparation of the homilist is of the first importance: this requires
study and prayer, experience of God and knowledge of the community he
addresses, love for the holy Mysteries and love for the living Body
of Christ that is the Church”.
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