How to Use homily in a Sentence

homily

noun
  • The priest gave a brief homily on forgiveness.
  • We had to listen to another one of his homilies about the value of public service.
  • There’s another twist here, maybe not so much an irony as a homily.
    — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2018
  • Yet, one of the most poignant moments came during the wedding homily.
    — Candice Benbow, Glamour, 19 May 2018
  • Then the priest stepped down from the altar to give his homily, in Portuguese.
    — Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2020
  • But, instead of giving the crowd a homily to hold, Deion shifted gears.
    — Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Fortunes were made, books were sold by the ton, and homilies were delivered.
    — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 20 Oct. 2017
  • In someone else's hands, such an observation might feel like an off-the-shelf homily.
    — Kerry Reid, chicagotribune.com, 19 May 2017
  • No lectures, no homilies, no empty words.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The musical strips out all the grit, replacing it with puerile moral homilies.
    — Tirdad Derakhshani, Philly.com, 4 Oct. 2017
  • In his homily, the pope spoke of the significance of the ashes and the act of receiving them.
    — Rachel Wolf, Fox News, 5 Mar. 2025
  • An inspirational pop song will play just before something goes wrong, and a homily will be followed by a rude joke.
    — Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, 7 Mar. 2018
  • In his homily, the bishop compliments the lay group on all their hard work, but also signals how steep the climb may still be ahead of them.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 9 Oct. 2019
  • In his homily, Francis said Easter offers a message of hope and new starts.
    — Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 3 Apr. 2021
  • In his homily, Francis sought to spur Catholics to be renewed by Easter.
    — Frances D'emilio, ajc, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Last week, the pontiff skipped his homily during Palm Sunday Mass.
    — Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2024
  • Mrs Merkel, for all her homilies about the state living within its means, is unlikely to resist.
    — The Economist, 14 Nov. 2019
  • Richard Samide, who celebrated the Mass, said during his homily.
    — Jack Rooney, Cincinnati.com, 3 Jan. 2020
  • Santos, delivering his homily in Spanish, asked for prayers for peace, love, and for God.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2019
  • Princess Beatrice read a passage from the book, and it was mentioned in the Dean of Windsor’s homily.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2018
  • In his homily, Pope Leo at his inaugural mass, called for peace in Ukraine and of course Gaza as well.
    — Nbc News, NBC news, 18 May 2025
  • During his homily, Francis said Lent was a time to take stock and rediscover a path to God.
    — Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 17 Feb. 2021
  • Except that Catholic canon law requires an ordained deacon or priest to say the homily at Mass, and women can be neither.
    — Kate Brady, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2023
  • An announcer on Vatican Radio then said the pope had decided to not read the homily.
    — Philip Pullella, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
  • On Sunday, Symeonides delivered the homily and talked with parishioners about their former priest.
    — Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2018
  • Along with a sense of accomplishment, Schultz said his 99 triathlons have provided him with more than a few subjects for homilies.
    — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 11 July 2018
  • Leo opened his homily with a few words in English addressing the cardinals and delivered the rest in Italian.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 9 May 2025
  • In his homilies, or sermons, over the years, Curlin spoke often about his close friendship with Mother Teresa.
    — Tim Funk, charlotteobserver, 24 Dec. 2017
  • Asare-Dankwah officiated the funeral and, during his homily, made remarks about the plaintiff, who hadn’t seen the priest in more than a decade, the suit claims.
    — Ramon Antonio Vargas | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 27 Jan. 2021
  • In his fiery homilies, the Monsignor seems to target one new congregation member per week, pushing for the victory of a walkout.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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