This morning, I saw a tweet about a presentation by Pope Francis where he expounded on the importance of silence and short sermons. I read the full address by the pope, and then I did a bit of searching, just to make sure it had actually happened. It's easy enough to create a fake document after all. But I found some newspaper sources which corroborated the tweet and the linked document. The news sources focused on the pope's suggestion that lay leadership have more of a part in worship planning or on the request for more silence.
Pope Francis says that the space of quiet should come before the worship service starts: "And finally, I urge you to cultivate silence. In this age, we talk, we talk… Silence. Especially before the celebrations – a moment that is at times taken for a social gathering. We talk: 'Ah, how are you? Is everything going well? Why not?'. Silence helps the assembly and concelebrants to concentrate on what is to be done. Often sacristies are noisy before and after celebrations, but silence opens and prepares for the mystery: it is silene [sic] that enables you to prepare for the mystery, it permits its assimilation, and lets the echo of the Word that is listened to resound. Fraternity is beautiful; greeting one another is beautiful, but it is the encounter with Jesus that gives meaning to our gathering, to our coming together. We must rediscover and cherish silence!"
I don't disagree; I have often felt that worship was too noisy, but I've often been talking about the overamplification of the instruments. From an access angle, I understand why we need to use sound systems for human voices, but it's hard for me to see why we need to amplify instruments that were designed to be played acoustically.
What I found even more interesting was what Pope Francis had to say about sermons, which he calls the homily: "And here I will say something that is linked to silence, but for priests. Please, the homilies: they are a disaster. At times I hear someone: 'Yes, I went to Mass in that parish… yes, a good lesson of philosophy, forty, forty-five minutes… Eight, ten, no more! And always a thought, a sentiment and an image. Let people take something home with them. In Evangelii Gaudium I wanted to emphasize this. And I said it many times, because it is something that we end up not understanding: the homily is not a conference, it is a sacramental."
Ten minutes max for the sermon--it's a compelling idea. For better or worse, most people can't focus for more than 5-10 minutes, at least not in the way we usually present the sermon: the pastor at the podium talking and talking and talking and talking.
I also like the suggestion to present a sentiment and an image. Again, it's not a new idea. Anyone who has ever taught effective essay writing will see a familiar approach, the theoretical idea grounded with specific examples which ultimately prove/support the thesis.
Pope Francis also refers to awe, to the sense that the whole worship service should inspire. I have found it's easier to inspire/feel a sense of awe with a shorter sermon. Longer times of silence, however, make me feel increasingly uneasy. But perhaps that's because periods of silence inserted into a worship service are so very unfamiliar to me. Even when I'm at a monastery, a place where I expect to have more silence than in most aspects of my life, silence in the worship service makes me anxious.
I don't have a pithy way to conclude; I'm not a priest who will need to decide to pay attention to the exhortations of my pope or not. But I did want to capture these ideas--the sermon is not an academic presentation ("a conference"), and we need more silence, not less, on the road to awe.
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