Having looked at the The Questions Before the Consent in our last bulletin article, we can turn our attention to the consent itself – namely, the vows.  In a Catholic theology of marriage it is the vows which actually marry someone, it is not the priest who marries them, but he stands as the official witness of God and the Church – in this sense, then, it is the bride and groom who minister the sacrament to each other.  The vows themselves speak of the commitment that one is making in marriage and they read like this, “I, N., take you, N., to be my wife (husband).  I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.”  A very full understanding of what is taking place in marriage comes through in the vows – we see the promise of fidelity and permanence, we see the promise of love and honor in all times.  The vows are beautiful and it is a real treasure, as a priest, to be present and so close as the bride and groom declare their vows!

Following the vows there is The Reception of the Consent.  This is a short prayer and admonition on the part of the priest accepting the vows which have been made in his presence, there are two options for them – the first is this:  “May the Lord in his kindness strengthen the consent you have declared before the Church, and graciously bring to fulfillment his blessing within you.  What God joins together, let no one put asunder.”  You will notice that this reception asks God to bless the consent just made and a reminder that nothing should separate those who have been joined in such a holy sacrament. 

The next part of the marriage ritual is The Blessing and Giving of Rings.  The rings symbolize in a physical form the commitment that has been made and the prayer that accompanies the giving of the rings makes this clear.  The prayer reads, “N., receive 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.” 

This part of the marriage ritual is drawn to a completion with an acclamation.  This could be something recited (the ritual offers, “Let us bless the Lord.  Thanks be to God.”) or it could be an acclamation that is said or sung.  Normally here at St. Mary’s we will sing an Alleluia as a sign of rejoicing at the commitment which has just been made. 

Following the marital commitment the wedding will continue.  When it is a ceremony it will move to petitions, an Our Father and the Nuptial Blessing.  When it is a Mass the petitions are followed by the celebration of the Eucharist.  Most of this part of the wedding Mass will be the same as Mass always is, however, there are some prayers which can be added into the Eucharistic Prayer for the couple and following the Our Father the embolism is dropped and, instead, the Nuptial Blessing is prayed.  There are three options for the Nuptial Blessing – it is a long blessing and quite beautiful.  In our next article we’ll take a look at one of the Nuptial Blessings which helps to draw our consideration of the Sacrament of Marriage to its conclusion. 

(This article is part of a series of articles on The Sacraments which will appear in the bulletin over the course of this year.)
 

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in response to the persecution of Catholics in Mexico during the 1920s.  This persecution saw the martyrdom of numerous priests, religious and laypersons and has given birth to many saints – one of the most recent being St. Jose Sanchez del Rio.  St. Jose was captured by government forces and submitted to terrible torture before finally being martyred.  His tormentors would taunt him, “If you shout ‘death to Christ the King’ we will spare your life.”  But St. Jose responded only with, “I will never give in.  Viva Cristo Rey!”  When they reached the place of execution, St. Jose, as he lay on the ground, made the cross in the dirt with his fingertip and kissed it shortly before being martyred on February 10, 1928.  St. Jose Sanchez del Rio was fourteen years old. 

The cry of “Viva Cristo Rey!” – “Long Live Christ the King!” gave the impetus for Pope Pius XI Encyclical Quas Primas proclaiming the Feast of Christ the King.  As this liturgical year draws to a close this weekend we are reminded of the witness of so many martyrs who gave their lives for the King – may we, in our own time and place in history, acknowledge His Kingship and submit ourselves to it. 

Later this week we will celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation.  This is such a wonderful and joyful holiday and all of you are invited to begin your celebration of Thanksgiving with the celebration of the Mass on Thanksgiving morning at 9:00 AM.  There is so much to be thankful for and know that I am deeply grateful and thankful for all of you here at St. Mary’s and for the grace of having been assigned to such a wonderful parish.  Thank you for all you do for St. Mary’s, know that I pray for all of our parishioners regularly and will do so especially this Thanksgiving.

I also want to take a moment to publicly thank our parish staff.  Again and again, in all times and seasons, they pour themselves into their work on behalf of this parish, this parish could not do what it does without them.  If you see a member of our parish staff over the course of the next few weeks, be sure to thank them!

Finally, we could not enter into this week without turning our thoughts to Advent.  I don’t know about you, but with the weather being so warm so late into the year it almost seemed to sneak up on us!  Of course Advent is a time of preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.  There are numerous ways we can prepare for this great feast.  One way is to mark the weeks by the prayerful use of an Advent Wreath.  Our Christian Women are again selling rings and candles after all the Masses this weekend and next weekend.  Another way to prepare for Christmas is by readying our hearts through the Sacrament of Penance.  Confessions are heard on Friday afternoons from 2:00 – 5:00 and again on Saturday mornings after the 8:00 Mass (please note that on Saturday, December 10th the Quad Parish Penance Service with Individual Confessions will take place here at 10:00, replacing the normal Saturday confessions).  During this Advent we will be adding another opportunity to go to confessions on Tuesdays during Advent at Noon.  If it’s been a while since you’ve gone to confession please know that the priest will help you and there are numerous examinations of conscience and ‘how to’ guides on the internet that you can find to assist you.  Finally, another way to prepare for Christmas is by setting aside more time for prayer – visit the Adoration Chapel, read the Nativity accounts in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke a little bit each day, pray the rosary, pick up a book on a life of a saint – the more time and energy put into Advent will lead to the experience of a deeper joy at Christmas. 
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Viva Cristo Rey!  Long Live Christ the King!

