266 THE CATHOLIC WEDDING

YOUCAT Lesson 266

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

266  How is a Church wedding celebrated?

As a rule, the wedding must take place publicly.  The bride and groom are questioned as to their intention to marry.  The priest or deacon blesses their rings.  The bride and groom exchange their rings and mutually promise “to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health” and vow to each other: “I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”  The celebrant ratifies the wedding and administers the blessing.  [1621-1624, 1663]

Photo: …..At a family wedding, my brother-in-law Fred (right) gives his daughter Frances to Donald at the beginning of their wedding Mass. …..266

Here are some excerpts from one form of the Rite of Catholic Marriage: Celebrant: “N. and N., have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”  Bride and bridegroom: “Yes.”  Celebrant: “Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”  Bride and bridegroom: “Yes.”  The celebrant then asks the bride and bridegroom together the following questions. “Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”  Bride and bridegroom: “Yes.”

 “Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ.”  CCC, 1634

A traditional Catholic wedding includes a Nuptial Mass.

II. THE CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE

…….1621   In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ.(Compare Sacrosanctum Concilium 61.)¹²⁰    In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up.(Compare Lumen Gentium 6.)¹²¹    It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ.(Compare 1 Corinthians 10:17.)¹²² –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

…….1622   "Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical celebration of marriage . . . must be, per se, valid, worthy, and fruitful."(Familiaris Consortio 67.)¹²³    It is therefore appropriate for the bride and groom to prepare themselves for the celebration of their marriage by receiving the sacrament of penance. --CCC

…….1623   According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches, the priests (bishops or presbyters) are witnesses to the mutual consent given by the spouses,(Compare Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, can. 817.)¹²⁴   but for the validity of the sacrament their blessing is also necessary.(Compare Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, can. 828.)¹²⁵  --CCC

…….1623   The various liturgies abound in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God's grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride. In the epiclesis of this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church.(Compare Ephesians 5:32.)¹²⁶     The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity. –CCC

IN BRIEF

…….1663   Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical celebration, before the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful. --CCC