My dear friends in
Christ, Noni and Mila, 40 years of marital life and relationship with the same
person, with your one and only spouse, what else shall I say to you? Shall I
deliver a homily or shall I rather ask you to give us your secret on how you
keep your marriage work? Nevertheless, married couples like you, Noni and Mila,
are living testaments that there is marriage made in heaven. Everything in your
marriage and married life happens according to God’s divine providence. Remember,
your love story began with a simple story line. It is said that the two of you met
during Noni’s homecoming. It was at such time that Nang Sel invited Mila, her
best friend, to join the family in welcoming Noni. What happened next from that
event brings us all here to celebrate this 40th Wedding Anniversary.
This love story thereof is not just a story of love between Noni and Mila but
also a story of God who has brought them together for the first time and has
kept them together until now. This is important for us to hear because there is
a lot of talk about crisis in marriage nowadays. We seldom hear some good news
about marriage like the two of you who celebrate your 40th Wedding
Anniversary, that during your marriage you are blessed with five wonderful
children, two boys and three girls who are all successful in their own careers
and in their married life, that as of this date you are blessed with seven
grandchildren and that there are two more granddaughters on the way. We need to
hear some good news about marriage and thanks to you Noni and Mila, to be the
bearer of this good news. For all of us who believe that marriage is a vocation
from God, it is logical for us to conclude that with the celebration of your
wedding anniversary, your marriage has been made in heaven. Thus, it is meant
to be forever.
Now, Noni and Mila,
after you have lived your life successfully, both in your career and in your
family life, you are encouraged to live together not only with your spouse but
with Jesus in the Church. You are called to proclaim the good news about
marriage. It is time for you then to make your love present in the ministry of
the Church. Your encouragement to other married couples to keep their marriage
sacred, your inspiration to other couples to spend their time in prayers as one
family, your assurance to them that there is God who protects their marriage
are things you can do as a result or outcome of your marital commitment. To
stand as a living witness that there is good news in marriage is fundamental to
its authenticity. If your marriage is a good news, there is no way in this
world you can resist telling people there is a successful marriage. It is just
like a beautiful wedding picture taken on April 10, 1977, no one could stop you
Mila from posting it on your Facebook last November 15, 2015. Do you see the
effect of having it posted? Many people congratulated you and many were made
happy to look at your wedding picture. They were even inspired that they said
many good things about the two of you. This shall also be true if both of you
will bear the good news of marriage in the Church. You will make everybody
happy and inspired to treat marriage as a sacred vocation from God.
To end, Noni and Mila,
your 40 years in your marriage is not only a great sign of your success but of
your faultless fidelity. This reminds us all then that our vocation here on
earth, whether in marriage or in priesthood, is not only to be successful but
above all to be faithful. Congratulations. God bless. See you on your 50th
Wedding Anniversary. Amen.
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