LilyHomily

Wedding Homily
Robert Denton and Ashley James
6/28/08 – Christ the King Catholic Church

Genesis 1: 26-28, 31a
Psalm 145
Romans I John 3: 18-24
Matthew 7:21, 24-29

We’ve been taught since we were little that human beings are “created in the image and likeness of God.” Our first reading said it like this, “God created man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” After He created us, God gave us a commandment. Usually when we think of the commandments, we think of the “Thou shall nots.” Thou shall not kill, steal, bear false witness, and so on. But truly, God’s first commandment to humanity was a positive one. He wasn’t telling us to not do something but rather, God’s first commandment to us was, “Be fertile and multiply.” From the very beginning, God desired for us to be like him – in other words he desired us to create, to show our love to him and one another, to be fruitful. He created us out of love and he asks us to also create out of love, not just by having children in marriage, but by building a world where charity is number one. Where love comes first. Where live and love of Jesus Christ is made known. He asks us to be fruitful in all sorts of ways.

Before us here this afternoon is a beautiful young couple who are in love. Robert and Ashley come to this alter today ready to embark on the adventure of the married vocation. They come here acknowledging that as a married couple, some difficulties will lie ahead and at the same time, great joys. They have come here, in this house of God, acknowledging that it is God who has brought them together and it is God who will sustain them over their entire married life.

Robert and Ashley are products of two loving and devoted families. Robert and Ashley are two people who take their Catholic faith seriously and desire to do God’s will. Well, this afternoon in this historic church, God’s will is being done as you join together in the Sacrament of Marriage.

In that Genesis story we hear, not only did God command us to “be fruitful and multiply” but he said something else very profound. In the first chapters of Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth, the stars, the oceans, the plants, and the animals. After creating each of these things, the Scripture says, “God saw how good it was.” But when He created man and woman, He didn’t just say we were good, He went beyond what he had said about the starts and the plants and the animals saying we were, “very good.” Each of us were created for a purpose, for a specific vocation. Today Robert and Ashley pledge their lives to God and to one another. They have found their vocation and we come here today to celebrate that and to pray for them so they might live that vocation with joy and “confidence in God” that their love is that firm foundation that Saint Matthew speaks about in his gospel.

Last week, I asked these two to answer a few questions about their relationship and I want to share some of their answers with you. I ask you to listen to Robert and Ashley’s own words about each other and the importance of marriage in their own lives. I asked them of all the people in the world, why would they marry the other. Robert said of Ashley, “Ashley is one of the most loving people in the world. She loves me for all the good things about me and she loves those good things about me so much that she is able to overlook all of my flaws. She makes me want to be a better person. I am marrying Ashley because I have a hard time imagining a life before her and I can’t imagine my life without her.” He continued, “I love Ashley’s heart. She is the most kind, sincere, and caring person I have ever met.”

Ashley said of Robert – “Robert is extremely understanding. He goes out of his way to be supportive of my endeavors and rearranges his schedule to help me, whether it is taking off early from work to come unlock my car when I’ve locked myself out, or driving up to Santa Barbara each night to see a show I directed. His dedication to our relationship reassures me that his dedication to our family will be his first priority.” She continued, “I love Rob’s kindness and intelligence. And I really love how he treats his puppy, Tacoma. He was so sad about leaving the dog, even to come to the wedding. I think, based on the way he treats even a puppy, he will make an excellent father.”

This couple speaks eloquently about their Catholic faith. Robert said, “Faith is an incredible thing. It is what God asks of us, to prove that we believe. I know that our marriage and in our family we are going to be confronted with difficult moments. It’s moments like these that our faith in God and our faith in each other will carry us through.” Ashley echoes those sentiments saying, “We look forward to raising our children in a Catholic school and watching their Christian values develop.”

Both Rob and Ashley demonstrate in their words a certain humility that they can’t do it alone and that their faith is important. But those of us here for this wedding whether family or friends have a role to play as well. By our presence here, Rob and Ashley, we promise to support you and do whatever we can to make this sacrament last and to make you life as joyful and faithful as possible.

It is Rob’s own words that I wish to close with which I think summarize well why we’re here. Writing about his soon to be bride, Rob wrote, “More than anything, the thing I love most about Ashley is the fact that the love we share reminds me every day of the immense love that God has for the both of us. After all, if God didn’t love us so much, he never would have had us meet and let us be so happy.”

Rob and Ashley, may God who created you and brought you together, help you grow in love for Him and for each other all the days of your life.

 

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