*homily*

n.; pl. Homilies [ LL. homilia, Gr. &unr_; communion, assembly, converse, sermon, fr. &unr_; an assembly, fr. &unr_; same; cf. &unr_; together, and &unr_; crowd, cf. &unr_; to press: cf. F. homélie. See Same. ] 1. A discourse or sermon read or pronounced to an audience; a serious discourse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A serious or tedious exhortation in private on some moral point, or on the conduct of life. [ 1913 Webster ]

As I have heard my father
Deal out in his long homilies. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Book of Homilies. A collection of authorized, printed sermons, to be read by ministers in churches, esp. one issued in the time of Edward VI., and a second, issued in the reign of Elizabeth; -- both books being certified to contain a “godly and wholesome doctrine.” [ 1913 Webster ]