RITE FOR CELEBRATING MARRIAGE
(After the bride is
ushered into the front by her father, both the bridegroom and the bride face
the priest.)
Priest: N. N., you have come together in this Church so that the Lord may
seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the Church's minister and this
community. The Lord abundantly blesses this love. He has given you life and
faith and has already consecrated you and now he enriches and strengthens you
by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual
and lasting fidelity. As a sign of that you will separately light a candle
symbolizing your presence, willingness and love.
N. (bridegroom) lights the right side candle
and N. (bride) the left side candle.
And so, in the presence of this community and
the Church, I ask you to state your intentions.
Priest: N. N., have you come here freely and
without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?
N. N.: Yes, we have.
Priest: Will you love and honour each other
as man and wife for the rest of your lives?
N. N.:
Yes, we will.
Priest: Will you accept children lovingly
from God, and bring them up
according to the law of the Lord and his
Church?
N. N: Yes, we will.
Consent
Priest: Since it is your intention to enter
into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God,
his Church and the community.
They join hands.
Priest: N., do you take N., to be your
wife; do you promise to be true to her,
to have and to hold her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health and
love her and honour her all the days of your life?
N. (Bridegroom): Yes, I do.
Priest: N,, do you take N., to be your
husband; do you promise to be true to
him, to have and hold him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health
and love him and honour him all the days of your life?
N. (bride): Yes, I do
Receiving their consent, the priest says:
Priest: You have declared your consent before the Church and the community. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, let people not divide.
Blessing and exchange of rings
Priest: May the Lord bless + these rings, which you give to each other as a sign of your love, support and fidelity. (As we pray for the Lord’s blessings on this thali, may it signify the bonding and binding that they would make with each other for life. May the Lord of all beauty bless this wedding sari and adorn this bride not only with exterior beauty but also with interior purity and goodness and may she remain a shining example of faithfulness to her husband all the days of her life.)
Response: Amen
As the bridegroom places the ring on her
finger, he says:
N. : N., take this ring as a sign of my love
and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
As the bride places the ring on his finger, she
says:
N.:
N., take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
N. now ties the thali. Then he adorns the sari
on her head.
Now they light the centre candle together.
Nuptial blessing:
Priest: My dear friends let us ask God for
his continued blessings upon N.N.
All pray silently for a short while. Then the
priest extends his hands and continues:
Holy Father, creator of the universe, maker of
man and woman in your own likeness, source of blessing for the married life,
we humbly pray to you for this bride who today is united with her husband in
the bond of marriage.
May your fullest blessing come upon her and her
husband so that they may together rejoice in your gift of married love.
May they be noted for their good lives, and be
parents filled with virtue. Lord, may
they both praise you when they are happy and turn to you in their sorrows. May
they be glad that you help them in their work, and know that you are with them
in their need. May they reach old age in the company of their friends, and come at last to
the kingdom of heaven. We ask this
through Christ our Lord.
Response: Amen.
Now the Holy Mass begins
Blessing at the end of the Mass:
Before blessing the people at the end of Mass,
the priest blesses the bride and bridegroom:
God the eternal Father keep you in love with
each other, so that the peace of Christ may stay with you and be always in your
home; May your children bless you, your friends console you and all peoples
live in peace with you.
Bride and bridegroom: Amen.
May you always bear witness to the love of God in this world so that the afflicted and the needy will find in you generous friends, and welcome you
into the joys of heaven.
Bride and bridegroom: Amen
And may almighty God bless you all, the Father,
and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit. Response: Amen
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Prayer of the faithful
Our
Response is: "Lord,
hear our prayer"
1) For N. and N., now beginning their life together, that they may have
divine assistance at every moment, the constant support of friends, the rich
blessing of children, a warm love reaching out to others and good health until
a ripe old age, let us pray to the Lord. R/-
2) For our grandparents, parents, sisters and brothers, in thanksgiving
for what they have meant to us and for the sacrifices they have made for our
growth. Let us pray to the Lord. R/-
3) For all those who have assisted in bringing
together N. and N. and all those who participate in this holy sacrament, we
pray to the Lord. R/-
4) For our faith, our friends and for the needs
of this community and the world, let us pray to the Lord. R/-
5) For husbands and wives
that they may constantly renew their commitment to each other and refresh their
married life. We
pray to the Lord. R/-
6) For spouses separated
by death, discord or human tragedy; we entrust to you all those who remain
faithful despite the darkness of uncertainty. We pray to the Lord. R/-
Thanksgiving
Our
Response is: "Lord,
we thank and praise you!”
1) I thank and praise you, God our father, for bringing N. into my life and for making this wedding ceremony a beautiful moment to celebrate our love together with your grace and presence. We know that your divine assistance will continue to follow us at every moment of our lives, the constant support of friends, the rich blessing of children, a warm love reaching out to others. We thank you, O Lord. R/-
2) I thank you, O Lord, for the gift of N., the life partner you have given to me in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, and in poverty and wealth. And for our beloved parents sister and brother, whose love and care, have made us who we are today, and in thanksgiving for what they have meant to us and for the sacrifices they have made for our growth. We thank you, O Lord. R/-
3) We thank you, O Lord, for all those who have assisted us in our difficult moments and all those who have generously helped us in so many ways to make this day meaningful, special and beautiful especially the priests who blessed this wedding and all those who have prayed for us.
We thank you, O Lord. R/-
4) We thank you, Lord, for Father N., the parish priest for
providing us with this church, the sacristan and all others who helped with the
service here and those who shared in our joy by being present here. We
thank you, O Lord. R/-
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Planning & Preparation:
I.
In Advance:
a.
Choose readings
b. Couple practice the rite
c. Prepare the booklets with hymns, readings, etc.
d. Get PP’s permission for the invited priest to bless
e. Plan the offertory procession: what and who and if there are prayers to accompany
f. Any thanksgiving prayers – after communion
II.
At the Church:
a) Arrive on time
b) Readers: mark the bible in advance
c) Instruct photographers about the order of the ceremony and take photos unobtrusively
d) Check again for: rings, thali, sari, rosary
e) 3 branched candle
f) Mike system in front
g) Decoration – modest but elegant
h) Kneeler for the couple
i) Parents ready to process the bride.
j) Thanksgiving prayer by the couple after communion
III.
Reception: MC
a) Lighting of the lamp (song)
b) Blessing the cake and the meal and the guests
c) Cutting the cake
d) Introducing special relatives & guests
e) Vote of thanks by the couple
f) Announcing service and location
g) Gifts, etc.