The Royal Wedding Sermon – Highlights
One of the best parts of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, in my opinion, was the wedding sermon delivered by the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Richard Chartres.
With warmth and sincerity, Bishop Chartres delivered wise and inspiring words to the royal couple, and the two billion or so people watching the wedding around the world. Here are some highlights:
Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world, but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.
A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this — the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.
We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promises of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.
As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.
As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.
I personally thought the words of Bishop Chartres were true, timely, wise, inspired and inspiring, providing a highlight of the whole ceremony. It can only be hoped that William and Catherine listened to the bishop’s words and take heed, as most certainly should every other person — whatever their personal beliefs.
Watch video of the sermon (starts at 31 min mark):
A full transcript of Bishop Chartre’s sermon is here.