The Bridal March: A Revelation During Holy Communion
Yesterday, I stood in my pew in preparation for Communion, as I have-literally-thousands of times before. as I've been a daily Mass-goer for years now.
But this time, God decided to reveal a truth to my “knower.” Not my thinker, not my believer, my “knower.” Knowing is a whole different level from thinking and believing.
It wasn't anything He had hidden from me.
He says it multiple times, in multiple ways in His Book.
I just never really got it like this before.
Okay-maybe I'm a little slow. But this is what happened.
I was probably three-quarters of the way back from the front of the church, on the right-hand side of the middle pews. There's another section to my right, and two more on the opposite side. The church is built in a semi-circle and holds about a thousand people. It was First Friday Mass, and I'd guess there were about 350 people there-faithful souls who didn't come because they had to, but because they wanted to.
That's the beauty of morning Mass.
It's quieter. Deeper. More personal.
These people are in love.
As usual, I and my row stood before we could actually move into the aisle to approach the Eucharistic minister-whether priest or layperson. The two rows in front of us were also standing and waiting. And because this church is shallow and wide, people stream in from the far side sections too, so you can really see the whole movement of the congregation all at once. The whole church moves together.
All of a sudden, I saw it.
THIS, was a bridal march.
The Church-all of us-were rising to go meet our Bridegroom.
This wasn't just a Communion line. It was the Bride walking toward her Groom.
Where heaven meets earth.
Where love becomes flesh.
Where the nuptial covenant is consummated-not in metaphor, but in mystery.
The Eucharist: where the two become one.
Maybe it struck me more deeply because Mike and I just went through our Catholic wedding-a convalidation of our civil marriage after 22 years together. And we felt it. The change. The increase in love, commitment, and intimacy. A grace we didn't manufacture. It came from the sacrament.
And as I stood there, I suddenly realized:
This is what every Communion is meant to be.
The Bride and the Bridegroom-uniting.
One step at a time, from every direction, the faithful came forward. The music played. There was a cadence to it. A rhythm. Almost like... a wedding march.
I even wondered, just for a moment, what it would feel like if someone actually played "Here Comes the Bride."
Would it wake us up to the miracle?
Because that's what's happening.
Each person receives Jesus into their body, bonding their very molecular nature to His divinity. The mystery of divine love literally entering us-not symbolically, but sacramentally. He in us, and we in Him. The two become one.
It's no wonder so many saints have wept at Communion.
The moment is not symbolic. It's nuptial.
It's not just beautiful-it's eternal.
At every Mass, the Church-the Bride of Christ-walks toward her Beloved.
Not in white lace and pearls, but clothed in grace, longing, and glory.
So may we never walk that aisle thoughtlessly again.
May we remember: We are the Bride. He is the Bridegroom. And in that moment... we become one.
Scripture & Catechism: The Theology Behind the Bridal March Scripture
Ephesians 5:25-32 "This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church."
Revelation 19:79 "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
John 6:56 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."
Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC 1617 "The Eucharist is the sacrament of the Bridegroom and the Bride."
CCC 1329 "...we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.