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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Downside Of Dialogue

Aurelio Porfiri · June 25, 2014

339 Fulton Sheen MAGINE THIS SCENE with me: a man, we will call him Andrea, is going to Mass. After the initial rites and the readings he waits for the homily. He hopes to receive some direction and instructions that he can consider, if not follow, in his daily life.

But suddenly the pastor starts to ask a question: “Jesus is risen from the dead: what do you think?”

“What do I think?” mumbles Andrea — “I am at Mass for this very reason.”

What is the meaning of the resurrection of Christ for your life? — I was expecting the answer from you, thinks Andrea. Strange scene? Not real? You may want to think again.

I AM SURE MANY OF US have experienced dialogued homilies, where you are asked to express an opinion on the Gospel heard. But not everything should be an occasion for a debate. In the Mass, with all our weakness and doubts, we should try to abandon ourselves to the healing Presence of Christ: at least, let us try. The homily should help to make sense of that Presence. If the priest seems to be himself trying to make sense of the Gospel, instead of instructing on the truth as received from the tradition of the church, then maybe there is something wrong. You may say that these are things that were alive in the 1960s, but not today. Not really.

An Italian example is given from the catholic news agency Corrispondenza Romana. Thanks to a new report from journalist Mauro Faverzani we learn that in the parish of San Carlo Borromeo in Pognano (province of Bergamo, North Italy) the Lent Season of this year has offered a big program of “Predicazione dialogata” (dialogued preaching).

Now, I believe that the preacher has the best of intentions, but the liturgical documents state that the homily should be preached only by a priest or deacon. 1 On April 9, the theme of the homily was, prophetically “Parola, liberta’ e verita’” (Word, freedom and truth). So, in the case of a debate the freedom of opinions is certainly welcomed, but in the case of the homily shouldn’t the explanation of the gospel have more importance, so as to make us come closer to the truth? We have a saying in Italy: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Maybe, especially in this case, the saying is not really wrong…



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   GIRM §66: The Homily should ordinarily be given by the Priest Celebrant himself or be entrusted by him to a concelebrating Priest, or from time to time and, if appropriate, to the Deacon, but never to a lay person.



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Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dialogue Homilies Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“In all this mediaeval religious poetry there is much that we could not use now. Many of the hymns are quite bad, many are frigid compositions containing futile tricks, puns, misinterpreted quotations of Scripture, and twisted concepts, whose only point is their twist. But there is an amazing amount of beautiful poetry that we could still use. If we are to have vernacular hymns at all, why do we not have translations of the old ones?”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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