THE letter, “Time to cap homily length” (CL 21/3/10), by an anonymous writer is an out and out jeremiad.
The writer in his or her carping goes on to expand on the antics of those around, such as at least two people walked, others rolled their eyes or looked at watches, because nearly 25 minutes had elapsed.
It reminds me of many years ago, a parishioner I knew said he especially went to a certain suburban Mass renowned for its so-called “quickie” Mass.
At the time I thought how selfish, begrudging time spent in the house of God.
Worse still, on this occasion on page 6 of the same Catholic Leader, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic (secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops) gives countenance to the fault-finder writer when he asserts, rather outrageously, that homilies should be no longer than eight minutes (which I thought was the limit for Prep school children), the average attention span for us weak humans.
It says a lot about how the clock controls every minute of our lives. (Historically personalised clocks are relatively new to daily lives.) Subjectively, both proponents are parsimonious, time-wise.
The Queen Mother, on occasion of reminiscing, once said that as a young lady embarking on her public life, she was given some advice by a dowager. She said, “If you’re ever in a situation, or in the company of certain, or different people, and you find it boring, always remember one thing, the fault lies with you.”
Also, “boring” is usually a word only found in the dictionary of fools.
On other aspects of life, as Confucius said, “There is beauty in everything, but not everyone can see it.”
PJ KELLY
Brassall, Qld
