Pope Francis has recommended that priests should limit their homilies to ten minutes: “After 8 minutes, preaching gets dispersive and no one understands. Never go over 10 minutes, ever! This is very important.” Of course, these were simply informal comments. There is no question here of an ecclesiastical directive or a formal canonical limit.
Personally, I’m inclined to agree that homilies should be fairly short—St. John Chrysostom notwithstanding to the contrary. Chrysostom means “golden-mouthed”, and some of his sermons lasted more than two hours, while others merely took “less than thirty minutes”. Of course, in those days, people did not sit in pews but either stood or walked around, often while chatting with their neighbors. Nonetheless, Pope St. Pius X named John Chrysostom the patron saint of preachers.
Faced with a long homily these days, sitting in reasonable comfort, we might instead let our minds wander or even doze off. I would hate to admit the number of times I’ve returned home without being able to remember even what the Gospel was about. So perhaps ten minutes is not an unreasonable upper limit. If so, I would expect homilies at daily Mass to be shorter. And I’ve known some priests who were famous for giving homilies of one or two sentences—homilies that were very hard to forget.
Still, while I am a fan of homiletic prudence, I’m not a fan of excessive regulation of preaching. I suspect, for example, that very few of those who attend daily Mass really need a homily at all, and I can still remember my boyhood when we didn’t get one except on Sunday. I’m almost always in a hurry at daily Mass, since the workday can’t start until it’s over. I try to slow myself down by making a deliberate holy hour before, after, or surrounding daily morning Mass. If I don’t make time then, I know “I’ll be too busy” later.
In this “efficiency mode”, my own preference is to hear something from the priest after the Gospel, but it upsets my precious schedule if the homily is longer than a few minutes. And if it goes to fifteen or twenty minutes…well, let’s just say that the last time my watch broke, I decided not to replace it, mostly for spiritual reasons.
In the same cantankerous spirit, I remember recently that my timeliness hero, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, exclaimed in September of 2023 that Sunday Masses that take 90 minutes are too long. A few months later, my older brother (who is a deacon serving at a parish in Florida) mentioned that the Sunday masses in their church, where the number of communicants is extremely small by our standards here in the Diocese of Arlington, were typically about an hour-and-a-half in length. Like Cardinal Dolan, I suggested that 90 minutes was pretty long. He agreed, but considered it a sign of life….
From Jeff Mirus on the Catholic Thing
The most memorable homilies for me have been crisp, concise, scholarly and, of course, holy.
I could proffer that eight minutes might be seven minutes too long for some homilists. Twenty minutes with an exceptional orator, and without having to check my watch, would be divine.
What an outstanding post. You are saying that one size does not fit all, and I find myself of the same mind. For that reason, I find the pope’s advice to be insulting and denigratory, not just to those of us in the pews, but also to priests with substantive faith and spiritual depth. We are bombarded with worldly influences throughout our waking hours, and the pope expects 10 minutes of homily, frequently by men whose homiletical skills are not strong, to offset/combat the influence of pride and concupiscence and to engender habits of devotion? Could it be that in 10 minutes the average homily will be sufficiently void of theological depth to please a pontiff who abhors dogma?
I wonder if one might find in this a possible parallel to his animus toward the TLM, with its focus on devotion to God, in contrast to the Novus Ordo, with its focus on both God and man, but with ad populum, the priest facing the people, more on man. Many parishioners nowadays, and I include myself in what I am about to write, seem to be light on the fundamentals of the faith and of devotion; I wonder how much of this is due to 10 minute generic homilies, given the priests busy schedule and so precluding sufficient preparation?
I wonder what Padre Pio would say about 8 minute homilies? Padre Pio’s mass typically lasted between 1.5 to 3 hours. People would often line up outside the church as early as 4AM to attend.
How long were his homilies ? I think he would be the exception to the rule. I have sat through homilies of one priest that will read the announcements that are in the bulletin, then ramble without a coherent narrative for sometimes 30 minutes, extends a low mass of 1 hour to an hour and a half. Brevity is the soul of wit some priests get it, some don’t.
