Marriage arises in the covenant of marriage, or irrevocable consent, which each partner freely bestows on and accepts from the other. This intimate union and the good of the children impose total fidelity on each of them and argue for an unbreakable oneness between them.
Christ the Lord raised this union to the dignity of a sacrament so that it might more clearly recall and more easily reflect his own unbreakable oneness between them.
Christian couples, therefore, nourish and develop their marriage by undivided affection, which wells up from the foundation of divine love, they remain faithful in body and in mind, in good times as in bad.
By their very nature, the institution of matrimony and wedded love are ordained for the procreation and education of children and find in them their ultimate crown. Therefore, married Christians, while not considering other purposes of marriage of less account, should be steadfast and ready to cooperate with the love of the creator and Savior, who through them will constantly enrich and enlarge his own family.
"My dear friends, 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. Christ abundantly blesses this love. He has already consecrated you in baptism 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. And so, in the presence of the Church, I ask you to state your intentions."
Name and Name, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? "Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?" "Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"
BRIDEGROOM: I, Name, Take you, Name, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
BRIDE: I, Name, Take you, Name, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
BRIDEGROOM: I, Name, Take you, Name, 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 honor you all the days of my life.
BRIDE: I, Name, Take you, Name, 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 honor you all the days of my life.
"You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. WHAT GOD HAS JOINED, MEN MUST NOT DIVIDE. AMEN"
"Lord, bless these rings which we bless in your name. Grant that those who wear them may always have a deep faith in each other. May they do your will and always live together in peace, good will, and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN"
BRIDEGROOM: Name, 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.
BRIDE: Name, 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.
"My dear friends, let us turn to the Lord and pray that he will bless wit his grace this woman now married to this man an that (through the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ) he will unite in love the couple he has joined in this holy bond.
"Father, by your power you have made everything out of nothing. In the beginning you created the universe and made mankind in your own likeness.
You gave man the constant help of woman so that man and woman should no longer be two, but one flesh.. and you teach us that what you have united may never be divided.
Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church
Father, by your plan man and woman are united, and married life has been established as the one blessing that was not forfeited by the original sin or washed away in the flood.
Look with love upon this woman, your daughter, now joined to her husband in marriage. She asks your blessing. Give her the grace of love and peace. May she always follow the example of the holy women whose praises are sung in the scriptures. May her husband put his trust in her and recognize that she is his equal and the heir with him to the life of grace. may he always honor her as Christ loves his bride, the Church."
"Father, Keep them always true to your commandments. Keep them faithful in marriage and let them be living examples of Christian life. Give them the strength which comes from the gospel so that they may be witnesses of Christ to others. {bless them with children and help them to be good parents. May they live to see their children's children.} And, after a happy old age, grant them fullness of life with the saints in the kingdom of heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN"
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. AMEN May (your children bless you,) your friends console you\ and all men live in peace with you. AMEN May you always bear witness to the love of God in this world so that he afflicted and the needy will find you generous friends\and welcome you into the joys of heaven. May you find happiness and satisfaction in your work. May daily problems never cause you undue anxiety, nor the desires for earthly possessions dominate your lives. But may your hearts' first desire be always the good things waiting for you in heaven. May almighty God Bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN"