Bridegroom and Bride: Time-Honored Wisdom on the Perfecting Power of Marriage

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“Every marriage is an event in human history,” declared renowned preacher Msgr. Ronald Knox, articulating the animating principle of Bridegroom and Bride. “In the tapestry that Divine Providence weaves out of our lives, love of man for woman and love of woman for man” is the underlying structure.

Msgr. Knox delivered a treasure trove of wedding homilies — whether at the marriages of earls or those of numerous former students whom he served as chaplain. The result is this classic spiritual gem of a collection containing twenty-four wedding sermons befitting for both engaged and married couples as well as all seekers of genuine human affection. Each chapter is “the kind of thing for which five minutes is too short and ten minutes is too long.”

With his customary charm, wisdom, and assurance, Msgr. Knox underscores the goodness and beauty of human love. Taking its cues from the features and Scripture readings of the nuptial liturgy, these precious pages illuminate the perfecting power of the Sacrament of Marriage and the grace of the covenant to sanctify and strengthen bride and bridegroom and their family unto eternal life.

The awe-inspiring meditations delve deeply into commonplace truths that are not often pondered. As Msgr. Knox reflects upon the words of the wedding vows and the wedding ritual, you will delight in finding:

• Two things that make for a happy marriage (Can you guess?)
• Three ways that Christmas offers an example for newlyweds
• How the love of a husband and wife warms the lives of others
• Why the fiat in marriage is like Our Lady’s yes at the Annunciation
• Three warrior virtues learned in the school of love (Get ready!)

Above all, you will see out how “nature is supernaturalized” in marriage, and “becomes the handmaid of grace,” through which the husband and wife grow in holiness. As Msgr. Knox explains, through the Sacrament of Matrimony, the couple is taken up in the current of divine love and — in their ordinary duties and lives of sacrifice — live in worship of God. Through the intercession of the Holy Family, the husband and wife will begin to enjoy a love that finds its fulfillment in Heaven.

“A phenomenal gift for an engaged Catholic couple,” wrote one reviewer. “Beautifully written, accessible, and theologically profound. You could easily read one sermon a night as spiritual preparation for your wedding day.”