If you’ve ever found yourself zoning out during a sermon, Pope Francis feels your pain.
This week, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church issued a gentle yet firm directive to preachers: keep your messages short otherwise you’ll lose people.
“After eight minutes, preaching gets dispersive and no one understands,” the pope remarked during his general audience at St. Peter’s Square. “Please, do not go longer than 10 minutes, ever! This is very important.”
The pope noted that some sermons could go on for 20 to 30 minutes, but only if absolutely necessary. In order for the message to be effective, it must have “one idea, one sentiment, and one invitation to action” — and the less time it takes to get that message across, the better.
But brevity isn’t just about saving time; it’s about spotlighting the Gospel.
“Priests must not preach about themselves but about the Gospel,” he said. “Not wanting to preach oneself also implies not always giving priority to pastoral initiatives promoted by us and linked to our own name, but willingly collaborating, if requested, in community initiatives or (those) entrusted to us by obedience,” he said.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Pope Francis.
