(Found somewhere on the Web).

I’M NOT SURE OF THE DATE WHEN THE PARENTS OF B. AND E. WERE MARRIED, BUT WHEN I WAS FIRST ORDAINED, COUPLES HAD NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE SCRIPTURAL READINGS FOR THEIR WEDDING. THERE WAS JUST ONE SET OF READINGS, ALL READ BY THE CELEBRANT, AND THAT WAS IT. B. WOULD HAVE SHUDDERED TO HEAR ME READ FROM ST. PAUL: “WIVES BE SUBJECT TO YOUR HUSBANDS.” BUT WE ARE LIVING IN A DIFFERENT CHURCH NOW, AND B. AND E. WERE ASKED TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN READINGS, THE WORDS OF THEIR VOWS AND EVEN THE WORDING OF THE MUPTIAL BLESSING. OH, THERE WERE A FEW RESTRICTIONS; WE DON’T USE QUOTATIONS FROM ELVIS PRESLEY OR EVEN THE REFLECTIONS OF THE PROPHET, KAHIL GHIBRAN. A WEDDING IS A SACRED RITE. THAT IS WHY WE DON’T CELEBRATE THIS EVENT IN A FIELD OF LILIES OR IN A GAZEBO IN THE PARK, BUT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD; THAT IS WHY OUR READINGS AREN’T FROM CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE BUT FROM THE BIBLE, THE WORD OF GOD.

AND NOT EVEN GHIBRAN, OR FOR THAT MATTER NOT EVEN SHAKESPEARE OR MILTON OR SHELLEY OR KEATS COULD HAVE DESCRIBED THE MIRACLE OF HUMAN LOVE AS BEAUTIFULLY AS DOES THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND THE LETTERS OF PAUL, THE PSALMS OF DAVID AND THE GOSPEL OF MARK.

BUT THAT REALLY SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE, BECAUSE SHAKESPEARE AND MILTON AND SHELLEY AND KEATS WROTE UNDER A HANDICAP. THEY DID NOT HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF DIVINE INSPIRATION TO SHAPE THEIR WRITINGS; WHILE THE HANDS OF MOSES, WHO WROTE GENESIS, AND DAVID, WHO WROTE THE PSALNS AND THE PENS OF PAUL AND MATTHEW WERE GUIDED BY THE GOD THE FATHER, WHO SET THE UNIVERSE IN MOTION, BY THE SON, WHO WAS KNOWN AS THE WORD OF GOD, AND BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO ONCE GAVE FIERY TONGUES TO THE APOSTLES ON PENTECOST. NO WONDER THEY COULD WRITE!

IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, MOSES TELLS US THAT IT WAS GOD WHO CREATED THE FIRST MAN AND THE FIRST WOMAN. ADAM GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS. BUT WHEN THE FIRST WOMAN WAS CREATED, ADAM DID NOT GIVE HER A NAME. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, TO NAME AN OBJECT WAS TO OWN IT. AND THE FIRST WOMAN WAS NOT ADAM’S PROPERTY; SHE WAS HIS LOVING PARTNER. ONLY LATER DID SHE RECEIVE THE NAME EVE, WHICH MEANS MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING.

ST MARK’S GOSPEL COMES TO THE VERY HEART OF WHAT HAPPENS IN MARRIAGE. THOSE WHO WERE ONCE TWO INDIVIDUALS BECOME ONE. THEY DO NOT CEASE TO BE INDIVIDUALS; THE QUALITIES AND GIFTS OF B. AND OF E. WILL ALWAYS BE THERE; BUT SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD; A NEW ONENESS; A MARRIED COUPLE.

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE TRUTH. THERE ARE DIFFERENT DEGREES OF UNITY, OF ONENESS IN THIS WORLD. THE PEOPLE OF THIS COMMUNITY HAVE A CERTAIN UNITY; THEY ALL LIVE IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. THE PEOPLE GATHERED IN THIS CHURCH HAVE A HIGHER DEGREE OF UNITY; NOT ONLY ARE THEY GATHERED IN ONE LOCATION; THEY ARE HERE FOR THE SAME PURPOSE: TO HONOR AND REJOICE WITH B. AND E.. EACH FAMILY HERE, OF MOTHER, FATHER AND CHILDREN HAVE A STILL HIGHER DEGREE OF UNITY; THEY LIVE IN ONE LOCATION, SHARE COMMON CONCERNS, AND HAVE THE SAME BLOOD. WHEN MAN AND WOMAN SPEAK THE VOWS OF THEIR MARRIAGE THEY CREATE ANOTHER UNITY, ONE THAT NEVER EXISTED BEFORE; THE UNITY OF A LOVING COUPLE. THERE IS IN THIS LIFE NO HIGHER DEGREE OF UNITY THAN IS FOUND IN A MARRIED COUPLE, AND THAT ONENESS IS THE MOST PERFECT REFLECTION THAT CAN BE FOUND OF THE UNITY THAT EXISTS BETWEEN GOD THE FATHER THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. NO WONDER JESUS SAID: WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER, LET NO ONE PUT ASUNDER.

