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‘You made Adam, and you made his wife Eve to be his helper and support;and from these two the human race has come.You said,
‘It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a helper like himself.’
Now, not with lust, but with fidelity I take this kinswoman as my wife.
Send down your mercy on me and on her, and grant that we
may grow old together. Bless us with children.
Tobit 8: 6-7 -
Marriage In The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church teaches that the covenant of marriage is a lifelong and exclusive partnership of a man and a woman. Marriage is a holy vocation, or calling, that by its very nature promotes the good of both spouses and is open to the procreation and education of children. Marriage comes into being by the free and unimpeded act of giving marital consent by both spouses.
The Sacrament of Marriage should normally take place along with the celebration of the Holy Mass. Through the Celebration of the Mass, the bride and groom offer their lives to one another as Christ did for his Church. Partaking in the Mass, the couple is united to each other through Christ, who is present in the Holy Eucharist.
Man and woman, now one flesh, are called to be a physical sign of the love of God; a love that is a giving of oneself completely, faithful in all ways and fruitful in its openness to children.
Learn more about The Catholic View of Marriage. -
Guide to Planning Your Catholic Marriage
Engagement is a wonderful time of joyful anticipation. It is also a time of preparation. Many decisions must be made from choosing the wedding dress and planning the honeymoon to picking the flowers and a photographer. These are all important in planning your special day. However, marriage is an intimate union of husband and wife that continues for a lifetime. For this reason, couples seeking marriage in the Catholic Church are asked to spend several months in preparing for marriage and not just the wedding.
The following is a step-by-step guide to getting married in the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Stockton.1. Contact your parish
Schedule initial meeting with Priest, Deacon, or Marriage Preparation Coordinator (depending on practice of parish). This is a time to get to know the person who will accompany you in planning for your marriage.
Prenuptial inquiry forms (Form A - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE BRIDE OR GROOM) will normally be completed during this meeting. Arrangements for completion of prenuptial witness forms (Form B - PRE-MARRIAGE WITNESS TESTIMONY) will also be made.
Engaged Couple Sponsors will be selected at this time. Your Engaged Couple Sponsors will accompany you on your journey of preparation for your marriage meeting with you as needed during this time.(9 months to 1 year prior to your tentative wedding date)
Schedule this initial meeting soon after becoming engaged. The sooner the better (at least 9 months prior to your desired wedding date). Please do not book reception venue or other services for your wedding prior to this meeting.
2. Take Premarital Assessment
Priest, Deacon, or Marriage Preparation Coordinator will assist you and your fiancé in completing a Premarital Assessment which is designed to help you learn more about each other and your unique relationship. This tool facilitates the crucial couple dialogue through which you explore the significant issues that affect marriage.(After initial meeting with priest or deacon.)
Complete a Premarital Assessment / Inventory at your parish. FOCCUS, Prepare/Enrich, PMI, and Fully Engaged are alternatives recommended for use in our diocese. Then you will spend time with your Priest, Deacon, or Marriage Preparation Coordinator reflecting on your responses and how they affect your relationship might impact your married life.3. Participate in a Formal Marriage Preparation Program
It is important that engaged couples spend quality time early on to properly discern and prepare themselves for the Sacrament of Matrimony. This also allows you and your fiancé to focus on the many practical details of your wedding during the few months prior to the date of the wedding.(1-3 months from starting your preparation.)
There are a few options available for completion of this step:
· Parish-based Marriage Preparation classes
· Engaged Encounter Weekends at stocktonee.com.
· Online Marriage Preparation at Catholicmarriageprep.com/course-info/online-pre-cana.4. Complete a Natural Family Planning (NFP) Class
Natural family planning (NFP) is using fertility awareness, which is simply knowledge of a couple’s fertility, in planning for children. In Natural Family Planning, the couple learns to understand, accept, and use their God-given phases of fertility and infertility for the purpose of achieving or avoiding pregnancy. In this way, the unitive and procreative, the love-giving and life-giving meanings of sexual intercourse, are maintained together in a responsible way (Familiaris Consortio, 11, 32).(1-3 months from starting your preparation.)
The NFP classes should be scheduled and completed before the wedding date. The Natural Family Planning component of marriage preparation is to be sufficient instruction to be able to practice the NFP method chosen by the couple. A certificate of completion must be submitted to Parish. Visit https://stocktondiocese.org/natural-family-planning for available methods and instructors.5. Plan the Wedding Liturgy
You will have additional meetings with your Priest, Deacon, or Marriage Preparation Coordinator to complete the process, including final paperwork, setting the wedding date, planning the wedding liturgy, etc.(1-2 months prior to your wedding.)
Time is devoted to planning the wedding liturgy.
6. Pray Together
The wedding day and forever. Couples should pray with each other and for their upcoming marital life together. After the wedding, couples should continue to enrich, pray and care for their marriage.Download Guide in English and Spanish
Descarga esta guía en inglés y español -
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