Readings · Poetry
What Is the Beginning? Love.
What is the beginning? Love.
What the course. Love still.
What the goal. The goal is Love.
On a happy hill
Is there nothing then but Love?
Search we sky or earth
There is nothing out of Love
Hath perpetual worth;
All things flag but only Love,
All things fail and flee;
There is nothing left but Love
Worthy you and me.
Where it fits in the ceremony
In most ceremonies the readings follow the officiant’s welcome, before the vows; a second reading can come between the vows and the exchange of rings. In a civil ceremony, some registrars ask to see readings in advance to confirm they contain no religious content — this one will pass.
Pair it with
Two readings that balance this one:
- Invitation to Love — “Come when the nights are bright with stars” — Paul Laurence Dunbar welcomes love in every season.
- Dearly Beloved (Book of Common Prayer) — “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here” — the opening of the 1662 marriage service.