Traditional Rite

Sacrament of Matrimony

(The Marriage at Cana)

THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

Matrimony is the sacrament by which a baptized man and a baptized woman bind themselves for life in a lawful marriage, and receive the grace to discharge their duties.

(My Catholic Faith, Third Edition)

THE VOWS

The Priest, in the presence of two or three witnesses, questions the man and woman concerning their consent to marry. The Priest first asks the bridegroom, who stands or kneels at the right side of the bride:

Christian, will you take Corinne,  here present,  for your lawful wife, according to the rite of our holy Mother,  the Church?

Response:  I will.

Then the Priest asks the bride:

Corinne,  will you take Christian, here present, for your lawful husband, according to the rite of our holy Mother, the Church?

Response:  I will.

The bridegroom now holds the bride's right hand in his own right hand, and prompted by the Priest, promises her his troth in these words:

I Christian take you, Corinne,  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.

Now loosening their hands and joining them again, the bride, prompted by the Priest, says:

I , Corinne take you, Christian , 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

The bridegroom and bride may kneel or stand and the Priest says:

I  join you together in marriage, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

He then sprinkles them with holy water.

This done, the Priest blesses the ring, saying:

Priest.  Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Server.  Who made heaven and earth.

P.  O Lord, hear my prayer.   S.  And let my cry come to You

P.  The Lord be with you.   S.  And with your spirit.

Let us pray.   Bless +, O Lord, this ring, which we bless + in Your name, that she who is to wear it, keeping true faith to her husband, may abide in Your peace and obedience to Your will, and ever live in mutual love. Through Christ our Lord. S. Amen.

The Priest sprinkles the ring with holy water in the form of a Cross; and the bridegroom, having received the ring from the hand of the Priest, puts it on the ring finger of the left hand of the bride, saying:

With this ring I wed you, and I pledge you my fidelity.

The Priest then says:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

P.  Confirm, O God, that which You have wrought in us. S. From Your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father, etc. (silently.)

P.  And lead us not into temptation.

S.  But deliver us from evil.

P.  Save Your servants.

S.  Who hope in You, O my God.

P.  Send them help, O Lord, from the Sanctuary.

S.  And defend them out of Sion.

P.  Be to them, O Lord, a tower of strength.

S.  From the face of the enemy.

P.  O Lord, hear my prayer.

S.  And let my cry come to You.

P.  The Lord be with you.

S.  And with your spirit

Let us pray.  Look, O Lord, we beseech You, upon these Your servants, and graciously protect Your own institution, whereby You have provided for the  propagation of mankind, that they who are joined together by Your authority may be preserved by Your help.  Through Christ our Lord.  

S.   Amen.

Then Follows the Nuptial Mass and Blessing.

Readings at the Nuptial Mass

MASS FOR THE BRIDEGROOM AND BRIDE

Introit.  Tob. 7, 15; 8, 19. May the God of Israel join you together: and may He be with you, Who was merciful to two only children: and now, O Lord, make them bless You more fully. (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia.) Ps. 127, 1. Happy are you who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways! V. Glory be.

Omit Gloria.

Prayer.  Graciously hear us, almighty and merciful God, that, what is performed by our ministry may be fulfilled by Your blessing. Through our Lord, etc. S. Amen.

Epistle.  Eph. 5, 22-33. Brethren: Let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord: because a husband is head of the wife, just as Christ is head of the Church, being Himself Savior of the body. But just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also let wives be to their husbands in all things. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, cleansing her in the bath of water by means of the word; in order that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she might be holy and without blemish. Even thus ought husbands also to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife, loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh; on the contrary he nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ also does the Church (be cause we are members of His body, made from His flesh and from His bones). "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh." This is a great mystery ~ I mean in reference to Christ and to the Church. However, let each one of you also love his wife just as he loves himself; and let the wife respect her husband S. Thanks be to God.

Gradual.  Ps. 127, 3. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home. V. Your children, like olive plants around your table.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. Ps. 19, 3. May the Lord send you help from the sanctuary, from Sion may He sustain you. Alleluia.

After Septuagesima, the Alleluja and versicle are omitted and the following Tract is said:

Tract.  Ps. 127, 4-6. Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord. V. The Lord bless you from Sion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. V. May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!

During Paschaltime, the Gradual is omitted and the following Alleluia is said:

Alleluia, alleluia. V. Ps. 19, 3. May the Lord send you help from the sanctuary, from Sion may He sustain you. Alleluia. V. P& 133, 3. May the Lord bless you from Sion, the Maker of heaven and earth. Alleluia.

Gospel.  Matt. 19, 3-6. At that time, there came to Jesus some Pharisees, testing Him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause?" But He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." S. Praise be to You, O Christ. P. The Lord be with you. S. And with your spirit.

Offertory.  Ps. 30, 15.16. My trust is in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." In Your hands is my destiny. (P.T. Alleluia.)

Secret.  Accept, we beseech You, O Lord, the gifts offered for the sacred bond of marriage; and dispose according to Your will, that which is instituted by Your bounty. Through our Lord, etc.

NUPTIAL BLESSING

After the "Our Father" the Priest interrupts the usual sequence of the Mass, and turning to the bridal couple who are kneeling before the Altar, he confers the Nuptial Blessing upon them.

Prayer.   Be appeased, O Lord, by our humble prayers, and in Your kindness assist this institution of marriage which You have ordained for the propagation of the human race; so that this union made here, joined by Your authority, may be pre served by Your help. Through our Lord, etc. S. Amen.

Prayer.  O God, by Your mighty power You made all things out of nothing. First, You set the beginnings of the universe in order. Then, You made man in Your image, and appointed woman to be his inseparable helpmate. Thus You made woman's body from the flesh of man, thereby teaching that what You have been pleased to institute from one principle might never lawfully be put asunder. O God, You have sanctified marriage by a mystery so excellent that in the marriage union You foreshadowed the union of Christ and the Church. O God, You join woman to man, and You endow that fellowship with a blessing which was not taken away in punishment for original sin nor by the sentence of the flood. Look, in Your mercy, upon this Your handmaid, about to be joined in wedlock, who entreats You to protect and strengthen her. Let the yoke of marriage to her be one of love and peace. Faithful and chaste, let her marry in Christ. Let her ever follow the model of holy women: let her be dear to her husband like Rachel; wise like Rebecca; long-lived and faithful like Sara. Let the author of sin work none of his evil deeds within her; let her ever keep the Faith and the Commandments. Let her be true to one wedlock and shun all sinful embraces; let her be grave in demeanor, honorable for her modesty, learned in heavenly doctrine, fruitful in children. Let her life be good and innocent. Let her come finally to the rest of the blessed in the kingdom of heaven. May they both see their children's children to the third and fourth generation, thus attaining the old age which they desire. Through the same, etc. S. Amen.

The Priest then continues the Mass as usual with the Prayer:

"Deliver us, we beseech You."

Communion.  Ps. 127, 4,6. Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord; may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!

Postcommunion.  We beseech You, almighty God, to accompany the institutions of Your providence with gracious favor; that You may preserve with lasting peace those whom You have joined in lawful union. Through our Lord, etc. S. Amen.

Final Prayers

The Priest, before giving the blessing, turns toward the Bridegroom and Bride, saying:

May the God of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you: and may He fulfill His blessing in you: that you may see your children's children even to the third and fourth generation, and thereafter may have life everlastin, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. S. Amen.

(From: Saint Joseph Daily Missal, 1959 by Catholic Book Publishing Co.)

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