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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1920)
i ! I r r VOL,. XXXIX. PORTLAND, OREGON, . SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL ,4, 1920 NO. 14 lEj f adif i o CJood Omen Xcebmpnn Easfer 'Brides- n V'k Portland Girls Marry at Lent's End to Gain Sanctity p , S II I Ifclvu ' for Joyous Sacrament. - "i L I V" ' ! J mV'-3. -;j IMtts Si--i?ir. i-Ji'-v U V V ' I ' V. franc-zJ teffzolic efzzex-cJi. N. vvr if -kiss y I v i ew$ w f SfTcdft Sv nN-; v fT ' marriage shall be fitly displayed to I- i'll S ' ' - ? S " Ov v X ' S--3i! "Y Taking another view and one not 'm5 ? ;'i-.t f i El . ' ' AV "--- J too extreme in the face of other es- M-- 1 1 ' . ... J, I ' NSNv "S J " a secret or private marriage is no tablished beliefs, the church should 'Tif'" ,"x'Tf It " " " - - ' ' s. 'j J rt) marriage at all. whether in a civil or have no more right to dissolve mar- T ,' !j v"Zra . XS. sVt """S 1 I religious aspect. The necessity, the riages than has the state. Once con- wW!si "1 .... ....".' ,7i:-. rsSSf 'V .... . v C " X C obligations and the blessings of the secrated. the tenure must endure. 2""'-' 1 ' 7 V X ( . 1 rite nave tneir essential roots in umer tnings may oe iransnory, uui 111 ,. s s. .. - . . - m BT DE WITT HARRY. rHE traditions of Lent, kept aive I for centuries by the Roman Catholic and the Episcopal churches have never seen a more practical manifestation than during the present year. Lent, according to these two churches, is a time .of pen ance; a time for the examination of the innermost conscience and for purg ing those thoughts and actions which are antagonistic to the dictates of true religion. The Lenten period is looked upon as a time for getting a fresh etart in the religious sense. "Repent" calls the church, and the true believer of those denominations, which insist upon a rigid observance of the six-week period, strives his utmost to do so. Easter Sunday, ever since the res urrection of Christ, has been a festi val of joy. bringing to a fitting end the six weeks of humility. Now,' in asmuch as Lent is a time for reflec tion and examination of the con fidence, the two old churches noted above discourage during this time the festival of marriage. In the Portland Catholic churches during the Lenten period it is ex ceedingly doubtful if marriage bans have been published in even "an iso lated instance., While there is no Episcopal canon against marriage during Lent, the clergy as a rule do not perform ceremonies unless abso lutely imperative and then they are seldom held in the church. Church weddings are absolutely barred in the Roman Catholic church. . Therefore, for romance carries on no matter what the period, after the six-week cessation of marriage cere monies in these ,two of the largest denominations, there is always a num ber of love affairs awaiting their con- summation. From the Easter period on in practically every church the marriage rate increases. Indeed the fiat is that sanctity is gained for fhis sacrament by having it during or soon after the Easter period. Traditions of good omen accrue at this time so these marriages are especially popu lar. In addition there are also the early spring associations 01 romance and mating. In. the Roman Catholic churches of this diocese, starting last Sunday, congregations will turn an expectant ear toward the chancel in order to learn of impending weddings. Clerks in charge of license bureaus in the court house are prepared for an in crease in their business for the next few weeks. Lent Th Mflnraliip 1IaI I .Religious meditation and spiritual discipline are what we strive for dur ing Lent," said Rev. Father O'Hara of Paint Joseph's Catholic church. "Fes tivals are discouraged as much as possible because it is not a period of joy. Marriage is a joyful occasion and not in keeping with the spiritual sea son of Lent; especially s this true 6f the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday." "The associations of Lent call for humility and examination of the con science,'.' Bishop Walter Taylor Sum ner of the Episcopal diocese says. "Social festivals, especially dancing, are practically forbidden during this time. I know of no cburch marriages during the'past Lent. Unless there la a very urgent need or some good rea son for performing ae ceremony, we do not do so in the Episcopal church. However, immediately following Eas ter Sunday there are a number of ceremonies scheduled by our clergy, some of them being of special promi nence. Always immediately after Lent there are a number of couples waiting church sanction for their union." Though June will doubtless always be the popular bridal month, owing to the early summer season and real romantic setting, the Easter period is the time when religious omens at tach the greater amount of approval and significance to marriage. Taking to heart the lessons of Lent, the church feels that its children will live a more profitable life in this union if it is had at this time. During Lent the church calls on her children for these things; a fresh start. Godlike service for others, and sacrifice; all of which are necessary in achieving a true marriage. Lent