New marriage ritual without mass

Title

Language

English

Source

Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas XLII (473) August 1968

Year

1968

Subject

Marriage -- Philippines -- Catholic Church

Catholic Church -- Liturgy and ritual

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

PHILIPPINE MARRIAGE RITUAL CELEBRATION OF MATRIMONY WITHOUT MASS 1. Solemn Entrance of the Bridal Couple (optional) The marriage rile fittingly begins with the solemn entrance of the bride and the bridegroom. If circumstances allow, the priest vest ed in surplice or alb>, stole and cope (both white), preceded by the crossbearer, the candlebearers, and the server carrying holy water, meets the couple al the entrance door of the church. He greets them with a few kind words (for instance, the words of the allocution un der. n. 2 whigb may be placed here. In this case the Liturgy of the IV ord begins immediately after the procession), and sprinkles them with holy water. Then the priest with the acolytes leads the couple and their at tendants to the sanctuary where they take their respective places. All appearance of theatrical show must be avoided. Psalm 127, or 21 or IQ-.ZA or 44:1-4 and 11-14, or an Entrance Hymn is sung by the congregation or played on the organ. Bridal march music of profane character is prohibited. If there is no entrance procession, the priest comes from the sacristy, kneels in front of the altar for a moment of silent prayer and meets the couple at their kneelers. All stand including the bride and bridegroom. 2. Allocution The priest addresses the con- Dearly beloved, N. and N., you ple<s>: are here today to seal your love with an eternal bond before the 537 Church. I assure you of the prayers of our community that God mav pour His abundant blessings and help you to carry out the duties of the married state. The priest addresses the coni- And you, dear brethren, may I mtinity: ask you to help them with your prayers and accept them as a new couple in our Christian community. 3. Liturgy of the Word d) (OPTIONAL) Gen 1:26-28 or 2:21-24 or Is 61:10-11 and 62:3. b) Eph 5:22123 or 1 Cor 7:2-10 or 6:1510; 1 Pet 3:1-9 c) (OPTIONAL) Intermediary chant K.». one of the Psalms mentioned in n. 1. e) Homily (or exhortation). . Addressing the couple: May I now ask you to answer truthfully the following ques tions: 4. Scrutiny Priest (to the bride): N., Did you come here of your own free will to bind yourself for ever in the love and service of your husband? Pride: Yes, Father. Priest: (to the bridegroom) N., Did you come here of your own free will to bind yourself for ever in the love and service of your wife? 538 Groom: Yes, Father. Are you both ready to raise .good Christians the childt.f whom God will give vou? Both: Yes. Father. Note: 1. This last question is omitted if both are advanced in age. 2. If more than one cou ple, the questions are asked only once and all answer to gether. 5. Exchange of Consent Priest: (to the couple) They join their right hands: First, the priest asks the bride: Bride: N. and N. Since you wish t contract holy matrimony, plea-, join your right hands and e press your intention before Ge2 and His Church. N., do you take N. here pt. sent, for vour lawful husband cording to the rite of our he Mother, the Church? Yes, I do. Priest: Bride: Do vou give yourself to him a his wife? Yes. I do. 539 Priest : Do you accept him as your law ful husband? Bride: Yes, I do. Then the priest asks the bride- N., do you take N. here present, groom: for your lawul 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 : Groom: Priest : (In ease of validation, the second and third questions are optional.1 The coupie (s) says together n ith the priest (or after him* Do you accept her as your law ful wife? Yes, I do. Now, please say together (or after) me: Grant us, O Lord / to be one heart and one soul / from this day forward / for better, for worse / for richer, for poorer / in sickness and in health / un til death do us part. (II more than one couple, this prayer is said together by allJ 540 6. Confirmation of the Marriage Bond (to be said only once if more And I, by the authority of the than one couple) Church, calling on all those pre sent here as witnesses, confirm and bless the bond of marriage which you have contracted. In the name of the Father, and of the Son r and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen 7. Blessing of the Arrhae and Rings (to be said only once if more than one couple) A server brings the plate with the arrhae and the rings. Priest : (N. and N.), we shall now bless your arrhae and rings. Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And with your spirit. Priest : Let us pray: Bless + O Lord, Your servants (N. and N.) with sufficiency of material posses sions which these arrhae sym bolize so that they may use them to attain eternal life. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. 541 Priest : Let us pray: Bless + O Lord, these rings so that your servants (N. and N.) who wear them may ever live in mutual love and in unbroken loyalty. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Then the priest sprinkles the arrhae and the rings with holy water. Even though the rings and ar rhae are used in other weddings and therefore have already been blessed, the blessings are not on that account to be omitted. They are intended for the contracting parties rather than for the ob jects blessed. 8. Giving of the Wedding Rings and the Arrhae The priest picks up the wedding rings from the tray and says: The groom takes the bride's ring from the priest and puts it on the bride's ring finger, saying after the priest: Now give these rings to one an other and say after me: 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. 