I would guess that most homilists probably don’t measure up to Padre Pio…
I’ve stopped reading Pope Francis’s publications. Talk about too long. He should take his own advice. His letter about the Sacred Heart was 30,000 words long. And all he does is bloviate self referentially about his own recent “magisterium”.
So, Catholic priests aren’t good enough at giving homilies to preach for very long? I’d say that many Catholics, struggling in today’s post-Conciliar, Death Culture world, badly need good homilies. Many are lost, or just confused. The length of homilies is not the issue– it is the content that is important. And today, not many priests and prelates really tackle important points of Catholic Faith and Morals, in homilies, anymore, as they used to do, long ago. Before the Council, homilies at weekday Masses were skipped, at times– and sometines skipped at Sunday Masses. But most all Catholics had received good catechesis, growing up. And Catholic churches were always full, on Sundays. Catholics knew how to prepare for Mass, were careful to observe the Eucharistic Fast, and how to prepare, prayerfully, for reception of Holy Communion, if they were going to do so. Not all Catholics were always fully prepared to receive Communion, at all Masses– about half, or three quarters of the congregation, might do so. But Mass attendance was not based on reception of Communion. It was based on assisting, prayerfully, spiritually, at Holy Mass. Maybe as soon as you could go to Confession, or just be really well-prepared for reception of Holy Communion, if you didn’t receive at one Mass –maybe next time. You had to be really well-prepared– it was very serious. There were always many people lining up for Confessions on Saturday afternoons. Today, many Catholics have grown up with very little catechesis. I think priests and prelates should take the time to carefully prepare good sermons, to teach and guide their parishioners. Preach and teach all the “Nancy Pelosis,” “Joe Bidens,” and “J.D. Vances” out there, as well as all the LGBTs and the confused young people– and bring them to Christ.
A beautiful post, IMO. So many good points–“The length of homilies is not the issue– it is the content that is important etc.” I think the lack of formation of the laity should alarm every cleric when they prepare a homily. It seems so often that we laity come to Mass filled with attitudes or values contrary to Christ. It seems to me that if the priest saw his role akin to a lawyer and we the pew sitters saw our role as the jury, the homily would be geared to convincing us of what is truly necessary to believe, attitudes to embrace, and actions to take . And that might take longer than 10 minutes.
Life in the modern world is way too fast, unhealthy and unnatural, with poor values, especially in today’s immoral “Death Culture”-dominated world. Everyone needs to rearrange their lives, slow way down, live a more natural, normal kind of life, with plenty of time for your spouse, children, family, friends, work– and plenty of time for God– lots and lots of time for God. God works slowly, usually, though at times He can suddenly surprise us. We have to slow down, sit or kneel quietly, and just “wait on God” and let the time pass by– lots of time! — and try to be attentive, waiting for Him to “speak” to us. God can take a long, long, long time, as we quietly await His Presence. Long ago, Catholics and other Christians understood this. They were in church for long periods, and Holy Mass, Orthodox Divine Liturgy, and Protestant services, were suited to religious needs, for worship of God– not suited to Man’s secular, worldly, material needs. Everyone should respect the priest and his calling. If the priest feels the need to give his parishioners certain homilies, we should all listen respectfully. It is very rude and terribly disrespectful, to notice the time. Very, very poor manners. The only thing I would ever be very concerned about, is when a liberal, dissident priest might tell parishioners, in a sermon, that he disagrees with Catholic teachings, for example, on birth control, gay “marriage,” abortion, etc.– and says that “all are welcome to receive Holy Communion,” regardless of whether you accept Catholic teaching or not. Very bad– one should complain, inform your bishop, ASAP, if a priest ever does that.
Thanks, Dan. You, too, had some excellent reflections on this topic.
There would be more time for good homilies if parishes would cut out the dumb music that the musicians play. Replace the OCP songs with chants.
