THE RITE OF MARRIAGE WITHIN MASS

I. INTRODUCTORY RITES
Commentator: Good day, brothers and sisters. Today, we gather as a
community to participate in the Holy Eucharist and to witness
with joy the union of Groom. and bride. in the love of Christ in
the holy Sacrament of Matrimony. Let us offer our prayers for
them that God may shower upon them graces as they begin
their new life together. Let us all stand to begin the celebration
with the entrance procession.
Processional Song:
Gentlemen in procession with ladies at their left in the following order:

Bible Bearer
Altar Servers
Readers
Priest
Best Man
Groom with his Parents
Principal Sponsors
Secondary Sponsors – Candle, Veil, Cord Sponsors
Groomsmen and Bridesmaids
Ring Bearer, Coin Bearer, Flower Girls
Maid of Honor
Bride with her parents
Priest: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Groom. and bride., the Church shares your joy today and welcomes
you here most warmly together with your relatives and friends. On
this day, in the presence of God our Father, you will establish with
each other a partnership of life and love. On this day of gladness, may
God hear you, look upon you, and send you help from above. May
God fulfill your heart’s desire and grant your every prayer.

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Penitential Act

Priest: Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins and so
prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Priest : You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord, have mercy.
People : Lord, have mercy.

Priest : You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy.

People : Christ, have mercy.

Priest : You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord,
have mercy.
People : Lord, have mercy.

The absolution by the Priest follows:

Priest: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us
to everlasting life.
People: Amen.
Collect
Priest: Let us pray.
O God, who since the beginning of the world have blessed the
increase of offspring, show favor to our supplications and pour forth
the help of your blessing on these your servants N. and N., so that in
the union of Marriage they may be bound together in mutual affection,
in likeness of mind, and in shared holiness.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
People: Amen.
Commentator: Let us be seated and listen to the Word of God.

II. LITURGY OF THE WORD

Reading Colossians 3:12-17
Reader: A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians
You are God`s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should
be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness
and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a
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 quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the
same.

Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put
on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it
is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always
be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you.
Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude
in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and
never say or do anything except I the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him.
The Word of the Lord.
PEOPLE: Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 32:12.18.20-22
RESPONSE: The Earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

1. They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his
own. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his
love. R/
2. Our soul is waiting for the Lord; The Lord is our help and our shield. In him
do our hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name. R/
3. May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. R/
Lighting of Nuptial Candles
Commentator: May we ask the candle sponsors to light the bridal candles.
After Candles are lighted. Let us stand to acclaim the gospel.

Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit will last, says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Reading John 15:9-12
Priest: The Lord be with you
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John
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People: Glory to you, O Lord.

Priest: Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain
in my love, just as I have kept my Father`s commandments and
remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy might be in
you and your joy be complete. This is my commandment: love one
another, as I love you”.
The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
HOMILY
Commentator: Let us all be seated for the homily.

III. THE RITE OF MARRIAGE

Commentator: May we request Bride and Groom to please rise. May we also
ask the parents and principal sponsors to please come forward
and stand at either side of the couple to witness their exchange
of vows.
Allocution
Priest: Dearly beloved Bride and Groom, you are here today to seal your love
with an eternal bond before the Church. I assure you of the prayers of
our community that God may pour his abundant blessings on your
love and help you to carry out the duties of the married state. And
you, dear brothers and sisters, may I ask you to help them with your
prayers and accept them as a new couple in our Christian community.
Scrutiny
Priest: May I now ask you to answer truthfully the following questions.

To the bride
Priest: Bride, Did you come here of your own free will to bind yourself
forever in the love and service of your husband?
Bride: Yes Father.
To the groom
Priest: Groom, Did you come here of your own free will to bind yourself
forever in the love and service of your wife?
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Groom: Yes Father.
To the couple
Priest: Are you both ready to raise as good Christians the children whom God
will give you?
Couple: Yes Father.
Exchange of Consent
Priest: Bride and Groom, since you wish to contract holy matrimony, please
join your right hands and express your intentions before God and His
Church.
To the bride
Priest: Bride, do you take Groom, here present, for your lawful husband
according to the rite of our holy Mother, the Church?
Bride: Yes I do
Priest: Do you give yourself to him as his wife?
Bride: Yes I do
Priest: Do you accept him as your lawful husband?
Bride: Yes I do
Then the priest asks the groom:
Priest: Groom do you take Bride, here present, for your lawful wife
according to the rite of our holy Mother, the Church?
Groom: Yes I do
Priest: Do you give yourself to her as her husband?
Groom: Yes I do
Priest: Do you accept her as your lawful wife?
Groom: Yes I do
Priest: Now, please say together the prayer.
If more than one couple is present, this prayer is said together (the couples) say
together with the priest or after him:

