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Wedding |
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Compiled from numerous sources by Fr. Rich Hasselbach.
Reprinted with his gracious permission. |
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Genesis 1:26-28 Then
God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps upon the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed
them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. |
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Genesis 2:15-24 The
LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep
it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of
every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the LORD God
formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them
to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every
living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to
the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there
was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to
fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its
place with flesh; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man he
made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This
at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of |
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Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 Two
are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor. If the one falls,
the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man, for if he
should fall, he has no one to lift him up! So also, if two sleep together,
they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? Where a lone man may
be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken. |
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Proverbs 31:10-3 A
wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her
husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him
good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works
with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from
afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of
her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her
arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and
her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and
grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and
extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her
household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for
her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at
the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She
makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She
watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of
idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he
praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them
all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears
the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her
works bring her praise at the city gate. |
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Song of Songs 2:10-13 My
beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come
away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers
appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the
turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the
vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away." |
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Song of Songs
2:8-10.14,16; 8:6-7 …for lo, the winter is
past the rain is over and
gone. The flowers appear on the
earth, The time of singing has
come, And the voice of the
turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth
its figs, And the vines are in
blossom; They give forth
fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair
one, and come away. Let me see you, let me hear your voice, For your voice is
sweet, and you are lovely. Set me as a seal on
your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is
love, relentless as the
nether world is devotion; its flames are a
blazing fire. Deep waters cannot
quench love, nor floods sweep it
away. |
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The Song of Solomon 3: 9-11 You
have captured my heart, my own, my bride, you have captured my heart with one
glance of you eyes, with one coil of your necklace. How sweet is your love,
my own, my bride! How much more delightful your love than wine, your
ointments more fragrant than any spice! Sweetness drops from your lips, O
bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the scent of your robes is like
the scent of |
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Song
of Solomon 8:6-7 Set
me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as
death, jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most
vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly
scorned. |
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Ruth 1: 16 – 17 "Don't
urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and
where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my
God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried beside you. May the
LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates
you and me." |
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Psalm 100 Be
joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come
before his presence with song. Know this: The Lord is God; he made us, and we
are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with
thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call
upon his Name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his
faithfulness endures from age to age. |
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Psalms 127:1-5 "Unless
the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD
watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that
you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for
he gives to his beloved sleep. Lo, sons are a heritage from the LORD, the
fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons
of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! He shall
not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." |
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Psalms 128:1-6 Blessed
is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the
fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well
with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your
children will be like olive shoots around your table. Lo, thus shall the man
be blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you from |
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I Corinthians 13 : 1 – 13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not
have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I
give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is
not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own
way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but
rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, and endures all things. Love never fails. But as for prophecies, they
will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it
will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a
child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child;
when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a
mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope,
and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. |
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Colossians 3: 12-17 As
God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if
anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord
has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with
love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace
of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one
body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and
admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or
deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him. |
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Ephesians 5:1-2, 21-33 Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Be
subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your
husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ
is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church
is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their
husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the
washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself
in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be
holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their
own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his
own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because
we are members of his body. "For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh." This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers
to Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as
himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. |
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I John 4:7-16 "Beloved,
let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God
and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In
this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son
into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that
we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for
our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No
man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love
is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us,
because he has given us of his own Spirit. And we have seen and testify that
the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that
Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and
believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God abides in him." |
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Matthew 5:1-10 Seeing
the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples
came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." "Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the
earth." "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied." "Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy." "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God." "Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." "Blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven." |
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Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore
I bid you put away anxious thoughts about food and drink to keep you alive,
and clothes to cover your body. Surely life is more that food, the body more
than clothes. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store
in barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. You are worth more than the
birds! Is there a person among you who by anxious thought can add a foot to
his height? And why be anxious about clothes? consider how the lilies grow in
the fields; they do not work, they do not spin, and yet, I tell you, Solomon
in all his splendor was not attired as one of these. But if that is how God
clothes the grass in the fields, which is there today, and tomorrow is thrown
on the stove, will He not all the more clothe you? How little faith you
have!...Set your mind on God's Kingdom and His justice before everything
else, and all the rest will come to you as well. So do not be anxious about
tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of
its own. |
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Matthew 7:21, 24-29 "Not
every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Every one then who
hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his
house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been
founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not
do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it." And when Jesus
finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he
taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. |
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Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus also
said, "Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning
'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has
joined together, let no person put asunder." |
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Matthew 22:35-40 A
lawyer, to disconcert Jesus, put a question, "Master, which is the
greatest commandment of the Law?" Jesus said "You must love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles
it: You must love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments rest
the whole Law, and the Prophets also". |
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Mark 10:6-9, 13-16 "But
from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What
therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." And they
were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples
rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them,
"Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs
the |
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John 2:1-11 On
the third day there was a marriage at Cana in |
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John 15:9-12 As
the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that
my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. "This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. |
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Numbers 6:24-26 “The
LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make His face shine upon thee, and
be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give
thee peace.” |
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I Timothy 1:17 “Now
unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and
glory forever and ever, Amen.” |
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Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now
the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make
you perfect in every good work, working in you that which is well pleasing in
His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.” |
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Jude v. 24 “Now
unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our
Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen.” |
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Irish Blessing 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 your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in
the palm of his hand. May
God be with you and bless you; May you see your children's children. May you
be poor in misfortune, Rich in blessings, May you know nothing but happiness From this day forward. May
the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at
your back. May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home. And may the hand of
a friend always be near. May
green be the grass you walk on, May blue be the skies above you, May pure be
the joys that surround you, May true be the hearts that love you. |
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Blessing Adapted From from a Navajo Wedding
Ceremony Now
you have lit a fire and that fire should not go out. The two of you now have
a fire that represents love, understanding and a philosophy of life. It will
give you heat, food, warmth and happiness. The new fire represents a new
beginning - a new life and a new family. The fire should keep burning; you
should stay together. You have lit the fire for life, until old age separates
you. |
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Blessing Adapted from the Serenity Prayer – Reinhold Neibuhr GOD,
grant N. and N. the serenity to
accept the things they
cannot change, in this life which they now share. Grant
them the courage to change the things
they can, and the wisdom
to know the difference. May
they live ONE DAY AT A TIME; Enjoying
one moment at a time; Accepting
hardship as the pathway
to peace. Taking,
as your Son did, this sinful
world as it is, not
as they would have it. May
they always trust that He will make all
things right if they surrender
to His Will; That
they may be reasonably happy in
this life, and supremely happy
with Him forever in the
next. |
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Blessing adapted
from the Peace Prayer of St. Francis Make N and N
instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred,
let them sow love Where there is injury,
pardon, Where there is doubt,
faith Where there is despair,
hope, Where there is
