Fr Paddy O’Kane.
A well known Derry priest says he has cut his sermons from the pulpit down to five minutes in a bid to hold his congregation’s attention.
Fr Paddy O’Kane explained that he got the idea while on holiday in Texas during a recent sabbatical where he went to Mass at various local churches which gave him a “different perspective of the liturgy”.
He said he had found the “short, sharp” sermons much more interesting than the longer ones and “very uplifting”.
Speaking today on the popular BBC Radio Foyle’s Mark Patterson show, Fr O’Kane said: “I have come to the conclusion, that many of us priests, including myself, are under the illusion that our homilies are more interesting than they really are,”
He spoke of a “wise old priest” who once told him: “If you cannot strike oil in the first five minutes, better stop drilling.”
Added Fr O’Kane: “Because of my Texan view-from-the-pew experience, I made a deal with the people here last weekend, namely approximately five minute homilies from now on.”
But or one of his congregation even five minutes was too long.
The priest said and he heard a voice pipe up: “Father, could you not make that four?”
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