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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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

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“In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors—all the ancient priests, bishops and kings—all that was once the glory of England, the island of saints and the most devoted child of the See of Peter. For what have we taught, however you may qualify it with the odious name of treason, that they did not uniformly teach?”

— Father Edmund Campion (to the Anglicans about to murder him)

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