Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily delivered at St. Charles on February 10, 2002
On this world marriage day, it is my
privilege and pleasure to share this homily
time with Lisa and Mark Michaels, a young
couple from our parish who coordinate our
Marriage Circle at St. Charles. Lisa and
Mark.
LISA: Good morning, my name is Lisa and this
is my husband, Mark.
The scripture today focuses on sharing God's
light with the world. We'd like to focus on
sharing it in your marriage and talk about
what making a marriage encounter weekend and
being part of the marriage ministry here at
St. Charles has meant to us. When I think
back to when we fell in love, I think of the
excitement of our first flirtations,
exploring new interests together, and growing
to love Mark the more I got to know him. It
was wonderful to find someone with whom I
could totally be myself. Most of our time
and energy was focused on our love for each
other and it was easy feel connected.
MARK: Over time, the every day demands of our
lives divided our attention between the
competing needs of kids, work, friendships,
and household responsibilities. I was
focused on graduate school, career, and
feeling the financial pressures of supporting
a family. All of these demands shortened the
time and energy that I was able to dedicate
to Lisa. Many of our conversations became
logistical and business-like. We were both
burdened by more responsibilities than we
ever had and we didn't always turn toward
each other.
LISA: We still loved each other but we didn't
experience it as the exciting, passionate
love of our early years. There were fewer
moments when we felt an intimate connection.
Luckily we had a community of couples here at
St. Charles, with which we could share the
journey and who helped us to grow in our
faith in our relationship.
MARK: When you prepare for marriage many
resources were made available to you. Have
you ever thought about where you are in your
relationship now? This evening, we invite
you to take a few moments to think about
this. Are there any barriers between you and
your spouse that prevent you from loving each
other as passionately as you did when you
were first married or as deeply as God calls
you to. We invite you to take advantage of
the resources at St. Charles such as
attending a marriage encounter weekend,
joining the marriage circle, or sponsoring an
engaged couple through the sponsor couple
program. Any of these could help your good
marriage into a great one.
LISA: During the marriage encounter weekend,
you and your spouse will listen to presenting
couples and spend time reflecting on the
presented topics together. There is no group
sharing. The focus of this weekend is for
couples to have private, intimate time
together. Marriage encounter is designed to
make good marriages into great ones. There
is another program called Retrouvaille
available for marriages in trouble.
MARK: The marriage circle at St. Charles
meets in the Upper Room on the first Friday
of every month. Babysitting is provided. In
addition to fellowship, we read and reflect
on the scriptures for the coming Sunday and
discuss an aspect of marriage. Couples in
all stages of marriage are welcome to join at
any time.
LISA: The Sponsor Couple program pairs an
engaged couple with a married couple. In
this ministry, sponsor and engaged couples
meet four to five times and follow a set
guideline for discussion as part of the
marriage preparation process. We'll be at
the reception in the cafeteria following mass
to answer any questions. Information is also
available on the St. Charles Web site and we
have a brochure at the reception.
MARK: Through these ministries, we have found
ways to deepen our communication and love for
each other. We also started to invite God
into our relationship in more ways than we
ever had before. It has helped us to follow
God's call to love one another. We invite
you today to take this wonderful opportunity
for your own marriage.
LISA: Thank you.
FR. GERRY: Thank you. The only reason that I
am adding anything to what they said is that
I am required to give a homily. They just
gave a presentation. But a beautiful
presentation. Before the five o'clock liturgy
yesterday and before the renewal of vows, a
little girl of four, dressed in red with a
cupid's bow and a red heart, told me that she
was a fairy princess and proceeded to kiss
me. I was thrilled because it was one of
those days when I was feeling like a frog, a
bad day. I was feeling ugly and unlovable
and, of course, when the princess kissed me I
was transformed. I became a prince. The
power of a kiss.
At a recent wedding the father of the groom
was from Cuba. At the reception he shared a
poem in Spanish.
El amor y los jardines hay que ciudarlos
Las flores sin agua se secan
El amor sin besos se va.
Love and gardens you have to cultivate.
Flowers without rain dry up,
And love without kisses goes away.
Intimacy and passion need to continue in all
relationships, especially in marriage. A
continuing willingness to kiss brings an
offer of unconditional approval and support
to the other person regardless of what's
happening. In many ways the Eucharist is
similar. God gives us the seal of approval,
the kiss of his love. Before the Communion
Rite we are called to share the kiss of peace
as well. A parishioner at Morning Mass joked,
"Ah, you're working the crowd this morning!".
Well, actually, priests don't have to run for
office. At the heart of the Eucharist is the
phrase, "This is my body". His body and blood
are not given to you but for you. "My blood
which is given for you." God is for us,
affirming us. We need that constant embrace
of God's love, that physical touch of the
Eucharist.
As human beings we need affirmation from one
another as well. We shouldn't take it for
granted. They say the definition of an
Irishman is someone who wouldn't cross the
road to give you a compliment but would walk
five miles to your funeral. Well, let's get
over it. All those things that are hidden in
our hearts that we don't say, let's reveal
those words of affirmation and signs of
affection. Let's offer them with generosity.
It's not the only key to love and life, but
it's certainly an essential ingredient.
And so I invite all the couples who are here,
whether you are married six months or forty
years, to profess your faith in one another.
I'd like the spouses that are here to stand
for a moment. The rest may sit down. And if
you are not here with your spouse don't pick
another person. Just sit. We make a big
deal of marriage as a sacrament and we think
it's the wedding ceremony but it's the
ongoing relationship - your living out of
your vows every day and every year.
HUSBANDS: "I've taken you and accept you
again to be my wife, promise to be true to
you in good times and in bad, in sickness and
in health I will love you and honor you all
the days of my life".
WIVES: "I've taken you and accept you again
to be my husband. I promise to be true to
you in good times and in bad, in sickness and
in health I will love you and honor you all
the days of my life".
You may now offer one another a kiss.
Let's all stand to pray because we all need
the blessing of God and His love to live out
that love in a variety of ways in our
friendships and relationships.
The prayer of the faithful:
"Oh God, you are the author of life, the
source of love, send Your blessing on these
married couples, renew their promises today.
Send your blessing on the community of St.
Charles. May it be a community that believes
and professes your love".
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