darkness, light And where there is
sadness, joy. O Goodness that lies at
the heart of things, Grant that we may not
so much seek To be consoled as to
console, To be understood as to
understand, To be loved as to love. For it is in giving
that we receive; It is in pardoning that
we are pardoned; And it is in dying in
this life that we are born into eternity. |
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The Apache Wedding Prayer Now
you will feel no rain, For
each of you will be shelter to the other. Now
you will feel no cold, For
each of you will be warmth to the other. Now
there is no more loneliness, For
each of you will be companion to the other. Now
you are two bodies, But
there is only one life before you. Go
now to your dwelling place, To
enter into the days of your togetherness. And
may your days be good and long upon the Earth. |
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THE SEVEN BLESSINGS From "The New Jewish Wedding “We
acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of God, expressing our
appreciation for this wine, symbol and aid of our rejoicing. We
acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of God, realizing that
each separate moment and every distinct object points to and shares in this
oneness. We
acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of God, recognizing and
appreciating the blessing of being human. We
acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of God, realizing the
special gift of awareness that permits us to perceive this unity and the
wonder we experience as a man and a woman joined to live together. May
rejoicing resound throughout the world as the homeless are given homes,
persecution and oppression cease, and all people learn to live in peace with
each other and in harmony with their environment. From
the Divine, source of all energy, we call forth an abundance of love to
envelop this couple. May they be for each other lovers and friends, and may
their love partake of the same innocence, purity, and sense of discovery that
we imagine the first couple to have experienced. We
acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of God, and we highlight
today joy and gladness, bridegroom and bride, delight and cheer, love and harmony,
peace and companionship. May we all witness the day when the dominant sounds
through the world will be these sounds of happiness, the voices of lovers,
the sounds of feasting and singing. Praised
is love; blessed be this marriage. May the bride and bridegroom rejoice
together." |
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Non-Scriptural
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The Peace Prayer of St. Francis Lord,
make us instruments of your peace. Where
there is hatred, let us sow love; Where
there is injury, pardon; Where
there is discord, union; Where
there is doubt, faith; Where
there is despair, hope; Where
there is darkness, light; Where
there is sadness, joy; O
Divine Master, Grant that we may not so much seek To
be consoled as to console, To
be understood as to understand, To
be loved as to love. For
it is in giving that we receive; It
is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen |
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From The Hymn Of The
Universe, Only
love can bring individual beings to their perfect completion, as individuals,
by uniting them one with another, because only love takes possession of them
and unites them by what lies deepest within them. This is simply a fact of
our everyday experience. For indeed at what moment do lovers come into the
most complete possession of themselves if not when they say that they are
lost in one another? And is not love all the time achieving - in couples, in
teams, all around us - the magical and reputedly contradictory feat of
personalizing through totalizing? And why should not what is thus daily
achieved on a small scale be repeated one day on worldwide dimensions? Humanity,
the spirit of the earth, the synthesis of individuals and peoples, the
paradoxical conciliation of the element with the whole, of the one with the
many: all these are regarded as utopian fantasies, yet they are biologically
necessary; and if we would see them made flesh in the world what more need we
do than imagine our power to love growing and broadening, till it can embrace
the totality of human beings and of the earth? |
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I Ching When
two people are at one in their inmost hearts, they shatter even the strength of iron or bronze. And when two people understand each other in
their inmost hearts, their words are sweet and strong, like the fragrance of orchids. |
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Hindu Marriage Poem You
have become mine forever. Yes,
we have become partners. I
have become yours. Hereafter,
I cannot live without you. Do
not live without me. Let
us share the joys. We
are word and meaning, unite. You
are thought and I am sound. May
the nights be honey-sweet for us. May
the mornings be honey-sweet for us. May
the plants be honey-sweet for us. May
the earth be honey-sweet for us. |
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The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, selected
verses A
wife loves her husband not for his own sake, dear one, but because the Divine
Beloved lives in him. A Husband loves his wife not for her own sake, dear
one, but because the Divine Beloved lives in her. Children are loved not for
their own sake, dear one, but because the Divine Beloved lives in them... All
things are loved not for their own sake, but because the Divine Beloved lives
in them. The Divine Beloved must be realized. Hearing about and meditating
upon the Divine Beloved, you will come to understand everything in life... As
long as there is the sense of separateness, one sees another as separate from
oneself... But when the Divine Beloved is realized as the indivisible unity
of life, who can be seen by whom... who can be spoken to by whom, who can be
thought of by whom, who can be known by whom? |
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The Buddha's sermon
at Rajagaha; verses 19-22 Do not decieve, do not despise each other anywhere. Do not be
angry nor bear secret resentments; for as a mother will risk her life and
watches over her child, so boundless be your love to all, so tender, kind and
mild. Cherish good will right
and left, early and late, and without hindrance, without stint, be free of
hate and envy, while standing and walking and sitting down, what ever you
have in mind, the rule of life that is always best is to be loving-kind. Gifts are great,
founding temples is meritorious, meditations and religious exercises pacify the
heart, comprehension of the truth leads to Nirvana, but greater than all is lovingkindness. As the light of the
moon is 16 times stronger than the light of all the stars, so loving kindness
is 16 times more efficacious in liberating the heart than all other religious
accomplishments taken together." |
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Living in Bliss from The Dhammapada of
the Buddha Let
us live joyfully. Let
us form a community of love, in a world full of hatred. Let us live without
any kind of hatred. Let
us live joyfully. Let
us form a community of spiritual health, in a world full of illness. Let us
live without any kind of spiritual disease. Let
us live joyfully. Let
us form a community of peace in a world full of rivalry. Let us live without any kind of rivalry. Let
us live joyfully. Let
us form a community, which possesses nothing. Let us live on spiritual bliss,
radiating spiritual light. |
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The In
the early morning hour, just
before dawn, lover and beloved wake and
take a drink of water. She
asks, “Do you love me or yourself more? Really,
tell the absolute truth.” He
says, “There’s nothing left of me. I’m
like a ruby held up to the sunrise. Is
it still a stone, or a world made
of redness? It has no resistance to
sunlight.” This
is how Hallaj said, I am God, and
told the truth! The
ruby and the sunrise are one. Be
courageous and discipline yourself. Completely
become hearing and ear, and
wear this sun-ruby as an earring. Work.
