Please join us for a celebration of marriages at all the Masses the weekend of October 6th and 7th. The liturgy will focus on marriage, and Fr. Lucas and Fr. Philip will provide an opportunity for married couples to receive a blessing during Mass.
There will be a light reception in the Parish Hall after the 10:00 a.m. Mass on October 7th.
Whether you have been married for less than a year or more than 60, we want to honor and bless you. Your commitment to each other and to the sanctity of marriage is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!
Marital Consent
Married couples have fond memories of the moment they spoke their words of consent. “Marital consent defines and consolidates the good common to marriage and to the family. ‘I, N., take you, N., to be my wife/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.’ …The words of consent define the common good of the couple and of the family…The common good, by its very nature, both unites individual persons and ensures the true good of each. If the Church (and the State for that matter) receives the consent which the spouses express in the words cited above, she does so because that consent is “written in their hearts” (Rom 2:15). It is the spouses who give their consent to each other by a solemn promise, that is by confirming the truth of that consent in the sight of God” (John Paul II, Letter to Families Gratissimam sane (2 February 1994), §10, at The Holy See, www.vatican.va).
Nuptial Blessings: A Visitation of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit helps couples to remain faithful to their marriage covenant. “In the solemn nuptial blessing during the Rite of Marriage, the celebrant calls upon the Lord in these words: ‘Pour out upon them the grace of the Holy Spirit so that by your love poured into their hearts they will remain faithful in the marriage covenant.’ This ‘visitation’ of the Holy Spirit gives rise to the inner strength of families, as well as the power capable of uniting them in love and truth” (John Paul II, Letter to Families Gratissimam sane (2 February 1994), §4, at The Holy See, www.vatican.va).
Please celebrate your marriage with us on October 6th and 7th. May the Lord bless you and your spouse!