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Matthew And Kate Got Married

I witnessed the marriage of my friends yesterday, according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I have no other comment on that in particular, except to say that I remain less familiar and comfortable with that Form than I'd like to be. A very good man I met invited me to attend that parish more regularly, but I have a special bond with the Cathedral. [If your bond is so special, why don't you register there?--ed.] Why don't you finish RCIA? [Touche.--ed.]

As I sat there among many of the most faithful Catholic families in my city, I had the sense of being the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. One day, I will be Tony to someone's Maria. On the other hand, holiness has but one end, so I do belong. As with many things in life, the spiritual life is not about where you start, but where you finish.

I think the biggest thing that would stick out to you if you were a random postmodern person off the street is how serious we were. You may have rolled your eyes when the father of the bride said marriage is under attack, but it is. And you may not see yourself as part of the attack, or as one of its victims, but that's the difference between perception and reality.

Even though I would never trade my story for another one, because I will be a masterpiece of God's mercy, I can say I know I'd rather live in the society I saw yesterday than the one of society at large. We keep saying the kids are alright, but they aren't. They're writing tell-all books, and longing for a family their parents never thought of giving them.

Thank you God, for Matthew and Kate. May they experience your everlasting fidelity, and be a sign of it, all the days of their lives. I ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
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