Keep digging your well. Don’t
think about getting off from work. Water
is there somewhere. Submit
to a daily practice. Your
loyalty to that is
a ring on the door. Keep
knocking, and the joy inside will
eventually open a window and
look out to see who’s there. |
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From The Gayan of Hazrat
Inayat Khan To
know the pain of too much tenderness. To
be wounded by your own understanding of love; And
to bleed willingly and joyfully. To
wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To
rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy; To
return home at eventide with gratitude; And
then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in you heart and a song of praise
on your lips. |
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From the Gayan My
thoughtful self, reproach no one; hold grudge against no one; take revenge
against no one; bear malice against no one; be wise. Be kind to all; tolerate all; considerate
to all; polite to all, oh my thoughtful self. |
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Hamlet Doubt
thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never
doubt I love. |
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Sonnet 18
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Sonnet 29 For
thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with
kings. |
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Sonnet 88 Such
is my love, to thee I so belong, That for thy right myself will bear all wrong. |
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Sonnet 116 Let
me not to the marriage of true minds admit
impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or
bends with the remover to remove: Oh,
no! It is an ever-fixed mark. That
looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering
bark, whose worth's unknown, although
his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
within
his bending sickle's compass come; love alters not with his brief hours and
weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I
never writ, nor no man ever loved. |
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Twelfth Night, 3.1.151-6 I
love thee so, that, maugre all thy pride, Nor wit nor reason
can my passion hide. Do not extort thy
reasons from this clause, For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause But rather
reason thus with reason fetter, Love sought is good, but given unsought better. |
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Love's Labours Lost, 4.3.327-55 But
love, first learned in a lady's eyes, Lives not alone immured in the brain; But, with
the motion of all elements, Courses as swift as thought in every power, And
gives to every power a double power, Above their functions and their offices. It
adds a precious seeing to the eye; A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle
blind; A lover's ear will hear the
lowest sound, When the suspicious head of theft is stopp'd:
Love's feeling is more soft and sensible Than are the tender horns of cockl'd
snails; Love's
tongue proves dainty Bacchus gross in taste:
For valour, is not Love a Hercules, Still
climbing trees in the Hesperides? Subtle as Sphinx;
as sweet and musical As bright
Apollo's lute, strung with his hair:
And when Love speaks, the
voice of all the gods Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony. Never durst poet touch a pen to write Until his ink were temper'd
with Love's sighs; O, then his lines would ravish savage ears And plant in
tyrants mild humility. From women's eyes this doctrine I derive: They sparkle
still the right Promethean fire; They
are the books, the arts, the academes, That show, contain and nourish all the
world: Else none at all in ought
proves excellent. |
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The Good-Morrow by John Donne I
wonder by my troth, what thou and I Did, till we loved ? were we not weaned till
then ? But sucked on country pleasures, childishly ? Or snorted we in the
Seven Sleepers' den ? 'Twas so ; but this, all
pleasures fancies be; If ever any beauty I did see, Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee. And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear; For love all love of other sights
controls, And makes one little room an everywhere. Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have
