“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
St. Catherine of Siena

OK, I admit it — I am one of the two billion who watched the royal wedding. Not only did I watch the actual wedding itself — not once, but twice — but I also watched all the hoopla building up to it. The stories of Will and Kate meeting in college, the on-again-off-again romance, the Middleton family’s Horatio Alger story, the ladies filing in to Westminster Abbey in their hats and “fascinators” (just love that word!), the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony, the long promenade back to Buckingham Palace. I watched it all and loved every minute of it.

While drinking English Breakfast tea and mini lemon tarts, I reflected upon all the stories that were woven into this fairy tale of courtship and commitment. There was the story of Wills and Harry being brought up by their father after Princess Diana’s tragic accident. The story of William going to St. Andrews College where he met his future bride. The story of her bold catwalk appearance at a student fashion show, which apparently sparked William’s romantic longings. The story of the couple’s uncoupling after William got cold feet. The story of their reconciliation and candlelight dinners. The story of the trip to Kenya where William popped the question. And of course, there is the scintillating story of THE DRESS.

All of which entertained me (and billions of other people!) enormously — and gave us a shared sense of being part of something uplifting and hopeful. That’s what stories do: they bind us together and give us a chance to share each other’s dreams, longings, disappointments, and courageous or foolhardy endeavors.

During the wedding ceremony, the Bishop of London made some wonderful remarks. He began with the inspiring quote by St. Catherine of Siena and then said, in a sense every man and woman joined together by marriage can be seen as the “king and queen of creation.” I just love that phrase! So, let’s all be kings and queens of creation — and tell the stories the world needs to hear. And set the world on fire!