542 Then the bride takes the groom’s ring from the priest and puts it on the groom’s ring finger say ing after the priest: 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. It is a very old custom in the Philippines to have the wedding rings of the groom and the bride on the ring finger of the right hand. The groom takes the arrhae in both hands; the bride places her cupped hands under those of the groom. The groom lets the pledges fall int<f~her hands, say ing after the priest: The bride, accepting the arrhae, says after the priest: The bride places the arrhae on the tray held by a server. I give you these arrhae/ as a pledge of my dedication/ to your welfare./ In the name of the Fa ther/ and of the Son/ and of the Holy Spirit. And I accept them. 9. Prayers of the Faithful Priest : Dearly beloved, let us now pray for the Church and for our new ly wedded couple whose mar riage reflects her union with Christ. 543 Leader: All: This answer may be replaced by any of the approved formulas (see Twenty Five Prayers of the Faithful.) Leader: All: Leader: (JI more than one couple) All: Leader: All: Leader: All: For the Holy Church spread over the world, for its leaders and for the rulers of our nation, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, graciously hear us. For the poor and the sick and all those in trial and affliction, let uj pray to the Lord. Lord, graciously hear us. For N. and N. that He may keep their hearts united forever let us pray to the Lord. (For our newly wedded couples that. . . ) Lord, graciously hear us. That He may protect them from evil, lighten their burdens and fortify them in their trials, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, graciously hear us. That He may stir up the grace of the sacrament in all the mar ried couples here present, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, graciously hear tis. 544 Priest: Almighty, eternal God, look down with favor upon your servants. Grant them to remain faithful to You and to one another. At the end of a long and well-spent life, reward them with eternal happi ness together with their children and with all those who love them, through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. 10. The Nuptial Blessing Non two candles are lit, one at the right and one at the left side of the couple. Then friends of the couple lay a-white veil on the shoulders of the husband and the head of the wife; if preferred, the veil of the bride may be laid across the husband’s shoulders. Besides, if desired, and where it is the custom, a cord, called yugal, is placed in the form of an 8 over the shoulders of both; this is a symbol of the burdens of ma trimony now to be carried by hus band and wife in common. The priest addressing the couple says : Priest: Let us pray: Look down from heaven, Lord, on this union, and enrich it with your f blessings. Once you sent 545 to Tobias and Sara, the daughter of Raguel. Now, Lord, send your blessing upon this husband and this wife, so that they may con tinue in yo.ur grace, be faithful r your will, and live in your love. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. With his hands elevated and ex tended above (the server hold ing the book), the priest says: Priest: May the Lord God almighty bless you abundantly, and may you see your children’s children to the third and fourth generations, and may you have the long life that will fulfill vour desires. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. 11. The Sevenfold Blessing Still holding his hands elevated extended over the spouses to bless them, the priest says, all r:~pond ing: Priest: May God bless you by the Word of His mouth. All: Amen. Priest: May He unite your hearts in en during bond of pure love. All: Amen. 546 The following bles<ing is omitted if the spouse* are too old to ex pect children. Priest: May you be blessed in your chil dren, and may the love that you lavish on them be returned, a hundredfold. All: Amen. Priest: May the peace of Chrisr dwell always in your hearts and in your home; may you have true friends to stand by you, both in joy and in sorrow. All: Amen. Priest : May you be readv with help and consolation for all those who come to you in need; and may the blessing promised to the compas sionate descend in abundance on your house. All: Amen. Priest : May you be blessed in your work and eniov its fru'ts. May cares never cause you distress, nor the desire for earrhiv possessions lead you as*ray; but may your hearts’ concern be Jwavs for the treasures laid up for you in the life of heaven. All: Amen. 547 Priest: And with his hands joined: All: \ow the long veil and the yugal are remined by friends of the couple. May the Lord grant you .ullness of years, so that you may reap the harvest of a good life and af ter you have served Him with lo yalty in His kingdom on earth, may He take you up into His eternal dominions in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, Who lives and reigns with Him in the unitv of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. Conclusion The pr:c<t -prinkles the couple with holy water and adds: Priest: (N. and N.). Now that vou have received the blessing of our Mo ther, the Church, I admonish you to remain faithful to one another. Husband, love your wife as Christ loves His Church and live toge ther in the holy fear of the '.ord. The newlyweds and the witnesses sign the documents preferably be fore the recessional.

pages

536-547

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