gone; Let maps to other, worlds on
worlds have shown; Let us possess one world; each hath one, and is one. My face in thine
eye, thine in mine appears, And true plain hearts
do in the faces rest; Where can we find two better hemispheres Without sharp
north, without declining west ? Whatever dies,
was not mixed equally; If our two loves be one, or thou and I Love so alike
that none can slacken, none can die. |
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The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, by Christopher Marlowe Come
live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That
valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods or steepy
mountain yields. And we will sit upon
the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose
falls Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of
roses
And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered
all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our
pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and ivy buds, With
coral clasps and amber studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live
with me and be my love. The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing For thy
delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love, |
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Because She Would
Ask Me Why I Loved Her If
questioning could make us wise No
eyes would ever gaze in eyes; If
all our tale were told in speech No
mouths would wander each to each. Were
spirits free from mortal mesh And
love not bound in hearts of flesh No
aching breasts would yearn to meet And
find their ecstasy complete. For
who is there that loves and knows The
secret powers by which he grows? Were
knowledge all, what were our need To
thrill and faint and sweetly bleed? Then
seek not, sweet, the If and Why I
love you now until I die: For
I must love because I live And
life in me is what you give. |
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Barter ~ Sara Teasdale Life
has loveliness to sell, All
beautiful and splendid things, Blue
waves whitened on a cliff Soaring
fire that sways and sings, And
children’s faces looking up, Holding
wonder like a cup. Life
has loveliness to sell, Music
like a curve of gold, Scent
of pine trees in the rain, Eyes
that love you, arms that hold, And
for your spirit’s still delight, Holy
thoughts that star the night. Spend
all you have for loveliness, Buy
it and never count the cost; For
one white singing hour of peace Count
many a year of strife well lost, And
for a breath of ecstasy Give
all you have been, or could be. |
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Wedding Prayer By
Robert Louis Stevenson ~ Lord, behold our family
here assembled. We thank you for this
place in which we dwell, for the love that
unites us, for the peace accorded
us this day, for the hope with which
we expect the morrow, for the health, the
work, the food, and the bright skies
that make our lives delightful; for
our friends in all parts of the earth. Amen |
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Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms by Thomas Moore (there’s
a lovely musical setting for this – Celtic in origin) Believe
me, if all those endearing young charms, Which I gaze on so fondly to-day, Were to
change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms, Live fairy-gifts fading away, Thou
wouldst still be adored, as this
moment thou art, Let thy loveliness fade as it will, And around the dear ruin each
wish of my heart Would entwine itself verdantly still. It is not while beauty and youth are thine own, And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear, That the
fervor and faith of a soul may be
known,
To which time will but make thee more dear! No, the heart that has truly
loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close, As the sunflower
turns on her god when he sets The same look which she turned when he rose! |
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Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley The
fountains mingle with the river, And the rivers with the ocean; The
winds of heaven mix forever, With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is
single; All things by a law divine In one another's being mingle: Why not I with thine? See!
