There was a joyous gathering today in the church: a celebration of faith for two people of faith who are celebrating a milestone in their lives together. It is right that family and friends should gather on such occasions, and that together, we should give thanks to God.
La famille et les amis d’Émile et Pierette se sont rassemblés aujourd’hui, d’abord dans ce lieu où nous nous adressons au Seigneur et ensuite dans un autre endroit où nous continuons la fête. Il est juste et bon de prendre pause afin de bien marquer les moments importants dans notre vie: les naissances de nos enfants, les premiers pas qui commencent une aventure, la premiere goûté de la bonne nourriture, le jour où nous demandons à notre bien-aimé-e de partager le parcours de notre vie pour le reste de nos jours. Chaqu’une de ces occasions et même d’autres nous fournissent des occasions de reconnaissance envers le Seigneur et envers ceux et celles qui cheminent avec nous.
Emile and Pierette's family have gathered today, first in this place where we speak with God and later in another place where the celebration will continue. It is just and right that we should stop for a moment to celebrate the important moments in our lives: the births of children, the first steps that begin a new adventure, the first taste of really good food, the day when we ask our beloved to marry us. Each of these occasions (and others too) give us opportunities to be thankful to God and to others who share them with us.
Emile and Pierrette began the great adventure of their lives together more than fifty years ago. On the day when you stood side by side to profess your love for one another, I wonder if you were just a bit nervous about the adventure that lay ahead? Five decades ago, you spoke words to each other that changed your lives forever. In the time that has come and gone since, I’m sure that there have been moments of doubt, but I hope that you have never doubted the love that you have shared, or the love that God has for each of you. In fact, I sincerely hope and pray that each day of your married lives together has been another opportunity for you to celebrate this love.
In a few moments’ time, you will repeat those words that you spoke to one another on that day when you began your married life together. When you speak them today, I wonder whether they will carry even more meaning than they did before.
I … take you to be my wife (to be my husband). The first time you said those words to each other, the world was a different place. Now, as you look back at all those years, I’m sure that you have known what it is to have little, and you know what it is to have plenty. You have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry: and that is most often not a matter of food that we eat with our mouths. You know what it is to have plenty, and you know what it is like to be in need (cf Phil 4:12).
I promise to be good to you in good times and in bad. It’s easy to celebrate the happy moments in life, but it isn’t always easy to see that times of trial and difficulty are even more important because they help us to learn who we truly are, to discover the inner strength of character that we don’t always know we possess. At times when you have faced such challenges, you may very well have found yourselves in prayer, asking God for guidance. Have you ever noticed that sometimes when we pray for such guidance, the answers don’t come right away, or when they do, they’re not the answers that we may have hoped for? At times such as those, it may very well have seemed that there was a shroud that was cast over the situation, a sheet that was spread, a sheet that prevented us from seeing clearly (cf Is 25:10). The trials of life often mold us and fashion us into the people we become.
How many times did you laugh together … truly laugh with the laughter that made your stomachs ache? Do you remember the moments when you looked into each others’ eyes and knew deep within you that you were loved? Do you remember the moments when you wiped the tears from one another’s eyes, held each other in a comforting embrace and knew that everything would be ok? In all these moments and more, God has been right there with you.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. Today is a day for remembering and for giving thanks, for celebrating with family and friends. The banquet has been prepared and those who have been invited have arrived (cf Mt 22:3). On the day of your wedding, Jesus invited you to come to the banquet. As you celebrate today all that has come and gone, give thanks for the many blessings you have been given. Each one of them is a grace that should never be taken lightly, for each one of them is a gift from God.
Un jour comme ce-ci est une occasion pour une fête. La salle de noces est pleine de convives (Mt 22:8). Fêtons donc avec joie et rendons grâce a Dieu pour tous ce que nous avons vécu ensemble jusqu’à maintenant. Prions-Le de guider nos pas et nos paroles pour que nous puissons continuer à suivre fidèlement le cheminement qu'il nous reste à faire jusqu’au jour où nous Le verrons aux cieux, là où nous decouvrerons la joie en toute pleinitude au banquet du Royaume du Seigneur.
This is an occasion that calls for a party. The wedding hall is filled. Let us celebrate with joy and give thanks to God for all that we have experienced and lived together. Let us also pray and ask him to guide our steps, to fashion our words so that we can continue to follow him faithfully along the road that stretches before us, until the day that we will see Him in heaven, in that place where we will discover the fullness of joy at the banquet in the Father's house.
