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Life is tough. Nuns are tougher.

Saturday, July 07, 2007


Yesterday a record number of happy couples got married. Normally, this would thrill me. All these weddings mean that a whole bunch of people who were living in sin (let's face the music here) have managed to straighten things out. At least we hope they have.

We hope they managed to steam over to a confessional before the wedding. Somehow I doubt it. (Again, I have to smell the coffee....the old stale coffee that has been sitting on the burner over at the Kwiki Mart, nee 7/11 since 1968.) Because the reason so many people got married yesterday, and not the day before or today or tomorrow, is because they believed that getting married yesterday, with all those sevens on their marriage certificates, will bring them luck.

I could cry. With six out of ten marriages ending in divorce these days, I would hope these folks had a little more on the ball than a lucky wedding day.

According to Catholic doctrine, there is no such thing as 'luck'. As a Catholic, you are not allowed to put your faith into anything but God. If you do, you are breaking the First Commandment: "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me."

By that God meant, "Thou shalt not put thy faith in a four leaf clover, a rabbit's foot, an old t-shirt, a pair of sneakers, crystals and candles, numbers or stars. Thou shalt step on cracks in the sidewalk, walk under ladders as long as there isn't something precariously balanced on the the top of them, break mirrors and spill small amounts of salt. Thou shalt wipe up the salt with a dish cloth and throw it in the sink. Thou shalt walk all around behind black cats."

The number seven has no power whatsoever to get these people to stay married. I can't imagine anyone making it through their Pre-Canaan classes only to chirp to the priest, "...and we're getting married on 7/07/2007 because it will be GOOD LUCK!"

To which the harried priest would mumble, "oh well.....good luck, then."

And I'll give you one guess where a record number of weddings took place! I wonder how many of them were married by an Elvis impersonator. They have so many strikes against them from the get go.

1. The state of their souls before the wedding.

2. The belief in the power of a number over the power of God.

3. Obviously not attending Pre-Canaan instruction.

4. Not actually being married in the eyes of God.

5. The return to #1 on this list by virtue of the fact that they are sinning by putting their faith in a number instead of God and not being married by a priest.
What a vicious cycle.

6. Getting married by an Elvis impersonator. Not that getting married by the actual Elvis would be any better.

Lucky for them, gambling is not necessarily a sin, nor is drinking or the list could be endless. Thank goodness I caught this on the news to add these couples to my prayer list! We musn't despair! That's a sin, too.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmm.

Pre-CANA (not Caanan). Cana being the wedding feast where Christ performed his first public miracle (changing the water into good wine)

And the Sacrament of Marriage is administered each to the other by the couple, and the Church witnesses this in the presence of a priest or deacon. The witness is required, but the actual marriage is the covenant of the couple.

And you do know that non-Catholics can enter into sacramental marriages....witness the situations of many who are reconciling their faith to the Church with the dreaded "marriage situation" requiring an examination by the Tribunal. Many of those marriages are found to be sacramental.

But I'm right with you praying for those who chose the date for "luck." Ick ick ick.

Sister Mary Martha said...

Both Cana and Canaan are correct. Use the Google.

Which reminds me I left out one! Not being married inside a Catholic church.

Sister Mary Martha said...

Caanan would indeed be incorrect.

ali mata said...

my brother got married yesterday (07/07/07) but only because he thinks thats a date he can actually remember! ha!

Saint Maker said...

Hello Sister! I just thought you'd like to know that I am one of those 4 out of 10 Happily married and dedicated to my vocation. Not that I wouldn't like to bonk my sweetie on the head from time to time... but when I feel like that I remember that God picked him for me so I can just give a squeeze and forgive him. Each year our marriage grows stronger and stronger. We've been married 22 years ... we were married on the feast day of St. Thomas More ... defender of marriage!

About lucky/unlucky numbers, dates, and other garbage, I had to have a serious operation several years ago. The bad thing was that my surgeon was booked solid and the OR was also booked. I told my husband not to worry that if God wanted me to have this operation, it would happen. Well the next day I got a phone call and they asked if Friday May 13 would be OK. I said fine with me. The nurse told me that it was open because so many are superstitious. Oh well my lucky day! LOL... I didn't notice until I got home that it was the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima!!! You can't imagine the joy it brought to me. I love our Blessed Mother and so happy she helped work this out for me.

Everyday that we are alive to pray for the poor souls, to grow closer to God, to evangelize and spread the message of God's Divine Mercy ... is a lucky day. ;)

Anonymous said...

Sister, "Canaan" is common --though not THAT common-- but it is not correct. "Pre-Cana" is correct.

Anonymous said...

You say potatoe I say potAtoe, you say tomato, I say toMAto... lets just agree to disagree gals!

Sister Mary Martha said...

Well, I guess I'm offically "too old". Here all this time I thought people were just lazy in their pronounciation of Canaan, the town where Jesus changed water to wine. I guess I just imagined that the pre CANA announcements in the church bulletin were a local anachronism.

