Rite of Marriage

All stand, including the bride and bridegroom, and the priest addresses them in these or similar words.

♰ 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 in mutual and lasting fidelity. And so, in the presence of the Church,

I ask you to state your intentions.

Questions

The priest then asks them the following questions. The bride and bridegroom answer the questions separately.

♰ N. and N., have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?

◯ Yes, I have.	● Yes, I have.

♰ Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?

◯ Yes, I will.	● Yes, I will.

♰ Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?

◯ Yes, I will	● Yes, I will.

Consent

The priest invites the couple to declare their consent.

♰ Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.

They join hands.

The bridegroom says:

◯ I,         , take you,          , 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.

The bride says:

● I,         , take you,          , 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.

If, however, it seems preferable for pastoral reasons, the priest may obtain consent from the couple through questions.

Reception of Consent

Receiving their consent, the priest says.

♰ 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.

The priests ask participants to praise God.

♰ Let's praise the Lord.

◎ Thanks be to God.

Blessing and Exchange of Rings

♰ May the Lord bless ♰ these rings which you give to each other as the sign of your love and fidelity.

◎ Amen.

The bridegroom places his wife's ring on her ring finger. He may say:

◯          , 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.

The bride places her husband's ring on his ring finger. She may say:

●          , 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.