is looked upon as a true period of the larger love with Christ's ...example. Church Teach Intca Kndnre. The ancient teachings of the church concerning holy matrimony, its in dissoluble and inviolable sanctity, are again being revived. Churches that wield a great deal of influence among their devotees are beginning to em phasize, as never before, the neces-1 sity for "performing the marriage) vows within proper precincts and with the official sanction of the church itself. Doubtless it is hoped by these means to accentuate the im perishable character of the matri monial vows in this period ( indis criminate dissolution and thereby pre vent a great number of divorces. Religious associations of marriage have been connected with Chris tianity since the beginning of its era. Regarded as a divine institution be cause it begins with and rests upon holy law, home in its true sense be longs only to the wedded. All real domestic life is the result of marriage and the church strives to bring about this natural contract which was es tablished by Almighty God at the first creation of human beings. Not only has marriage, essentially re garded as a religious sacrament, been jealously guarded in its essential elements by the church, but the state early added its sanction to marriage as a civil contract and civilized laws have defended it with fidelity. -Mirriam Trraffd Litchtly. The clergy of today hold, and justly it would seem, that this holy state is regarded too lightly, when in reality it is elevated to the dignity of sacramental honor and virtue in the Christian church. Going back into the lore connected with the matrimonial state many strange and applicable beliefs are found. For Instance, It Is held that a secret or private marriage is no marriage at all. whether in a civil or religious aspect. The necessity, the obligations and the blessings of the rite have their essential roots in society at large and are matters on which the rights and happiness of others may be quite as dependent as are the rights and happiness of the parties themselves. In a moral and religious view publicity is held in some degree both a test and a guar anty of virtue. " In other words canon law holds that what is pure and good seeks or willingly abides the knowl edge of man. The Hebrews have a saying that he Is not a man who has not a woman. In the Jewish church man and wife as the stock and scion, are grafted by marriage and bear fruit to the world". They are- the first link of human society to which all the rest are joined. Marriages are consented to above but consummated below. Chorrh Demand Obedience. Taking the stand that, the solemn benedictions of the church are nec essary and essential to a proper mar' riage, we find that many people are prone to deny the religious aspect of the ceremony, treating it merely as a civil contract. In some essentials this is so. inasmuch as it coutrols the property rights-of the parties con cerned and. guards the social standing of the woman. However, marriage Is not a thing of human institution nor does it Beem, in its 'fullest sense, competent for human law to forbid or do away with it. This is one of the main tenets of the Roman Catho lie church in their fight for religious control of this relation. Easter time, when mankind, purged of -sin by wholesome observance of precepts established by divine exam pie, is set for by the church as one of the most auspicious occasions for the welding of the. marriage ties. Blessed indeed are these marriages held on account of the seasonal be liefs that accompany them. Church blessing, so essential to all canons, is held much more necessary than mere agreement.. They point out . that the first marriage, that between Adam and Eve, was solemnized by God him self and quote again and again the pregnant phrase, "What, therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder," and hold It unquestion ably within the domain of the church The sphere of religion, according to all established "tenets, fully and com pletely contains the aspect by which marriage shall be fitly displayed to men. Taking another view and one not too extreme in the face of other es-1 tablished beliefs, the church should have no more right to dissolve mar riages than has the state. Once con secrated, the tenure must endure. Other things may be transitory, but marriage is, in its abstract sense at least, lasting.. Sacred associations so completely, surround the nuptial idea that nearly every country has some observance which accentuates the mystic side of the rite. Generally it Is esteemed and reverenced and the teachings of the church adhered to as to seasonal omens. Even in hea then practices there was some set time and form for the observance of troth plighting. It. has been erroneously asserted and often copied in the supposed In terests of the civil contract theory that the scriptures, old and new. make no mention of religious rites; that the Hebrew people' and all the ante-Christian church, as far as we know, celebrated the ordinance with civil and social ceremonies only. The truth is that marriage has always been held by the Hebrews as a sacred rite and solemnized among them with true religious ceremonies. However, the Hebrew church also did not en courage marriage during religious feast periods or times of absolution, or when they interfered with the reg ular worship of the church. Double ceremonies, that of the social and civil aspect first followed by the re ligious, have 6een known for ages. Benediction has always been held by the Jews as one of the main elements entering into the ceremony. Time CtusM Practices. In minor particulars the solemni ties of Christian marriage and meth ods of observance have differed in different ages and countries. Peculiar ities of race and climate, national as sociation and sentiment and of civil Institutions and local traditions have wrought Interesting diversions.. Nev ertheless the recognized form of rite has remained the same the world over down through the eras. For instance, in the majority of the evangelistic Protestant churches Lenten canons against marriage are not recognized and they are performed just the same at this time as at any other period in the religious calendar. , One Tlmr In lllght. Frequently In the prayer books oc curs the plii-a.su "At the day and time appointed for the solemnization of matrimony." This Is little nndc,-- Trinity Zpzscop&Z Czutc Proctor, one of the recognized reli gious authorities, as follows: "Marriage being an occasion of re joicing, it was forbidden in the fourth century during the solemn fast of Lent; and also in the 11th century at many other seasons also. The only seasons now prohibited, not indeed by law. but by custem and propriety, are Lent and any occasion of a public fast." Page 398, Am. Ed. Ask many people what is the cor rect time to be married and they say "high noon," not knowing what is the reason. Indeed the right time for the ceremony, according to custom, is be tween the hours of 8 and 12 in the morning. This arises from ecclesias tical law, unknown to American Insti tutions, but prevailing in the British Empire. This is held to be the one period in the 24 hours when the most serious business of life is best per-, formed, when the judgment Is clear est, the passions calmest and one is the least likely to be hurried into a momentary . act for lifelong repent ance. ' These are also held to the most public hours, so far as one time can propely be aid: to be more public than another between sunrise and sunset. Man Become Honateband. Then after the marriage the man emerges as a houseband, commonly called husband, an artificial name given to designate the public, tech nical, legal and commercial relations and regarded as the antithesis of wife. When pronounced man and wife the judicial sentence conveys an exquisite touch of delicacy and truth often overlooked in that man is thus said to receive the whole nature and office of the wife into his waiting bosom, sensible of no line of demarca tion or contrast or foreign elements whatever, but only of a felicitous fill ing out of an otherwise unsatisfying and unnatural void. Another phase of the ceremony of ten glossed over Is that it must be held In. a tiuing place and in the presence of the fr'eiiUd and neigh bors of the contracting parties. This stood, but an analysis is civea by ' is for the reason Uiat all ehall kaoi that the two have espoused each other". In this sense no place is more fitting for the observance than the church, and then In order comes the home-of the bride's father or that of a friend. An authority states that either of these three places is much more to be desired on every ground of propriety and sentiment than are the woods, or an open lawn, an hotel parlor, a stage coach or an ascending balloon. This man goes on to say that it Is often forgotten, when the proprieties are thus ignored, that they are not founded in mere human ca- J price or taste, but in a humble and due respect to the great Being who is the only source to whom mankind looks for the felicity which a mar riage duly contracted and conducted is capable of yielding. . Then, in the church, the man stands . on the right side for the reason that in church annals this seems to rest with the restoration of the woman in the family and the church. This prac tice comes from the far recurrence of the belief that woman was taken from the side, of man nearest his heart and needs his protection and belongs on this side. The position of the man at the right side Is the natural one for protection, as man inevitably grasps the object to be cherished with the left hand, leaving the right free to repel assault or ward off dan ger. In a passage of scripture the bride says "His left hand shall be under my head and his right should embrace me." And this week the jewelers will again garnish their display windows with engagement and wedding rings, for this token will once more spring into favor. In the wedding ceremony the ring is regarded as a seal and confirms the lifelong tenure of the vows assumed by the most irrevoca ble sanction known to human cove nants. The ring is thus the perpetual pledge and reminder of the inviolable agreement. In the wedding circlet gold is generally recognized as the most fitting material, as it is reputed to be the most unchangeable of metals. J is the inviolable ea.l nf personal Lito, 98.0v
