Matrimony

“Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
-Matthew 19:4-6

The Sacrament of Matrimony is one of the two Sacraments of Vocation or Service.  Matrimony is a union between a baptized man and a baptized woman, who in Christ, freely enter into a loving covenant with each other and establish a lifetime partnership ordered to their wellness and that of their children.

The effects of the sacrament are a perpetual and exclusive bond between a couple sealed by God, the perfection of a couple’s love, the strengthening of a couple’s unity, and the experience of the foretaste of heaven.  Thus, the twofold purpose of marriage is the good of the spouses (unitive love) and the transmission of life (procreation).  Mutual satisfaction and fulfillment of the couple exist to live and grow in holiness.  Furthermore, the spouses must give themselves completely to each other to become “one flesh”.  Marriage is forever (indissoluble, unbreakable bond), exclusive (fidelity), and open to life (procreative), similar to God’s love.

The elements of the rite of marriage include a couple’s free giving of themselves, the witness of the Church (priest or deacon) and two other witnesses, and the exchange of vows and rings.

For information regarding preparation for the Sacrament of Matrimony, please click here.

For information in scheduling a wedding at St. Charles Parish, please contact the Parish Office at 619-423-0242.