"A
History of Love", by Diane
Ackerman
"Any
Husband or Wife”, by
Carole Haynes
"Benediction
of the Apaches"
"Blessing
For A Marriage", by James
Dillet Freeman
"Blessing of the Hands"
"Desiderata", by Max Erhmann
"Friendship",
by Judy Bielicki
"Hug
O' War", by Shel Silverstein
"I
Am Love"
"I
Love You”, by Roy
Croft
"Looking
For Your Face", by Rumi
“Love
Is Friendship Caught Fire”, by
Laura Hendricks
"Marriage
Joins Two People in the Circle of Its Love", by
Edmund O’Neill
"On
Love", by Thomas a Kempis
"On
Children", by Kahlil Gibran
"On
Love", by Kahlil Gibran
"On
Marriage", by Kahlil Gibran
“Sonnet
17”, by Pablo Neruda
"Sonnet
18", by William Shakespeare
"Sonnet
116", by William Shakespeare
"Sonnet
XLIII", by Elizabeth Barrett
Browning
“Sooner or Later”
"The
Art of a Good Marriage", by
Wilferd Arlan Peterson
"The
Hungering Dark", by Frederick
Buechner
"The
Hymn of the Universe", by
Teilhard de Chardin
"The
Irrational Season", by
Madeleine L'Engle
"The
Magic of Love", by Helen Steiner
Rice
"The
Merchant of Venice", by William
Shakespeare
“Time
In A Bottle", by Jim Croce
"You
Were Born Together", by Kahlil
Gibran
"Blessing
For A Marriage", by James
Dillet Freeman (back to top of page)
“May
your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should
bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and
understanding. May you always need one another -- not so much to fill
your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a
valley to be complete. The valley does not make the mountain less, but
more. And the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain
towering over it. So let it be with you and you. May you need one
another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out
of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May
you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another. May you
succeed in all-important ways with one another, and not fail in the
little graces. May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love
you!" and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that
push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take
the first step back. May you enter into the mystery that is the
awareness of one another's presence -- no more physical than spiritual,
warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are
in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and
may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may
you find it loving one another.”
From "The Irrational
Season", by Madeleine L'Engle
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"Ultimately
there comes a time when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people
who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their
love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It
is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create,
a marriage itself is something which has to be created. To marry is the
biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. If we commit
ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a
rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all
the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into
that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a
lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but
participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human
calling."
“Love
Is Friendship Caught Fire”, by
Laura Hendricks (back to top of page)
"Love
is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, 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, hopes for the future, and does not brood
over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles 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 you lack. If you do not have it, no matter
what else there is, it is not enough."
"Benediction
of the Apaches"
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"Now
you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you.
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one Life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth"
"A
History of Love", by Diane Ackerman
(back to top
of page)
“Love.
What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has
altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art,
cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved,
driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fueled national
scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How
can love’s spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of
one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than
civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days.
The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how
narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our
moments of loving, and being loved.”
"On
Love", by Thomas a Kempis
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“Love
is a mighty power, a great and complete good. Love alone lightens every
burden, and makes rough places smooth. It bears every hardship as
though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and
acceptable. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing
higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better
in heaven or earth; for love is born of God. Love flies, runs and leaps
for joy. It is free and unrestrained. Love knows no limits, but
ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account
of toil, attempts things beyond its strength. Love sees nothing as
impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things. It is strange and
effective, while those who lack love faint and fail. Love is not fickle
and sentimental, nor is it intent on vanities. Like a living flame and
a burning torch, it surges upward and surely surmounts every
obstacle.”
"Marriage
Joins Two People in the Circle of Its Love", by
Edmund O’Neill (back to top of page)
“Marriage
is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring
out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that
no other human relationship can equal; a joining that is promised for a
lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of
life’s most important relationships. A wife and a husband are
each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher,
listener, and critic. There may come times when one partner is
heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the
tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches
every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher;
commitment is stronger; even anger is felt more strongly, and passes
away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life
is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new
experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of
life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in
marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them
closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a
potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a
lifetime to fulfill.”
“I
Love You”, by Roy
Croft (back to top of page)
“I
love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with
you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself, but for
what you are making of me. I love you, for the part of me that you
bring out. I love you, for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart,
and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can’t
help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out, into the light, all the
beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to
find. I love you, because you are helping me to make of the lumber of
my life, not a tavern, but a temple. Out of the works of my every day,
not a reproach, but a song. I love you, because you have done more than
any creed could have done to make me good, and more than any fate could
have done to make me happy. You have done it without a touch, without a
word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself. Perhaps that
is what being a friend means, after all.”
excerpt
from “The Art of a Good Marriage”, by
Wilferd Arlan Peterson (back to top of page) Back
to Let's Get Married!
"A
good marriage must be created.
In marriage the "little" things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say, ”I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values, and common objectives.
It is standing together and facing the world.
It is forming a circle that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in
thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person -- it is being the right
partner."
“Time
In A Bottle", by Jim Croce
(back to top
of page)
“If
I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do, is
to save every day ‘till eternity passes away, just to spend
them with you. If I could make days last forever; if words could make
wishes come true; I'd save every day like a treasure and then, again, I
would spend them with you. If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams
that had never come true; the box would be empty, except for the memory
of how they were answered by you. But there never seems to be enough
time to do the things you want to do, once you find them. I've looked
around enough to know that you're the one I want to go through time
with.”
“I
Am Love"
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“Some
say I can fly on the wind, yet I haven’t any wings. Some have
found me floating on the open sea, yet I cannot swim. Some have felt my
warmth on cold nights, yet I have no flame. And though you cannot see
me, I lay between two lovers at the hearth of fireplaces. I am the
twinkle in your child’s eyes. I am hidden in the lines of
your mother's face. I am your father's shield as he guards your home.
And yet… Some say I am stronger than steel, yet I am as
fragile as a tear. Some have never searched for me, yet I am around
them always. Some say I die with loss, yet I am endless. And though you
cannot hear me, I dance on the laughter of children. I am woven into
the whispers of passion. I am in the blessings of Grandmothers. I
embrace the cries of newborn babies. And yet… Some say I am
a flower, yet I am also the seed. Some have little faith in me, yet I
will always believe in them. Some say I cannot cure the ill, yet I
nourish the soul. And though you cannot touch me, I am the gentle hand
of the kind. I am the fingertips that caress your cheek at night. I am
the hug of a child. I am love.”
“Looking
For Your Face”, by
Rumi (back to top of page)
“From
the beginning of my life I have been looking for your face, but today I
have seen it. Today I have seen the charm, the beauty, the unfathomable
grace of the face that I was looking for. Today I have found you, and
those who laughed and scorned me yesterday are sorry that they were not
looking as I did. I am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty,
and wish to see you with a hundred eyes. My heart has burned with
passion and has searched forever for this wondrous beauty that I now
behold. I am ashamed to call this love human, and afraid of God to call
it divine. Your fragrant breath, like the morning breeze, has come to
the stillness of the garden. You have breathed new life into me. I have
become your sunshine, and also your shadow. My soul is screaming in
ecstasy. Every fiber of my being is in love with you. Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart, and you have made radiant for me the earth
and sky. My arrow of love has arrived at the target. I am in the house
of mercy, and my heart is a place of prayer.”
"Sonnet
XLIII", from "Sonnets from the Portuguese",
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (back to top of page)
"How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death."
“Sooner
or Later”
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“Sooner
or later we begin to understand that love is more than verses on
valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that love is
here and now, real and true, the most important thing in our lives. For
love is the creator of our favorite memories, and the foundation of our
fondest dreams. Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that
can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely
of places. And this radiance that never fades, this mysterious and
magical joy, is the greatest treasure of all -- one known only by those
who love."
“Hug
O' War”, by Shel
Silverstein (back to top of page)
"I
will not play at tug o' war. I'd rather play at hug o' war, where
everyone hugs instead of tugs, where everyone giggles, and rolls on the
rug, where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles,
and everyone wins.”
“Sonnet
17”, by Pablo Neruda
(back to top
of page)
“I
don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz or arrow of
carnations that propagate fire: I love you as certain dark things are
loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the
plant that doesn't bloom, and carries hidden within itself the light of
those flowers, and thanks to your love, darkly in my body lives the
dense fragrance that rises from the earth. I love you without knowing
how, or when, or from where, I love you simply, without problems or
pride: I love you in this way because I know no other way of loving but
this, in which there is no I or you; so intimate that your hand upon my
chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes
that close.”
"Desiderata", by Max Erhmann
(1927)
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"Go
placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there
may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good
terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and
listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have
their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to
the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or
bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than
yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep
interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession
in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business
affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you
to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and
everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not
feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all
aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly
the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do
not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of
fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with
yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and
the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear
to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be
at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your
labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in
your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a
beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
excerpt
from “Any Husband or Wife”,
by Carole Haynes (back to top of page)
“Let
us be guests in one another’s house, with a deferential
“No” and courteous “Yes.” Let
us take care to hide our foolish moods behind a certain show of
cheerfulness. Let us avoid all sullen 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
other’s 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 we shall be host and hostess, until all need
for entertainment ends. We shall be lovers when the last door shuts.
