Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:01 The council of Trent commanded priests to occasionally explain the midst of significance of our ceremonies. So this morning we'll spend a few minutes considering some aspects of the wedding. We'll start with a little old testament back on them. We'll move forward. Garden of Eden, we need to start here. Everything in our holy religion is related some way to the garden of Eden, that first sanctuary on earth where man lived happily in the presence of God. In the commentary on Genesis of Saint FM of Syria, that great doctor, the church, St Ephron points out that God gave Adam ruling authority over the earth, gave him a garden to garden key, that when God made Adam and Eve, they were clothed in such a heavenly glory that when the animals pass by, they had to keep their eyes cast down. They could not look directly upon ahead of nor eve, but then the enemy entered the scene with his seductive lie.
Speaker 0 00:58 That man could be as a god deciding what was good and evil. Saint F from describes Eve's response. This lying claim that she could attain divinity quote because she believed the serpent. She ate first thinking that she would be clothed in divinity in the presence of that one from whom she as woman had been separated. She hastened to eat before her husband, that she might become head over her head, that she might become the one to give command to that one by whom she was to be commanded and that she might be older and definity than that one was older than she and humanity. Close quote Saint <inaudible> from Dr The church, so eve seduced by the serpent's lies wanting to rise up and become as a god. She wanted to attain the so-called divinity first before Adams so she could have headship and authority over him, didn't work.
Speaker 0 01:54 Misery loves company. Then she in turn inspired her husband to disobey and all mankind fell from grace. Since they were no longer holy, they were no longer veiled in glory and they had to begin to wear clothing. They're driven out of the garden and could no longer live in the presence of God. The entrance to ede was closed. It was covered. It was veiled. God played Cherubim and a flaming sword turning every which way to keep anyone from entering the garden and hold those thoughts and let's consider the temple in Jerusalem. Most sacred area in the temple was called the holy of holies. Inside the holy of holies was the Ark of the covenant. The Ark was a golden box, built exact specifications given by God and it was so holy. Then at least one occasion when an unauthorized man touched it, God instantly struck him dead.
Speaker 0 02:50 It contained a number of items, including the two tablets, contain the word of God. The 10 commandments carved in stone by God himself. It jar full of that heavenly bread that had fallen down dark, had a golden lid. It's called the mercy seat with two Cherubim on it and above the mercy seat. The glory cloud of the Lord would come down to rest. The glory cloud of the Lord was the old testament equivalent of the real presence. The arc was placed in the holy of holies, which was covered with a massive avail embroidered with images of chairmen because among other things, it was a symbolic garden of Eden. How's that? Because that's where the glory cloud is a Lord. The presence of God would dwell and the chair of him on the veil symbolically guard the entrance, the holy of holies, just like the chairman guard at the entrance to the garden of Eden and symbolically and liturgically in the Old Testament, the high priest was consecrated as a type of the new Adam whose role it was to faithfully guard the holy of holies, the new garden, which was veiled off from all other men. Although the high priest alone had the privilege to pass behind the veil, even he had a scrupulously observe each and every one of God's direct his in order to not be struck at himself when he pass behind the veil.
Speaker 1 04:11 Okay?
Speaker 0 04:12 For some of these things, the Old Testament prefigure Catholic realities. For example, the garden of Eden, where man was in communion with God. Prefigures the sanctuary of a Catholic church or man comes into communion with God, the Golden Arch containing the man and the word of God carved in stone. We're just kept behind the veil in the holy of holies. Prefigures the submarine containing the word of God made flesh, which is kept behind the veil of our tabernacle. Now with all that is background, let's turn the wedding quickly. Consider the most obvious feature. The bride had a wedding, her bridal veil and gown. Okay. At the first level is everyone knows, and Saint Paul makes clear in First Corinthians, the veil is a visible sign of that very thing he's talking about in today's epistle that the woman is under the authority of the man these days. This idea of submission to authority of the husband tends to be frowned upon to put it mildly, but it shouldn't be.
Speaker 0 05:07 Once we realize that the bridal veil signifies the submission of this particular woman to loving care of her husband. It's signifies her trust and confidence is Christ's like leadership and it signifies that she's chosen to follow him as a loving partner and a companion. That's something beautiful. That's what we're here to celebrate. But obviously the mystical significance, the veil goes far, far beyond the relationship of one particular woman to one particular man. See, every Catholic woman as woman is a living icon of the church, so when she fails yourself in the presence of the Lord, it's a visible reminder for all of us of the perfect spousal relationship between the Church and Christ. It's a visible reminder of the perfect submission of the church to loving rule of Christ. The veil is a visual sermon. It's a visual statement. It's a public proclamation before the Lord that he is the Lord and that we love him and that we're ready to obey him.
