The Wedding Update

This wedding update is brought to you by ESPN. Because I'm missing the game while I'm typing this.

295 days to go.

Thanks to the Lord of Truth's efforts, we have a response from the Priestly Prince of Parliament (Lights) on the issues from Monday's Wedding Update. His response follows...

I am honored that you would come to me with such "important" religious questions.

You will find both asunder and similar terms in different texts in the Church. This weekend at my sister's wedding they used "let no one put asunder". One is not more correct than the other- asunder is the term used more in the past, while some priests today use terms people understand. I prefer the term asunder because of its definition- "1. into pieces, 2. apart in direction or position".

In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of marriage does not have to take place within the context of the Eucharist (or the full Mass). This is the decision of the bride and groom. Modern thinking on this (and my opinion) is that if the bride and groom are both Catholic then having a full Mass is a good idea- the Eucharist is the center piece or lifeblood of the Church, and having it along with the wedding ceremony truly reflects Christ as the centerpiece of the bride and groom's marriage union. For mixed marriages, usually a Mass is not chosen- priests understand that the complete celebration of the mass may make those who are not Catholic feel alienated, and take away from the primary purpose of the day- the sacrament of marriage.

btw, if you try to use your Blackberry in Church, you will find that it will mysteriously stop working.

Addendum:

I also meant to mention that the words "what God has joined together........", comes from the text of Matthew's gospel (19:6)- "Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate". Now many different versions exist so some may have asunder, tear apart, etc. Later translations or versions of the Bible use more inclusive and popular terms.

Basically, what he's saying is, he got to hear the word "asunder" on Saturday, and I got gypped.

Jokes aside, stay tuned for next time, when I solicit song suggestions.