Marriage

Marriage

God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate his love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other…Woman and man are equal in human dignity, and in marriage both are united in an unbreakable bond. (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, Ch. 21, p. 279)

The sacrament of marriage is a visible sign of God’s love for the Church. When a man and a woman are married in the Church, they receive the grace needed for a lifelong bond of unity.

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)
The Church takes the lifelong nature of the Sacrament of Marriage seriously. The Church teaches that a break in this covenant teaches goes against the natural law of God:
The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their children in the faith. (CCC 1665)

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.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit” (CCC 2205). The Sacrament of Marriage is “unitive, indissoluble and calls us to be completely open to fertility.” Christian marriage at its finest is a reflection of God’s self-giving love expressed between the love of two people.

Things you need to know:

MEETING WITH THE PRIEST

•After the initial meeting with the priest, gather your documents and call the priest for another meeting.

•All documents and monies need to be taken care of not less than one month before the wedding.


DOCUJMENTS TO PREPARE

•Baptismal Certificate - get a new copy from the Church where you were baptized.

•First Communion and Confirmation Certificates -- Xerox copy okay

•Affidavits of Freedom to Marry - signed by parents or close relative, witnessed by a priest or Public Notary

•Marriage License - obtained not earlier than 90 days prior to the wedding date. 

 

MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE

•You are required to participate in one of the Archdiocesan Marriage Preparation programs.
The best available is the Catholic Engaged Encounter of LA Weekend. (Other options are available if this is impossible.)

•The priest will also do FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication & Study) with you.


WEDDING COORDINATOR

•Please contact your assigned Coordinator shortly after your initial meeting with the priest and the setting of your wedding date.

MUSIC

•All music during the ceremony must be liturgical.

•Secular and recorded music is not appropriate.

 

FLOWERS

•You may choose any florist you like.

•Please let us know if you plan on leaving flowers in the Church.

•During Advent and Lent, expect purple/violet decorations in Church that may not be moved.

 

PHOTOGRAPHERS/VIDEOGRAPHERS

•We welcome them into the Church, and they must follow the rules of the Church provided by the coordinator.

•To make your wedding prayerful and beautiful they must be professional and discreet.

•Flashes during the ceremony are to be avoided. Exceptions are the entrance procession and the final kiss.

•Posed group pictures in the Church afterwards are not allowed.

•You are encouraged to take pictures outside, taking advantage of the sunlight and beautiful grounds.

 

MONIES

•Church Donation

$600 (Parishioners)

$800 (Non-Parishioners)

•Wedding Coordinator-$200

•Musicians - $200 each

•Altar Servers - $20 each

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