Homilies must be prepared with the help of the Holy Spirit, be shorter than 10 minutes and put the spotlight on the Lord, not oneself, Pope Francis said.
Those who preach must convey “one idea, one sentiment and an invitation to action,” he said.
Preaching loses its power and starts to ramble after eight minutes, he said to the applause of visitors gathered for his general audience in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 4.
The pope continued his series of audience talks on the Holy Spirit, focusing on its role in evangelization and preaching in the church.
It was also the first general audience to include a greeting and a summary of the pope’s catechesis in Mandarin Chinese. The pope gives his catechesis in Italian, and aides read summaries in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Arabic and, from Dec. 4, standard Chinese.
In his main audience talk, the pope said, “The church must do precisely what Jesus says at the beginning of his public ministry,” which, according to St. Luke’s Gospel, is to accept the anointing of the Holy Spirit “to bring glad tidings to the poor.”
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Christopher White, where this article originally appeared.
