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"You may now kiss the bride."
Dearly Beloved,
As we gather on this historical day for Joey and Rachel, we give thanks to Almighty God and to His Most Holy Mother, after whom this church, Our Lady of Peace, is named. We consecrate this homily and this moment to the triumph of her Immaculate Heart, the heart which the Bible says was pierced with a sword.
We also say... (full text continued below after pictures or click on audio below)
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Wedding Sermon for Rachel & Joey
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[Note: I was happy to return to my second boyhood parish where I served as an altar boy and parish admin assistant in high school and college. The saintly Father John J. Sweeny was pastor.]
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HOMILY #85
WEDDING SERMON FOR RACHEL & JOEY
Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church
Santa Clara, CA, USA
Feb. 4, 2017, 12pm
Dearly Beloved,
As we gather on this historical day for Joey and
Rachel, we give thanks to Almighty God and to His Most Holy Mother, after whom
this church, Our Lady of Peace, is named. We consecrate this homily and this moment to
the triumph of her Immaculate Heart, the heart which the Bible says was
pierced with a sword.
We also say thank you to the pastor, Fr. Brian, and to
our priest celebrant, Fr. Joseph, as well, for bringing us the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. We say thank you for granting
me delegation to receive the exchange of vows and for allowing me to preach the
Word of God today and explain the teachings of the holy Catholic Church on
marriage and family.
I
Well, after much preparation, dear brothers and
sisters in Christ, we are here. And most
especially, the bride and groom are here.
(And they are still here!)
I say this because your consent before the
Church, your “yes” to live according to God’s plan for marriage and family,
your “I do” in a few minutes, is the
form of the marriage and makes marriage
what it is.
You two have made this act out of your own free will. The options and choices were placed before
you. You
did not have to do this, but you did.
Joey, you said, “I don’t want to lose Rachel. I love her.”
Or perhaps more properly speaking, you replied to God’s invitation.
It is truly a
calling today to be married, given all the attacks on marriage and family in
the lies of our culture, a Culture of Death that is the fruit of especially the
Sexual Revolution which was at its peak 50 years ago. We see these today in efforts to re-define
marriage into something which it is not.
But the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is a gift and grace of God to you. This sacrament, which is one of the seven signs or mysteries instituted by Our Lord Jesus
Christ, will give you graces to help you fight against today’s Culture of
Death.
II
God (Not the State) Instituted Marriage
As a Natural Institution Between a Man & Woman...
And because of
these attacks on God’s plan for marriage and family (and because these attacks on marriage are so prevalent today), let us take a few
moments before your “yes” – your consent – to recall this plan through a brief
catechesis:
In today’s Gospel, when Jesus was asked about the
meaning and definition of marriage, notice what Jesus taught. He said, “From
the beginning….” This line, “From the beginning” refers to the
beginning of time.
At the beginning of humanity, God instituted
marriage. Jesus said in today’s
Gospel, “God made them male and female.” Thus, God
is the author of marriage, not the state.
It is not for human beings – esp. judges and justices on the Supreme
Court and democracies– to determine what marriage is. The role of the state, rather, is to protect
marriage (as a natural institution between a man and a woman). Any human law that does not
follow divine and natural law is no law at all (and need not be obeyed).
The holy Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ,
today, like her Divine Founder, Jesus, also faces a hostile question about
marriage and family. The Church, the Bride of Christ, still also
says, “From the beginning” like Him. Her teachings are his own! She likewise teaches, “In the beginning,….” It is
this way. It is this way that Joey and
Rachel are following in the next few moments and throughout their lives. Rachel
and Joey, by your “yes,” you are bearing witness and testifying to God’s plan
for marriage as taught by Jesus and His Church.
III
...And Jesus Raised Marriage to the Dignity of a Sacrament!
God instituted marriage, but notice the second line
from the Gospel which you chose. Jesus elevated marriage to the dignity of a
sacrament! “…a man shall leave
his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.” They are no longer two separate
individuals but “one flesh”. And what
God has joined, man must not divide. Human beings must not tear apart. No human being, even the state, can ever
separate a bond that is indissoluble.
This is the second main point that Jesus teaches. Jesus Himself, knowing that marriage fell
under the original sin of our first parents, knowing that marriage was attacked
and weakened and placed under what the Catechism
of the Catholic Church calls the “regime
of sin”, knowing that marriage was in the grip of the Evil One, Jesus raises marriage into something
greater (than it was at creation)— a Sacrament.
(It is like in the movie “Star Wars” when the entire
galaxy was under the evil control of the demonic Emperor Palpatine, but
Skywalker – a Christ figure – redeems the universe from evil.)
This is why it is important for Catholics to be married in the Catholic Church by the Church’s ministers,
the priest or, in today’s case, a properly delegated deacon. It is not sufficient for Catholics to just be
married civilly or simply live together and cohabitate today without the public
vow, the consent, in the presence of the Church’s ministers and 2 witnesses. Catholics that are only civilly married or
cohabiting should refrain from receiving Holy Communion. The joyful news is that sexual activity is the privilege of those who are married. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the “I do”
before the Church, is there to give grace,
to give help for us to go to Heaven.
Speaking as a married permanent deacon with kids,
I say marriage and family are already difficult without the culture attacking
marriage. But we trust in the graces of the sacrament. Married and family life will be difficult,
Joey and Rachel. Marriages need grace and prayer! We need God’s help to live His plan. Find some common spiritual practice, like the
Lord’s Prayer and esp. Holy Mass and continue to pray together daily. No other prayer surpasses the power of the
Holy Eucharist. Keep God in your marriage.
Joey and Rachel, thank you for choosing the way of
Christ Jesus today. You are what the Bible
through St. Paul calls “being married in
the Lord”.
God
instituted marriage, but Jesus Christ made marriage into a sacrament. This is true
love. It is true Christian love, as
we saw in the Second Reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Love bears all things, endures all things,
love “rejoices with the truth”. Live love in truth, so that you will reflect
the mystery of Christ’s love for his Church, which is the very Mystical Body of
Christ.
IV
Finally, I turn to you, my brother Joey. In
this Sacrament, love your bride as Christ loved and laid down his life for the
Church. God is with you, my brother
Joey. He has called you here. And speaking as your brother-in-law, your
Kuya, your older brother, thank you for
loving my little sister, for laying down your life for her. Let us look to St. Joseph (whose name you bear), the model of fatherhood and
manhood, for help.
Rachel, my sister, I turn to you. In this Sacrament, love your husband as the
Church loves Christ and also, in divine love for Jesus, lay down your life for
him. We the Church, the Bride of Christ (which you symbolized walking down the aisle), join our Crucified Beloved and place ourselves under (“sub”) his mission (“misio”)
to redeem and save the world. As it
is written in the Word of God from the Book of Sirach, the Church (in which you Rachel are now an image), “A good wife
is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord”. I may not have been physically present with
you over the past many years, but Kuya
has always been fighting for you spiritually with the weapons of prayer and the
sacraments, and is now physically with you at this most sacred moment in
your life.
Joey and Rachel, in closing, Sr. Lucia, who the Blessed Mother
appeared to in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, 100 years ago this year, said, “The final
battle between Our Lord and Satan will be over family and marriage.” Let the holy Sacrament of Matrimony help you
to be faithful in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer
or poorer, all the days of your life.
Let the words of the Responsorial Psalm (which the both of you chose for today) be true of your earthly life, “The earth [my earthly life] is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Amen.
Let the words of the Responsorial Psalm (which the both of you chose for today) be true of your earthly life, “The earth [my earthly life] is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Amen.
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