the mountains kiss high heaven, And the waves clasp one another; Now sister
flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps
the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What are all these kissing's worth, If thou kiss not me? |
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How do I love thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and
height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being an
Ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun
and candle-light. I love thee
freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use In my old grief's, and with my
childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost
saints -- I love thee with the
breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee
better after death. |
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Hope Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson Hope
is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without
the words, And never stops
at all, And sweetest in the gale is
heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept
so many warm. I've heard it in the chilliest land, And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity It asked a crumb of me. |
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The Married Lover by WHY,
having won her, do I woo? Because her spirit's vestal grace Provokes me always to pursue,
But, spirit-like, eludes embrace; Because her womanhood is such That, as on court-days
subjects kiss The Queen's hand, yet
so near a touch Affirms no mean familiarness, Nay,
rather marks more fair the height Which can with safety so neglect To dread,
as lower ladies might, That grace could meet with disrespect; Thus she with
happy favor feeds Allegiance from a love so high That thence no false conceit proceeds Of difference bridged, or
state put by; Because, although in act and word As lowly as a wife can be
Her manners, when they call me lord, Remind me
'tis by courtesy; Not with her least consent of will, Which would my proud affection hurt, But by the noble
style that still Imputes an unattained desert; Because her gay and lofty
brows, When all is won which hope can ask, Reflect a light of hopeless snows
That bright in virgin ether bask; Because, though free of the outer court I am, this Temple keeps its shrine Sacred to
heaven; because, in short, She's not and never can be mine. |
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He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W. B. Yeats Had
I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The
blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of
night and light and the half-light, I
would spread the cloths under your feet: But
I, being poor, have only my dreams; I
have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread
softly because you tread on my dreams. |
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Letters ~ Maria
Rainer Rilke Marriage is in many
ways a simplification of life, and it naturally combines the strengths and
wills of two young people so that, together, they seem to reach farther into the
future than they did before. Above
all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness, - a new demand on the
strength and generosity of each partner, and a great new danger for both. The point of marriage
is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the
contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to
be the guardian of their solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest
possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it
seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or
both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the
realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite
distances exist, a marvelous living side by side can grow up for them, if
they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the
possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky. That is why this too
must be the criterion for rejection or choice: whether you are willing to
stand guard over someone else's solitude, and whether you are able to set
this same person at the gate of your own depths, which he learns of only
through what steps forth, in holiday clothing, out of the great darkness. Life is self-transformation,
and human relationships, which are an extract of life, are the most
changeable of all, they rise and fall from minute to minute, and lovers are
those for whom no moment is like any another. People between whom nothing
habitual ever takes place, nothing that has already existed, but just what is
new, unexpected, unprecedented. There are such connections, which must be a
very great, an almost unbearable happiness, but they can occur only between
very rich beings, between those who have become, each for his own sake, rich,
calm, and concentrated; only if two worlds are wide and deep and individual
can they be combined.... ...For the more we are,
the richer everything we experience is. And those who want to have a deep
love in their lives must collect and save for it, and gather honey. |
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From A Bridge Across Forever, by Richard Bach A
soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks.
When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we
can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and
not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other.
No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in
our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shared our deepest longings,
our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction
is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who
makes life come to life. |
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On Love, from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran Love
has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have
desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that
sings its melody to the night. To know the pain
of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And
to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give
thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; To return home at
eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in
your heart and a song of praise on your lips. |
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On Marriage, from The Prophet by Kalil
Gibran Then
Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of
Marriage, master?" And
he answered saying: You
were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You
shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. Aye,
you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But
let there be spaces in your togetherness, And
let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love
one another but make not a bond of love: Let
it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill
each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give
one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing
and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even
as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give
your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For
only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And
stand together, yet not too near together: For
the pillars of the temple stand apart, And
the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow. |
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Excerpt from 100 Love Sonnets ~ By Pablo Neruda I
do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of
carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I
love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of
hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the
earth, lives darkly in my body. I
love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you
straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I
