Marriage
The Rite of Marriage is at the heart of the wedding liturgy. Your exchange of vows before a priest or deacon ("the presider"), two primary witnesses, and the gathered assembly of your family and friends joins you together for life. In this sacramental moment, bride and groom are the primary ministers. They assure each other of love and faithfulness, and together they ask God to sustain and nourish forever their holy bond. In this way, they consent to be a sacred sign of his love in the world.
Marriage is a Covenant
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenantal union in the image of the covenants between God and his people with Abraham and later with Moses at Mt. Sinai. This divine covenant can never be broken. In this way, marriage is a union that bonds spouses together during their entire lifetime.
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 the way to eternal life. (CCC 1661)
The love in a married relationship is exemplified in the total gift of one’s self to another. It’s this self-giving and self-sacrificing love that we see in our other model of marriage, the relationship between Christ and the Church.
Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. (CCC 1662)
Marriage Reflects the Holy Trinity
We believe that God exists in eternal communion. Together, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are united in one being with no beginning and no end. Human beings, likewise, were created by God in God’s image for the purpose of communion with another human being.
Marriage Preparation Staff
Sacrament of Marriage
Arrangements must be made at least six months in advance with Patty Sinta at 248-644-5460, ext. 2212.
Marriage & Family Resource Page
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