Speaker 0 06:19 It's a totally countercultural statement. Proclaiming obedience in the midst of a culture totally permeated with the attitude of I will not serve. And if we take a closer look at four Latin words related to the word, which means to veil even more than mystical significance becomes apparent. Okay. Father, why would we bother with Latin words? Because Latin is one of the three sacred languages. Greek and Hebrew bean, others and words from the sacred languages can often offer us very deep insights into the meanings of things. Okay, let's take a look in Latin. The word Newberry means to cover to Vail Newbury forwards, closely rated Newbury that we're going to look at our Nebula, new bays, Nimbus and Nokta. First Nebula. Nebula means a cloud or foggy mist also means a thin, transparent substance like a thin, transparent garment. So that's the first one. Nebula. Second, new bays.
Speaker 0 07:15 New Base means the smoke of Frankincense newbies. Third, Nimbus. An embassy has a specific type of bright cloud. In fact, it's that brilliant cloud shaped splendor that envelops a heavenly being like an angel or a saint when he appears here on earth. A Nimbus is also a halo, that bright radiant disc around the head of a saint. That's the third term. Nimbus, fourth <inaudible> nucleus where we get the word. Nope. Sheryl in English means pertaining to marriage and weddings and Latin nuke to means to cover to Vail in the sense of a bride covering her veil yourself. For the bridegroom means to marry. It means a bride. It means the wife herself. Okay. We've taken a real quick look at Nebula, new base, Nimbus and to, they're all derived from the same word as Newberry, Latin word, which means to Vail. You've seen a nebulous, a cloud or thin, transparent guardmen.
Speaker 0 08:10 We've seen new bays is a cloud of frankincense smoke. We've seen that Nimbus is that brilliance blender cloud that envelops a heavenly being when they appear here on earth. We've seen Newport refers to a bride villian herself for the bride. These meanings are all related. In other words, when we're in a sacred setting and we see a veil like the veil in front of the Tabernacle or the veil and the Chellis or the veil on the bride or a cloud, the cloud of incense up around the altar, all these images should come to mind. Clouds of glory and Halos and incense, smoke and bridal imagery, and we should instantly realize that we're dealing with something untouchable, something awesome, something utterly holy and filled and overshadowed with the divine presence. Now, let's start tying everything together. Ordinarily, clothing is a reminder of original sin in our fall from grace, but when we see a bride being brought forth, adorn her beautiful white gown and Vale, it's reminiscent of that heavenly garment of glory, which our first parents were clothed with an Eden.
Speaker 0 09:29 This beautiful clothing reminds us of our recreation in Christ of our restoration in Christ, the dignity, the supernatural state of sanctifying grace, this incredible dignity to which Christ has raised us. What about the color? Yes. Why does symbotica purity? Yes, white is symbolic of virginity, but when we see this beautiful white veil and gown enveloping her, surrounding her, it's like a brilliant cloud. It should strike us with impression of a Nimbus. We're being confronted as it were by the splendor of a heavenly creatures. Suddenly appeared before us. Right here on earth, striking us with an impression of a new eve recreated the restored the state of grace and holiness. The bridal veil is a visible sign before God and the Forman of a conscious, explicit rejection as sinful attitude of the old eve who inspired by the serpent wanting to rise up and have headship and authority over her husband by her rebellion, Eve inspired her husband to rebel against God's law by by her submission visibly expressed by her veil.
Speaker 0 10:42 The Catholic bride inspires her husband to obey God's law. Thin, transparent veil. Cover your vokes images of the being overshadowed, wrapped as it were by symbolic cloud like the glory cloud of the Lord over the arc of the covenant. Let the glory cloud of Lord filling the holy of holies like the glory cloud of the Lord, filling the garden of Eden, the veil Volks images and a misty cloud of frankincense enveloping the temple of God. Images of the bride as a temple of the holy ghost remind us that as long as she's in the state of grace, most Plessy, trinity, father, son, and Holy Ghost are actually present alive and the depths of her soul pouring out supernatural light and life and filling her with the light of glory and the flames of charity.
Speaker 0 11:35 The veil overshadows here like our lady was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, give us glimpses or refractions as it were, the brilliance and beauty and purity of the Mac, the Virgin, her garments are reminiscent of Saint John's vision. The apocalypse came us impression that beauty, you obedience and submission to the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, the Holy Catholic Church, Christ our Lord. And I, John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband in the glory of God as its light and its lamp is the lamb. It's important to notice that bride doesn't present herself. She's presented. The woman is presented before God for the congregation, while it's particularly before her husband, just as the first one was presented to her husband, immaculate and pier a virgin, clothed in the brilliant light, that first innocence in the garden there in the divine presence.