If you analyze the time that music consumes during Mass, you’d probably find that singing at the entrance and the recessional takes up about eight or nine minutes. Add to that a responsorial psalm that sometimes is unnecessarily long because of how it’s composed or arranged, and you have at least ten minutes of mediocre or bad music that could or should be eliminated from the time it takes to celebrate Mass.
If there’s anything that needs fixing in Mass, it’s the terrible music and the bad volunteer musicians and singers, especially the screeching female cantor. Mass shouldn’t be an amateur hour community theater, and I shouldn’t have my ears assaulted by awful singing and bad music.
In about 85% of parishes, the quality and appeal and prayer of Mass would be increased tremendously if they had no music. None. Silence is better than what I often have to listen to. Why do Catholics have such terrible music?
I blame OCP for a lot of it.
“Listen to feedback, be realistic about your own abilities, and decide for the good of the souls in your care,” was good advice from Dr. Mirus. I think all priests and deacons should consider such. The two “lungs” of the Church (West and East) may see this differently. We’re generally expected to have about 20 minute Sunday homilies. I’ve heard that, in some Roman dioceses, homilists are directed to have 8-12 minute homilies on Sundays and short (about 5-minutes or less) homilies on weekdays. It seems these matters should be worked out locally (the Catholic principle of subsidiarity) among bishops, priests and deacons and not directed by the Vatican. I’ve heard long homilies that are good and short homilies that weren’t. I don’t think length is the primary consideration. And, Eastern Catholics are used to our Divine Liturgies going for 75 minutes or more, so maybe that’s a difference. When I’m assigned to preach, I spend days (usually weeks) praying with those Scriptures, reading commentaries (especially homilies and writings from the Fathers of the Church, which we often quote, including the mentioned St. John Chrysostom!), preparing and considering what people here, at this time, should hear. I pray that God will help me say no more than I should say and no less than I should say, especially on issues that are likely controversial in our society. After that, I’ve sometimes had homilies that were likely shorter than my pastor expected. I shared what I believed should be shared and concluded the homily. (I don’t want to be one of those preachers where listeners count the number of times they hear, “And, finally…” “one more thing” and “in conclusion” repeatedly.) And, so far at least, I’ve not had a pastor critique me for that or had any parishioners complain to the pastor that they didn’t get their money’s worth from the deacon’s homily. Please pray for your priests, deacons and bishops.
You do honor to your vocation, Deacon Anderson.
I don’t wear a watch. During mass, I turn off my cell phone and it remains in my pocket. Like most parishes, the church clock is in the back, so I am not tempted to turn and catch a glimpse. I have no idea about how long the homilies are, but I suspect that Sunday’s are longer than during the week.
I judge the appropriateness of a homily’s length by the number of concepts that are mentioned. If there are too many to keep in mind or I lose the thread that the homilist is trying to impart, then to me it is too long.
Good points. If the homily has too many points or goes in too many directions, it’s like watching a small plane fly around and wondering if the pilot is going to land it somewhere. And, even holy priests aren’t necessarily good preachers. As was said about one fairly prominent (and holy) Catholic pastor, he couldn’t preach his way out of a paper bag to save his life. He was all over the place with bits of information, some pious and useful, but often seemingly just thrown together. And, kudos, for not watching your watch.
I would have no problem with slightly longer Sunday homilies, but weekday homilies (at Masses with folks who need to go or return to work) should be no more than a three-sentence comment on the Gospel, if anything. One pastor at the school where I taught would give long talks even at student Masses, where the average age was nine. My seven-graders used to escort the kindergarteners, and would get disconcerted when one of the little ones would lean over asleep on them.
They were not asleep they were resting with the Lord , I have done that myself , but someone will awaken me because of my snoring, good post.
