April 29, 2011 was a beautiful day for a wedding. As I watched Prince William and Kate Middleton say their vows to one another I was overwhelmed with joy that these two people were marrying for love. It was hard not to think back to 30 years earlier when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took their vows together. There were some similarities between the two weddings but more differences."I loved what the Bishop had to say as he spoke words of wisdom to William and Kate:
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future. William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other.The spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life. Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace."
My own prayer for the Royal couple would be that from day 1 they would invite Jesus to be Lord of their marriage. That daily they would invite Him into their lives and that He would fill them afresh with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. That together they would lay their lives down in the service of the true King of Kings. May the joy of the Lord be their strength and as one day they will rule as King and Queen that they would look to Jesus for wisdom and guidance in every thing they say and do. God bless William and Kate!
