Sinéad O’Connor Invites Jesus to the Wedding?

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.

John 2:1-2

Marriage is difficult.  Even if you love the other person to the rooftop, there are so many pitfalls as two individuals try to build a life together.  How one could possibly make it work without God, I can’t imagine.

That’s why it’s good to know that at least in some manner, newlywed Sinéad O’Connor invited Jesus to her wedding.  There He is in the wedding photo:  prominently tattooed on her chest. 

You remember Sinéad:  A study in contrasts, she’s the often outrageous Irish singer who shaved her head during her bipolar years (and has stayed bald), and who in 1992 ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live.  She has been an outspoken critic of the Church’s handling of the sex abuse claims; but she joined her voice with the voices of the monks at Glenstal Abbey to record Christian sacred music.  In 1999 she was “ordained” a priestess, Mother Mary Bernadette, in the Latin Tridentine Church, a breakaway Catholic sect. 

So she’s not really a Catholic—which may explain why her fourth marriage to therapist Barry Herridge on December 7 (her 45^th birthday) took place, not in a church, but in the back seat of a pink Cadillac.  The happy couple chose Las Vegas for their nuptials—the same chapel, in fact, where Britney Spears and Elvis Presley were wed—because, in the words of the groom, Vegas is “rock and roll.”   

Garry O’Sullivan, editor of The Irish Catholic, is reported to have once said, “Who cares what Sinéad thinks!  She’s not a Catholic and has no interest in the Church, so she should stick with what she does best, singing.  Her anti-Catholic tune is wearisome.”

I’ve got to agree.  Although I did find one hopeful quote from the pop queen, who admitted, “I think the essence of Catholicism is beautiful. . . . The love and curiosity I have about religion come from Catholicism. I am very interested in the idea of the saints; everything about it; I mean, it’s beautiful…. What I would love to see is for Catholicism to survive this, so that true Catholicism can shine.”

Sing it, sister.