Homily for 25th Wedding Anniversary - 25 Years of Faithful Love (Sirach 26:1-4, 16-21; 1 John 3:18-24; John 2:1-11)

Dear [Name] and [Name], beloved family and friends, we gather today in joyful thanksgiving for twenty-five years of sacred matrimony. What a profound gift to celebrate this silver anniversary—a quarter-century of covenant love that has weathered seasons of joy and challenge, growth and change.

Let us begin with a moment of gratitude: Loving God, we thank you for the gift of [Name] and [Name]'s marriage, for your faithful presence in their lives, and for bringing us together to celebrate this milestone of grace. Bless us all gathered here today, and continue to increase your grace at work in [Name] and [Name]'s marriage. Amen.

Our readings today speak powerfully of a central theme that resonates deeply with this anniversary celebration: **"Faithful Love Bears Abundant Fruit."** This theme echoes through each passage we've heard, revealing the beauty of covenant fidelity and its life-giving power.

In our first reading from Sirach, we hear beautiful words of wisdom: "A good wife brings joy to her husband, and he lives out his years in peace" (Sirach 26:2). The sacred author celebrates a wife of noble character as "a gift from the Lord" (26:3), whose "discipline and self-control" (26:16) create a home of harmony and grace. These words highlight how faithful love creates a sanctuary of peace—not merely the absence of conflict, but the positive presence of wholeness and well-being. For twenty-five years, [Name] and [Name], you have been building this sanctuary together.

Sirach continues with a striking image: "Like the sun rising in the heights of the Lord, so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home" (26:16). This poetic comparison reveals how faithful love illuminates everything it touches. Just as the sun brings warmth, light, and life to the world, so does faithful love transform a household into a place of growth and flourishing. Your commitment has been this life-giving sun in your home.

The second reading from 1 John deepens our understanding of faithful love: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (1 John 3:18). Here, St. John reminds us that authentic love is always expressed in concrete deeds. It is not merely sentiment or emotion, but a daily choice to serve, forgive, and honor one another. [Name] and [Name], for twenty-five years, you have chosen to love "in truth and action"—through the countless small acts of kindness, sacrifice, and care that have built your marriage day by day.

St. John continues with words of profound reassurance: "By this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:19-20). This reminds us that faithful love persists even through imperfection. No marriage is without moments of weakness or failure, but God's grace is always greater than our shortcomings. Your twenty-five years testify to this grace at work—not a perfect love, but a faithful one that has grown through both joy and challenge.

Our Gospel from John presents the wedding feast at Cana, where Jesus performs his first miracle by transforming water into wine. This passage beautifully illustrates how faithful love bears abundant fruit. When the wine runs short—a symbol of celebration and joy depleted—Mary's faith and Jesus' response bring forth not just more wine, but the finest wine, and in astonishing abundance. As the steward exclaims, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now" (John 2:10).

This miracle reveals a profound truth about faithful marriage: the best truly can be yet to come. While our culture often portrays the early passion of romance as the high point of love, Christ shows us that faithful love grows richer and more abundant with time. The "good wine" of your twenty-fifth year together can be even more remarkable than the wine of your first.

[Name] and [Name], your faithful love has indeed borne abundant fruit over these twenty-five years. The Catholic understanding of marriage as a sacrament teaches us that your covenant is not merely a human agreement but a living sign of Christ's faithful love for his Church. Through your daily "yes" to each other, you have made visible God's unwavering commitment to his people. Your marriage has been a channel of grace not only for yourselves but for your family, your community, and the Church.

The Catechism reminds us that "the grace of the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity" (CCC 1641). This grace doesn't operate magically but through your faithful cooperation with God's plan. For twenty-five years, you have opened yourselves to this grace, allowing it to bear fruit in ways both seen and unseen.

As you continue your journey together, I offer three practical ways to nurture this faithful, fruit-bearing love:

First, celebrate the abundance already present. Take time regularly to name and give thanks for the fruits your marriage has produced—the home you've created, the relationships you've nurtured, the faith you've shared, the challenges you've overcome together. Gratitude multiplies joy and strengthens resilience for difficult seasons.

Second, continue to draw from the well of sacramental grace. The Eucharist, Reconciliation, and your own marriage sacrament are inexhaustible sources of strength. Like Mary at Cana, bring your needs—when the wine runs short—to Jesus with simple trust.

Third, share your abundant wine with others. Your twenty-five years of faithful love is a powerful witness in a world hungry for examples of lasting commitment. Be generous in mentoring younger couples, in extending hospitality, and in allowing your joy to overflow into your community.

As we conclude, let us return to the miracle at Cana. Notice that Jesus transformed ordinary water—water contained in vessels used for ritual purification—into extraordinary wine. Similarly, your ordinary daily acts of faithfulness have been transformed, over twenty-five years, into something extraordinary: a living testament to love's enduring power. The six stone jars at Cana held between twenty and thirty gallons each—an abundance of around 150 gallons of the finest wine. So too has your faithful love produced an abundance that far exceeds what you might have imagined on your wedding day.

May God, who has faithfully accompanied you through these twenty-five years, continue to transform the water of your daily commitment into the finest wine of joy and peace. May your faithful love continue to bear abundant fruit for years to come. Amen.