The Church really, really wants the soon-to-be-newlyweds warmly greeted. Last week we read about them being met at the door warmly greeted. This week, the priest, properly vested for Mass, goes to his chair OR to the place where the bride and groom will be to better carry out the warm greetings and waits. The next thing that is said is, “When the bride and groom arrive in their place,” which means, I suppose, just about anything. If it is an extremely simple wedding, they may just take their respective places when we are ready to get started. (Honestly, a Catholic wedding can be quite a simple affair. I have had people say they didn’t want to get married in the Church because of all the fuss and grandeur. But there doesn’t HAVE to be.) One other option being, I suppose, what we are accustomed to in the United States with some form of the traditional bridal pageantry.
When they get there however, THEN the priest warmly greets them. Perhaps it is a good thing that we are so insistent on greeting and showing that they Church shares in their joy since so many people opt not to get married in Church let alone at Mass. BUT THEN, after the greeting, an entrance chant is to be sung at which point the priest does his customary reverences before beginning Mass.
Now, what constitutes a chant? It could be anything from the simple introit for the Mass to a typical song from the parish hymnal. This gets all of the bodies into the church and in their proper places and we are ready to begin, “In the name of the Father . . .
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