eucatastrophe on "A sacrament in the service of communion"

Nikki of eucatastrophe presents the homily from her wedding here. This is a gem. Especially this:

Nikki and Dan, you are about to be set apart as a “sacrament.” You’re about to be consecrated as walking, talking, living, breathing symbols of God’s unconditional love for and indestructible bond with us, the people He has called to be His own. As husband and wife, your love for each other, your fidelity to each other, your mutual subordination to each other, your lifelong commitment to each other, your forgiveness of each other, your patience with each other, your companionship as you travail the path of life together…all of this (we dare to proclaim this day) is about more than just the two of you! It’s about (as St. Paul suggested in the second reading) “Christ and His Church.”

None of this is meant to diminish the promise you are about to solemnly make to one another. But it places that promise in a bigger context – for in entering into a covenant of love with one another you are entering into a covenant of service with us (the Church). You are promising to the community of the baptized to be icons for us – windows through which we might glimpse something of God’s love for, God’s devotion to us.

This beautiful vision of the Truth of Matrimony should inspire us all, married and single alike. The World desperately needs to know that, in the words of Michael Card, "A human soul can love another human soul." We all need to experience just how much God loves us all. Matrimony provides us with such a means to experience his love. A husband and a wife that love each other as God would love them embody his love for all of us. We see it when we see them.

Matrimony is that important. When we lose sight of it, we lose an experience of God's love that we can all understand. The World can't afford this kind of loss. Not now. Not ever.

This homily offers such a rich reflection on the full meaning of Matrimony. Read it all!