by Joan Mitchell, CSJ
Who would turn down an invitation to a royal wedding? Who among us didn’t attend the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, streaming live on a laptop? Or, who hasn’t delighted in the photos of the royal babies and flipped through People in the grocery line to see their photos or followed Harry and Megan into and out of royal life? A royal wedding like the one in Sunday’s gospel is a very big deal.
For all of us weddings evoke the deepest meaning of human life, the intimate communion between spouses, their commitment to make their love last and make room in their lives for family and friends. Weddings gather families and friends from near and far.
Our next door neighbor, Joe, felt as if he were seeing his whole lifetime in one snapshot at his son’s wedding. Friends from his wife Margaret’s doctoral work in neonatal care flew 19 hours from Australia to attend. The gynecologist that delivered the groom came from Vermont.
Neighbors who watched their kids grow up together with Joe’s came from Pittsburgh. Another sister and I came from Minneapolis; we’re neighbors who gardened and gabbed with Joe and Margaret many a summer evening. Two brothers and a sister came from Joe’s family, and all six siblings from Margaret’s, one flying back to the States from his work site in Peru.
Joe and Margaret walked their son through the gathered crowd to await his bride, who entered on the arms of her parents. Hearing a new couple vow their love and commit to sharing their lives takes old married folks back to the day of their commitment, now with full awareness of all that can ask.
Celebrating a new life commitment brings to consciousness the network of bonds that hold us together as families and friends. A wedding and a feast celebrate the union we hope for the whole human family.
- What is the farthest you have traveled to attend a wedding?
- What matters so much about weddings?