Beauty of God at a wedding

This past weekend was an extraordinary experience of God’s beauty in Richmond, Virginia. As a lifelong Marylander, I don’t often say such a nice thing about Virginia (!). The Lord called me to do a wedding there which was simply beautiful. It was for a family member of my stepfather and not the first one I’ve done for the family, thankfully. The groom’s brother was married in the same church four years ago; that is where I met Saturday’s bride. She is such a pleasant person who was not Catholic then but had questions about the Church when we first met. We continued talking since and she came into the Church this past spring. She was a gorgeous bride last weekend who seemed to enjoy every second of her Catholic wedding.

There was only problem the whole weekend: the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Because the bride and groom are fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, the bridesmaids wore green which is the color of the Eagles. Minor point to some of you, but major point to the rest of us. Have you ever gone to a wedding around here and the dresses were Burgundy and Gold for our football team?! Well, I do tell each bride that their wedding will be beautiful but not perfect, so that was the only imperfection lol.

You can imagine that there are many lost sheep at weddings and funerals. That might be the only time that people who don’t even come for Christmas or Easter attend Mass. So, at Communion, I make an announcement about who can receive (the Eucharist). I’m mainly trying to protect the Eucharistic Lord and those who shouldn’t be receiving (and need Confession first), but people do appreciate hearing the “rules” laid out. Normally, when I lay out the rules, at least half the church remains in the pews for a spiritual Communion. I appreciate their respect for the Eucharist.

Well, this wedding was a bit different. Because the bride’s family is not Catholic, I made a special point to say that those who respect the Eucharist (by coming up for a blessing or staying in the pews) are the holiest people in the Church. I think it was every single person came up, most of whom asked for a blessing. And, they were smiling! They liked being called the holiest, and I liked their respect for the Eucharistic Lord. It was the longest Communion I can remember at a wedding…! But, it was kind of awesome, and I think it gave people a positive experience of the Catholic Church.

Go Commanders!