The world is a mess but it is always thus.

I have another wedding this Saturday.  Once again, here in Thailand, the wedding is between a Catholic and a Buddhist.  He is Filipino, she is Thai.  Hence they have me, as they want the ceremony in English.  Once again, they want all the trimmings.  Personally and theologically, when it is a marriage between a Christian and a non-Christian, I am not sure why they always demand to celebrate their marriage within the eucharist. 

It seems illogical to me when at least half the people there, including one of the two getting getting married, have no idea at all of what is happening as they are not Catholic.  Secondly, in marriage, we celebrate unity but, with eucharist in the same celebration, we highlight disunity as one partner and one whole side of this new family cannot share eucharist as it is not their belief.  Then there is the added factor of language as the celebration is in English and many present will not understand English.  So why bother?  There are just so many mixed messages in the one celebration.  Basically, we are highlighting disunity while our focus is celebrating unity.  What is religion about?   

Another couple agreed with me that celebrating their marriage during mass was contradictory when one of them held no religion.  The Catholic partner had then told a Thai Catholic friend that the wedding ceremony would not include mass and the response of the good Catholic was one of shock as mass would act to make for a successful marriage.  Really, even when one partner has no religion?   Is religion reduced to superstition? 

Back to this Saturday's couple.  As usual, they are lovely people but I have to ask - where do they come from?   Why come to the cathedral to get married?  Why get married during mass?  

I did raise the issue of not celebrating the marriage within mass with this couple and I was asked a question by the Catholic groom. 
How long does it take with the mass? 
About 50 minutes, I responded.
The groom, who is the Catholic, replied - That is good timing for the reception.  So we will have mass.
So in this case, is it all reduced to timing? 

I wanted to share another story of this week.  Briefly, it concerns a well bred, older, educated American who comes here every six months.  He is full of how the world is spinning out of control, especially under a Trump presidency.  It is as if his life mission is world salvation.  For him, it is all about talking and philosophising so as to try and bring the world under his cloud of control.  If no control, it will not work.  I agree, the world is a mess but it always has been.  Reality is I cannot solve it and neither is it my place to do so alone. 

My point in both stories of this week is really about how religion has been lost in our world, when our world so needs it so as to provide an ethic for order and unity.   When religion is so needed, it is either not understood and so not used or abused to present what it is not about.  What then is religion about? 

A key is in the gospel for this week's wedding - building our house on a solid foundation.  One basic premise is that it is not my house alone.  We then build our house together with God.  The world is a mess.  That is for sure.  True religion aims to make sense out of the chaos and so give us a sure foundation in the midst of the chaos that is with us always.