But what is better still, we shall be friends.”
"Sonnet
18", by William Shakespeare
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"Shall
I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade
Which in eternal lines to time thou grow’st
So long as men can breathe and eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
"Sonnet
116", by William
Shakespeare (back to top of page)
"Let
me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh no, it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering barque
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
"The
Merchant of Venice", Act 4, Scene 1 (spoken by Portia),
by William Shakespeare (back to top of page) Back
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"The
quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, [Jew,]
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy."
From "The Hymn of the
Universe", by Teilhard de
Chardin (back to top of page)
"Only
love can bring individual beings to their perfect completion, as
individuals, by uniting them one with another, because only love takes
possession of them and unites them by what lies deepest within them.
This is simply a fact of our everyday experience. For indeed at what
moment do lovers come into the most complete possession of themselves
if not when they say that they are lost in one another? And is not love
all the time achieving - in couples, in teams, all around us - the
magical and reputedly contradictory feat of personalizing through
totalizing? And why should not what is thus daily achieved on a small
scale be repeated one day on world-wide dimensions?
Humanity,
the spirit of the earth, the synthesis of individuals and peoples, the
paradoxical conciliation of the element with the whole, of the one with
the many: all these are regarded as utopian fantasies, yet they are
biologically necessary; and if we would see them made flesh in the
world what more need we do than imagine our power to love growing and
broadening, till it can embrace the totality of human beings and of the
earth?"
"On
Love" and "On
Marriage" , excerpts from "The
Prophet", by Kahlil Gibran
"On
Love"
(back to top
of page)
"Then
said the student Almitra, Speak to us of love. And he raised his head
and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And
with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you, follow him,
though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield
to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And
when he speaks to you believe in him, though his voice may shatter your
dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns
you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for
your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your
tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your
roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth."
"On
Marriage"
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"Then
Almitra spoke again and said, and what of Marriage master? And he
answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be
forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death
scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory
of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds
of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond
of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your
souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give
one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and
dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone."
"On
Children" , by Khalil Gibran
(back to top
of page)
“And
a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, ‘Speak to us
of Children.’ And he said, ‘Your children are not
your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s
longing for itself. They come through you, but not from you. And though
they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your
love, but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may
house their bodies, but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the
house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You
may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For
life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows
from which your children, as living arrows, are sent forth. The archer
sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and he bends you with his
might that his arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the
archer’s hand be for gladness, for even as he loves the arrow
that flies, so he loves also the bow that is
stable.’”
"You
Were Born Together", by Kahlil
Gibran (back to top of page) Back
to Let's Get Married!
"You
were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be
together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you
shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be
spades in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance
between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love. Let it
rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each
other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of
your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and
be joyous, but let each of you be alone, even as the strings of the
lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your
hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the land
of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near
together, for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree
and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow."
"Friendship"
, by Judy Bielicki
(back to top
of page)
“It
is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However,
without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on
an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a
happy life-it is the foundation on which to build an enduring
relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and
it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world
outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our
foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True
friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and
encourages us to grow to our best potential. (Bride) and (Groom) came
together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their
love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of
true friendship.”
"The
Magic of Love" , by Helen
Steiner Rice (back to top of page)
“Love
is like magic, and it always will be,
For love still remains life's sweet mystery.
Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange,
And there's nothing in life that love cannot change!
Love can transform the most commonplace
Into beauty and splendor and sweetness and grace.
Love is unselfish, understanding and kind,
For it sees with its heart, and not with its mind.
Love is the answer that everyone seeks;
Love is the language that every heart speaks.
Love can't be bought, it is priceless and free.
Love, like pure magic, is life's sweet mystery!!”
“Blessing
of the Hands"
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“These
are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love
for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to
love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that
will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are
the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the
years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your
mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from
your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that
will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help
you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you
strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even
when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving
you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.”
From
"The Hungering Dark"
, by Frederick Buechner (back to top of page)
"Matrimony
is called holy, because this brave and fateful promise of a man and a
woman, to love and honor and serve each other through thick and thin,
looks beyond itself to more fateful promises still, and speaks mightily
of what human life at its most human and most alive and most holy must
always be. Every wedding is a dream, and every word that is spoken
there means more than it says, and every gesture - the clasping of
hands, the giving of rings - is rich with mystery. And so it [is that]
we hope with every bride and groom, that the love they bear one
another, and the joy they take in one another, may help them grow in
love for this whole world where their final joy lies."
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