Our unhealthy, materialistic, abnormally “rushed,” neurotic society must change. In some places, weekday Masses are carefully scheduled, so that priests and parishioners have plenty of time to properly worship God– not in a rushed, modern, neurotic situation. Worship of God, prayer, and reception of Holy Communion– and sometimes, even Confession before Mass– is the most important thing in your day. Some churches have Rosary recitations before Mass, and some offer Eucharistic Adoration on certain days, after Mass. Good sermons help you live a good life, close to Christ. They should be offered freely by good priests, and appreciated– not criticized. God can never be rushed, and conveniently shoved into a tiny corner of one’s day. If it is hard to schedule daily Mass at times for everyone’s needs, some churches may offer daily Mass on certain weekdays at different times, to help bring people to daily Mass. Parish councils can work with priests to schedule some weekday Masses, for everyone’s needs. A noon or 5:15pm weekday Mass, may work better for many people, than a Mass early in the morning, before the workday begins. Or a 7pm Mass on certain days might work, too.
Oh, how adorable, to see those little ones fall asleep on the older kids’ shoulders, at the school Masses! What a wonderful job!
Annon99: There isn’t much information about the length of Padre Pio’s homolies. One of his most famous quotes: “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without the Holy Mass.”
I took my grandkids to see “Dear Santa” the movie. It was about a kid becoming friends with satan. I was horrified. It was filthy and crude. I thought it would be a cute family kids movie for the holiday. What is happening to our state and country. Hollywood made this movie.
Interestingly, the priest at my Mass this morning warned parents not to take their kids to see that movie. He said it’s an invitation to demonic possession. You might want to get your grandchildren an exorcism. Maybe you too, just to be safe. I’m glad the priest warned everyone about it in his homily. I would have missed that nugget if all the priest talked about was John the Baptist.
I signed a mothers’ group’s petition against that horrible, Satanic film, “Dear Santa,” when it came out. Shame on the people who were allowed to make such a horrible thing, and promote it at Christmas time! All for filthy money!
Homilies? How about just about the whole Mass needs to be celebrated better. The general level of quality at parishes for Sunday Mass is awful. The pope thinks homilies are the problem? LOL
I saw a priest use puppets during a homily for kids. It was really effective in holding their attention.
Whose attention? The kids – or the puppets?
The Chaplain of the Carmelite Monastery where I attend Sunday Mass, reads from books or articles for no less than 40 minutes. Seems a bit excessive to me. Then again, that is what the Sisters desire and I am only a guest. I spend the time praying the Rosary.
That’s a liturgical abuse. The homily is not a classroom catechetical session. Those Carmelites, if that’s what they really want at Mass, seem to have misplaced priorities and a flawed understanding of the Mass. Maybe they want it because it keeps them out of their cells for that much longer during the day. I sense spiritual turpitude. Where is this place?
Relative to Francis himself, I wouldn’t complain if he took his sermons down to 1 minute or, preferably, less.
I still remember a sermon given in the 70s during much upheaval between whites and Blacks in the city.
The priest went to the pulpit and looked at the congregation for what seemed like minutes.
Then he said “Christ told us to love one another. Well?”
Then he sat down.
He waited another five minutes before he continued mass.
Was it because of busing? Because busing was wrong. Stay in your own neighborhood. I’d be mad too if my kid were bused out of district to a poor school to meet some liberal left winger’s “integration” quota. Thank God that practice was overturned by constitutional amendment. That was back when California voters had sense.
Giving a dumb one-liner fake homily like that was stupid of that priest. Loving one another doesn’t require that I sit quietly while my kid is bused out of district to an inferior school. Probably was a fake social justice priest.
You can’t solve nitty gritty problems with vague appeals to love one another.
I am sure that was one of the best sermons ever given. I wonder how many people in the congregation went out after mass and “mended fences” before they went to Communion. A friend told me during that time, “Turn off the television and think of all the good things black people have done for you.” I told another friend something similar.
I like the new altar setting in the Notre Dame Cathedral in France. All the angels are sculpted from what looks like black onyx and the Pieta is of white marble, beautifully contrasted and says to me that holiness comes in all colors.
It’s not hate. There’s plenty of willingness to love. What there’s unwillingness about is capitulating to uppity people who chant, “No justice, no peace” and think that being a POC gives them special privileges or rights.