Couple: Grant us, O Lord/ to be one heart and one soul/ from this
day onward/ for better, for worse/ for richer, for poorer/
in sickness and in health until death do us part.
Confirmation of the Marriage Bond

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Priest: And I, by the authority of the Church, calling on all those present here
as witnesses, confirm and bless the bond of the marriage which you
have contracted. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
EXPLANATORY RITES
Blessing of the Arrhae and Rings
Priest: Bride and Groom we shall now bless your arrhae and rings.
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
People: Who made heaven and earth.
Priest: Let us pray,
Bless O Lord, + these rings so that your servants N. & N. who wear
them may ever live in mutual love and in unbroken loyalty. Grant this
through Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.
Priest: Bless O Lord, your servants N. & N. with sufficiency of material
possessions which these arrhae symbolize so that they may use them
to attain eternal life. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.
Giving of the wedding rings and the arrhae
Priest: Now give these rings to one another.
Groom: N, wear this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty. In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Bride: N, wear this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty. In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Groom: I give you these arrhae as a pledge of my dedication to your welfare.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Bride: And I accept them.
Blessing of the Bible
Priest: O God, you inspired men to write Holy Scriptures. Bless this bible
which contains your word that all who read it, especially N. and N.,

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 may know the truth and live by it. In the name of the Father, and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Giving of the Bible

Priest: Bride & Groom accept this holy Bible, the living word of God. May
His word be the source of your living and giving together for life.
Couple: We accept God’s word with humility and fervent prayer that his word
may reign in our married life.
Priest: My dear brothers and sisters, it is my great honor to present to you N.
and N. as a new married couple in our community. Let us give them a
warm applause.
Commentator: We all stand for the prayer of the faithful.

Prayer of the Faithful

Priest:My brothers and sisters, let us now pray for the Church and for our newly
married couple whose marriage reflects Her union with Christ. In every petition we
say: LORD, MAKE US INSTRUMENTS OF YOUR LOVE
1. Let us pray for N. and N., newly joined in holy matrimony, that they
may always rejoice in health of mind and body. Let us pray to the Lord.
2. Let us pray that the Lord, who graced the wedding at Cana with his
presence, may keep this couple faithful to the covenant of marriage. Let
us pray to the Lord.
3. Let us pray that their love may be fruitful and perfect, that they may
support each other in peace and mutual help and, as Christians, bear
lasting witness to the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.
4. Let us pray that all God’s people may grow in virtue day by day and
that all who are weighed down by hardship may find strength in God’s
holy grace. Let us pray to the Lord.
5. Let us pray for each married couple here today, that the sacrament of
their marriage may be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Let us pray to the
Lord.
Priest: Almighty, eternal God, look down with favor upon your servants.
Grant them to remain faithful to you and to one another. And at the
end of a long and well-spent life, reward them with eternal happiness
together with (their children and with) all those who love them,
through Christ our Lord.
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People: Amen.

IV. LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Commentator: Please be seated for the preparation of the altar and presentation of the
gifts.
Preparation of the Gifts (Song of Presentation)
Laying of the Veil and Cord
Commentator: May we request the newly married couple to kneel. May we
request the veil sponsors to put on the veil, followed by the cord
sponsors to lay on the cord. (After veil are cord are laid) Let us
stand.
Priest: Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
People: May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and
glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.
Prayer over the Offerings
Priest: Show favor to our supplications, O Lord, and received with a kindly
countenance the oblations we offer for these your servants, joined
now in holy covenant, that through these mysteries they may be
strengthened in love for one another and for you. Through Christ our
Lord.
People: Amen.
Preface: Matrimony as a sign of Divine Love
Priest: The Lord be with you
People: And with your spirit
Priest: Lift up your hearts
People: We lift them up to the Lord
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just
Priest: It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and
everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and eternal
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 God. For you willed that the human race, created by the gift of your
goodness, should be raised to such high dignity that in the union of the
husband and wife you might bestow a true image of your love.

For those you created out of charity you call to the law of charity
without ceasing and grant them a share in your eternal charity.

And so, the Sacrament of holy Matrimony, as the abiding sign of your
own love, consecrates the love of man and woman, through Christ our
Lord.

