A couple discussions in recent weeks have reminded me of one of my pet peeves in the area of liturgy: namely, the "lay homily."

Now, I should clarify that I have no problem whatsoever with the Church's teaching that all of us, according to our state in life, are called to preach. Hey, I do it here at this blog. Through our Baptism, we are all called to be "prophets" or heralds of God's Word to others. 

And we all have different gifts. Some people are more eloquent, convincing, and "dynamic" as speakers than others. Some lay people have more better oratorial gifts than some priests. No argument there.

Still, the Church very clearly forbids the giving of homilies by lay people (see below). Now, most places that have lay people giving the homily don't call it that. Rather, they call it something else, like a "Gospel reflection." Yet, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and even takes the place of a duck, then for all intents and purposes, it's a duck.

Okay, you might say, the Church is pretty strict about lay homilies, and yes, some dioceses and parishes play a little fast and loose with the rules. But what's the big deal? More...