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

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

and

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

(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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and

Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

es, a homily is usually given during

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

(

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

Holy Qurbana The Holy Qurbana (, ''Qurbānā Qaddišā'' in Syriac language, Eastern Syriac or ''Qurbānā Qandišā'' in the Indian variant of Eastern Syriac, the "Holy Offering" or "Holy Sacrifice" in English), refers to the Eucharistic liturgy as celebrat ...

for Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, and Divine Service for the Lutheran Church) at the end of the

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

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 context ...

. The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

word homily is derived from the

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

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'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

'' (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, (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the Roman Rite in what since 1969 is its normal form. Originally published in 1969 as a separa ...

(GIRM), the official document governing the celebration of

, states that:

Other senses

Contemporary

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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

, such as one created for a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. In colloquial, non-religious, usage, ''homily'' often means a sermon concerning a practical matter, a moralizing lecture or admonition, or an inspirational saying or

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

, 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 Instruction or instructions may refer to: A specific direction or order given to someone to perform a task or carry out a procedure. They provide clear guidance on how to achieve a desired outcome. They can be written or verbal, and they typically ...

'' from "Sermons for all the Sundays in the year", ''Dublin : Duffy'' (1882) by

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787) was an Italian Catholic bishop and saint, as well as a spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congre ...

External links

www.bibleinterpretation.org
Bible Interpretation by Rev. Abraham Mutholath in English.
www.biblereflection.org
Bible Interpretation with reflection by Rev. Abraham Mutholath in English.
www.christianhomily.com
Sunday and Feast Homily Resources in English and Homily Videos in Malayalam by Fr. Abraham Mutholath
Homily Videos in Malayalam
by Fr. Abraham Mutholath
Daily Homilies Website

Read 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