YOUR 2ND READING, ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF CORINTH IS ONE OF THE MOST ELOQUENT DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRITTEN. NO POET, NO SONGWRITER, HAS EVER DONE BETTER. LOVE IS PATIENT, AND KIND, IT IS NOT JEALOUS, IT IS NOT RUDE—TRUE LOVE NEVER ENDS.

OF COURSE LOVE IS PATIENT AND KIND–BUT LOVERS CAN BE IMPATIENT AND CAN BE UNKIND. OF COURSE LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS, BUT SOMETIMES LOVERS QUARREL BECAUSE OF JEALOUSY. YES, LOVE IS NOT RUDE, BUT LOVERS CAN BE RUDE WITHOUT REALIZING IT. A VALENTINE IN FEBRUARY? THAT IS FOR KIDS. ANNIVERSARIES? DON’T BOTHER ME. AND LOVE NEVER ENDS; BUT, ST. PAUL, SINCE YOU WROTE THOSE WORDS COUNTLESS LOVERS HAVE FALLEN OUT OF LOVE.

HOW TO AVOID THOSE FAILINGS, SO UNINTENDED, SO UNWANTED, SO UNPLANNED? ADVICE IS RISKY,BUT LET ME TAKE THE RISK BECAUSE YOUR MARRIAGE IS SUCH A PRECIOUS THING. FIRST, OFTEN DURING YOUR WEDDED LIFE, ESPECIALLY ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY, READ TOGETHER THOSE WORDS OF ST. PAUL AND SEE HOW YOU HAVE MEASURED UP TO THEM. READ AGAIN ST. MARK’S GOSPEL AND JUDGE HOW WELL YOU ARE STILL UNITED. READ AGAIN GENESIS AND SEE IF YOU ARE STILL LOVING PARTNERS.

PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE A MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER HAVE A PRACTICE EACH DAY OF WRITING A BRIEF NOTE TO THEIR SPOUSE; THE NOTE BEGINS THIS WAY: YOUR MOST ENDEARING QUALITY TODAY IS…. IT IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE FOR COUPLES WHO PRACTICE THAT HABIT FAITHFULLY EVERY DAY TO HAVE INSURMOUNTABLE PROBLEMS IN THEIR MARRIAGE.

HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE A MIRROR OF THE LOVE GOD HAS FOR US. YOUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER REFLECTS TO ME AND TO THE REST OF THE WORLD WHAT GOD IS LIKE. WHAT AN ASTONISHING TRUTH. GOD DEPENDS ON YOU, THE MARRIED COUPLE, TO REFLECT HIS IMAGE TO THE WORLD. HE NEEDS YOU TO TELL US THE STORY OF HIS LOVE FOR US. HE HAS A STAKE IN YOUR MARRIAGE. AND SO DO ALL OF US. WHEN, FROM TIME TO TIME OUR PICTURE OF GOD BEGINS TO DIM, TO BECOME FAINT, WE NEED ONLY LOOK AT YOUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER, AND HIS IMAGE AGAIN BECOMES BRIGHT AND CLEAR. THAT SHOULD HAPPEN ESPECIALLY IN YOUR CASE, BECAUSE THE NAME E. MEANS GOD IS WITH US.

