Weddings
See also: Union, Marriage, Unity.
The Weddings refer to the celebratory rite that consecrates a marriage. In Catholicism, just as with marriage, the term "Weddings" can have a mystical meaning referring to an intimate spiritual union between God and a Soul.
In "The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me"
- Weddings at Cana: First public miracle of Jesus, performed at the request of Mary: The Water changed into wine at the wedding of Susanna, a relative of the Family.[1]
- "That must have been a great wine!" memories of the Weddings at Cana evoked at Bethany, on the evening of the anointing.[2]
- Parable of the king who holds the Weddings for his son, told at Bethany ([3]–[4]): riches and feasting prevent entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.[5]
In the Fundamental Christian Texts
In the Bible
- Psalm 45(44): Song for the Weddings of a king.[6]
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- No indication about Weddings as a celebratory rite, but comments about marriage.[7]
In Other Sources
Weddings at Cana - excerpts from "Jesus in His Time" Daniel-Rops - Arthème Fayard edition - 1944 - p. 195:The Weddings in Jewish land were marked by ceremonies and rejoicings in great numbers: they lasted from three to eight days depending on the fortune of the spouses. Those attended by Jesus must have been of well-established people, judging by the quantities of Water planned for the ritual ablutions and the Presence of a "master of the feast," that is, a butler. Starting on Wednesday, the usual day for the marriage of virgins, they certainly had to last at least until the Neighboring Sabbath. Once the bride was brought in a sedan chair to her new home, the ritual vessel broken under the canopy, the vows exchanged in the shadow of the nuptial veil, the pleasures of the table began. Usually sober, the Jews on such occasions loved splendor and almost excess. The heavy dishes, dripping with fat, meats and game, stuffed fish, followed one another for a long time. In almost all was found the onion, base of Israelite cuisine since the sojourn in Egypt, in the time of Joseph. They drank a lot. In Hebrew, banquet and drinking bout are used as synonyms without any pejorative nuance. The vintages of Palestine are excellent, high in alcohol content, and the vine is such a loved and usual plant that Jesus will borrow many of his symbols from it. Now, some time after the feast had started, the wine ran out; The master had poorly arranged things. Jesus, who participated in the feast, among the guests reclining on the couches in the hall, saw His mother coming to him. "They have no more wine." …At the entrance of the house there were six stone jars intended for ritual ablutions: each contained two or three measures. The "measure," bath among the Jews, corresponding to about forty liters, the six jars must have held together six or seven hundred liters!