M told me that I looked great and we took our places in front of the alter. It was about this time that I started to forget what we were supposed to do. Luckily, a Nuptial Mass is pretty much just a regular Mass with some extra bits thrown in, so once the Mass started, I was able to get back into the groove of what we do every week.
After the greeting and Sign of the Cross, we sang the Gloria. There are many different verisions of the Gloria and each parish decides which one they use. The words are always the same, but the melody and arrangement vary. Here's a clip to give you an idea of our version of the Gloria.
After a prayer, it was time to sit and listen to the Word.
M's sister S gave our first reading. We chose a reading from Genesis.
A reading from the Book of Genesis
The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him.”
So the Lord God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one body.
I will make a suitable partner for him.”
So the Lord God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one body.
The word of the Lord.
The Responsorial Psalm was then sung by the cantor we hired from our parish. Even though we had no choice of cantor, I really liked ours. She's one of the best in our parish and she was the cantor at the Easter Vigil Mass when I was baptized and confirmed into the Church. I remember she sang a really beautiful Alleluia chorus at the end and I really hoped then that I could get her for my wedding.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the Lord;
the lowly will hear me and be glad
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the Lord with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the Lord is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Next, M's great aunt G gave our second reading. As soon as I saw the choices for the second reading, there was no doubt which one I would pick.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians.
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
The word of the Lord.
This reading is one of my favorite passages in the Bible and I have always wanted it to be read at my wedding. We chose to ask G to read because she is one of M's favorite relatives and she and her husband have been married for over 50 years!
We then had the Gospel Acclamation. There were only 4 choices for this and I just picked the one I liked the best. M had no opinion and they were all equally plain.
Alleluia
Whoever remains in love,
remains in God and God in him
Alleluia
Our priest then read the Gospel. I swear I didn't purposely pick the shortest choice, it just happened that way. I liked this one because it referred back to our first reading.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
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.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.
The Gospel of the Lord.
I won't bore you with the homily. Just know that it was probably the most disappointing part of our Mass. Our priest didn't really know us and so he didn't really bother to try personalizing the homily to us. He talked a bit about marriage and threw our names in there, but he then gave a homily that he had already given in a regular Sunday Mass. As soon as I realized I had already heard everything he was saying, I just tuned him out and focused my attention on the alter and the flowers and admiring our church. Luckily, the only person who could see my face was our priest, so nobody could tell I had stopped listening! This was the reason I really wish we had tried to get our previous priest to perform our wedding. He would have given an entertaining and personalized homily.
Up next: The Rite of Marriage - time for vows and rings!
All photos by Amanda Fales Photography
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