Through him, with all the Angels and all the Saints, we sing the hymn
of your praise, as without end we acclaim:
Sanctus (sung)
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Commentator: Let us kneel.
Priest: You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness.
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,
by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall,
so that they may become for us
the body and + Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion,
he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR
YOU.
(He shows the consecrated host to the people, places it on the paten, and genuflects in
adoration)

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and,
once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT,

FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT,
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 WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY
FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
(He shows the chalice to the people, places it on the corporal, and genuflects in adoration)

The mystery of faith:

All: We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection until
you come again. (sung)
Priest: Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and
Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of
salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your
presence and minister to you.

Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we

may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.

Remember, Lord, your Church, spread throughout the world, and

bring her to the fullness of charity, together with N. our Pope, and N.
our Bishop and all the clergy.
Be mindful also, Lord, of N. and N., whom you have brought to their
wedding day, so that by your grace they may abide in mutual love and
in peace.

Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the
hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy:
welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we
pray, that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the
blessed Apostles, and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout
the ages, we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life, and may praise
and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and
ever.
People: Amen (sung)
Commentator: Let us stand.

V. THE COMMUNION RITE

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Priest: At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching we dare to
say:
ALL: The Lord’s Prayer
Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us;and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil.

The Nuptial Blessing

Priest: Let us humbly invoke by our prayers, dear brothers and sisters, God’s
blessing upon this bride and groom that in his kindness he may favor
with his help those on whom he has bestowed the Sacrament of
Matrimony.
And all pray in silence for a while. Then the priest with hands extended over the bride and bridegroom,
continues:
Holy Father, maker of the whole world, who created man and woman
in your own image and will that their union be crowned with your
blessing , we humbly beseech you for these your servants, who are
joined today in the Sacrament of Matrimony, may your abundant
blessing, Lord, come down upon this bride, N., and upon N., her
companion for life, and may the power of your Holy Spirit set their
hearts aflame from on high, so that, living out together the gift of
Matrimony, they may (adorn their family with children and) enrich
the Church.
In happiness may they praise you, O Lord, in sorrow may theu seek
you out; may they have the joy of presence to assist them in their toil,
and know that you are near to comfort them in their need; let them
pray to you in the holy assembly and after a happy old age, together
with the circle of friends that surrounds them, nay they come to the
kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.

Sign of Peace
Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
People: And with your spirit

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Priest: Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

Lamb of God

All: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Commentator: Let us kneel

Priest: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the
world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
People: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only
say the word and my soul shall be healed.

Commentator: Let us be seated for Holy Communion

Communion

After Communion
Commentator: May we request the cord sponsor to remove the cord, to be followed
by the veil sponsor. After cord and veil are removed. Let us stand.

Prayer after Communion

Priest: Let us pray,

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the power of the Sacrament we
have received may find growth in these your servants and that the
effects of the sacrifice we have offered may be felt by us all. Through
Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.

VI. CONCLUDING RITE

Final Admonition
Priest: N. & N., now that you have received the holy sacrament of
matrimony, I admonish you to remain faithful to one another.

To the bride
Priest: N., love your husband and be a good housewife; persevere in faith and
love and holiness.

To the groom
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Priest: N., love your wife as Christ loves His church and live with her in the
holy fear of the Lord.
Priest: The Lord be with you.

People: And with your spirit.

Solemn Blessing at the end of the Mass

Priest: Bow down for the blessing.

May God the eternal Father keep you of one heart in love for one
another that the peace of Christ may dwell in you and abide always in
your home.
People: Amen.

Priest: May you be blessed in your children, have solace in your friends and
enjoy true peace with everyone.
People: Amen.

Priest: May you be witnesses in the world to God’s charity, so that the
afflicted and needy who have known your kindness may one day
receive you thankfully into the eternal dwelling of God.
People: Amen.
Priest: And may almighty God bless all of you, who are gathered here, the
Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.

Priest: Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

People: Thanks be to God.

Final Song

Signing of the Marriage Certificate

After the conclusion of the Mass, the witnesses and the priest sign the marriage certificate. The
signing may take place either in the vesting room (sacristy) or in the presence of the people;
however it is not to be done on the altar (OCM 75).

Order of picture taking

1. Bride and Groom
2. Bride and groom with:
a. Priest
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b. Both Parents
c. Parents of the Bride
d. Bride’s immediate family (parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents)
e. Bride’s family and relatives
f. Parents of the Groom
g. Groom’s immediate family (parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents)
h. Groom’s family and relatives
i. Male Principal Sponsors
j. Principal Sponsors
k. Female Principal Sponsors
l. Maid of Honor and Best Man
m. Secondary Sponsors
n. Bridal Entourage
o. Lay Ministers ( Lectors, Ushers, Collectors, Choir, Altar Servers)
p. Friends

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