Wedding Liturgy: Bible Scripture Readings

The following videos are the bible scriptures readings during the wedding liturgy.

First Reading, Responsorial Psalm and Second Reading

We were blessed with three readers who are fellow members invited by Sheila Auman from the religious organization called Marian Apostolate of Stewardship and Service (MASS).

The first reading is taken from the Song of Solomon 2 and read by Ms. Jasmine Beboso. While some may prefer to receive this song as pure romance, others may go beyond that and interpret the lover as an allegorical representation of Christ or God.

Here is the transcript of the First Reading. Crushed out words were skipped in the video:

Hark! My lover! Here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me “Arise my beloved, my beautiful one and come! O my love in the clefts of the rocks, in the secret recesses of the clift. Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and you are lovely.” My lover belongs to me and I to Him. He said to me, “Set me as a seal in your heart, as a seal on your arm, for storm as death is love, relentless as the netherworld as devotion, its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love nor flood sweep it away.”

This is the Word of the Lord.

A veil of solemnity hanged over the congregation as Mrs. Carmelita Omayao sang the Responsorial Psalm. Some of the people present looked asleep while reading along with their copy of the missalette.

Psalmist:

Let our response be: “I will bless the Lord at all times.”

All:

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Psalmist:

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall ever be in my mouth. My soul will glorify in the Lord that the poor may hear and be glad.

All:

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Psalmist:

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

All:

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Psalmist:

Look to God that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may mot blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him.

All:

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Psalmist:

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is, happy the man who takes refuge in Him.

All:

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

You may notice some strangeness in the voice of the second reading reader. Playback of Mrs. Myrna Vanguardia's reading was gently slowed down in order to match the tempo to that of the background music. Although she read with a commanding voice, the pitch was toned down a bit as the reading on the subject of love calls for a more compassionate tone.

A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.

Set your hearts on the greater gifts. I will show you the way which surpasses all the others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not loved, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on sins, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger, and neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Holy Gospel and Homily

The Redemptorist Choir announced the reading of the holy gospel by singing:

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
You're the light unto my path.

As short as it is, Father Patrick Joseph Martin read the holy gospel with careful pauses, allowing each word of the Lord to settle in each listener:

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said to His disciples, “As the father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live with my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and live in His love. All this I tell you so that my joy maybe yours and your joy maybe complete. This is my commandment; love one another as I have loved you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Father Martin is known to give homilies of the shortest durations. He makes no exception for weddings. For his homily, he spoke of the commandment of Jesus and later said:

Do keep your wedding liturgy and do read it now and then. And instead of giving you a long talk I'm going to give you this envelope which has very practical suggestions and help the couple sustain their love for one another.

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