MARRIAGE III
We are continuing our examination of the Sacrament of Marriage in light of the Marriage Ritual.  If you recall, last time we looked at the matter and form of the sacrament and examined the first part of the marriage ritual which contains an instruction on what the sacrament is and what it accomplishes.  The next part of the ritual is comprised of three questions which call the couple to affirm that their understanding of marriage is what the Church understands by marriage.  The Questions Before the Consent are three, the first is “have you come here to enter into Marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?”  The couple then responds, “I have.”  This first question points out a fundamental truth about marriage – no one can be forced into it, it must be freely chosen.  We may think of this merely as if someone were “kidnapped” and forced into marriage, however, the question is referring to a number of circumstances that may propel or coerce someone into marriage.  These can be many and varied, the point of the question though is to establish that the couple is freely and willingly making this commitment.  A forced commitment – a forced vow in this case – could never be the basis of a sacrament. 
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The second question is now asked, “Are you prepared, as you follow the path of Marriage, to love and honor each other for as long as you both shall live?”  The couple responds, “I am.”  This question reminds the couple that marriage is something which calls for love and the deepest respect for the spouse – their lives together should be rooted in that love and upon that respect and honor in which they hold each other.  We have all probably encountered couples that do not seem to respect or honor each other and do not even appear to love each other very much, that is, in the end, a diminution of what marriage is meant to be.  The second part of the question establishes that marriage is something which is permanent and that the marital bond lasts while both spouses are living.  This is important to keep in mind, especially in our culture which seems to have made divorce an everyday occurrence.  Marriage is something sacred, it is a bond that is sealed by the Lord Himself and so nothing can break it.

The final question is, “Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”  The couple then responds, “I am.”  Marriage has two primary ends, one is unitive, the other is procreative.  The unitive end of marriage is summed up in the second question when it speaks about a couple that honors and loves one another.  That love and honor unites them together in marital intimacy.  The third question refers to the procreative end – the openness to children.  Marriage is fruitful and the primary fruit of marriage is the gift of children.  That does not mean that a marriage where the spouses are incapable of having children is not a real marriage, it is, its fruitfulness if exhibited in other ways.  But, in both cases, a sacramental marriage is one that is open to the transmission and gift of life at all times and in all seasons.  This explains the Church’s position on artificial contraception – the marital act without the openness to life is lacking in something fundamental – namely, the openness to bearing fruit as God intends it. 

The marriage ritual now moves to The Consent itself – the vows.  We will examine that consent in our next article.

(This article is part of a series of articles on The Sacraments which will appear in the bulletin over the course of this year.)
 

This past week we celebrated All Souls Day, following close on the heels of our celebration of All Saints Day.  On both of these days we remember those who have died.  On All Saints Day we remember those who have been canonized as saints of the Church and ask for their prayers.  On All Souls Day we pray for all the souls in Purgatory and we remember those who have “gone before us, marked with the sign of faith,” and whose souls we entrust to God and His mercy. 
 
Our culture is not very comfortable with the idea of dying.  As Christians, however, we are not meant to be afraid of death, for Christ has conquered the grave.  One of the ways the Church honors the dead is with special rituals that accompany the process of sickness, death and burial. The burial of a loved one is not meant to be the end of the Church’s prayers for one of her faithful members.  Praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy.  One of the ways we can continue to honor and pray for the dead is by visiting the graves of our own loved ones.  The Church even has a special ritual for visiting a cemetery.  It is simple but moving.   Below you will find this simple ritual for use by yourself or your family when you visit the graves of your loved ones. 
 
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
 
ORDER FOR VISITING A CEMETERY
 
+In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
 
My dear friends, we gather today to pray for our brothers and sisters whose bodies lie here in rest.  They have passed from death to life in company with the Lord Jesus, who died and rose to new life, and are purified now of their faults.  We pray that God may welcome them among all the saints of heaven.
 
Brothers and sisters, listen to the words of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans:
 
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.  For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
 
The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.
 
With Christ there is mercy and fullness of redemption; let us pray as Jesus taught us:  Our Father…
 
Almighty God and Father,
it is our certain faith
that your Son, who died on the cross, was raised from the dead,
the first fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Grant that through this mystery
your servant, who has gone to his/her rest in Christ,
may share in the joy of his resurrection.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.
 
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
            And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
            Amen.
May their soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
            Amen.
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