Homily for the Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary
Emile and Pierette Trahan
La famille et les amis d’Émile et Pierette se sont rassemblés aujourd’hui, d’abord dans ce lieu où nous nous adressons au Seigneur et ensuite dans un autre endroit où nous continuons la fête. Il est juste et bon de prendre pause afin de bien marquer les moments importants dans notre vie: les naissances de nos enfants, les premiers pas qui commencent une aventure, la premiere goûté de la bonne nourriture, le jour où nous demandons à notre bien-aimé-e de partager le parcours de notre vie pour le reste de nos jours. Chaqu’une de ces occasions et même d’autres nous fournissent des occasions de reconnaissance envers le Seigneur et envers ceux et celles qui cheminent avec nous.
Emile and Pierette's family have gathered today, first in this place where we speak with God and later in another place where the celebration will continue. It is just and right that we should stop for a moment to celebrate the important moments in our lives: the births of children, the first steps that begin a new adventure, the first taste of really good food, the day when we ask our beloved to marry us. Each of these occasions (and others too) give us opportunities to be thankful to God and to others who share them with us.
Emile and Pierrette began the great adventure of their lives together more than fifty years ago. On the day when you stood side by side to profess your love for one another, I wonder if you were just a bit nervous about the adventure that lay ahead? Five decades ago, you spoke words to each other that changed your lives forever. In the time that has come and gone since, I’m sure that there have been moments of doubt, but I hope that you have never doubted the love that you have shared, or the love that God has for each of you. In fact, I sincerely hope and pray that each day of your married lives together has been another opportunity for you to celebrate this love.
In a few moments’ time, you will repeat those words that you spoke to one another on that day when you began your married life together. When you speak them today, I wonder whether they will carry even more meaning than they did before.
I … take you to be my wife (to be my husband). The first time you said those words to each other, the world was a different place. Now, as you look back at all those years, I’m sure that you have known what it is to have little, and you know what it is to have plenty. You have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry: and that is most often not a matter of food that we eat with our mouths. You know what it is to have plenty, and you know what it is like to be in need (cf Phil 4:12).
I promise to be good to you in good times and in bad. It’s easy to celebrate the happy moments in life, but it isn’t always easy to see that times of trial and difficulty are even more important because they help us to learn who we truly are, to discover the inner strength of character that we don’t always know we possess. At times when you have faced such challenges, you may very well have found yourselves in prayer, asking God for guidance. Have you ever noticed that sometimes when we pray for such guidance, the answers don’t come right away, or when they do, they’re not the answers that we may have hoped for? At times such as those, it may very well have seemed that there was a shroud that was cast over the situation, a sheet that was spread, a sheet that prevented us from seeing clearly (cf Is 25:10). The trials of life often mold us and fashion us into the people we become.
How many times did you laugh together … truly laugh with the laughter that made your stomachs ache? Do you remember the moments when you looked into each others’ eyes and knew deep within you that you were loved? Do you remember the moments when you wiped the tears from one another’s eyes, held each other in a comforting embrace and knew that everything would be ok? In all these moments and more, God has been right there with you.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. Today is a day for remembering and for giving thanks, for celebrating with family and friends. The banquet has been prepared and those who have been invited have arrived (cf Mt 22:3). On the day of your wedding, Jesus invited you to come to the banquet. As you celebrate today all that has come and gone, give thanks for the many blessings you have been given. Each one of them is a grace that should never be taken lightly, for each one of them is a gift from God.
Un jour comme ce-ci est une occasion pour une fête. La salle de noces est pleine de convives (Mt 22:8). Fêtons donc avec joie et rendons grâce a Dieu pour tous ce que nous avons vécu ensemble jusqu’à maintenant. Prions-Le de guider nos pas et nos paroles pour que nous puissons continuer à suivre fidèlement le cheminement qu'il nous reste à faire jusqu’au jour où nous Le verrons aux cieux, là où nous decouvrerons la joie en toute pleinitude au banquet du Royaume du Seigneur.
This is an occasion that calls for a party. The wedding hall is filled. Let us celebrate with joy and give thanks to God for all that we have experienced and lived together. Let us also pray and ask him to guide our steps, to fashion our words so that we can continue to follow him faithfully along the road that stretches before us, until the day that we will see Him in heaven, in that place where we will discover the fullness of joy at the banquet in the Father's house.
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