Readings

Bible Verses

Genesis 2:18-24

In this reading, taken from the story of the Garden of Eden, God creates woman from the rib of man that the two might be equal. Marriage is the union of man and woman in a love so complete that two become one.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

Yahweh God said,
"It is not right that the man should be alone.
I shall make him a helper."
So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven.
These he brought to the man to see what he would call them;
Each one was to bear the name the man would give it.
The man gave names to all the cattle, and the birds of heaven, and all the wild animals.
But no helper suitable for the man was found for him.
Then, Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep.
And, while he was asleep,
He took one of his ribs and closed the flesh up again forthwith.
Yahweh God fashioned the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.
And the man said:
"This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!
She is to be called woman, because she was taken from man."
This is why a man leaves his father and mother
And becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Song of Songs 2:8-17

The Song of Songs is a collection of love songs sung back and forth between two lovers. It celebrates love — even sensuous love — as an embodiment of God's love.

A reading from the Song of Songs

(This can be read by two readers, a woman and a man)

(Female Reader)

I hear my love, see how he comes leaping on the mountains, bounding over the hills.
My love is like a gazelle, like a young stag.
See where he stands behind our wall.
He looks in at the window, he peers through the opening.
My love lifts up his voice, he says to me,

(Male Reader)

"Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone.
Flowers are appearing on the earth.
The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree is forming its first figs and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance.
Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock, in the coverts of the cliff, show me your face,
let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely."

(Female Reader)

My love is mine and I am his.
He pastures his flock among the lilies.
Before the day breeze rises, before the shadows flee, return!
Be, my love, like a gazelle, like a young stag, on the mountains of Bether.

l Corinthians 12:31-13:1-13

In Paul's great hymn of love, he describes the attitudes and the habits of the heart that love makes possible and that, in turn, make love possible.

A reading from Paul's Letter to the Corinthians

Set your mind on the higher gifts.
And now I am going to put before you the best way of all,
though I command languages both human and angelic - if I speak without love,
I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing.
And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge,
and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains - if I am without love, I am nothing.
Though I should give away to the poor all that I posses, and even give up my body to be burned -
if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous;
Love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage,
It does not take offense or store up grievances.
Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth.
It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
Love never comes to an end.
But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with;
If tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with.
For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly;
but once perfection come, all imperfect things will be done away with.
When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does,
and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways.
Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face.
Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known.
As it is, these remain: faith, hope, and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.

Ephesians 3:14-20

In the Letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul prays for all believers a prayer suited for a couple beginning a new life together — a life planted in love and built on love.

A reading from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians

This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every fatherhood, in heaven or on earth, takes its name. In the abundance of his glory may God, through his Spirit, enable you to grow firm in power with regard to your inner self, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, with all God's holy people you will have the strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth: so that, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond knowledge, you may be filled with the utter fullness of God. Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or image; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.

l John 4:7-12

The apostle John describes the mystery of love: God is love! Marriage, then, is more than a couple's love for each other: It is, at the same time, the love of God made visible.

A reading from the First Letter of John

My dear friends, let us love one another, since love is from God
and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love.
This is the revelation of God's love for us, that God sent his only
Son into the world that we might have life through him.
Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God,
but God loved us and sent his Son to expiate our sins.
My dear fridns, if God loves us so much, we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another
God remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us.

Mark 10:6-9

In this Gospel reading, Jesus recalls God's will from the beginning of all time — that the union of a man and woman be so complete that it cannot be divided.

A reading from the Gospel according to Mark

From the beginning of creation he made them male and female.
This is why a man leaves his father and mother, and the two become one flesh.
They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh.
So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.

Poems

The Love of God — Dante

The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
flows into a pure soul the way that light
rushes into a transparent object.
The more love that it finds, the more it gives itself,
so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of loving is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love,
for, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other.

The Art of a Good Marriage — Wilferd Arlan Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end
with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

My True Love Hath My Heart — Sir Philip Sidney

My true love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given;
I hold his dear and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a better bargain driven;
My true love hath my heart and I have his.

My heart in me keeps him and me in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides;
He loves my heart for one it was his own;
I cherish his because in me to bides;
My true love hath my heart and I have his.

Prayers

Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life, author of salvation, and giver of all grace, look with favor upon the world you have made, and for which your Son gave his life, and especially upon this man and this woman who have come to be united in holy matrimony. Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy. Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and one another all the days of their life. Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other's forgiveness and yours. Make their life together a sign of Christ's love, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair. All these things we as in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

***

God, most gracious and holy, God of all time and of all life, make your presence known to us in this time and in this sacred place. We give you thanks for the gift of life and for those who share life with us. Especially we thank you for the lives of _____________(bride and groom) and for the families, which love and nourish them. Bless this man and this woman as they pledge their lives to one another. In their work and in their play; in their joys and in their sorrows; their individual dreams and in the dreams they share in their lives and in their deaths; may the reality of the love which we witness today grow through all their tomorrow's. In Christ's name. Amen.

Wedding Prayer of Spouses for Each Other

(spoken by the bride and groom to each other)

LORD JESUS, grant that we may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony.

May we always bear with one another's weaknesses and grow from each other's strengths. Help us to forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness, and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.

May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection.

Amen.

Blessings

May every blessing and grace be yours.
May your love grow stronger and deeper with each passing year.

May joy and delight fill your home.
May daily problems not unduly annoy you, nor the desire for earthly possessions, dominate your lives.

If you have children, may they return your love many times over.
May you have true friends to stay by you in joy and in sorrow.

With wise and generous hearts, may you help all who come to you in need of comfort.
And may you reach a ripe old age together, content for having lived a life of goodness and worth.

***

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon the fields.

May the light of friendship guide your paths together.
May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home.
May the joy of living for one another trip a smile.