B. AND E, THIS MORNING YOU ENTER INTO A MYSTERY BEFORE WHICH THE POET AND THE SONGWRITER FALTER AS THEY MAKE THEIR FEEBLE EFFORTS TO DESCRIBE THE REALITY OF HUMAN LOVE. ONE MAN DESCRIBED IT AS GOD’S CURE FOR HUMAN LONELINESS. REMEMBER THAT TO LOVE IS A DECISION, A CHOICE THAT MUST BE MADE EVERY DAY. AND THOSE WHO FIND THAT PERMANENT LOVE IS TOO DIFFICULT TO WORK FOR AND TO PRAY FOR WILL ALWAYS BE SEPARATED FROM ONE ANOTHER, EVEN WHILE THEY LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF; BUT THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO LOVE WILL NEVER BE ALONE.

~~~

I’d like to welcome one and all who’ve journeyed to St. Cecilia today, some from great distances, to share in the joy of the S. and S. families. I hope that you all will feel that the trip both to St. Louis and to St. Cecilia is more than worthwhile.

Before time began, God had a dream. A dream that began in eternity past, a dream that was fulfilled by Jesus, a dream that is echoed today by A. and B.

God’s dream was that the love that makes the Trinity what it is, would be shared with all men and women. A dream that began in the Garden of Eden and continued down through the ages, through Abraham and Sarah, through Isaac and Rebekah, through Joseph and Mary and down to today with A. and B.

And so today, A. and B. carry on the dream of God, the dream mentioned in our first reading. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them shall become one body”.

A. and B., with all of the wedding preparation that you’ve been through, I’m sure that you’re well aware that marriage will present many challenges. One of the most important of these challenges will be, to be great witnesses for Christ, especially in a world which seems to have forgotten His dream.

Your new vocation, marriage, calls you both to greatness-even martyrdom. Oh, maybe not the martyrdom of the early Christians but perhaps the martyrdom of losing your job because you won’t compromise your Christian ideals with the exigencies of the marketplace. Or maybe the martyrdom of forgoing a large home and many creature comforts because you’ve left your marriage open to God’s dream re: the number of children you’ll have.

Regardless of whatever challenges arise, Jesus will be there with you. He’ll be there when your hearts are broken and when they’re overflowing with joy. He’ll be there for you at life’s every crossroad. In fact, He’s here with you today at this crossroad, blessing your marriage. In a few minutes, when you both receive Jesus in the Eucharist, He’ll not only be coursing throughout your bodies, He’ll be coursing throughout your hearts an d souls as well. What better blessing for your marriage and future life together can there be?

And, speaking of hearts, permit me to share a short story with you. A few years ago, divers located a 400 year old sunken ship off the coast of Ireland. Among the treasures they found on the ship was a man’s wedding ring. When it was cleaned up, the divers noticed that it was a Claddagh ring-a traditional Irish ring representing love, friendship and fidelity. Underneath the two hands which held a heart was an inscription with these words “I have nothing more to give”.

Of all the treasures found on that ship, none moved these divers more than that ring and its beautiful inscription.

And isn’t that what true love is all about? Lovers must give their hearts totally, 100%, to each other. Less than that and your ship of love will sink like the ship in the story.

A. and B., to help you give this 100%, you have the most powerful force in the universe-Jesus Christ Himself. His love for you is intertwined with your love for each other. His love is the rich soil in which your love will be cultivated. In order to “till this soil”, lovers must be open to what God has to say. Newlyweds like yourselves, (in fact, everybody) must pray and take the time to be silent before Him. This should really be done both alone and together AND on a regular basis.

I know that, by now, you’ve probably received just about every book in print on how to be happily married. In addition, little cassette tapes just happen to “turn up” for you to listen to, don’t they? Parents are like that!!!

But, I do want to add just one more “bit of advice”-this time about prayer. Pray. Pray a lot and pray together. I know for a fact that your parents have done this and still do. And look what they’ve helped produce; two of the most wonderful people in the world. The value of prayer cannot be overstated.

The Lord is our companion on our journey together throughout our lives. He makes the final person of our Trinity-Husband, Wife, God.

A. and B., if you’ll just look around, you’ll see that the strongest and most loving marriages have God as the head of their families.

And, to these wonderful families and friends here at St. Cecilia’s today, I’d like to add a final thought or two. You’ve been invited here because A. and B. could not have come to this moment in their lives without you. You all have helped bring this day about. But, your task is not finished. Today, a new challenge confronts you.

What A. and B. need more than Waterford crystal and Irish Linen is simply you-just knowing that you are there for them-now and always. They need your care and your love-in good times and in bad, in joy and in sorrow. Especially from the married couples among you. The couples, who, whether they’ve been married for one year or fifty, are living proof that, despite tough odds, God’s own dream for “life-together-for-life” is not a fantasy, but can be had by A. and B. too.

So, I ask all of the married couples here today to let your light shine before our newlyweds. Share the dream that God has passed on to you. Shortly, when A. and B. join hands and promise their lifelong love to each other, consider linking your hearts and hands with your spouse and whisper once again to each other “I take you to be my wife. I take you to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life”.

Can you imagine a wedding gift to A. and B. more welcome than that? I can’t. Come, then, let us all share in their joy.