Bridegroom and Bride: Time-Honored Wisdom on the Perfecting Power of Marriage

by Ronald Knox

Every marriage is an event in human history," declared renowned preacher Msgr. Ronald Knox, articulating the animating principle of Bridegroom and Bride. "In the tapestry that Divine Providence weaves out of our lives, love of man for woman and love of woman for man" is the underlying structure. Msgr. Knox delivered a treasure trove of wedding homilies -- whether at the marriages of earls or those of numerous former students whom he served as chaplain. The result is this classic spiritual gem of a collection containing twenty-four wedding sermons befitting for both engaged and married couples as well as all seekers of genuine human affection. Each chapter is "the kind of thing for which five minutes is too short and ten minutes is too long." With his customary charm, wisdom, and assurance, Msgr. Knox underscores the goodness and beauty of human love. Taking its cues from the features and Scripture readings of the nuptial liturgy, these precious pages illuminate the perfecting power of the Sacrament of Marriage and the grace of the covenant to sanctify and strengthen bride and bridegroom and their family unto eternal life. The awe-inspiring meditations delve deeply into commonplace truths that are not often pondered. As Msgr. Knox reflects upon the words of the wedding vows and the wedding ritual, you will delight in
Above all, you will see out how "nature is supernaturalized" in marriage, and "becomes the handmaid of grace," through which the husband and wife grow in holiness. As Msgr. Knox explains, through the Sacrament of Matrimony, the couple is taken up in the current of divine love and -- in their ordinary duties and lives of sacrifice -- live in worship of God. Through the intercession of the Holy Family, the husband and wife will begin to enjoy a love that finds its fulfillment in Heaven. "A phenomenal gift for an engaged Catholic couple," wrote one reviewer. "Beautifully written, accessible, and theologically profound. You could easily read one sermon a night as spiritual preparation for your wedding day."

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2023

About the author

Monsignor Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was a Roman Catholic priest, theologian, author of detective stories, as well as a writer and a regular broadcaster for BBC Radio.

Knox had attended Eton College and won several scholarships at Balliol College, Oxford. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 1912 and was appointed chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford, but he left in 1917 upon his conversion to Catholicism. In 1918 he was ordained a Catholic priest. Knox wrote many books of essays and novels. Directed by his religious superiors, he re-translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English, using Hebrew and Greek sources, beginning in 1936.

He died on 24 August 1957 and his body was brought to Westminster Cathedral. Bishop Craven celebrated the requiem mass, at which Father Martin D'Arcy, a Jesuit, preached the panegyric. Knox was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church, Mells.

Reviews

[Ben Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not outstanding.

It’s a collection of 24 short homilies given by a priest to couples he married over the course of his life.

3 really outstanding ones imo, 11, 14, 22. The rest were in the range of good to forgettable. They all had at least good line or a paragraph in them that I marked up so I could skim through next time, but not sure all of them needed to be published. I think he would’ve been better served by collaborating with some other priests and getting 3-4 of the best from each priest.

Very short easy read and each homily is 3-4 pages so very manageable book.