If you are getting married, warmest congratulations and every blessing to you and your partner in your future life together.  

The commitment you are making to each other is the most important of your life as marriage by design is a partnership of love for the whole of life, ordered equally to the well being of spouses and to the generation and nurture of children.

The sacrament of marriage makes Christ’s love present. Through the mutual exchange of love between wife and husband, Christ manifests his presence to the couple and enriches them with the gift of his love.  Thus the spouses are the Ministers of the Sacrament.

That marriage is sacrament of love is most clearly illustrated in the life of a couple who love each other and who find personal significance in Jesus Christ. Christ is not distant figure far removed from their daily lives. In faith they experience his guiding presence, his compassionate understanding and comforting love. All married couples have faults and sometimes experience hurts and misunderstandings in their marital relationship. The couple’s belief in Christ’s boundless mercy lead them to work through difficult moments toward greater acceptance and forgiveness of each other. Through all the ups and downs of life couples find a certain peace and joy rooted in their trust in Christ’s abiding presence and in their hope that in Christ all life has ultimate meaning.

(Guidance on preparation for marriage and on the ceremony)