The name must have been shortened at Ellis Island when they shortened St. Nicholas (Sinter Claus) to Santa.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sister, Jesus performed his first miracle at a marriage feast in *Cana*.

Denise said...

I wrote my own post on marriage here. If those getting married in the Church really approached Marriage as a sacrament and as a response to a Divine call to a vocation, the Catholic divorce rate would be far less than the general population. Unfortunately,it is indistinguishable from the general population. I think we Catholics have a lot of work to do in educating folks on what it means to get married.

Sister Mary Martha said...

Look here, people, it's not just me or something I made up to vex you.
http://www.rastko.org.yu/isk/images/canaan_wedding.html

Jane said...

No, it isn't just you, Sister. I've usually seen it spelled "Cana," but I've also heard and seen it as "Canaan."

I hope you will add my fiancé and I to your prayer list, not because we're being bad but because we're trying to be good! I think we're the only couple in our marriage prep class who aren't living together. It's very uncomfortable when the priest leaves us to talk amongst ourselves and everyone ends up staring at those weirdos (us) who aren't sleeping together and who take the Church's teaching on birth control seriously.

Honestly, you'd think that they thought Catholics were aliens, except that they claim they're Catholics, too.

Laura The Crazy Mama said...

I sponsored a girl (RCIA) that was originally from Cambodia. She didn't speak English very well and I loved the way she said "Cath-oh-lick" she was such a sweetie! She met an Asian man in the South through some friends and had a long distance affair with him with the intentions of getting married once she became Catholic. She did everything right and was a very "good girl" in regards to pre-marriage prep. She didn't understand everything but she really wanted to be Catholic, it was the most important thing to her. It was beautiful! I asked her why she wasn't going to get married the following year instead of waiting for two, whole years (she had to move down there but would NOT live with him before they were married) and she said that the following year was a "bad luck number" for her and the year after that was better. I just sat there stunned. I told her, "Hey, you're Catholic now. Lucky numbers and such are just nonsense, you have your faith and you are doing everything by the book!" She insisted on her original thought and would not be moved from it. I guess it was a cultural thing that she could not root out of her psyche or something. She has since married and is very happy and wanting babies!

Anonymous said...

Dear Jane here is a lovely novena to St. Agnes for unmarried couples.
St. Agnes,although you were only a child, you believed that Jesus was always with you; help us to remember that he is also with us and to remain true to his presence.
St Agnes, you refused to give up your faith, help us to be proud of our faith to love it, to be strong in it, and to give witness to it daily.
St. Agnes, patron saint of unmarried couples, watch over Jane and xxx keep them strong in their faith, committed to chastity and virginity until marriage be with them and always pray for them. Amen
My husband and I have been married nearly 23 years, I promise you will never regret chosing chastity until you are married.

Anonymous said...

Sister what do you think about organ donation? I've read several things but I'm just more confused. I fear death will be 'hastened' to 'harvest' the organs, if -God forbid- I ever find myself in this delima what is right?

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, what will all those couples do in the 7th year of their marriage...
Barbara K.

Scelata said...

I just thought this story might cheer and encourage you the way it did me.
I was having a meeting in the choir loft to plan the music for an upcoming wedding last Friday night, while down in the nave, a rehearsal was going on for one of those myriad 7-7-7 weddings.
I had figured about how long the rehearsal would take, and didn't plan on actually playing any loud music (to demonstrate to the couple with whom I was meeting,) that might disturb the party downstairs until they had all left.
But after the obvious rehearsal was over, there still seemed to be many people downstairs, just sitting in the pews.
And slowly, they dissappeared, one by one.

They had ALL asked to go to confession after the rehearsal. The couple, the entire wedding party and the rest of their immediate families.

All of them.

Lovely, huh?

(Save the Liturgy, Save the World)

Anonymous said...

Dear sister,
I have fallen in love with a catholic nun. And she with me as well. We know we are not supposed to fall in love. But circumstances is such till we fall in love with each other. We planned to get marry soon. She had made her solemn perpetual vows. If she get dispensation from her vows, can our marriage be blessed in catholic chuch. I always believe a person always have the right and freedom to choose last time, now and in future. Do need your advise sister. Thanks!

Tony said...

Dear Sister,

Is it ok if the Elvis impersonator is actually a Catholic priest? How about if you replace all of the normal hymns with Elvis tunes with changed lyrics to reflect the cycle?

I think it would foster much more active participation in the pews, since more people know the Elvis music than "Holy God, we praise Thy name".

Anonymous said...

Dear Sister,

Can you please post me a novena prayer for getting married with my loved one. We have somany hurdles in getting married. But i have total faith and trust in Lord Jesus that he will unite us and get us married witheachother very soon

Thank you soo much

Anonymous said...

Can you please post me a novena prayer for getting married with my loved one. We have somany hurdles in getting married. But i have total faith and trust in Lord Jesus that he will unite us and get us married witheachother very soon

Thank you soo much