Marriage The Catholic Church considers marriage a sacred relationship, a holy covenant where God's love enriches the lives of husband and wife, through them, their children and our world. It is a sacrament that is a sign of God's love just as much as Jesus is a sign of God's love. A marriage is a sacrament when both persons are baptized Christians. Sacrament or not, marriage is always a sacred covenant. A parish priest is responsible to help you and guide your preparation. His education, training, and experience have prepared him to work with you. Although your immediate concerns might focus on the wedding ceremony, be open as he guides you in dealing with a more important and long-range concern - your marriage. Not only is your marriage personal, it is also very social. Your love for each other is founded on the love of many others and will affect our community and our world. Ideally, one full year allows sufficient time for serious, deliberate, and relaxed preparation for marriage, which normally follows these steps: People and Process You will have one or two sessions with a priest so that you will get to know one another. This is the time for basic information, questions, etc. Ideally, the same priest will be with you through the entire process. Your wedding date will be reserved based on the expectation that you will arrive at that day after mature preparation. Evaluating the Relationship You will be given the opportunity to use a self-help tool to assess your readiness and help chart further development. Two sessions are provided for this. Group Preparation/Married Couples You will be invited to choose from a number of possible groups of engaged couples who meet at a variety of times and are led by a married couple. All groups focus on: romance, communication, finances, spirituality, sexuality, family, roles, etc. The best of these is Engaged Encounter. It involves a weekend. Locally we hope to provide two or three opportunities during the year where small groups might meet with married couples from the area. The Archdiocese also promotes two-day workshops for engaged couples and a series called Engaged Couple Worshop. Assessment You will meet again to assess your preparation to date and then move on to plan the wedding. Details A booklet and instructions will be provided to answer your questions and help you to plan a meaningful wedding day. We put together a "wedding workshop" once or twice during the year for all engaged couples. Please do not engage or arrange for any outside musicians until you have talked with the music director or the pastor. Return to the Parish Welcome Page