I have a friend (I know, it surprises me too) who is PP at St Mary Magdalen in Brighton. Fr. Ray Burke has a blog and is in the habit of occaisionally posting pithy and thought provoking observations. Today's gem is this...
"The wedding season is over, in this parish there are no more until next year. Like most priests I am a bit ambiguous about weddings. I hate the excess, the whole "princess for a day" thing, the conspicuous expense and consumption, which in so many ways is a contradiction of the Gospel and which nowadays often causes even the devout to put off marriage until the can match the outlay of their friends.
My last wedding, I wasn't the celebrant, that was another priest, I was the registrar, was a delightful contrast to the hullabaloo of most weddings. There was no music, no flowers, apart from us two priests, there was the couple and two witnesses. The reception was in a local pub, yes there were a few bottles of champagne and a few extra friends turned up, the wedding breakfast consisted of pizza from the pub menu.
For the couple, the highlight of the whole thing was kneeling before the priest to receive the nuptial blessing."
Fr Ray Blake's Blog
Not for the first time, it made me think. How much of what is really important and valuable in life have we lost in our headlong rush into the commercialisation of almost everything that we do? Or am I just being too old fashioned and reactionary for my own good?