Homilies and Talks
Fr. Theodore 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10/6/24)
was reflecting on the reading's Sunday these readings we've heard at a point I felt like I stopped reflecting actually I because I was feeling that these readings the homilies shouldn't be taken by me maybe one of you should be the person to give the homily that's what I was thinking yeah because the readings are more about marriage so because I wanted to know how you are coping mind my choice of words I use the word coping both an invited comma please so I wanted to ask who are those who have been married for 25 years here 25 years okay 50 years wonder I feel like I should take a seat and you begin to tell us how you've lived 50 years and counting on a second thought I also feel like the readings are or rather this Sunday is to should be like a testimonial or rather a kind of a what ceremony for you guys as an encouragement to some others and an invitation to many who are thinking marriage why am I saying so there was a man who got married and after a while after so many years about 35 years in marriage he returned from walk one certain evening picked up the marriage certificate of himself and the wife this a man from Nigeria so he had he has the marriage certificate so he picked it up and was staring at the marriage certificate staring at it reading it staring at it so the wife at a point we walk in the living room doing other things the wife at the point was like these are marriage certificates so other corrections other mistakes there the man will keep quiet after about 10 minutes staring at the marriage certificate the wife asked him again what exactly is going on do we need to make amendments the man said no I'm only searching for the expiring dates and I'm not seeing me here I'm only searching for expiring dates but but he's gonna he's not going to see any expiring dates in marriage certificate so sometimes you find out that it is not easy to be in marriage for a long time it's not an easy journey but it is a journey worth taking marriage is a treasure priesthood is a treasure consecrated life is a treasure but marriage is an in a steamable treasure because it is a marriage that the priest is hopeful to be it is parents that give birth to young man who says I want to become a priest I don't know if you understand the argument if the parents don't if the parents the family don't not your young man you won't think about priesthood if the parents the family don't not your young woman you wouldn't think about consecrated life so at the heart of the church marriage is an in a steamable value the readings of today tells us about marriage the first reading gives us an account of the beginning of a man and woman union into marriage our first parents yes the story is what we know much about the gospel reminds us of what is the intention of the creator about marriage between man and woman that this marriage is a covenant there's one thing we must take note of God in describing the covenant between himself and his people often uses the marriage image there is everything for that recall for instance in the prophet who's here chapter 2 from verse 22 following God says to his people I will be truth you be my wife and I will be your husband so marriage union is a symbol of the covenant between God and his people that is essentially why the church insists that marriage must be open to procreation look at the second reading the first and the gospel reading speaks about marriage of man and woman the second reading brings the idea of children into it the Sam talks about the blessings of the man and woman in marriage and brings again the notion of children into the blessing the gospel in ending the divorce trial brings back again the idea of children it is part of the beauty of marriage I used to joke someone have I can remember the person who asked me about sometimes that in tentary mass the family mass we have here every Sunday that sometimes children make a whole lot of noise and my response was that I enjoyed those noise for me I don't see them as noise yeah because a church without the crying of children is a dead church a church where you no longer hear the voice of children you don't see if I whenever I'm celebrating with their mass at the merry order and some families that come with their kids keep running around I enjoy it most it shows that there is a future future because from running around what we consider destruction is not for us and it's not for Christ a distraction because these families are beginning to show the children that this is the way it has to be and as they grow up they will begin to develop that sense of knowing that this is a church that we ought to be here either every day or every Sunday this is the seat we are our family seats that is the beauty of marriage marriage brings all these things to the fall that we can begin to see that when we get married we get into the covenant of God and his people the sufferings of Jesus reminds us that marriage will not always be a kind it's not a candy it's not like yeah some some married people here call themselves honey honey what other names do you use you call honey honey but you know it's not honey all the time it doesn't taste like only all the time there are at times you could really feel like hey woman let me be hey man let me be sometimes it happens so it's not all the time honey so nobody's promising you that once you get married then you are immune from all manner of suffering it's not true suffering is bad and past love any Christ christen that is in journey with Jesus that's what the second reading is bringing to the fall because married is celebration of love and God is love and remember remember Saint Paul is first Corinthians from chapter 12 and 13 talking about the hymn of love gave us characteristics of love and one of the characteristics of love is patience love is patience love does not glute on himself or itself love is selfless these are characteristics of love and that's why you understand that marriage can be yeah it could be tough at times my parents my parents this year my own parents in Nigeria this year marked their 55th wedding anniversary 55 they got married in 1969 a married that produced six children two priests two men or okay four men to priests and then my my two sisters who are now women married totally I have about 18 nephew nieces and nephew so this year they have their 50 55 55th wedding anniversary but yet sometimes my mom will call thanks what's up I said father you need to talk to your dad I talk to him I'm not happy with him this morning you see what he did to me why we are returning from money mass I don't like it talk to him you'll be talking in our in our local language I don't like it I'll tell her okay no problem I will try I will try and sometimes I don't call because because I have enough headache already because if I call my dad he will begin his own story and so I look at what I have at the moment whether I'm ready to take up this court case because it's always a court case my father is 80 this year my mom is 72 so I look at it and said oh do I call or should I just allow them and sometimes I allow them they're solid out themselves maybe the next time I will call them we'll be like do you want to speak with your dad yes I want and that's how it flows so I know that it is not always easy it's not always it demands some sacrifices it demands a bit of patience it demands a bit of unconditional love in either way I told you about the Mount Serena the marriage certificate but there is another man who was in a congregation and the pastor said if your wife if you don't if you're a man who doesn't listen to your wife who doesn't take instructions from the wife raise your hand and one man raised his hand and pastor was surprised he got someone who doesn't take any correction from the wife and he was asked okay why did he raise your hand and he said my wife's sitting here asked me to raise my hand okay so sometimes you could see that it's not an easy journey but it's a beautiful thing I'm also good in singing and I want to end just to encourage you to keep up living your life as Maricope because we are fulfilling God's design the bishop Kevin Rhodes Bishop wrote a pastoral letter in September to all priests, pastors, principals we are he defined the Christian anthropology in reference to the gender crisis we have today marriage is between a man and the woman and he's too emphatic because he is only saying what Jesus said in this scripture male and female he created them John Paul II called it integral complementarity that day two will come together to fulfill a mission so I encourage you to live your life as Maricope it may not be easy sometimes but it is worth it because you are participating in the divine creation as I encourage you I feel like celebrating those who have even if it's just a day you will marry that you are still intending to keep up we thank you today there is a song I wanted to sing but I'm not so good in music oh you may be wondering where I got this song but it's a song that I had a Maricope sing back in Nigeria when they had their 25th wedding anniversary it was a I now started liking the song because it was a song first sung by I think every brothers every brothers and I think after from what I read on the YouTube somebody evis pressly or something read a read a deep repeat of the song I done I'm not really miss it so don't judge this but I'll try but I would like to be I would like to I would like Maricope who here to be looking at each other as I try to sing this song for you just be looking just look at the face of your husband on your face with your wife. God bless the day I found you I want to stay around you and so I beg you have you had this song that's my wish for you may God bless you to Christ our Lord. [BLANK_AUDIO]