A Liturgy For A Marriage Service

This section presents a very simple marriage service accompanied by a commentary to highlight its theological meanings.

"Let us worship God." Commentary: It is made clear from the outset that this wedding is not merely a civil ceremony but, more importantly, also a religious one, in which the role of the God who is grace is as central as the roles of the spouses. God is confessed throughout the ceremony as the one who guarantees the fidelity of the spouses. "?Friends, marriage is established by God. In marriage, a man and a woman willingly bind themselves in love, and become one even as Christ is one with the church, his body.?" Commentary: This declaration embodies three theological ideas: (1) Marriage is part of God's creation and is therefore good (cf. Gen. 1:27–28); (2) Valid marriage requires that there be free consent, that the spouses "?freely bind themselves?"; (3) Christian marriage is modeled on the covenantal union of Christ and church—the spouses are to be one "?as Christ and church are one.?" "?We have not loved one another as you commanded. We have been quick to claim our own rights and careless of the rights of others. We have taken much and given little .… O God, strengthen us in love, so that we may serve you as a faithful people.?" Commentary: The great commandment for Christian spouses, as for all Christians, is the commandment of love (cf. Matt. 22:39). This prayer confesses our shortcomings and asks strength [grace] for love and fidelity. Love, as one would expect for the followers of Jesus (cf. Mark 10:45), is specified as service and giving way (cf. Eph. 5:21–23). Now lessons, relating to marriage and its meanings, are read from Old and New Testaments. A sermon explains them. Having been reminded to "?Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ?" (Eph. 5:21), each spouse then speaks the words of free consent. "?[Name], I promise with God's help to be your faithful husband/wife, to love and serve you as Christ commands, as long as we both shall live.?" Commentary: These words represent the core of the ceremony, the giving of the free consent required for the validity of the marriage presented by the readings and the sermon. That they are given for the whole of life, "?as long as we both shall live,?" is clear. The ring, the traditional symbol of unbroken fidelity, is given in pledge of this promise. The mutual exchange of rings better symbolizes the call of both spouses to be faithful. "?Love is slow to lose patience, it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive .… it does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy .… Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It still stands when all else has fallen.?" Commentary: This prayer confesses, in echoes of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13, both the difficulty of love for the children of Adam and the nature of love for the followers of the new Adam, Christ. It underscores the life-long character of Christian love, which "?still stands when all else has fallen.?" The Lord's Prayer is recited. Commentary: The spouses join hands to symbolize their union. The entire congregation should also join hands to symbolize their union in God in Christ, whose prayer they recite. "?[Name] and [Name], you are now husband and wife according to the witness of the holy catholic church and the law of the state. Become one. Fulfill your promises. Love and serve the Lord.?" Commentary: The minister here acknowledges what all the Western churches confess; namely, that the spouses minister marriage to one another. The Eastern Orthodox, of course, teach that the presiding priest alone is the minister. Note again the injunction to Christian love as mutual service. "?What God has united man must not divide?" (cf. Matt. 19:6). "?The grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.?" Commentary: The solemn biblical injunction and the closing doxology emphasize two theological facts, the life-long nature of Christian marriage and the Trinitarian grace which is its strength. Note that the presence of God frames the ceremony from beginning to end. It is this presence of grace, in the ceremony and throughout marriage, that moves the Catholic church to speak of both as sacraments.