1. a religious discourse which is intended primarily for spiritual edification rather than doctrinal instruction.
▪ a tedious moralizing lecture:"she delivered her homily about the need for patience"
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin homilia, from Greek, ‘discourse, conversation’ (in ecclesiastical use, ‘sermon’), from homilos ‘crowd’.
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered exemplary forms of Christian homily. Wikipedia