Wedding Psalms and Scriptures

Last week for Wedding Wednesday, I shared our wedding ceremony in my beautiful college chapel.  A couple people emailed to ask me what we chose for readings or songs, so I figured, why not devote a post to it?!  We spent a lot of time and effort figuring out exactly which psalms and scripture readings we wanted during our ceremony.  While we wanted both of these aspects of the mass to reflect the love we felt that day, we also looked for something a little unique, to represent every aspect of what marriage means to us: a commitment to each other, family, mutual support, and a foundation for the rest of our lives.  

Each of the readings represented a different aspect of our wedding day and what our married life afterwards would be.  From the Old Testament, we chose Sirach, which directly reflected our wedding day and soon-to-be life as husband and wife.  While the second reading was from Corinthians, it was not "love is patient, love is kind" haha.  We chose the the verse just before it, which speaks about spiritual gifts: different things that both of us would be bringing to our marriage, given to us by the Holy Spirit.  Our gospel was chosen by our officiant and could not have been more perfect.  It was from Matthew and is about a house built on a rock.  The priest wrote an amazing homily and spoke about how our marriage is built on a rock: the strong foundations from our families, the love and respect we have for each other, and the goals we have for our future together.

As for psalms, Mike grew up in a very musical family, so we were very excited to have many options from which to choose from the music director/organist.  We also had a trumpet player and cantor.  I linked many of the songs below to versions I found on YouTube.  You can just imagine how beautifully the music resonated across that entire church!  

And here is the complete ceremony:

THE CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE

Prelude: Music for trumpet and organ

Seating of the Mother: Ave Maria – F. Schubert

Processional: Trumpet Voluntary in D – J. Clarke

Processional of the Bride: Trumpet Tune in D – H. Purcell

Opening Hymn: God, Who Created Heart to Love – Lasst uns erfreuen

God, who created hearts to love 

Show’ring all blessings from above, Alleluia, alleluia! 

Give these who come to you with praise 

Peace, love and laughter all their days.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

Sing, friends and fam’ly gathered here, 

Voices in witness ringing clear, Alleluia, alleluia! 

Here is the mystery begun, 

Woman and man becoming one. 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Sirach 26: 1-4, 13-16

Blessed the husband of a good wife,

twice-lengthened are his days;

A worth wife brings joy to her husband,

peaceful and full in his life.

A good wife is a generous gift

bestowed upon him who fears the Lord;

Be he rich or poor, his heart is content,

and a smile is ever on his face.

A gracious wife delights her husband,

her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones;

A gift from the Lord is her governed speech,

and her firm virtue is of surpassing worth,

Choicest of blessings is a modest wife,

priceless her chaste soul.

A holy and decent woman adds grace upon grace;

indeed, no price is worthy of her temperate soul.

Like the sun rising in the Lord's heavens,

the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: This is the Day – M. Haugen

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! 

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia 

Gospel Reading: Matthew 7: 21, 24-25

Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock."

The Gospel of the Lord

RITE OF MARRIAGE

Exchange of Wedding Vows

Blessing and Exchange of the Rings

Prayers of the Faithful

For our Jesuit Pope, Francis, may he continue to lead by example with a strong commitment to service and social justice, we pray to the Lord...

For our President and all the leaders in government, may they be effective in achieving peace and eliminating poverty, we pray to the Lord...

For all of the children impacted by First Tee programs across the country, may they continue to thrive with the respect, courtesy, judgment, and integrity they learned through the program, we pray to the Lord...

For the parents of Michael and Meghan, whose examples and guidance have formed the foundation upon which they build their life together, we pray to the Lord...

For Michael and Meghan, may they experience a long life filled with great joy and love, we pray to the Lord...

For family and friends who have gone before us, especially Rindi, Lisa and Louis, Frances and John, Althea and Harold, and John, may they live in peace with the Lord, we pray to the Lord...

For each of you who are here today, may you always be a source of support and encouragement for Michael and Meghan by the gifts of your everlasting friendship and prayers, we pray to the Lord...

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts: “Allegro” from the Sonata in D – G. Torelli

Eucharistic Prayer: Holy, Holy, Holy (from A Community Mass) – R. Proulx

Memorial Acclamation (from A Community Mass) – R. Proulx

Great Amen (from A Community Mass) – R. Proulx

Sign of Peace: Agnus Dei – Gregorian

Communion Rite: You Satisfy the Hungry Heart – R. Kreutz

You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat. 

Come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.

CONCLUDING RITE

Nuptial Blessing

Final Blessing

Recessional: “Rondeau” from Simphonies des fanfares – J. J. Mouret

“Hornpipe” from the Water Music Suite – G. F. Handel

“Prélude” to Te Deum - M. A. Charpentier

Click here to see a full list of all our #MegandMikeTaylor wedding posts.

Now it's your turn! Share your own post with Macy and me for our weekly Wedding Wednesday linkup below:

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