A Wedding Homily

Weeding season is upon us. This is a homily I preached recently.

As I gaze around the church I see many familiar faces, and I must say that you have all scrubbed up very well. The hat shops of Birstall and Kingston have obviously done a roaring trade. One of the benefits of being a friar is that I don’t have to worry about what to wear, as the attire is pretty much standard issue. But the very fact that we have dressed up in our finery tells us that what will take place today is of great importance, so for a few moments I will be serious, for what we witness, and the sacrament that Louis and Ann celebrate here today is of great importance and significance to us all.

If I were to ask each one of you ‘Why are you here?’ I am sure that I will hear some humorous answers. Maybe you wanted to see what Louis would look like without a frisby and in a suit, or just how beautiful Ann would be in her dress. It could be the promise of a free meal. Maybe you are all waiting for the best man’s long anticipated speech; I know that Louis is particularly looking forward to that nougat of entertainment. But if we were to allow ourselves an honest answer the simple response would be love. We are here because love has called each one of us here. Each one of us in this room has a connection with Louis and Ann that responds to the love that they proclaim today. In some way we have been touched by Louis or Ann and our presence here today is to affirm them in their love for one another. We are also to learn something more of God as we glimpse him in the love that is proclaimed today. We are not merely spectators here, but participants in this great day for the Church and for society as a whole. We have a role to play, and that is in our prayer and support of Louis and Ann. For those of you who are married use this liturgy as an opportunity to renew your own commitment to your spouse. For those of us who are unmarried let us pray in this celebration that we will always be open to the invitation to love and be loved.

Marriage is a vocation, a call within the Church. And like all calls it gives a new dimension to what seems ordinary and transforms the ordinary into something precious and unique. God has called Louis and Ann to life through the love shared by their respective parents and families. He has called them to life in the love they have found in one another. He has called us to life by our witnessing this sacrament and our involvement in the lives of Louis and Ann. The Love that they proclaim is a message of hope for the whole church.

John in his Gospel gives us an insight into love that is rooted in God. It echo’s the theme of the wonderful poetry of the Song of Songs. Love, authentic love has to be shared. It cannot be silent or constrained. Love yearns to speak, and as Love is spoken its word resounds and fills empty spaces. Love is about life, the fullness of life, human beings fully alive. Love gives glory to God. This is why our presence here in this church is necessary; we are to hear what love has to say. We are called here to be attentive to our longings and to place them in the embrace of God. We are commanded to love so that we may truly reflect the loving community that is God. Love rooted in God is always fruitful. It generates life and hope. The sacrament that Ann and Loius celebrate here today within the context of the Eucharist invites us into the embrace of God. Ann and Louis today become a tangible sign of the Love that God has for each and every one of us.

Sometimes I feel that we have lost much of our understanding about love because we have become over familiar with the word. See you later love, love you, Ta love. We say I love chips and I love people with the same word and often the same enthusiasm. Our sense of language has become impoverished because of the way our language has developed. Society seems to be looking for the fleeting experience of love but without the responsibility of relationship. People see commitment as something that is negative rather than a choice for life. Today we gaze at love and see in it something of great beauty, a pearl of great price. Something for which we would give away all that we own.
The following words from Captain Correlli’s mandolin capture

something of this experience

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because that is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion … that is just being “in love”, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two

I have known Louis and Ann for about 4 or 5 years. They are people of great faith in God and in one another. Their journey to this day has been considered and prayerful, and a great example to those who know them. At the heart of their relationship is a deep love of God and his Church. This can tell us something of the sacrament that we witness and celebrate today. First love is gift. It is the acceptance of another and the acceptance of ourselves. I guess that it is much easier to live who we are when someone loves us without preconditions. Yes, love will change us, but this can never be the basis on which love is shared. Love is about give and take, with more giving than taking. Secondly, love is an encounter with God. There is a beautiful line in the musical ‘Les Miserables’, when the principle character, Jean Valjean, is looking back over his life and not liking what he sees, then in a moment of grace he joyously proclaims that ‘to love another person is to see the face of God.’ And in singing this line he realises how blessed his life has been. I find that awesome. At the heart of our understanding of marriage is this sense of encountering God. In this sacrament God is communicated through the love that Louis and Ann have for one another. For each other they will be the face of God. And for the Church they will be a sign of the enduring love that God has for his people.

So Louis and Ann, thank you. Today you have reminded us of the awesome love that God calls us to participate in and receive. Be assured of our prayer on this first day of your new life together. Never forget the graces that God bestows on each of you today, and draw strength from these. Never forget the love that surrounds you today. You belong to a community of people that we call Church, and we rejoice and thank God for what the Lord has called you to.

Celebrating lives

One of the joys of the ordained ministry is being able to celebrate with family and friends the important moments of their lives. The last weekend saw me presiding at the wedding of friends in Ireland. It was a day of deep joy. I will preside at the wedding of another couple next weekend. Agsain, I know it will be a graced day (you only have to know them to realise that!)

When we are able to support those we love in the joy's of life, we also are called to be with them in those difficult moments, when a loved one dies and there seems no reason.

I find these word a comfort, when I can find none.

Always Ready ~ Sr Marie Paula.

There is no time to stop and prepare for the journey of death, even if we could. God demands the last day’s labour as well as the first.

He seems to Say: ‘Never mind death. I will take care of that. It is for you to take care of life.’

Just in the right time the hand will be laid on our shoulder, the word whispered in our ear. We must leave the sewing undone, the floor unswept, the plough in the furrow, the story untold, the picture unfinished, the song unsung. We may not, perchance, even kiss our loved ones goodbye.

But let us strive to live, that we may say ‘Yes, Lord, I am ready, always ready; for I need no money for luggage on this journey.

My hand is in thine like a trusting child. I am glad to be nearer to thee, Father, to feel more closely the warmth of thy breast. What I have missed and failed in, thou knowest; my poor feeble, futile efforts to serve thee, thou knowest also.’

There is neither prop nor stay, but in perfect trust it is all the cloak or covering I need. I have lived on the river’s brink all my life, now I am ready to cross with the great pilot.

I thought I knew life here. Oh no! It was an illusion. Now I am to live indeed