HOMILY
Wedding Anniversary Mass – June 23, 2024
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I don’t know that I will ever listen to the gospel story just proclaimed and not think of its proclamation by Pope Francis when the world found itself at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in late March, 2020, just four years ago. Do you recall that moment when the Holy Father walked alone into a dark, empty, rain-slicked Saint Peter’s Square to pray and to offer an extraordinary blessing for a suffering world?
The Holy Father likened us to the disciples in the gospel, who were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm that arose while they were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples found it difficult to understand how and why Jesus could lay fast asleep in the midst of such a perilous moment in their lives. I suspect that we have all wondered the same thing, not only during the pandemic but during any number of challenging moments in our lives.
Jesus’ response to the disciples – and us: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” … In his reflections on the gospel passage on that rainy night in Rome in 2020, Pope Francis reminded the entire world, “Faith begins when we realize we are in need of salvation.” Faith begins when we are humble enough to acknowledge that we are not self-sufficient. And faith grows when we finally realize that we have nowhere else to turn but to God.
You know every bit as well as I that faith won’t magically change the reality of our lives. It won’t automatically cure our illnesses and lift our concerns. It may not even dispel all our fears. But faith enables us to live our lives with hope.
And it’s because of the power of faith in your lives, my friends – and in your marriages – that you are not only here today to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary, but to give thanks for and to implore God’s continued presence and blessing in your lives and in your families.
What we celebrate today in your marriages of 25, 50 or more years is not merely endurance and determination but the mystery of God’s love for us and how that love is revealed and lived out in your lives. Listen to how Pope Francis described that love in his exhortation on the joy and blessing of marriage and family life – Amoris laetitia – as he reflected upon Saint Paul’s great hymn to love found in his letter to the Church at Corinth. Most of us know this passage well.
This “love is experienced and nurtured in the daily lives of couples and their children,” Pope Francis noted. … “Love is patient. … Love is at the service of others. … Love is not jealous. … Love is not boastful. … Love is not rude. … Love is not irritable or resentful. … Love is generous. … Love forgives. … Love rejoices with others. … Love bears all things. … Love believes all things. … Love hopes all things. … Love endures all things. … This Christian ideal, especially in marriage,” Pope Francis shared, “is a love that never gives up.”
This description of love, for all its reminders to us of missed opportunities, provides us with a lens into the relationship of every couple committed to nurturing the bond of marriage in a permanent, faithful and fruitful manner. … It also provides you with a way of understanding the essence of your marriage and how and why it has endured and flourished for all these years.
My parents were married for 56 years when my dad passed away in 2004. To commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary, my folks participated in this anniversary mass as you do today. And then, with a priest in the family, my sister and I planned another mass and a party to commemorate their milestone anniversary.
As I began my homily during their anniversary Mass, I asked my parents if there were any words of wisdom that they wanted to share as they reflected on 50 years of marriage. First, I looked at my dad, who often got pretty emotional at times. He was already crying and couldn’t say a word. My mother rolled her eyes and said, “You know your father.” And then, without missing a beat, she spoke.
“What would I like to share about 50 years of marriage? It’s been an interesting journey. If you start with the early years of our marriage, just following World War II, while we loved each other, they were rough times. We didn’t have very much, and we worked hard to get ahead. We didn’t always agree on things. Then we were blessed with two wonderful children. And there were good times but also disappointments and setbacks. But it was never about win or lose – but forgiving, accepting, praying and working hard because we believed in marriage. And look what we have now. Look what we are able to celebrate today!” … I don’t doubt for a moment that most of you would share similar words today.
As you think about the many years of your marriage, the stories and events that are likely racing through your minds and hearts probably don’t give evidence of a fairy tale notion of an ideal relationship. … To the contrary, your stories and lives reflect hard work, struggle and pain, and a selflessness that seeks the well-being of another. … They reflect your determination to face life as it comes – with its many storms, as today’s gospel suggests – with its challenges, disappointments and fears – and the resolve to live each day with hope for the blessings and opportunities that it will bring. … Your marriage has endured not because your years together have been perfect, but because you have come to see your marriage as part of something much bigger than yourselves – as part of the mystery of God’s love woven into creation – embraced in your lives – and lived through God’s grace and mercy.
Somebody once said, “All marriages are happy. It’s the living together afterwards that causes all the trouble.” … A better way of expressing such sentiments would be to say that in your relationship as husband and wife, you have found a fertile environment for living your faith and finding meaning and fulfillment in your lives together. … And therein, we find the key to understanding the message of Jesus in this afternoon’s gospel. Simply put, Jesus invites you – and all of us – to trust that through his presence in our lives, despite the storms and challenges that will inevitably make their way into our world, we will come to know peace in our hearts and the assurance of God’s enduring love that has the power to sustain us and give us hope, come what may.
My friends, what a blessing you celebrate this day! … Now do me a favor. … Look at the person sitting next to you. … Look into his eyes – her eyes. For all that is a part of this exchange and this moment, realize just how sacred your relationship is. … For all that you have been through, realize how blessed you are to have each other. … For as familiar as those eyes are, see through them to discover the face of God abiding within the heart of the one you love. … And give thanks. … Amen.