know no other way than this: Where “I” does not exist, nor “You”, so close
that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I
fall asleep. Love
has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have
desires, let these be your desires:
To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed
willingly and joyfully. To wake at
dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate
love's ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
and a song of praise on your lips. |
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Fidelity by D.H. Lawrence Man
and woman are like the earth, that brings forth flowers in summer, and love, but underneath is rock. Older than flowers, older than ferns, older than foraminiferae, older than plasm
altogether is the soul underneath. And when, throughout all the wild chaos of
love slowly a gem forms, in the ancient, once-more-molten rocks of two
human hearts, two ancient rocks, a man's heart and a woman's, that is the crystal of peace, the slow hard jewel of
trust,
the sapphire of fidelity. The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild
chaos of love. |
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Eskimo Love Song You
are my husband, you are my wife My feet shall run because of you My feet dance because of you My heart shall beat because of you My eyes see because of you My mind thinks because of you And I shall love, because of you. |
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A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh One
recognizes the truth of Saint Exupery's line: Love
does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in
the same direction. For in fact, man and woman are not only looking outward
in the same direction, they are working outward. Here one forms ties, roots,
a firm base....Here one makes oneself part of the community of men, of human
society. Here the bonds of marriage are formed. For marriage, which is always
spoken of as a bond, becomes actually, in this stage, many bonds, many
strands, of different texture and strength, making up a web that is taut and
firm. The web is fashioned of love. Yes, but many kinds of love: romantic
love first, then a slow-growing devotion and, playing through these, a
constantly rippling companionship. It is made of loyalties, and
interdependencies, and shared experiences. It is woven of memories of
meetings and conflicts; of triumphs and disappointments. It is a web of
communication, a common language, and the acceptance of lack of language too,
a knowledge of likes and dislikes, of habits and reactions, both physical and
mental. It is a web of instincts and intuitions, and known and unknown
exchanges. The web of marriage is made by propinquity, in the day to day
living side by side, looking outward and working outward in the same
direction. It is woven in space and in time of the substance of life itself. |
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Why Marriage? by Mari Nichols Because
to the depths of me, I long to love one person, With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my
body... Because
I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, Who won't hold them against me, Who loves me when I'm unlikable, Who sees the small child in me, and Who looks for the divine potential of me... Because
I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night With someone who thanks God for me, With someone I feel blessed to hold... Because
marriage means opportunity To grow in love in friendship... |
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Perfect Love Everyone
longs to give themselves completely to someone. To have a deep soul
relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God to
the Christian says, "No, not until you're satisfied and fulfilled and
content with living, loved by Me alone and giving yourself totally and
unreservedly to Me, to have an intensely personal and unique relationship
with Me alone. "I
love you, My child, and until you discover that only in Me is your
satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human
relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with
another until you are united with Me -- exclusive of anyone or anything else,
exclusive of any other desires or belongings. "I
want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to bring it to you. You
just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep learning and
listening to the things I tell you. You must wait. "Don't
be anxious and don't worry. Don't look around at the things you think you
want. Just keep looking off and away up to Me, or you'll miss what I have to
show you. "And
then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful
than any you would ever dream. You see, until you are ready and until the one
I have for you is ready, I am working this minute to have both of you ready
at the same time, and until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and
the life I've prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that
exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is perfect love. "And
dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want you to see in
the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and
concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I
offer you with Myself. Know I love
you. I am God Almighty, believe and be satisfied." |
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Excerpt From the Velveteen Rabbit ~ By Margery Williams ~ "What
is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side
near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it
mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real
isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that
happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to
play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real." "Does
it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes,"
said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you
don't mind being hurt." "Does
it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by
bit?" "It
doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It
takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break
easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by
the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes
drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these
things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly,
except to people who don't understand." |
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Huppah The
huppah is a wedding canopy which dates back to the
Jewish nomadic years – wandering in the Sinai. Historically, Jewish wedding
ceremonies were held outdoors, and the huppah
created an intimate, sanctified space.: The canopy gives you the opportunity
to link to a marvelous heritage, shared by both Christians and Jews, and to
personalize your ceremony. There are no formal requirements for the Huppa’s size, shape, or appearance, so you can make your
own. One bride’s grandmother recently quilted her granddaughter’s huppah. |
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Breaking the Glass Nothing says
"Jewish wedding" more than the sound of breaking glass. But what's
the point? Depending on whom you ask, the breaking of the wineglass is, among
other things: a symbol of the destruction of the |
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Yihud In
a day filled with chaos, the yihud -- or
"seclusion" -- is a standout ritual that lets you focus on the days
true purpose: your new partnership. Immediately after the ceremony, bride and
groom retreat to a private room for 15 minutes of personal time. No in-laws,
no seating arrangement charts, no videographer.
Just you and your new spouse sharing a quiet, loving moment alone before all
the commotion. |
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