A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians 5: 2.21-33

Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife
as Christ is the head of the church, his body,
and is himself its Saviour.
As the church is subject to Christ,
so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives,
as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
that he might present the church to himself in splendour,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no man ever hates his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it,
as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This mystery is a profound one,
and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church;
however, let each one of you love his wife as himself,
and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

This is the word of the Lord.

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