Reflections on Marriage from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer Service

In my forty-four years of priestly ministry, I presided at many marriage ceremonies using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer service. In addition to presiding at ceremonies, I met with couples intending to marry, and with couples struggling in their marriage. In this book I use the Prayer Book service as a means to reflect on the meaning of marriage.

For example, most people feel that marriage should be defined by love. But just what is love? Other questions arise once one begins to reflect. Why is there marriage? What constitutes marriage? What is the purpose of it? Then, too, I have my own lived experience of marriage in which my wife and I were blessed with two children that informs my reflections.