Staðfesting vígsluheita í skóginum í Ísafirði árið 2010

Staðfesting vígsluheita í skóginum í Ísafirði í júní 2010.  

Let us pray.  Gracious God, you are always faith­ful in your love for us.  Look mercifully upon Halldór and Preety,  who have come seeking your blessing.  Let your holy spirit rest upon them so that with steadfast love they may honor the promises they make this day through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

God is love, and those who live in love live in God
and God lives in them.  Amen.

This is truly a wonderful place, isn´t it?  All around us hills and slopes covered with grass and bushes and wild flowers and blueberry plants.  And the beautiful waterfall and lively rapids beside us.  Still higher  are the mountains that embrace us from all sides and point upwards to the sky as if to remind us of higher things.

This really is a consecrated place.  It is consegrated not by dedication to one special purpose but to a wealth of  various special purposes. 

When the father and mother of the bridegroom  were children, they used to come here withe their families on a picnic.  Later, they came here together with their children.  In those days you didn´t really need a whole lot to make a picnic.  Some sandwiches, hot coffe or choclate in a thermos, a blanket and you had a wonderful picnic, a movable feast, so to speak. 

And in the fall they would come here to pick blueberries and make from them wonderful juices and jams.  In those days the feeling to the place was that it was as if it were far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  In a sense, it still is a little like that.

And I know that other people from Isafjordur present here today all have fond memories from this place.  All the memories, feelings and expectations connected to the place we are in and we bring with us here today help to make it consecrated in more  ways than can be enumerated.  And today there will be even more fond memories added to those already there.   

The memories of old and happy new memories being made here today help to make the place even more consecrated in the minds of all here present.

Because this is truly a joyous and memorable occasion, the bride and groom  having decided to seek blessings upon their wedding vows here in this beautiful place and we hope and pray that they and their families and friends will remember this special occasion with joy and that these memories will be a source of blessings and happiness in the years to come.

It is admirable that you have decided to receive a blessing for your marriage also here in Ísafjörður in the company of both your families after having entered marriage in a traditional ceremony in India.  It shows a deep respect for the culture and  values of both your homelands.  And this is what we all need, to be in touch with our roots in order to be whole, healthy and happy.   

Mutual understanding and respect are the corner­stone of every marriage and by seeking blessing in a Christian ceremony as well as a Hindu ceremony you give strong indication that you are building your marriage upon the strong foundations of mutual understanding and respect in addition to the love you have for each other. 

Love has many faces and many forms.  It can be seen as sudden infatuation.  It can be caring love. It can be  sharing love. It can also be the love that is friendship.  Last but not least love is also the giving love that does not ask for anything in return, but is ready to give all and sacrifice all for the benefit of the other person.  It is the love that loves even if the other person doesn´t respond.

Giving love is the most perfect of all love and marriage will ask of you to show also this giving love, the love of sacrifice where you give up things you find dear because of the love you have for your partner and your family.

This is the difference between a sudden attraction and a life long relationship built on true love. As you have given each other your hand you are also indicating that your love is so deep and so sincere that you will not try to change each other in any dramatic way. You will instead love each other the way you are.  Instead of trying to become same, you are ready to celebrate the difference that is between you as individuals and your respective cultures.

This beautiful act of yours has a bit of resemblence to the place you have chosen.   It is a wonderful thing to have this beautiful place in mind when you think back to this moment in your lives together.  May the memories and feelings you associate with this ceremony be a source of constant blessings like the stream beside us that flows down the hill, providing life-giving water on its way and finally finding rest in the great ocean that is the same ocean that touches the beaches of India and Iceland alike.

We pray with you that the Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen you,and that you may fulfil God's purposes for the whole of your earthly life together. Amen.

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