by Maureen Fiedler
I confess. I actually turned on the TV at 6 a.m. EST on April 29th and watched most of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It was a positive and welcome relief after days of watching tornadoes ravage Alabama and violence plague the people of Libya and Syria.
But what caught my ear were the words of Dr Richard Chartres, the Anglican Bishop of London, who delivered the wedding address.
He began by quoting St. Catherine of Sienna. Here's the very first line of his homily for the newly married royal couple:
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."
So said St. Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.
I found it quite wonderful that Chartres would quote a woman usually regarded as a Catholic saint. (She lived, however, before the Reformation, so Anglicans also honor her).
And Catherine seems appropriate here. She often told popes, queens and kings how to behave. Not a bad role model for a new duchess.
Here is the full text of his sermon.
[Editor's Note: An earlier version of this blog entry incorrectly identified the bishop who delivered the wedding address. It was Dr Richard Chartres, the Anglican Bishop of London, who delivered the wedding address.]
