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| Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge smile following their marriage at Westminster Abbey. Photo: GETTY |
One of the glories of the Anglican tradition is its Book of Common Prayer -- the wedding service that William and Catherine participated in today is the same that every couple participates in. We all make the same vows "in the sight of God and in the face of this congregation."
The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, made that same connection in his sermon. "In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future."
"Faithful and committed relationships," he added, "offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life."
The Bishop of London's Sermon at the Royal Wedding
God grant that Catherine and William, and every "royal couple" everywhere, will enjoy -- and share! -- the fruits of their faithfulness and commitment. That generous self-offering will indeed "set the world on fire."