Daniel Penny was acquitted in a racially charged case. Hooray! The jury reached the right decision. Just because the person who died is POC doesn’t mean there was a crime.
Obama made America more racist. We were healed. Then the divider in chief caused racial tension for political gain.
Looking further at the restorations in Notre Dame in France, I do not like the modern altar in front of the pieta setting. That was not shown in the first video I saw. The first video just pictured the Pieta, the golden cross and the sculptured angels, some of which I now see are black and some white, which is fine. Sadly the high altar was NOT kept. Some do not like the new lightning, but I like it if it can be dimmed at certain times.
Today, Sunday, one of the foreign priests who offered Mass, mentioned in his homily, how he got a case of culture shock when he first came to the U.S. He said that he knew of many other priests from various countries, and friends and family members too, who could not last long in America, due to painful culture shock. So they all ended up going home. But he said that he stuck it out, and eventually adjusted to American life. He is elderly, like me. I thought to myself, of how I got a terrible cae of culture shock, when the evil hippie revolution and Death Culture began, in the 1960s– and never ended. I wonder how many suffering Americans also have on-going culture shock– and badly need to “go home” to a great America, a land of respect for God, Christian Morality, and traditional (man-wonan) marriage and family, with good values, and a good way of life? No crime, good, safe neighborhoods, good, safe, traditional schools, with good discipline and respect, and good neighbors, in all neighborhoods, everywhere. When I was growing up, we never had to lock our doors. The town had a zero crime rate, every year. Everyone knew nearly everyone else, in every neighborhood. Kids were safe, playing outdoors, running around, doing lots of wonderful things– always watched, by the neighbors, who kept an eye out, for everyone. And everyone was home. Wives and mothers were highly-respected, in the family home. Husbands and fathers were much-respected, as men. Life was much slower, more relaxed. Those in authority roles– parents, teachers, clergy, police, civic leaders, boys who joined the military, etc. were all looked up to, liked, and respected. A much nicer America! I have always hoped and prayed to “return home” to this much nicer America, the one that our forefathers truly wished to give us. (No evils, no crime, racism, cruelty, or immorality.) With liberty and justice for all, and all working hard, in a “melting pot” of good people, good immigrants, with good values, to make a good country. Lots of time for everything— including time for church, and a good sermon.
I recall a few sermons by fiery, anti-war priests, during the Vietnam War, in the 1960s. I didn’t like a priest getting too loud in his sermons, about the Vietnam War, or anything else — but it was soon forgotten. The priest had the right to preach on whatever he felt necessary, and for a reasonable length of time, whatever it may be. Everyone respected the priests in those days, regardless. No such thing as “cancel culture.” That is why I was so amazed that some of Fr. James Altman’s parishioners, and his bishop, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, just couldn’t seem to tolerate a good, decent, faithful Catholic priest who condemned immorality and the immoral Democrat Party, and got loud in his sermons at times. So what? He has the right to his pulpit.
And he has something worthwhile to say. The worst I have sat through, in my long life, is stupid, immoral priests who tried to defend gay unions as “loving, ” or defend a couple’s “right” to practice birth control, against Catholic teaching, after “Humanae Vitae” was published in the summer of 1968. Or telling people, after Vatican II– that “situation ethics” and moral relativism is now the order of the day, and we have to “get with the times.” And that a woman has the “right to choose” to abort her baby. Plus, lots of crazy liturgical abuses, after Vatican II. I recall one time, long ago, sitting near the front of the church, next to a group of nice Chinese ladies, at a Mass once, at Old St. Mary’s Church in SF, and the wayward Paulist Fathers announced that they would now have a liturgical dance, instead of the sermon. The skimpy-clad male and female dancers suddenly came out, performed weird, blasphemous liturgical dancing all around the altar, and the poor Chinese ladies– and I– all were so horribly shocked at the blasphemy, we covered our eyes with our hands, and put our heads down in our laps. Several of the nice Chinese ladies were in tears. Yet none of these bad priests, in any of these horrible situations, at any Mass, ever got fired and thrown out of their jobs, like Fr. Altman. How come Jesuit Fr. James Martin isn’t fired, thrown out of his job, excommunicated, and his books censored? Or that horrible, ex-Jesuit, Fr. Marco Rupnik (“Rapenik”)? How long are Fr. “Rapenik’s” sermons? And does the Pope “approve?”
