We met up Father Eugene for our last and final meeting and set the date for our Catholic Marriage Ceremony. It will be held on Saturday, August 18th, 2012 and I’m very happy that we were able to fit a Catholic ritual in. Although it’ll be quick, 30-minute mass ceremony with family, I’m just so happy that we’re doing it HIS way and getting his blessings for our marriage.
For catholic weddings, the couple are given a booklet Together For Life and we are to choose one passage of our choice for readings, prayers, and blessings for our mass wedding. I thought it was pretty cool that we get to choose what to be read for our readings and prayers for our mass. You can choose your own passages here.
Here’s our selections:
Opening Prayer: A-4
Father,
when you created mankind
you willed that man and wife should be one.
Bind Angela and David
in the loving union of marriage;
and make their love fruitful
so that they may be living witnesses
to your divine love in the world.
We ask you this
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Liturgy of the Word (Old Testament Readings and Comments): B-5
Allow us to live together to a happy old age. A reading from the Book of Tobit 8:4b-8
On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
“Sister, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance.”
Sarah got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
They began with these words:
“Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.’
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age.”
They said together, “Amen, amen.”
The word of the Lord.
Commentary
From their marriage bed, Tobiah rises and tells his bride to get up to join him in prayer to God. Given her history – seven previous husbands dying after making love to Sarah – Tobiah’s request is more than understandable. It’s nearly a necessity! What follows is a tender prayer that any married couple would hope to speak. He blesses the God of his ancestors and praises the God of creation who fashioned Adam and Eve. Just as Eve was a perfect complement to Adam, Tobiah sees Sarah as an equally fitting partner. He tells God that he has taken his wife not for sexual pleasure but for true virtue. He begs God for mercy upon them both and that they may reach old age together. Sarah adds her voice to the prayer as they conclude, “Amen.”
This text reveals that marriage is not just to temper sexual desires, but that real spiritual strength is found in the sacrament. It has a noble purpose – which is to help, support, and mutually uphold one another into old age. This reading encourages couples to foster a shared prayer life, and reveals the blessings that flow from it.
Responsorial Psalm: C-1
1. 33:12 and 18, 20-21, 22
R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
But see, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
New Testament Reading: D-5
If I do not have love, I gain nothing.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 12:31–13:8a
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
The word of the Lord.
Commentary
This passage is known as a hymn of love. It is popular for Catholics and other Christians, and it tugs at the heartstrings of engaged couples as soon as they glance over the options. Most will not initially realize that St. Paul is not talking directly to husbands and wives. He is addressing many concerns within Corinth’s Christian community and is seeking to strengthen their overall unity. The community appears to have lost some of the vision of Gospel living. Thus, the apostle offers these thoughts.
This bold Christian view of love demonstrates clearly that it cannot be reduced to a romantic emotion. Love looks like something. Here, St. Paul describes it with poetic detail. He tells what love is – patient, kind, enduring– as well as what it is not – jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, quick-tempered. The reading also foretells what happens when love is absent. Without it, lives and relationships are like a noisy gong. We can accumulate things, be showered with gifts, and even give things away, yet without love, all is worthless. Really, what Paul is describing, is a love that looks like Christ, the one who is Love incarnate.
Alleluia Verse and Verse Before the Gospel: E-3
1 John 4:8b, 11
God is love,
If God loved us, we also must love one another.
Gospel: F-6
They are no longer two, but one flesh.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 10:6-9
Jesus said:
“From the beginning of creation,
God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, contain many of the same stories, just slightly retold from their own perspective. This short reading from Mark is the same as option #4 by St. Matthew in the wedding readings. Jesus reiterates the Hebrew scripture from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24, noting that God is the source of creation, making men and women who are designed to become one flesh. The Genesis text speaks of the man being joined to his wife, yet Jesus’ final remarks drive the point home that the intent is for both of them to be together inseparably.
This passage reflects the hallmark of any sacrament – they are particular experiences of the Divine. God is doing the joining and no human being must separate it. This final phrase will be heard once again directly after the bride and groom have exchanged their consent and vows when the priest prays, “Let no one separate what God has joined.”
Exchange of Consent (recited after priest): H-2
Groom: I, David, take you, Angela, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
Bride: I, Angela, take you, David, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
Blessing of Rings: I-2
Lord, bless these rings which we bless in your name. Grant that those who wear them may always have a deep faith in each other. May they do your will and always live together in peace, good will, and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer of the Faithful: J-1
Praying for people in the world today.
Nupital Blessing: M-2
Let us pray to the Lord for Angela and David,
who come to God at the beginning of their marriage life so that they may always be united in love for each other.
Holy Father, you created humankind in Your image
and made man and woman to be joined as husband and wife
in union of body and heart
and so fulfill their mission in this world.
Father, to reveal the plan of your love,
you made the union of husband and wife
an image of the covenant between you and your people.
In the fulfillment of this sacrament,
the marriage of Christian man and woman
is a sign of the marriage between Christ and the Church.
Father, stretch out your hand, and bless Angela and David.
Lord, grant that as they begin to live this sacrament
they may share with each other the gifts of Your love
and become one in heart and mind
as witnesses to your presence in their marriage.
Help them to create a home together
and give them children formed by the gospel
and to have a place in your family.
Give Your blessings to Angela, your daughter,
so that she may be a good wife and mother
caring for home and faithful in love for her husband,
generous and kind.
Give your blessings to David, your son,
so that he may be a faithful husband and a good father.
Father, grant that as they come together to your table on earth,
so that they may one day have the joy of sharing your feast in heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Final Blessing: O-4
May almighty God, with his Word of blessing, unite your hearts in the never-ending bond of pure love. Amen.
May your children bring you happiness, and may your generous love for them be returned to you, many times over. Amen
May the peace of Christ live always in your hearts and in your home. May you have true friends to stand by you, both in joy and in sorrow. May you be ready and willing to help and comfort all who come to you in need. And may the blessings promised to the compassionate be yours in abundance. Amen.
May you find happiness and satisfaction in your work. May daily problems never cause you undue anxiety, nor the desire for earthly possessions dominate your lives. But may your heart’s first desire be always the good things waiting for you in the life of heaven, Amen.
May the Lord bless you with many happy years together, so that you may enjoy the rewards of a good life. And after you have served him loyally in his kingdom on earth, may he welcome you to his eternal kingdom in heaven. Amen.
May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wedding, Cities & Motherhood 