Yesterday the pamilya and I attended the wedding of some friends of ours. Not only for our kids but also for Jocelyn and me, this was our first time attending a Syro-Malabar wedding, which was celebrated at the Cathedral Church of St. Thomas in Bellwood, IL.
I might have guessed that the wedding would be celebrated within the context of a Mass (especially considering it was on a Sunday afternoon), but since I was not entirely familiar with the Syro-Malabar tradition, I figured we'd better go to Mass Sunday morning, lest we be lax in our observance of the Third Commandment.
Lo and behold, not only was the wedding — which was in all respects a most beautiful and joyous occasion &mdash celerated within the context of a Mass, but the priest's homily focused on precisely why it's entirely fitting for the Sacrament of Matrimony to be celebrated in the context of the celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
The main lesson I took away from it is one I'd not considered before. In the same way, the priest noted, that at the words of consecration, even though the appearance, shape, texture, etc. of the bread and wine remain, they are no longer bread and wine — rather, they are the Body and Blood of Christ; so too when a man and woman are joined in the Sacrament of Matrimony, although they still appear to be two distinct individuals, they no longer are — rather, they have become one.
I'd have to say it was one of the better homilies I've heard in some time.
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2 comments:
What an awe-summm analogy! Check out my latest post.
Righto. A division of semiotics called "Word-Act Theory" covers many such cultural and spiritual phenomena.
An oral contract is another, much simpler, version of the same thing. Words are exchanged that make a new reality come about.
Sacrementality is indeed written into the fabric of creation, and especially of speech.
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