I recently presided at a wedding for a young couple, the
bride being Latina and the groom Anglo.
The bride wanted to honor members of her family who spoke only Spanish
and so she asked for, among other things, a homily in both Spanish and
English. I was able and happy to do
that.
The bride’s father approached me after the liturgy with
profuse thanks for the homily, expressing in Spanish his great appreciation for
the content that he felt would be most helpful to the couple. Then he asked me, “¿De donde la sacó?” meaning, where did you get
it (the homily) from? I answered quite
spontaneously, “¡De mi corazón!”—“From my heart!”
I have always been careful about preaching. It is a ministry of capital importance in
the Church. When I preach, it is always
my intention to change hearts in whatever the circumstance. That
change might involve sometimes insight, sometimes attitude, sometimes feeling,
sometimes behavior. As a preacher, you
are in a privileged position to cause change.
I want to do that for the sake of the Kingdom.
I did not, and probably never will, have the occasion to
verify a change in the hearts of the couple whose marriage I witnessed that day. My great hope—and confidence in the Spirit—is
that, in some way, they will be married different because I was the preacher at
their wedding. And is that not what is
supposed to happen in heart to heart conversation?
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