Marriage
Christian Marriage
If you are preparing to celebrate your marriage, we hope this page will be of help to you. To begin with, congratulations on your engagement. We hope that this time of preparation will be a happy time for you.
The months coming up to your marriage can be very busy. It can be difficult to find the time and space to reflect on what your marriage is all about. Christian marriage is a Sacrament. In other words, it is one of the ways in which Jesus Christ continues to be present and active among his people. By choosing to celebrate your marriage as Christians, you commit yourselves to making your own love a sign of Christ’s love, for each other, for your children, and for the community in which you live.
The Bible tells us that God is faithful, and that he never takes back his love, even when his people let him down. Your day to day acceptance of one another; your care for each other, year in and year out; your life long fidelity – all of these are ways of making the love of Christ really present to each another and in the world around you.
The Bible speaks to us of a God who wants to share his love; a God who gives life, and cares for it. Love grows when it is shared. You may be blessed with children, who will depend on you for care (both material and spiritual). Your acceptance of the children God may send you, and your care for them, is your participation in the creative love of God.
Wherever you live after your marriage, your life as husband and wife is important to the community of the parish, and to the future of the Church. Remember that the love you bring to each other, and to those around you, needs to be nourished through your own closeness to Christ. Each time you participate in the Mass, you will not only celebrate the self-giving love of Christ, but you will be reminded of your own gift to each other, and you will hear His Word, calling you always to new ways of living that love.
For information regarding the arrangement and celebration of your marriage in the Diocese of Elphin, see here.
