A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture,
/ref> giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

and

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...

(known as

Paschal Homily The Paschal homily or sermon (also known in Greek as ''Hieratikon'' or as the Catechetical Homily) of St. John Chrysostom (died 407) is read aloud at Paschal matins, the service that begins Easter, in Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churc ...

) are considered exemplary forms of Christian homily. In

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Anglican,

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, and

Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

es, a homily is usually given during

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

(

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

or Holy Qurbana for Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, and Divine Service for the Lutheran Church) at the end of the Liturgy of the Word. Many people consider it synonymous with a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

. The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

word homily is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word ὁμιλία ''homilia'', which means intercourse or interaction with other people (derived from the word ''homilos,'' meaning "a gathering"). The word is used in ("wicked ''homiliai'' corrupt good morals"). The related verb is used in (as ''homiloun''), and in (as ''homilei''), both used in the sense of "speaking with". The word later came to have a more technical sense. According to ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'',

was the first to distinguish between ''

logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Ari ...

'' (sermo) and ''homilia'' (tractatus).

Roman Catholic Mass homily

The

General Instruction of the Roman Missal The ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'' (GIRM)—in the Latin original, ''Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani'' (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the Roman Rite in what since 1969 is its normal form. ...

(GIRM), the official document governing the celebration of

, states that:

Other senses

Contemporary

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

clergy often use the term 'homily' to describe a short

, such as one created for a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

or funeral. In colloquial, non-religious, usage, ''homily'' often means a sermon concerning a practical matter, a

moralizing Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

lecture or admonition, or an inspirational saying or

platitude A platitude is a trite, meaningless, or prosaic statement, often used as a thought-terminating cliché, aimed at quelling social, emotional, or cognitive unease. The statement may be true, but its meaning has been lost due to its excessive use. ...

, but sermon is the more appropriate word in these cases.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Origen. (2010). Homilies on Leviticus, 1-16. United States: Catholic University of America Press. * Marriott, C., Chrysostom, J., Morris, J. B. (2015). The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans - Scholar's Choice Edition. United Kingdom: Creative Media Partners, LLC. * St. John Chrysostom commentary on the Psalms. (1998). United States: Holy Cross Orthodox Press. * '' Instructions to Preachers'' from "Sermons for all the Sundays in the year", ''Dublin : Duffy'' (1882) by

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philoso ...

External links

www.christianhomily.com
Sunday and Feast Homily Resources in English and Homily Videos in Malayalam by Fr. Abraham Mutholath
Daily Homilies WebsiteRead Malayalam and English Homilies, Reflections and Talks By Archbishop Soosa Pakiam, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Trivandrum2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal – England and Wales edition (pdf)
{{Authority control Christian genres Christian sermons Christian terminology Homiletics

Roman Catholic Mass homily

Other senses

See also

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links