I would much prefer a long and good sermon, by a good, orthodox priest, to blasphemous liturgical abuses, such as liturgical dances by young men and women, with barely any clothes on. And ugly, modern, sacrilegious “church” music to go with it. Perhaps the Pope is not really aware of what real problems may exist, with the Mass, in churches of today. The length of a homily is trivial– a waste of the Pope’s time.
I hear the Paulists are dern near dead. Nobody joining up. The passage of time and the grim reaper are performing a service to the Church.
Here is a link to a 1946 video of 68 priests being ordained at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:
https://youtu.be/5DNtKSXPZUM?si=g8Hkay6hw5VsMbIP
And here is a link to a 1948 Christmas Midnight Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral:
https://youtu.be/yujluW3RApI?si=PzrBzrbNBxinR4jF
Well, famous Paulist Father, Ellwood “Bud” Kieser– I used to enjoy your TV show, “Insight,” in the 1960s! And loved your excellent, tragic film, “Romero.” But your religious order has been collapsing, for many decades, since Vatican II, due to worldly, secular Modernism, and rejection of the Catholic Faith, by many dissident Paulist priests. Your religious order is nearly dead. I will never forget, once, another post-Conciliar, horrific experience at one of your Paulist churches. Let’s call it “Church Abuse.” A small group of ladies– including myself– more than 40 years ago, decided to drop into one of your pretty, famous churches, to say a Rosary and light a candle, for a special need. It was during the afternoon, and the church was empty. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a Paulist priest emerged, scolded us for praying the Rosary in “his” church (he was the Pastor) and lectured us on becoming feminists, as that is what we now should be, as Catholic women. And he shooed us out of “his” church, and told us never to return, with our Rosaries. We were all in shock. And never returned. No wonder your Godless, modernist religious order is dying.
For those who may not know– the dissident, wayward Paulist priests are just like the dissident, wayward Jesuits, such as LGBT-promoter, Jesuit Fr. James Martin. However, there are some good Jesuits and some good Paulists, too. Because there are so many in their religious orders today, who are dissident, against Catholic teachings on important issues, their religious orders have severely dwindled in numbers, in the post-Conciliar era– and may die out, eventually.
Pope Francis just put baby Jesus in a Palestinian PLO terrorist scarf in his nativity scene at the Vatican.
scarf: Palestinian Artists Create Nativity Scene for the Vatican. This is from artnet news: Pope Francis unveiled the work, which features traditional olive wood carving and a Palestinian keffiyeh. This nativity scene was gifted by the Palestinian Higher Committee of Churches Affairs, as part of Bethlehem 2024 during its inauguration in the Paul VI Hall. It was created by Palestinian artists from Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. The baby Jesus’s cradle is draped in traditional Palestinian Keffiyeh, with other elements produced by local craftpeople according to age-old traditions.
Would you accept a similar explanation if instead of a terrorist scarf Jesus was draped in a rainbow flag? No, I think you’d decry that just as you should decry this. It’s no big thing to say, “take that blanket out of the scene.” That should be done. Don’t make the manger scene political. You also have no grounds for complaining about manger scenes that feature two Josephs or two Marys, or that place the holy family in a border cage.
While Palestinian, what makes you think it’s a PLO scarf?
Most Palestinians are not terrorists. And, terrorism is a crime against humanity, whether it’s Hamas or any other organization or government that engages in such.
scarf, I just checked with a Palestinian deacon friend of mine. That scarf is a traditional scarf from Palestine and Jordan (and comes in various colors, black and red apparently most common). My deacon friend has a couple of them. They are not from the PLO, Hamas or any other terrorist organization. I urge you to be careful (and truthful) about what you post publicly about others, especially about our bishops, including the pope. Truth matters.
