Byzantine Wedding Primer

Some of those attending our wedding (or watching it on Facebook) may not be familiar with the Byzantine Catholic Church. The video below (and transcript which follows) provides a short explanation of what will happen during our wedding so that our guests may better understand the ceremony.  We pray that we will all grow closer to each other and to the Lord through this celebration of our marriage.

Read more

Music Monday: Forty Days

Since it’s forty days until we say, “I do”…

Forty days to wander
Forty days to die to self
Forty days to grow stronger
As faith breaks open the gates of hell
The jubilee is over
But grace is far from gone
In the hearts of the faithful
Broken on the wheels of love

‘Cause in the desert of temptation
Lies the storm of true conversion
Where springs of living water drown and refresh you
And as the Jordan pours out change
Your true self is all that remains
Where springs of living water bind and break you
Bind and break you

Forty days to remember
The Paschal Sacrifice
Forty days to discover
His passion calls us to new life
The jubilee is over
But mercy’s far from gone
In the arms of the Father
As the wayward child comes home

‘Cause in the desert of temptation
Lies the storm of true conversion
Where springs of living water drown and refresh you
And as the Jordan pours out change
Your true self is all that remains
Where springs of living water bind and break you
Bind and break you

Bind and break you
Bind and break you

Love in a time of COVID-19

Marie and I will still be getting married at the end of July. Unfortunately, with the present COVID restrictions, the wedding itself is going to be very small, restricted to our wedding party and Marie’s immediate family. Due to travel restrictions, all of my family will be watching the livestream from England (while dressed in their formal wedding attire, of course)!

However, since we took the time to create a wedding website, I thought we’d share it here and ask for your prayers as I prepare to make Marie the happiest woman in the world!

Wedding Mass Readings

As I’ve mentioned before, at the moment virtually all my friends are getting married. Over the course of life thus far I’ve been to many weddings and got to hear many different Scripture selections by different couples. Needless to say I’ve heard 1 Corinthians 13 far too often! At the most recent wedding, the subject came up and I shared what would be my own Scripture choices for my own wedding. I figured that I may as well turn it into a blog post ๐Ÿ™‚

5752_9425692894db7464b99b67
Read more

New Catholic Dating Website Launched!

For the last couple of months, I have been helping beta test a website which is being launched by a friend of mine. Normally, I’m the one writing the code, so it was a lot of fun having an opportunity to find the bugs in someone else’s work!

Although I’ve known people to find their spouseย on CatholicMatch.com, I also know of a lot of people who have found the whole online dating experience frustrating. If this is you, you might like to try CatholicChemistry

Click on the link above and sign up with the promo code “JMJ”, you’ll get a 6-month subscription for free.ย If you’re not sure how to start the conversation and get a date, you might like to try some of my favourite Catholic pick-up lines. You can thank me in your wedding toast… ๐Ÿ˜‰

Wise Words on Wednesday: The Altar Switch

Swafford

The beautiful bride in her gown stands up in front of the altar and reaches out for the hand of her handsome groom in his bow tie and tux…they pledge their love to one another, declare their vows, and flip the Altar Switch – instantly becoming the man and woman, the husband and wife they always dreamed they’d be

– Sarah Swafford, Emotional Virtue

1 2