Wedding of the Weddings
2015 Wedding of the Weddings
2015
"Were it not for a wedding, it would not give us here." This truth certainly fits to the participants of the XXI National Meeting of the Couples Who Had Non-alcoholic Wedding Reception "Wedding of the Weddings 2015" in Krynica Zdrój. The meeting lasted from the last Thursday in July to the first Sunday in August. Why do we stress the wedding? Because the sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery. And one of the readings (about beheading of John the Baptist) at Mass these days describes, as criminal a man is, if he does not conform this commandment. And why not-alcoholic? During the wedding ceremony the couple is reminded of God's words: What God has joined together, let not man separate. And it is generally known that alcohol separates people apart. This is evidenced by the divorce statistics and other examples, which were presented in his homily by Bishop T. Bronakowski.
The reader will ask: Is now an enlightened man willing to fret about crime, divorce, fraud, violence against one's neighbor? One must be tolerant of other value systems. And why should I care about the fate of others? One must not interfere with other private affairs. Given this attitude, it will do well to remind that there is a God, firstly, and secondly, that he is a just judge, who rewards the good and punishes evil. And that man has an immortal soul, and therefore the punishment can take a long time and even eternity. But there is also eternal reward. This is certainly the case for the 21 saints and blesseds, before whose relics we prayed in those days for the Polish families. Therefore, it is worthwhile to observe the commandments of God.
Wedding of the Weddings is an unusual wedding. It is the kind of wedding that leads to God. A large number of priests, including bishops Jeż and Bronakowski, read Holy Mass and preached to us. We visited the monumental St. Anthony's church in Krynica Zdroj, wooden churches of Krynica and Powroźnik. During a prayer walk on the Parkowa Mountain we recited the rosary and the Mercy Rosary. We asked the Virgin Mary to intercede. We are saturated with the beauty of the historic architecture of Krynica and the elegance of modern building of mineral water drinking facility, which hosted the non-alcoholic ball of Wedding of the Weddings. The beauty of old music played by Krynica-Zdroj Quartet and marching music peformed by the local orchestra during the parade of our wedding society amazed us. Concert of DEUS MEUS in the fresh air and the spiritual music of the Church Ensambles led our thoughts heavenward. Festive wedding-Polonaise and wedding dances on the ball integrated the joy of body and soul. The author of this statement did not fail to notice the royal dishes, which pleased us during the four days.
The beautiful frame of joyful leisure time served a very important purpose - the encounter with God and with men. As for the meeting with the people, so it is most important to take away one's family from everyday stress and to see happy faces of children and parents. For "conversion and evangelization begins in the family." As the motto of this year's meeting states. Next we meet other families, sharing the joys and sorrows, experiences and thoughts. Finally, the meeting provides us with the new energy, to go into the world and evangelize it, by spreading the idea of nonalcoholic weddings.
Four days have passed quickly. It is a pity that we have to leave this island of normalcy. Somewhere in a distant world more than 50% of the adult population are voluntary lifelong abstainers. Only in the forgotten European den, a bottle is subject of aspirations of "artists". Fortunately, two hundred very sensible people came to Krynica who would like to restore the Polish traditions that Piotr Skarga was a witness of. There were just times when in Poland young and healthy people did not drink alcohol but only spring water. We want his time to return. Briefly, in Krynica there was a real wedding, a real pleasure. "At this wedding Jesus also was invited with his disciples."
And I was there, I drank mineral water to the health, and what I've seen and heard, I have also reported [free translation of a poem].
And I thank all those who made this great event possible. And there were dozens that have to be listed here. I will only mention a few names here: Anna and Bartholomew Stelmach, who coordinated the preparation and supervised the meeting itself. Msgr. John Wnęk, pastor of St. Anthony's parish, Father Musiał Batłomiej and Fr. Artur ważny, bishops Jeż andBronakowski. Special thanks to Msgr. Władysław Zązel who had created "wedding of weddings" and they are constantly supervised.
See a slideshow of this year Wedding of the Weddings celebrations.