| Readings (Page 3) |
| READING NO: 27 We Will Not Wish you Joy We will not wish you joy on this great day, For Joy is in your hearts and goes with you Along the fragrant, mystic, sunlit way; We will not wish you joy whilst love is new. But this is our wish----May you be strong enough To shelter love, and keep it safe from harm, When winds blow high, and roads are steep and rough, May you protect your love, preserve its charm. When days are dark, may love be your sure light. When days are cold, may love be your right fire, Your guiding star when hope is out of sight, The essence and sun of your desire. May love be with you through the flight of years, Then after storms, there will always be calm. Though you have cause for heartache and for tears, Despair lasts not, when love is there for balm. This be the prayer we breathe for you today: When you have reached the summit of life's hill, May it be possible for you to say: “Married long years, but we are lovers still.” READING NO: 28 I am I am the living light. I am at peace and in harmony with all life and with all vibrations. In all my being I grow ever upwards in the light and beauty of truth. In all that I do at all times and in all ways. May the living spirit be manifest in and through me, that I may be a living light in the service of others. READING NO: 29 Carnal Cerebral Love, Denise Castellucci Carnal Cerebral Love I want to make love to your mind Stimulate me with your intellect, your insight and understanding. Ignite me with random connections and your clever wit. Carnal Cerebral Love I want to make love to your inner being. Allow me to delight in your orgasmic, dynamic mind. Open up and invite me into the deep warmth of your soul. Carnal Cerebral Love Let our synapses dance entangle and connect at the same plateau. Complete each other’s sentences, not our lives. Carnal Cerebral Love, Our physical being Our external egos decay daily and by the moment only our inner selves intact READING NO: 30 Art of Marriage A Good Marriage must be created. In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things; It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say, "1 love you," at least once each day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives; It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is speaking of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right partner. It is being the right partner. READING NO: 31 A Wedding Toast, Richard Wilbur St. John tells how, at Cana's wedding-feast, The water-pots poured wine in such amount That by his sober count there were a hundred gallons at the least. It made no earthly sense, unless to show how whatsoever/ore elects to bless Brims to a sweet excess. That can without depletion overflow. Which is to say that what love sees is true; That the world's fullness is not made but found. Life hungers to abound. And pour its plenty out for such as you. Now, if your loves will lend an ear to mine, I toast you both, good son and dear new daughter. May you not lack for water, And may that water smack of Cana's wine. READING NO: 32 Quiet Thoughts of the Seasons. The quiet thoughts of two people a long time in love Touch lightly, Like birds nesting in each other’s warmth You will know them by their laughter But to each other they speak mostly through their solitude. If they find themselves apart, they may dream of sitting undisturbed In each other's presence, of wrapping themselves warmly in each other's ease. As each Fall, when the trees shed their leaves to prepare for the next Spring's growth and fruit. May each year also bring closure-shedding the spent- and bring rebirth to the spirit of your marriage. Look ever to the future, for in it lies the creative power for your own lives. May you grow together like flowers and grass and may your life be a dance to the music of love. READING NO: 33 Most Like an Arch This Marriage,John Ciardi (adapted) Most like an arch--an entrance which upholds and shores the stone-crush up the air like lace. Mass made idea, an idea held in place. A lock in time. Inside half-heaven unfolds. Most like an arch- two weaknesses that lean into a strength. Two fallings become firm. Two joined abeyance’s become a term naming the fact that teaches fact to mean. Not quite that? Not much less. World as it is, what's strong and separate falters. All you do at piling stone on stone apart from one another is roofless around nothing. Till you kiss You are no more than uptight and unset. It is by falling in and in you make the all-bearing point, for one another's sake, in faultless fairing, raised by your own weight. READING NO: 34 Giving and Receiving I launched a smile; far out it sailed On life's wide troubled sea. And many more than I could count Came sailing back to me. I clasped a hand while whispering, "The clouds will melt away". I felt my life was very blessed, All through the hours that day. I sent a thought of happiness Where it was needed sore, And very soon thereafter, found Joy adding to my store. I wisely shared my slender hoard, Toil earned coins of gold; But presently it flowed right back Increased a hundred fold. I helped another climb a hill, A little thing to do, And yet it brought a rich reward, A friendship that was new. I think each morning when I rise, Of how I may achieve, I know by serving I advance, By giving I receive. READING NO: 35 Any Wife or Husband, Carol Haynes Let us be guests in one another's house With deferential "No" and courteous "Yes” Let us take care to hide our foolish moods Behind a certain show of cheerfulness. Let us avoid all sudden silences; We should find fresh and sprightly things to say; I must be fearful lest you find me dull, And you must dread to bore me any way. Let us knock gently at each others heart, Glad of a chance to look within - and yet Let us remember that to force one's way Is the unpardoned breach of etiquette. So shall I be hostess- you, the host- Until all need for entertainment ends; We shall be lovers when the last door shuts But what is better still - we shall be friends. READING NO: 36 Where There is Love, Helen Steiner Rice Where there is love-the heart is light, Where there is love the day is bright, Where there is love there is a song. To help when things are going wrong, Where there is love there is a smile- To make all things seem more worthwhile, Where there is love there is quiet peace, A tranquil place where turmoils cease- Love changes darkness into light And makes the heart take wingless flight, Oh, blest are they who walk in love, They also walk with God above-- And when you walk with God each day And kneel together when you pray, Your marriage will be truly blest, And God will guide your daily quest And love-that once seemed yours alone God gently blends into His own. READING NO: 37 In Love Forever--Susan Polis Schutz How can I stay in love with you forever? How can we make our relationship into a lifetime of sharing and joy? In order to stay in love Forever I must first find the right person to love and I have, in you In order to stay in love Forever we both must understand each other and ourselves vary well and we must be completely honest with each other at all times We both must have our own goals and interests and actively pursue them We both must have complete freedom of thought and we must encourage each other to follow our dreams We muse always be Fair, kind and supportive of each other We must dedicate ourselves to being equal partners in all that we feel and in all that we do. We must promise each other that we will always create time to just appreciate each other and our love and that we will never be lazy and take our love For granted In order for me to stay in love with you Forever and have a relationship that is a lifetime of sharing and loving I must really pledge myself to this wonderful commitment; and I must really want to stay in love with you forever and I do READING NO: 38 Love Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, it hopes for the future, and it doesn't brood over the past. It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up, for a great many things that are missing. If you don't have love in your life, no matter what else there is, It's not enough. |
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