Obey

I performed a Wedding Mass recently and it reminded me of a time someone (not Catholic) commented about the vows that the bride says in our form. Yes, it is those "old fashioned" words (because they always were true and so they still are true today!). She states in her vows that she promises to "love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part..." Yep, there it is; the "O" word ("obey").

The Church still has this as part of the vows because it is still part of the unchanging teaching about the Sacrament of Matrimony. No matter how many people want to reject it, deny it, and erase it, it is still truth (go read the Trent Catechism on Matrimony for a fantastic explanation of what this means).

The person who I referred to above that commented about the vows asked a recently married woman, "So now you have to obey him?" Her response was classic, and should be memorized by everyone. Without missing a beat she said, "I would rather obey the man I love and trust with my life than to have to obey some stranger on t.v., or some college professor or corporate executive like you've chosen to do!"

Bomb dropped . . . boom!