It depends on the priest and the people in the congregation. I used to go to a later mass on Sundays as it was more relaxed, and the priest, who was one of the older Jesuits who had taught history, went into great detail about the historical background of the content of his sermon. I really enjoyed listening to him and learned a great deal about the Church and saints from his teachings. If I was tired that day, I took a nap before going to church so I would drive safely and be fully attentive. He was dearly loved by faithful Catholics in that area.
May he, and all the Faithful Departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
the manger scene: Nowhere in my post do I say I agree or disagree with the scarf as you call it. Personally I saw it as a blanket in the Manger made by Palestinian artists. As a former newsman when I was younger my curiosity was peaked by a post by scarf. Can I assume that scarf and the manger scene are one and the same poster? I just figured that California Catholic Daily News readers would be interested in finding out about this story so I did a little research. Read the article and photo at: news.artnet.com. In the future don’t judge until you know all the facts.
Bless you, Restrainer! I appreciate your posts. I saw the news story and photo of the Palestinian Nativity in Pope St. Paul VI Hall, with Pope Francis admiring it in his wheelchair. The keffiyeh, unfortunately, definitely stands out, and dominates the Nativity scene– it is huge- it covers the whole manger, and the Child Jesus lays on it. The Nativity, in my opinion, is not sensitive, artful, nor beautiful, nor religious, nor holy. It does not inspire deep religious feelings of love and adoration of the Christ Child. It speaks too loudly of the current political tragedy of the suffering Palestinian children– harmed by the current Hamas-initiated violent war with Israel. It neglects the beautiful, awe-inspiring Biblical story of the holy birth of the Christ Child, born to save the world from sin — including the sins of violence and war. I think the Pope should place this Nativity he commissioned in his bedroom, where he alone can enjoy it. I think he owes it to the Catholic Church he leads, to commission an outstanding, deeply sensitive, devout Catholic religious artist, to create a beautiful, holy, awe-inspiring, Catholic Nativity, for all to see, and be moved to love and adore the Christ Child, as we celebrate His holy birth.
Restrainer: Here’s the website where I found this story. https://news.artnet.com
Reply to Restrainer: Bless you too for your thoughtful explanation to this story. I too agree with you that this war against Israel was initiated by Hamas. Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas.
Restrainer– Bless you, Restrainer! Here is the Artnet news story, with a shocking close-up photo of the Baby Jesus lying on the keffiyeh-draped manger:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/palestinian-artists-nativity-scene-vatican-2583106
If you scroll way down to the end of the news story, you can see Pope Francis sitting in his wheelchair, admiring the Palestinian Nativity scene. And you can see how huge– much bigger than lifesize– the Nativity actually is. Tragic. Not beautiful nor inspiring, in my opinion. A political statement for the Pope, not a religious artwork for religious people of the Catholic Faith, to commemorate the holy birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, at Christmas. Useless for a Catholic church or cathedral.That is how I see it. I well remember, many Christmases as a child, when the Catholic church, all Protestant churches, and a Christian-infused society, celebrated Christmas with awe-inspiring, very beautiful, holy Nativities and related artwork, and Christmas music and treats, all over town. And Santa and his reindeer, in the snow! Thrilling! Many homes, businesses, civic buildings, and all the churches were totally full of Christmas decor, inside and out. I remember well, my breathless, heart-stopping, heavenly, blissful thrills of love, joy and adoration, for a very holy, beautiful, serene Madonna and Child statue of my kindergarten teacher, a work of art. I was in heaven, sitting close to it, learning to sing all three verses of “Silent Night” in her class. I recall, at first, trying to get the words right, and understand their meanings. I especially was awestruck with blissful thrills of love and joy, learning to sing the last verse–
“Silent night, holy night
Son of God loves pure Light
Radiant beams from Thy holy Face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth Jesus Lord at Thy birth”
Oh, how heart-stoppingly beautiful and angelic, the holy Christ Child looked, when He was born on earth! And His Most Blessed Mother was holy, serene and beautiful, beyond anything in this world! Now, that is the reaction that holy, religious artwork should convey to us, at Christmas.
