Catholic Church Wedding Page
There is nothing quite like a Catholic Church Wedding. Thank you for visiting this web page. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of interest in this topic. Catholic Church weddings are beautiful, meaningful, and a little mysterious. Any wedding is a significant event, but a Catholic Wedding is more than that. It is a Sacrament. Holy Matrimony is one of the seven Catholic Sacraments, and one of only two that a person receives not for their own sake, but for the good of others. These two sacraments, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders, are entered into for the sake of your spouse, in the case of Matrimony, or for the sake of your congregation, in the case of Holy Orders. Here is the mysterious part. Matrimony is the only Sacrament where the participents receive the sacrament not from the priest, but from each other. The priest serves as the "chief witness." The wedding itself, the ceremony and all the trappings, are a secondary consideration. What is of primary importance, is the Marriage. In our day and age there is a tendency, and a real danger, that concern for all the pomp and ceremony of the wedding celebration will overshadow what really matters, which is proper preparation for the Marriage itself. The wedding, though it may be the biggest day of your life, will quickly pass, the guests will leave, the photos will be organized into albums, and everyday life will resume. But years later, when the photos are yellow and tattered, what will be left then? This is a question of primary importance. For this reason, we are concentrating on the most important things first. We will discuss the various preparations for celebrating a Catholic Church Wedding, but first, let us take a little time to be certain that we understand what the Church really teaches about marriage. Trust me, the more you learn, the more you realize the beauty of a Catholic Church Wedding. The Catholic Catechism says "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." CCC 1601 Holy scripture testifies that man and woman were created for one another, and that they were meant to be together. "It is not good that the man should be alone." Gen.2:18 Scripture is nearly bursting with references to the sanctity and mystery of marriage. It is God's will for humankind, and was in fact, authored by God. "Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." Gen 2:24 The Catholic Catechism asserts that "The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone...Although the dignity of this institution is not tranparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures." CCC 1603 In scripture, we see many parallels drawn between the relationship between married couples and God's relationship with his Church. In Genesis, we read how God created man and woman in his image and likeness, and the love between them, as the Catechism puts it, "...becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man." CCC 1604 The analogy of marriage as a symbol of our relationship with God is common. We may not spend enough time contemplating the strength of that analogy. Reading through the relevent text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the parallel is pretty amazing. Human kind is created by God, as is the institution of Marriage. Marriage is usually entered into with great excitement, even passion, and with the intent of complete fidelity. It is all part of God's plan. Regretfully, both our relationship with God and our marriage relationships exist in an environment where sin is pervasive. The fact that you had a Catholic church wedding does not make you immune to this. As the Catechism puts it; "Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and women. Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character." While there is not room here to include all the text on this subject, the Catechism presents a fascinating discussion of how "In His mercy God has not forsaken sinful man." The text points out that the same punishments Adam and Eve received at the time of the fall also contain remedies that limit the damage done by sin. Marriage, with all of its emphasis on the spouse, "helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one's own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other to mutual aid and to self-giving." CCC 1609 The Catechism asserts that the Old Testament examples of Polygamy were an imperfect version of the marriage union, and the law given to Moses in Dueteronomy, which did allow for divorce, contained lingering allowances for man's "hardness of heart." see Mt 19:18. As the relationship between God and humankind was revealed, a more perfect image of the marital union unfolded. In the Song of Solomon, we read of a love "strong as death." and a love that "many waters cannot quench." When you present yourselves for a Catholic church wedding, you are publicly testifying that you belive marital love is eternal, as is God's love for his people. For those fortunate enough to walk out the experience of life-long love, there is a great reservoir of insight to be discovered. Marriage is about self-sacrifice, self-denial. It is about loving another more than one's self. This is insight into Christ's ultimate sacrifice, and He stands as our example, our inspiration and our encouragement. In our own stregth we could never live out such a commitment. But through Grace, in union with Christ, all things are possible. This is what Paul was aluding to when he wrote the people of Ephesis; "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her..." Eph 5:25-26 It is our recommendation that anyone who wishes to be truly prepared for a Catholic church wedding take the time to read the chapter on Holy Matrimony in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Read the scripture references, and the really wonderful descriptions of the mysterious nature of the marital union. This project could be completed in one or two sittings, and would give both spouses a clear and rich idea of what they are about to enter into. This is not required by the Catholic Church. Most marriage preparation methods draw upon the catechism, but do not promote reading the passages verbatim. Given the importance of the step you are about to take, it would be advisable to invest the time to read the passages yourself. If you do not own a catechism, you can purchase one by visiting our
Online Catholic Bookstore.
|