Speaker 0 12:42 So also this version has been created recreating holiness by Christ, holiness and purity. And Gracie presented to her husband, filled with the presence of the Lord, like a new garden of Eden veiled to show her personal submission to the loving leadership of her husband who represents Christ, Adorne, and clothing that paradoxically conceals and yet at the same time reveals clothing. It conceals her personally in accordance with modesty yet reveals these hidden mysteries, clothing that evokes a whole cascade of images. The first sanctuary Eden, the arc of the covenant, the Holy of Holies, our tabernacles, our chalices are civil Auria, blessed Virgin Mary Holy Catholic Church. Most profiling reveals the inner spiritual beauty of women as such through reality that the Sama sings of when he says in Psalm 44 14 all the glory of the king's daughters within in all of this in turn, should give us deep insights into the role and the dignity of man. Just as God the father presented the first woman to her husband saw also the father of the bride, the man who in raising this woman stood in a place that God, the father presents the woman to her husband. At the same time, he presents himself before the Lord saying, effect, I guarded your garden. Oh Lord, let no intruders in. I've kept her and protect her as a father. Now I'm presenting a chase version before you and solemnly handing over to be protected and cared for by this man.
Speaker 0 14:25 Yeah, she precesses forward. It's a song passage totally transitioned from the mystery of virginity to the mystery of motherhood. At the same time, for the waiting groom, the procession is meant to fill him with reverence and awe and wonder and anticipation at her beauty and her mystery at her purity, at her holiness and depress on him what a privilege it is. And at the same time, what a fearful responsibility it is to be your man and to be entrusted with the care and safekeeping of this gentle creature. It's meant to make him say to himself, I can't believe she's in love with me. What did I ever do to deserve that? How did someone like that fall in love with me and inspiring him? This burning desire to be a godly man worthy of that love, worthy, that confidence worthy of that submission.
Speaker 2 15:23 Okay,
Speaker 0 15:24 and then because they administer the Sackman teach other priests is only a witness on half of the church and the groomsmen that maids of honor are witnesses on behalf of society because they are the ministers of the sacrament when they exchange files. Brian's very first gift to Colleen as his wife was a flood of sanctifying grace that passed from Christ through him and into her. And the very first moment of exchanging files, her very first gift to him as her husband was a corresponding flood of sanctifying grace passing from Christ through her and into him. And at that very moment, they exchange vows. They received the same incredible blessed and that God gave to our first parents to be fruitful and multiply. He's been consecrated as a new Adam, her new add, and given the SOM obligation for God to care for a guard and keep this enclosed and may it please God fruitful garden.
Speaker 0 16:32 He was consecrated as a high priest who can safely handle this sacred vessel as long as he approaches accordance with God's instructions. No divorce, no contraception, no Australia's nation. He's consecrated as the high priest who can safely pass behind the veil, who can safely touch this holy Ark. These are just some of the mystical meanings of wedding ceremonies. We've only scratched the surface. We've heard this before, but it bears retelling considered a fact during the exchange of owls. And right here during the mass right now, the Brian and clean not actually facing each other right from the beginning. They're both faced with facing the cross, their marriage itself and their very first act of married life together take place in the shadow of the cross. It's a stark reminder that in this fallen world there is no escaping the cross. The price of recreation, the price of order replacing disorder, the price of grace driving away sin, the price of their marital happiness, the of their eternal happiness is present overshadowing their marriage from the beginning. Brian and clean up come together this morning at the foot of the cross and then newly before they evolve to spend their lives facing it together
Speaker 0 18:11 and now they're engaged and loving contest to grow in holiness. They're engaged in loving, cooperative effort, teach, become saints, and very great saints. They're engaged in a cooperative effort to help each other pairs across
Speaker 2 18:29 okay
Speaker 0 18:31 until death.
Speaker 2 18:35 He'll das.
Speaker 0 18:40 Let's close with some thoughts written by Hungarian bishops from seven years ago. Bishop toast quote. It's a great joy. If a wife can say to her husband, I can thank you that I have such strong support in life that I have such good children. It's a great joy. A husband can say to his wife, I can thank you there. I have such an understanding, life companion and such a peaceful home. The greatest joy of all will be if someday they can say to each other, I can. Thank you. Did I have attained eternal life?
Speaker 2 19:20 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 19:26 it's greatest joy of all will be if someday Brian and clean considered each other. I can. Thank you. Did I amputate? Eternal life.
Speaker 2 19:35 Amen.
