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RITE FOR CELEBRATING MARRIAGE
(After the bride is ushered into the front by
her father & mother, both the bridegroom and the bride face the priest.)
Priest: N. and N., you have come together
in this Church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the
presence of the Church's minister and this community. The Lord abundantly
blesses this love. He has given you life and faith and has already consecrated
you and now he enriches and strengthens you by a special sacrament so that you may
assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity. As a sign of that
you will separately light a candle symbolizing that you come separately as
individuals before the Lord.
N. lights the right side candle and N. the left
side candle.
Mass begins as usual
After the Homily, the priest examines the
couple’s intentions with these questions:
N. and N., you have come together in this
Church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of
the Church's minister and this community. And so, in the presence of this community
and the Church, I ask you to state your intentions.
Priest: N. and N., have you come here freely
and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?
Priest: Will you love and honour each other
as man and wife
for the rest of your lives?
for the rest of your lives?
N. & N.:
Yes, we will.
Priest: Will you accept children lovingly
from God, and bring
them up according to the law of the Lord and his Church?
them up according to the law of the Lord and his Church?
N. & N.: Yes, we will.
Consent:
Priest: Since it is your intention to enter
into marriage, join
your right hands, and declare your consent before God,
his Church and the community.
your right hands, and declare your consent before God,
his Church and the community.
They join hands.
N.: I, N., take you, N.,
to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in
sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.
N.: I, N., take you, N.,
to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in
sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.
Receiving their
consent, the priest says:
Priest: You have declared your consent
before the Church and the community. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen
your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, let
people not divide. (Now they disengage their
hands)
Blessing and exchange of rings:
Priest: May the Lord bless + these rings, which
you give to each other as a sign of your love and fidelity. May the Lord bless
this thali as a sign of your binding with each other for life that you may
remain faithful to one another. May the gracious Lord bless this wedding sari
and adorn this bride not only with exterior beauty but also with interior
purity and goodness and may she remain faithful to her husband all the days of
her life.
Response:
Amen
As the bridegroom places
the ring on her finger, he says:
N.: N., take this ring as a sign of my
love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
As the bride places
the ring on his finger, she says:
N.: N., take this ring as a sign of my love and
fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
N. now ties the thali. Then he adorns the sari
on her head. The priest gives to each one a rosary.
Priest: Now I present to you Mr and Mrs N.,
you may now kiss your wife. (Veil is
lifted and N. kisses N.)
Now they light the centre candle together. Meanwhile
get ready for offertory procession
Offertory Prayers with
intentions follow
Nuptial
blessing follows after Our Father
Priest: My dear friends let us ask God for
his continued
blessings upon N. and N..
blessings upon N. and N..
All pray silently
for a short while. Then the priest extends his hands and continues:
Holy Father, creator of the universe, maker of
man and woman in your own likeness, source of blessing for the married life,
we humbly pray to you for this bride who today is united with her husband in the bond of marriage.
we humbly pray to you for this bride who today is united with her husband in the bond of marriage.
May your fullest blessing come upon her and her
husband so that they may together rejoice in your gift of married love.
May they be noted for their good lives, and be
parents filled with virtue. Lord, may
they both praise you when they are happy and turn to you in their sorrows. May
they be glad that you help them in their work, and know that you are with them
in their need. May they reach old age in the company of their friends, and come at last to
the kingdom of heaven. We ask this
through Christ our Lord.
Response: Amen.
Blessing at the end of the Mass:
Before blessing the
people at the end of Mass, the priest blesses the bride and bridegroom:
God the eternal Father keep you in love with
each other, so that the peace of Christ may stay with you and be always in your
home; May your children bless you, your friends console you and all peoples
live in peace with you.
Bride and bridegroom: Amen.
May you always bear witness to the love of God in this world so that the afflicted and the needy will find in you generous friends, and welcome you into the joys of heaven.
Bride and bridegroom: Amen
And may almighty God bless you all, the Father,
and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit. Response: Amen
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Photos: First couple with priest, then couple
with their parents and priest.
Signing the register: couple, witnesses,
priest.