Deacon Craig Anderson: Thank you for your post and getting your information on the scarf from reputable source.
It is not just the issue of the Hamas and PLO terrorist groups with traditional Palestinian keffiyehs. What does it have to do with Christianity, and the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth? In the Bible, it says that after Jesus was born, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. We are Catholics, celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas. Most Catholics, worldwide, have never seen a keffiyeh in a Nativity scene. Many would never even have heard of a Palestinian keffiyeh. And Christ was not a Palestinian, and neither were Mary and Joseph.
So– is this new idea really appropriate, for use in Catholic churches?
Oh– I see that many other people had the same reaction as myself, to the strange Palestinian Nativity— unBiblical, and a misrepresentation of the birth of Christ. Jesus, Mary and Joseph were certainly not Palestinians. They were Jewish, of course– descended from the royal
Jewish line of King David.
And Jesus Christ was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. Had nothing to do with Palestinians.
In my comment of Dec. 11 at 10:36pm, the title had a misprint. It should read, “Mistaken “keffiyeh” Nativity removed! Great!” So glad about this. I should have checked my daily emails earlier, to find this out.
Responding to a reply to me,
Firstly, I’m simply stating that that scarf is not tied to terrorism, as one reader claimed.
Secondly, for most of our history, the Church didn’t have manger scenes. That’s a medieval development. Most Catholics, in the history of our Church, never saw a Nativity scene, so, of course, they’ve never seen one like that. (Just because some haven’t seen something doesn’t make it wrong.)
Many of our traditions have things from the culture of the time; for example, the Last Supper portrayed at a modern-like table, not the ways Jews would’ve eaten 2,000 years ago. Another is the Holy Family portrayed as only three. The Church does not teach that the Holy Family is only those three. An ancient (and acceptable) tradition is that Joseph was a widower and had children from his first marriage. Saint Joseph didn’t get rid of those children, who would be Jesus’ step-brothers and step-sisters. That’s why Eastern Catholics celebrate Saint James, the brother of God and first bishop of Jerusalem.
Is Our Lady’s appearance at Guadalupe “un-Biblical” and objectionable because she wears local garb of the time?
I am not saying that choice of scarf was the best. But, let’s be honest, it’s not some kind of a terrorist scarf.
The Church has much more serious issues to deal with than this choice of a scarf.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Mistaken…(etc): The headline in the National Post: Keffiyeh-clad cradle in Vatican nativity scene removed, return on Christmas Eve uncertain
Victory!
Oh, an “uncertain return on Christmas Eve?” I only saw that the “keffiyeh” Nativity was removed, in news stories on “Crux,” “The Catholic Herald,” etc. etc. There might be quite an angry controversy at the Vatican, if this Nativiy returns on Christmas Eve. Not a good idea, at Christmas. I think the Pope should just quietly keep it for himself, along with his “Pachamama” idol dolls, and his new, offensive “Mexican Mayan Mass” — what an insult to devout Mexican Catholics, and to St. Juan Diego, a fine, indigenous Mexican Catholic Saint, and to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose Feast is today, Dec. 12th!
I looked today at the daily Vatican email, sent from their website, and scoured their website– but could find no new information on the Palestinian Nativity, since its removal. It seems to have disappeared.
Reply to Restrainer: I too looked at Vatican News Service and could find no mention of this story. The only story I found was about the Pope meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. However Euronews in a short video headline says, Mystery surrounds removal of Keffiyeh-cradled Jesus in Vatican display.
Reply to Restrainer: Further to my comment from Artnet News: In an emailed statement from the Holy See Press Office that the figure of Jesus has been removed as part of Catholic nativity tradition, in which the baby is added on Christmas Eve night to mark the moment of Jesus’s birth. The Spokesman also adds, but they did not reply as to whether the keffiyeh will still be included in the presentation.