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MATRIMONY
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"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh...Each one of
you should love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife should
respect her husband." Eph 5:31; 33
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The
Sacrament
Wedding Guide |
The Sacrament
The marriage
covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate
communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own
special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the
good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of
children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to
the dignity of a sacrament. The Sacrament of Matrimony signifies the
union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love
each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace
of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens
their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on their way to eternal
life.
Wedding Guide
Congratulations!
We realize that there are many pressures on a couple planning to get
married. We would like to ease some of those pressures by answering some
important questions in this sections of our web site.
As soon as possible, an
appointment should be made with the priest or deacon of your choice.
During the first interview, the necessary forms will be filled-out, and
the date and time of the wedding and the rehearsal will be temporarily
reserved for the couple. Depending on the readiness of the couple
for the sacrament, any annulments needed, and the issues to be discussed
and resolved, six months or more of preparation will follow this initial
meeting and precede the celebration. Because of this preparation and
the time needed to reserve a place for the reception, many couples are
meeting with the priest or deacon as early as six to twelve months before
the desired marriage date. Please call the Pastoral Center
(410-255-3677) or use our on-line Contact
Us Form to schedule this initial interview.
You will need
a recent official copy of the Catholic party's (parties') Baptismal
certificate(s) dated within six month of the proposed wedding date.
This certificate can only be obtained from the church of your baptism.
No photocopies are acceptable. An official copy of the non-Catholic
party's Baptism certificate is not required, but the date and place of the
Baptism is needed.
As Catholics,
we believe that the purpose of the priest/deacon is not to
"marry" the couple. The priest/deacon is not the minister
of the Sacrament of Marriage; the couple is the minister of the sacrament
to one another and to the Church. The priest's/deacon's
responsibility is to prepare the couple to be the best ministers of the
sacrament and to be able to say, as the Church's official witness to the
sacrament, that the couple is completely free, able, and willing to
minister the sacrament to one another and to the Church.
Attendance in a marriage
preparation process/program prior to the reception of the Sacrament of
Matrimony is the policy of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Our parish
offers its own preparation program called the "Sponsor Couple
Program." To register for this program please contact the
parish office. Other Marriage Preparation Programs, such as
"Engaged Encounter" or "Pre-Cana" offered by the
Archdiocese, may be also be taken. As these programs are quite
popular, they fill quickly. Please contact our Pastoral Center
(410-255-3677) or the Archdiocese Office of Marriage Preparation and
Enrichment (410-547-5417) for more detailed information.
May the Lord
richly bless this time of preparation for your reception of the Sacrament
of Matrimony, upholding and guiding you as you grow in your understanding
of the spiritual and worldly realties of married life. May the light
and wisdom of our Catholic faith and the experience of couples already
married assist you.
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